OIS, PDAF, laser autofocus and other terms that many of us call jargon, have been used in smartphones recently. As a result, the quality of cameras have gone up, to the point where you can at least use these as able point and shoot cameras. Companies are focusing less on megapixels, and more on aspects like low light imaging, which is all leading to advancements. But the one question remains, which is the phone to buy? Well, why we can't pick one, here are our top picks, across price ranges.
Motorola Moto X Play
Price: Rs. 18,499
A good camera combined with the no-nonsense Motorola UI and build. The Moto X Play should be the choice if your budget is limited to just 20K.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 23MP
Sensor: Sony IMX230
Sensor Type: CMOS
Aperture: f/2.0
Phase Detection: Yes
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: No
Main Specs:
Display: 5.5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 615
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 32GB
Selfie cam: 5MP
Battery: 3630mAh
OS: Android 6.0
OnePlus X
Price: Rs. 15,999
The OnePlus X is also a good pick for those looking for phones below, Rs. 20,000. It has a 13MP rear camera, that's better than the erstwhile OnePlus One. It combined that with a Snapdragon 801, to deliver good performance as well.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 13MP
Sensor: Samsung
Sensor Type: ISOCELL
Aperture: f/2.2
Phase Detection: Yes
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: No
Main Specs:
Display: 5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 16GB
Selfie cam: 8MP
Battery: 2525mAh
OS: Android 5.1.1
LG G4
Price: Rs. 31,500 (approx)
LG might not be outselling Samsung or Apple but it still has one of the best cameras amongst smartphones today. It can even go toe to toe with current generation flagships.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 16MP
Sensor: Sony IMX234 Exmor RS
Sensor Type: CMOS
Aperture: f/1.8
Phase Detection: No
Laser Autofocus: Yes
OIS: Yes
Main Specs:
Display: 5.5-inch, 1440p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB
Selfie cam: 8MP
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 6.0
Gionee Elife E8
Price: Rs. 35,500 (approx)
Gionee surpassed our expectations from a camera standpoint, with its 24MP PureCel camera. In fact, we have even used this phone to take some of our product shots. See if you can find where these are on the website!
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 24MP
Sensor: Sony OmniVision OV23850
Sensor Type: PureCel
Aperture: f/2.0
Phase Detection: Yes
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: Yes
Main Specs:
Display: 6-inch, 1440p
SoC: MediaTek Helio X10
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 64GB
Selfie cam: 8MP
Battery: 3500mAh
OS: Android 5.1
Sony Xperia Z5
Price: Rs. 36,700 (approx)
Pick any smartphone and chances are, out of ten phones, nine will have a Sony Sensor. The Xperia Z5 has a hybrid autofocus system and the image quality it produces is top class.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 23MP
Sensor: Sony Exmor RS
Sensor Type: CMOS
Aperture: f/2.0
Phase Detection: No
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: No
Main Specs:
Display: 5.2-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB
Selfie cam: 5.1MP
Battery: 2900mAh
OS: Android 6.0
Microsoft Lumia 950XL
Price: Rs. 48,000 (approx)
Of all the things Windows has failed at, camera isn't one of them. The Lumia 950XL is easily one of the best camera phones in the market right now, albeit, not as fast as some others.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 20MP
Sensor: PureView
Sensor Type: CMOS BSI
Aperture: f/1.9
Phase Detection: No
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: Yes
Main Specs:
Display: 5.7-inch, 1440p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB
Selfie cam: 5MP
Battery: 3300mAh
OS: Windows 10
The Huawei Nexus 6P is not just the best designed Nexus ever, it also has the best cameras we've ever seen on a Nexus phone.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 12.3MP
Sensor: Sony IMX377
Sensor Type: CMOS
Aperture: f/2.0
Phase Detection: No
Laser Autofocus: Yes
OIS: No
Main Specs:
Display: 5.7-inch, 1440p
SoC: Snapdragon 810
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32/64/128GB
Selfie cam: 8MP
Battery: 3450mAh
OS: Android 6.0
Samsung Galaxy S7
Price: Rs. 48,900
Samsung's latest flagship has reduced the number of pixels, but it combined dual-pixel technology and PDAF for what is one of the best cameras amongst smartphones today. If you're looking at flagships, this is also our best performer right now.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 12MP
Sensor: Sony IMX260 Exmor RS
Sensor Type: CMOS
Aperture: f/1.7
Phase Detection: Yes
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: Yes
Main Specs:
Display: 5.1-inch, 1440p
SoC: Exynos 8890
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB
Selfie cam: 5MP
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 6.0
You may get a Samsung BRITECELL sensor of the same specifications instead, which is equally good.
iPhone 6s Plus 64GB
Price: Rs. 65,500 (approx)
This is currently the best camera Apple has to offer and is certainly a replacement to your point and shoot camera. With OIS support, the camera is able to handle low light conditions well.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 12MP
Sensor: Sony IMX315
Sensor Type: NA
Aperture: f/2.2
Phase Detection: Yes
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: Yes
Main Specs:
Display: 5.5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Apple A9
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 64GB
Selfie cam: 5MP
Battery: 2750mAh
OS: iOS 9.2.1
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 64GB
Price: Rs. 54,000 (approx)
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is still one of the best cameras out there. Period.
Camera Specs:
Rear Camera: 16MP
Sensor: Sony IMX240
Sensor Type: CMOS
Aperture: f/1.9
Phase Detection: No
Laser Autofocus: No
OIS: Yes
Main Specs:
Display: 5.7-inch, 1440p
SoC: Exynos 7420
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Selfie cam: 5MP
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 6.0