Mid-range smartphone cameras can no longer be shrugged off as expectedly underwhelming; in 2022 they’re more versatile and reliable than ever before. While manufacturers do still cut corners in this price range by sometimes offering lacklustre 2 MP depth or macro lenses to bump up the numbers, the primary cameras in the ₹25K-35K price range are usually solid performers in daylight. And as technology advances, we are starting to get impressive low-light performance at this price range as well. In 2022, the democratisation of “premium” camera features continued, with a lot of these features trickling down to the mid-range segment. Be it higher megapixel counts, capable Night Modes, 4K or even 8K video recording, impressive computational photography, ultra-stable video, and more, mid-range cameras are slowly but surely incorporating them all. While these camera systems still don’t quite compete with the highest level of flagship smartphone cameras, they’re getting closer than ever before – signifying that you don’t need to spend big bucks to own a smartphone that can snap gorgeous photos in most scenarios. With that, let’s find out the Digit Zero1 Award winner in the best camera phone (under ₹35K) category. We are also awarding the Digit Best Buy Award 2022 to the phone that offers the best value for your hard-earned money.
The OnePlus 10R is one of the most holistic mid-range phones in 2022 with impressive camera capabilities. Sporting a triple camera stack, the phone’s primary 50 MP Sony IMX766 lens with OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) impresses with crisp and detailed shots in daylight. The images have a warm and pleasing tone that look social-media-ready without any tuning required. The ultrawide sensor is one of the better ones in this price range and takes solid shots in the daylight. The dynamic range of both lenses is quite good in daylight, however, the colour tone of the ultrawide lens is slightly different compared to the primary shooter. The 16 MP selfie camera clicks good pictures with oodles of detail in daylight, but there’s some softness in low-light shots. Speaking of low-light photography, the OnePlus 10R’s primary camera takes consistently detailed shots in low-light beating out others such as the iQOO 9 SE, Realme 9 Pro+, and Samsung Galaxy A53. The images shot in low light were surprisingly bright and sharp while keeping noise at bay. 4K video recording is decent, with good detail and sharpness, but it can be quite shaky. Video shot at 1080p, on the other hand, is well stabilised. Overall, this is a great mid-range camera system that primarily shines due to its excellent primary shooter, both in daylight and low-light situations.
While the OnePlus 10R only marginally beat the Realme 9 Pro+ in our camera tests, the price difference between these two phones is not so marginal. Priced at a whopping ₹10K lower than the winner, the Realme 9 Pro+ is easily one of the best value-for-money camera phones on the market. The phone features the same Sony IMX766 sensor that’s present in the OnePlus 10R, so it takes equally detailed and crisp 12.5 MP binned shots from the primary lens, but the colour tuning is a bit more aggressive. Depending on your preferences, you may like this high-contrast look more or less than the OnePlus 10R, but we cannot deny the quality of the pictures coming out of this phone’s primary camera. Portrait photos come out looking sharp as well with good edge detection and dynamic range. Even the 8 MP ultrawide camera produces surprisingly usable shots with great dynamic range in daylight, however, the macro lens is nothing to write home about. The ultrawide lens on this phone is possibly the best one at under ₹25K since you get consistent and sharp results in most scenarios. OIS on the main camera also ensures pretty good low-light shots, however, video recording at nighttime brings up noisy results. The 16 MP selfie camera isn’t as refined as the one used on the OnePlus 10R, but still puts out shots with good dynamic range and colour but softer details. Nevertheless, this is a solid mid-range camera phone that provides more than enough bang for your buck and is deserving of the Best Buy Award!