Smartphones have largely replaced dedicated cameras for most people. They’re easier to carry and offer a wide range of features beyond just photography, and with the right hardware, they can capture stunning shots with minimal effort. That’s because handset brands have come a long way in optimising the camera on their devices, making it easier than ever to click great photos, even if you’re not a professional. As a result, camera prowess is one of the most important aspects to consider when buying a phone, and the market is packed with options across various price ranges.
At 91mobiles, we’ve reviewed more phones than we can count, and camera testing has always been a key part of that process. Based on our extensive experience, we’ve handpicked the best camera phones across different price segments. This list highlights what each phone does well, where it could do better and everything in between. Following this guide, you can find the device that fits your photography needs all within your budget.
Selection criteria
Our recommendations are based on in-depth, real-world testing done as part of our detailed reviews. Every phone on this list has been thoroughly tested alongside its closest competitors, with a specific focus on camera quality. We look at how accurately colours are reproduced, the level of detail in different lighting conditions, and how well facial features and edges are captured in portraits and selfies. There is also a special focus on the low-light performance, which can be quite tricky even for premium devices, as they often struggle with light sources and exposure.
To ensure fairness and consistency, our review team conducts a collaborative scoring process for evaluating camera samples shot using these smartphones. For each key camera scenario like daylight, portrait, selfies, ultrawide, and low light, the team members individually rate multiple aspects, such as detail, dynamic range, and colour accuracy, after direct comparisons. These ratings are then averaged to arrive at a score for that scenario. The final camera score you see is the average of all these scenario scores, giving us a thorough picture of a phone’s imaging capabilities and making the ranking process very objective.
Table of Contents
Best camera phones under Rs 15,000
Infinix Note 50x
Rear camera: 50MP AI camera
Front camera: 8MP
| Best camera phones under Rs 15,000 | 91mobiles’ camera rating |
| Infinix Note 50x | 8.5 |
| Samsung Galaxy M35 | 8.4 |
| POCO M7 Pro | 8.3 |
The Infinix Note 50x (review) may use a modest 50MP sensor, but its camera performance easily stands out under Rs 15,000. It captures crisp, well-detailed photos with natural colours and handles portraits with good skin tone accuracy and edge detection. Low-light shots are cleaner and more colour-accurate than rivals like the POCO M7 Pro and Vivo T4x. Selfies also look balanced without harsh exposure. The Infinix Note 50x delivers reliable, all-round image quality that punches above its price.
The device outperforms its rivals like the Samsung Galaxy M35 (review) and POCO M7 Pro (review) in terms of cameras. While it is superior to the POCO M7 Pro in almost all shooting scenarios, the Galaxy M35 is a trickier opponent, as it also comes with an ultrawide lens. The latter’s daylight shots can often come out as good as the Infinix Note 50x, although they tend to be overly saturated. The Infinix Note 50x is also a superior low-light shooter, which makes it the ultimate winner here.
Infinix Note 50x camera highlights:
| Pros | Cons |
| Sharp, detailed photos with natural colours | No ultra-wide camera |
| Good portraits and balanced selfies | Facial details may be lacking at times |
| Better low-light performance than competitors |
Best camera phones under Rs 30,000
Motorola Edge 60 Pro
Rear camera: 50MP primary + 10MP telephoto + 50MP ultrawide
Front camera: 50MP
| Best camera phones under Rs 30,000 | 91mobiles’ camera rating |
| Motorola Edge 60 Pro | 8.5 |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | 8.4 |
| Realme 14 Pro+ | 8.3 |
The Motorola Edge 60 Pro (review) packs a capable and versatile camera setup for its price. It features a 50MP main sensor with OIS, a high-res 50MP ultra-wide lens that also doubles as a macro shooter, and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. The phone captures sharp, contrast-rich images with pleasing colours, handles low light well, and delivers strong portrait results with good edge detection. While selfies could be better and video stabilisation lacks polish, the Edge 60 Pro offers one of the most balanced camera experiences in its class.
The Edge 60 Pro holds its ground well against rivals like the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro (review) and Realme 14 Pro+ (review). While the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro offers slightly more natural selfies and better dynamic range in daylight, Motorola is ahead in portraits, ultra-wide shots, and low-light performance. The Realme 14 Pro+ brings punchy colours but falls short on detail and accuracy. Overall, the Edge 60 Pro offers the most consistent camera performance across different scenarios, making it the top pick in its segment.
Motorola Edge 60 Pro camera highlights:
| Pros | Cons |
| Sharp and vibrant main daylight photos | Selfies can look oversharpened at times |
| Excellent ultra-wide and portrait shots | Slight colour shifts across lenses |
| Strong low-light images with good colour balance and detail | Video stabilisation needs improvement |
Best camera phones around Rs 50,000
Google Pixel 9a
Rear camera: 48MP primary + 13MP ultrawide
Front camera: 13MP
| Best camera phones around Rs 50,000 | 91mobiles’ camera rating |
| Pixel 9a | 8.5 |
| Realme GT 7 Pro | 8.4 |
| iQOO 13 | 8.3 |
The Google Pixel 9a (review) may keep things simple with just two rear cameras: a 48MP main sensor and a 13MP ultra-wide. Its image quality, however, is anything but basic. It consistently delivers well-balanced photos with accurate colours, sharp details, and fast, reliable autofocus. Portraits look clean with good skin tones and edge separation, and selfies are bright, sharp, and social media ready. While low-light shots aren’t its strongest suit, and the colour profile can lean slightly cool, the Pixel 9a still manages to hold its own with better clarity than most in the segment.
The phone’s key competitors include the Realme GT 7 Pro (review) and the iQOO 13 (review). The Realme GT 7 offers versatile hardware but lacks consistency. Its portraits lack detail, and the ultrawide sensor underdelivers. The Pixel 9a captures sharper, more balanced shots and handles colours and skin tones better, making it the more reliable camera phone. The iQOO 13 may pack more sensors, but the results aren’t always consistent. Wide-angle shots show grain, and colour accuracy can be hit or miss. The Pixel 9a, with its simpler setup, delivers more reliable photos across the board.
Pixel 9a camera highlights:
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent daylight photos with clean details | Low-light shots show more noise than ideal |
| Impressive portrait mode and skin tones | Colours could look slightly muted |
| Bright, sharp selfies with strong background blur | No dedicated macro or telephoto lens |
Best camera phones under Rs 80,000
Xiaomi 15
Rear cameras: 50MP primary + 50MP ultrawide + 50MP telephoto
Front camera: 32MP
| Best camera phones under Rs 80,000 | 91mobiles’ camera rating |
| Xiaomi 15 | 8.5 |
| Vivo X200 | 8.4 |
| iPhone 16 | 8.3 |
The Xiaomi 15 (review) sticks to a familiar triple 50MP camera setup, covering primary, telephoto, and ultrawide duties, and adds a 32MP selfie camera up front. As expected, daylight photos come out sharp and colourful, with good dynamic range and pleasing contrast, though the camera can sometimes misjudge exposure, especially in backlit scenes. Portrait mode is a strong highlight, producing vibrant results with good background blur, although details can be lacking at times. Low-light performance out of the box is hit or miss. Bright areas often get blown out but night mode helps control highlights and delivers more balanced output, even if it doesn’t kick in automatically. Selfies look lively with good colour tones and background separation.
While the Vivo X200 (review) and iPhone 16 (review) both deliver strong all-round camera performance, they don’t quite match the Xiaomi 15’s versatility and consistency across scenarios. The Apple iPhone 16 excels at colour accuracy and skin tones, but its daylight photos can appear slightly muted and softer in detail. The Vivo X200, meanwhile, captures sharp and balanced images, especially in low light, but its portraits and ultrawide shots can often oversaturate colours and make the scene more dramatic.
Xiaomi 15 camera highlights:
| Pros | Cons |
| Versatile camera setup | Inconsistent exposure in tricky lighting conditions |
| Punchy colours and contrast in daylight | Low-light output needs night mode for good results |
| Impressive portrait background blur | Facial details are sometimes softened |
| Good 4K video performance |
Best flagship camera phones
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Rear cameras: 200MP primary + 50MP telephoto + 10MP telephoto + 50MP ultrawide.
Front camera: 12MP
| Best flagship camera phones | 91mobiles’ camera rating |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra | 8.6 |
| Vivo X200 Pro | 8.5 |
| OPPO Find X8 Pro | 8.5 |
| Xiaomi 15 Ultra | 8.4 |
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (review) delivers flagship-grade performance through refined image processing and a much-improved 50MP ultra-wide shooter. Photos across all four cameras are sharp and well-balanced, with good dynamic range and accurate skin tones in most conditions. The camera handles low-light scenes particularly well, offering controlled exposure and low noise even without night mode. Portrait shots benefit from a natural-looking bokeh and realistic colours, while daylight performance is consistent, though occasionally affected by a warm colour cast. Selfies are serviceable but fall slightly short of expectations, with softer facial details. Overall, while hardware upgrades are minimal compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S25 Ultra makes up for it with reliable tuning, especially in difficult lighting scenarios.
Tied at second spot are the OPPO Find X8 Pro (review) and Vivo X200 Pro (review). These are both strong on portraits, zoom, and low-light shots. But they can get a little too aggressive with colours. Their images look great on screen, but the output isn’t always the most accurate, and that’s something we value more in our testing. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra (review) takes the third spot with detailed, vibrant photos and a loaded feature set, including Leica modes and a solid zoom setup. But it does go overboard with colour at times, and focus can be hit or miss. Skin tones aren’t always natural, and selfies tend to come out a bit too smooth. At this point, it’s worth highlighting how close all the smartphones are. We had to pixel peep to derive these results, but the fact is, they’re so close in terms of output that you wouldn’t find big differences in real life.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra camera highlights:
| Pros | Cons |
| The Galaxy S25 Ultra can take sharp images with all its cameras | It occasionally overlays a warm layer over its images, affecting the colour accuracy |
| It captures accurate skin tones. | Selfie performance aren’t as good, compared to the competition |
| It also excels at balancing exposure levels in low light. | |
| The new ultra-wide camera captures prominent details. |
