Looking for the best camera phone under 200 dollars?
When purchasing cell phones, customers used to be concerned only with one feature: can the phone be used in making calls.
But, nowadays, with innovative developments in the multifunctionality of these portable devices, customers can experience all sorts of magical features, and at an affordable price well below $200.
In particular, the ability to capture and store photographs is a feature that has been extended to cell phones and has helped them earn the title of “smart phone”.
While this ability was previously only limited to expensive cameras with attachable lenses, in particular, today’s cellphones arguably match the quality of these specialized cameras for only a fraction of their price.
Additionally, these smartphone cameras also offer greater flexibility as they are more portable and can fit in your pocket.
In this article, we will examine the top 7 best camera phone under 200. While we will highlight the main benefits of each phone, we will mainly be concerned with the phone’s picture-taking and video-recording capabilities.
At the end of the article, we will offer our take on which phones are the best deals and which phones are not worthy of purchase despite their low price.
Best Camera Phone Under 200
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Choose Your Best Camera Phone Under 200
iPhone SE 16 GB
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The first phone on our list is the 16GB model of the iPhone SE from Apple. The unlocked version of this phone costs $$$ and features a 4-inch screen. In addition, with a fingerprint sensor built into the bottom of the phone.
It is available in gold, silver, rose gold, or space grey colors.
The iPhone SE features two cameras on the phone – one on the back and one on the front of the phone near the screen.
The rear one is a 12-megapixel camera and has a Hybrid IR Filter between the lens and sensor.
This filter helps to minimize the negative effects of Infrared Light when taking photos, allowing photos to have better color accuracy and sharpness.
Unique Feature for Rear Camera
Another unique feature of this rear camera is the ability to take panorama shots up to 63 megapixels.
The associated software for this feature might be the most seamless on the market. Particularly, as simple as moving the phone continuously yet steadily across the desired landscape.
The phone does the rest of the work by stitching together the separate photographs and uniting them into a beautiful composite.
Just make sure to download these photos onto a separate hard drive as they contain a lot of information and take up considerable space on the phone.
Apple has also managed to fit in a front 1.2-megapixel camera specifically geared towards FaceTime video capture, which is Apple’s software for allowing users to video chat with each other.
Despite its lower megapixels, this camera still features an aperture value of f/2.4, which means the front camera is still decent in low light settings.
To compare, the rear camera’s aperture can only open as wide as f/2.2.
Asus ZenFone 3 32GB
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The next phone on our list is the 32GB model of the ZenFone 3 from Asus, which costs between $$$ and $$$ depending on whether you select the black or gold variety.
This phone features a 5.2-inch screen and represents an unusual foray into the phone market for Asus, which is traditionally known as a manufacturer of computer hardware.
Nonetheless, this phone is highly lauded on the market for its affordability and quality. It has a 16-megapixel rear camera with an f/2 aperture as well as a front camera with 8 megapixels.
The rear camera also has the ability to shoot video in 4K, which is quite amazing for a phone at this price point.
Both of these cameras are also great for shooting images on the go. More importantly, as they feature a phase and laser autofocus system that automatically adjusts the lens to the subject being captured.
This means you will have less blurry images and crisper, more vibrant photos without having to constantly tinker with various settings.
The cameras on the ZenFone are also notable for the array of effects they can utilize after taking a photo, time-lapse, super-resolution, panorama, and up to 15 others.
Despite these pre-built settings, Asus has also included a “photographer’s experience” mode that allows the user to have maximum controls over settings like ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and white balance.
Ultimately, with the ZenFone, you are getting one of the best smartphone cameras on the market at an incredible price, not to mention the added benefit of the meditative name of course.
Honor 7x
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The Honor 7x is another phone with excellent photo capabilities that only costs $$$. The biggest advantage of this phone over the previous two phones on the list is that the Honor 7x has a significantly larger screen, at 5.9 inches.
Additionally, like Asus’ ZenFone but unlike Apple’s iPhone SE, the Honor 7X utilizes androids operating system which allows the user to insert a Micro SD chip to increase the storage capacity on the phone. This is significant for a cheaper phone as traditionally a phone’s lower price would reflect how much the phone can store. But, if you can insert an SD chip, then you can upgrade the memory to fit your needs, sometimes to as high as 128GB.
In terms of the camera, the Honor 7X includes a dual lens camera as well as a front camera. The dual lens camera features both a 16-megapixel camera as well as a 2-megapixel counterpart that focuses more on details and color. This is unusual in such an affordable phone, as dual lens cameras are typically only features in the highest quality cameras on the market. The front camera is 8-megapixels.
What’s unique about the front camera on this phone is the ability to start a countdown to take a selfie by simply displaying your hand in front of the camera. This software is very responsive and is great for impromptu photo op’s.
LG G5 H831
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LG’s Q6 camera phone also features android’s operating system for $$$. The screen is 5.5 inches and the phone has a 13-megapixel rear camera as well as a 5-megapixel front camera.
The front camera is specifically geared towards wide angle shots, which makes it best for taking selfies with friends or in groups. Many reviewers have commented that the Q6 is brilliant at taking photos in bright light settings, but that images taken at night or in low-light settings are often grainy or blurry.
The camera also features a food mode feature that adjusts the settings for the perfect food pic. This would be a very convenient setting if you were a foodie that frequently uploaded pics of your meals to social media.
The Q6 also allows you manual control over the camera’s settings, but in today’s world, many users value convenience over control.
The most unusual characteristic of this phone is perhaps that it comes pre-installed with a selection of applications from Amazon. While this is a positive if you are a frequent user of Amazon, it also means that the phone features various advertisements on the lock screen that a user has to pay $$ to remove. Some users might want advertisements that are customized to their preferences, while others might not.
Xiaomi MI A2
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Xiaomi makes a very affordable camera phone called the MI A1 for $199 that features androids operating system, 64GB of built-in memory, and a 5.5-inch screen.
The MI A1 has a dual lens 12-megapixel rear camera as well as a front camera that takes considerably lower-quality pics. Many reviewers have commented that the rear camera is excellent, especially in portrait mode when the phone will blur the background surrounding the subject. However, the front camera has no LED Flash and lacks a wide-angle setting, which makes it less dynamic and convenient and lower-light settings.
Another potential con of this phone is that many major case manufacturers like OtterBox do not make cases for it. Cases are not impossible to find, but you won’t be able to buy the best on the market. This makes the phone less rugged and adaptable, so it might not be ideal for a child who requires the most durable protection. Alternatively, other smartphones on the market offer water resistance, but for a significantly higher price.
Moto E 16GB
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The Moto E from Motorola is one of the cheapest phones on the list at $$$. It is a good option if you are on a tight budget and simply wants a functional smartphone with traditional features.
It does have a rear and front camera, but with lower-quality technology. Specifically, the rear camera is only 8 megapixels while the front camera is 5 megapixels. The chip in this phone is also a lower-quality chip and so would not be ideal for playing games or streaming lots of videos.
About 25% of the reviews on Amazon have given this phone only 1 star, so don’t expect anything radical if you are considering purchasing it.
The one unique feature that this phone has is a 5-inch water-repellant screen. Motorola has achieved this by embedding a specific nanocoating on the surface of the screen that resists rain, splashes, and spills. Thus, this phone might be perfect for a younger child who has never owned a phone before and does not need the best processing power for gaming and streaming.
Huawei Mate SE
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There are more mobile devices than people in the worldHUAWEI also makes an ultra-affordable phone for $$$ called the Ascend Mate2. It has a 6.1-inch screen and comes with a 16GB built-in memory that can be expanded up to 64GB.
It features a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera.
This might be the best, most affordable smartphone on the market when it comes to entry-level smartphones. The screen is huge and is perfect for a child.
The screen is also made of corning gorilla glass for extra durability. This kind of glass is damage and scratch resistant while also being lightweight and thin.
In addition, the battery life is phenomenal, lasting as long as 2 or 3 days depending on usage. This is the kind of device you can give to your children to keep them distracted for hours.
However, if you are looking for a smartphone with the best possible camera and graphics, then this phone is not for you.
What We Think About Affordable Camera Phones
After reviewing the best camera phones under 200, we think that the cheaper the phone, the better the deal. This is because many of the cheaper phones on this list, specifically the Ascend Mate2 and the Moto E, offer many of the same benefits as the more expensive phones on this list with almost unnoticeable differences.
In the grand scheme of things, you will probably not notice the difference between a 16-megapixel camera and a 13-megapixel camera unless you are planning on blowing up a picture to huge proportions. Nowadays, most pictures and videos are exchanged via social media, so this probably won’t be a problem.
In addition, because the cheaper phones on this list utilize Androids operating system, you can customize and adapt the phone to your preferences by downloading 3rd party applications. Thus, just because one of these phones doesn’t come with your favorite photo-editing software doesn’t mean you can’t download it from the application store. Nowadays, truly nothing is impossible.
The only exception to this analysis is if you are a photography aficionado looking to take professional-level photographs and capture high-quality movies. In that case, you should go with Apple’s iPhone SE, Honor’s 7X, or Asus’ ZenFone, which we think offer the best image capturing technology as well as numerous features that give you maximum control over the final production.
Other important factors in buying an affordable phone are perhaps what other electronics you own and what products you have traditionally used. Apple’s phone, for example, dovetails extremely well with its laptop and OS software, and so would probably be best for someone who is used to those interfaces.
Featured Image: CC0 Public Domain via Pxhere, with text, banner, and logo added.
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Last update on 2024-04-20 at 09:40 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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