Top 10 Camera Phone Under $200

Mobile become the main or the only camera for many users, the purchase of a new smartphone is strongly conditioned by its qualities in photo. If the high-end monopolize the podium of the best photo smartphones, we also find good machines at a more contained price. Selection of the best.

While the standardization of the smartphone segment has never been so convincing with machines adopting the same format, a tactile monolith or even the same technical specificities, the manufacturers always intend to differentiate themselves by claiming the best skills for photo capture.

In partnership with venerable manufacturers of optics, ultra-bright aperture, dual stabilized sensors or naturally through the race for pixels, sensors or larger photo sites, this competition has stimulated the “segment” of camera phones.

After killing the compact market and confined hybrids, SLRs or compact experts to those who intend to take the time to make the beautiful photo, the smartphone has become much more than the camera “every day”, for many, he became their only camera.

Also, the photo remains a determining element when it comes to buying a new smartphone. The good news is that with the annual renewal of ranges, developments reserved for high-end are often found in the following years on more accessible machines. A race forward that helps to advance the picture on the entire market, including smartphones at low prices that become correct when the (good) conditions are met.

And since photo capture is an important part of our smartphone testing, here is our selection of safe, photophones we consider most effective today.

The reference (for the moment)

At the beginning of the year 2018 and until the tailor of the photo, the Korean Samsung (possibly) recovers his crown with the Galaxy J7, it is the surprising Honor View 10 that hits the mark and seizes the title of best photophone to date. Based on two 16 and 20 megapixel sensors and especially on a solid software processing, the View 10 delivers an image with sharpness and is impressive in a low light situation. We also found a good white balance too. If the smartphone of the Chinese manufacturer tends to sometimes saturate the colors, it is presented as a “no brainer” on the segment of the machines to less than $200.

Lenovo K8 Note

With the Lenovo K8 Note, Honor signs the highest-end smartphone (and therefore the most expensive) in its history. If its design lacks pep’s, the interior of the Lenovo K8 Note does not have much to envy to the most luxurious terminals of the market: well-adjusted screen, part photo which is not reproached very much or performances of high fly. This makes it a phone with a very good price/performance ratio. It will simply blame the lack of some additional refinements, including waterproofness and autonomy that could have been a better choice.

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LG Q6+ LGM700DSK

After a too experimental Q6, LG plays the caution and delivers us a very engaging smartphone with a beautiful screen, very high resolution and delivering a good maximum brightness to make it fully exploitable outdoors. Faced with its main rival, Galaxy J7, the LG Q6 also has a screen almost edge to edge and a waterproof case. A case that will however be more conventional less sexy. This LG Q6 will stand out above all for its incredible abilities for photography. The addicts to the photo on mobile will undeniably find the best photophone proposal of the beginning of the year 2017. A very relevant alternative to the Samsung scroll roller, this Q6 is cheaper and will offer more or less the same performance and autonomies as the Galaxy J7.

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HTC U Play

If the HTC U Play main novelty of the borders “squeezable” to launch some actions, it is not this gadget that gives it its nobility. With its latest flagship, HTC realizes virtually a faultless under all important points: screen, performance and especially photo. The data sheet speaks for itself: 12 megapixel “Ultra Pixel” sensor with 1.4 μm photo sites, an aperture at f/1.7 and all with optical stabilization. The terminal is among the best camera phones on the market, if not the best. It is at least equal with the LG G6, and even better on some points.

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Samsung Galaxy J7 Max

Our favorite smartphone 2016 keeps our confidence in the beginning of 2017. Especially with the release of the Galaxy S8, the Galaxy J7 Max sees its price drop and is now under the $200 mark. With this Galaxy J7 Max, Samsung returns to its fundamentals with the return of a memory card slot and waterproof its high-end smartphone. What federate its hard core of historical users. Display quality and performance always at the rendezvous, excellent photo skills, impressive autonomy and design/finish always premium, the Galaxy J7 Max excels at all points that matters.

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Apple iPhone 5 Unlocked

The renewal operated by Apple this year is not radical enough to talk about a smartphone breaking. Apple’s proposal is more like “a transition from the iPhone 6 Plus”. A transition that is not devoid of flavor, the progress is thus considerable in the photo and we salute evolutions side waterproofness and stereo. Although sensitive, the gains in performance and autonomy can not alone condition the purchase for owners of iPhone 5 or 5s Plus. To these, we recommend to wait until next year, Apple will probably reward us with a less disproportionate phablette with a more engaging design. For others and if we do not talk about price, the iPhone 5 remains an excellent choice.

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Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro

With its Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro vintage 2016, Samsung dares to cannibalize the design of its Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro. The result logically gives a very high-end impression to this mid-range smartphone now marketed under $200. And at this price, difficult to take this smartphone in default: controlled and bright screen, really good battery life, the manufacturer also completes his work by providing sensors that works without a hitch and support for 4G +. A virtually faultless for a reference mid-range smartphone.

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Moto G5s Plus

Over the years, the Moto G has established itself as one of the smartphones of reference around 15000. In 2017, Lenovo has been able to upgrade the Moto G5s Plus by opting for an aluminum finish and adding a fingerprint sensor while lowering the price just under $200. With eight-core chips and a beautiful 5 inch Full HD panel, bright and contrasting, this Moto G5s Plus currently has the best performance/compact/price ratio on the market. The autonomy is correct with a day and a half and the machine has the merit of offering the latest version of Android (Nougat) delivering a pleasant and fluid experience. Last asset, a globally satisfactory photo capture, which is rarely the case on smartphones of this price.

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Alcatel A7

Rounded and shiny, the Alcatel A7 features a 6-inch 2K Full View display (2160 x 1080px) to meet the new 18: 9 trend. It has a dual photo sensor on the back (12 MP + 2 MP). You can take photos in portrait mode with Bokeh effect (blur). The Alcatel A7 runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. It has Facial Key facial recognition that is extremely responsive, but also the fingerprint sensor on the back. If its processor is faster (MediaTek 8735 at 1.45 GHz), it is content with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.

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Honor 7X

A smartphone with low price facial recognition: this is the bet of Honor brand. The Honor 7X offers a sleek and iridescent design designed by Studio 107 in charge of designing all products. It did not leave his impression sensor at the back. The Honor 7X will not overshadow the industry, but in its category, it looks pretty interesting with its 18: 9 screen of 5.5 inches (640 x 1280 pixels), a processor Mediatek 6737W quad -core with 2 GB of RAM. The camera is announced at 8 Mpx, the battery life is based on a 3000 mAh battery. We regret the reduced storage to 16 GB, but there is a microSD card space in addition.

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Apple iPhone SE

While the segment of very small smartphones is deserted by manufacturers who simply offer machines often disappointing in use, Apple’s proposal is a hit. Its iPhone SE, perfect is the ageing iPhone 5 or even 5s, is like an iPhone 6s in very compact format. Its performance and its wide autonomy presage of an excellent life and this very balanced machine answers perfectly to a precise problematic: to target a population in search of a small smartphone effective and usable with only one hand. For this target, it will be the best choice currently.

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