10 Best Camera Mobiles Under £500

Old doesn’t need to mean bad

The prices for the best absolute mobile phones have simultaneously shot quickly upwards during the past few years. You don’t have to worry about the budget because naturally, the newest and hottest models generally take the best pictures but by the same token, you don’t need to pay out excessively high sums of money to get something really great.

Two great tips to live by

1. Start by looking at last year’s models.

Developments in mobile tech keep charging forward and onward, but not as dramatically or quickly as in previous years, which means you shouldn’t feel out of place with a phone that has some years under its name. Instead, you can find amazing offers last year’s top models, with most having really good cameras.

2. Look towards China

An alternative second tip is to look towards China where giant manufacturers (there, not yet here) like Xiaomi have begun making a name for themselves in the Swedish market with really useful, competent mobiles at attractive, affordable prices.

With that said, here are 10 choices of mobiles with great cameras, and some are also just great across the board!

1. Huawei P20 Pro

2018’s best mobile camera by far still keeps impressing. Huawei might experience some difficulties in the international market, but nothing that affects this phone. Huge, excellent photos and smart artificial intelligence (AI) that continually improves them.

2. Xiamoi Mi9

Spring’s top model from China’s Xiaomi has the most you could ask for in a mobile phone today. Whilst being a great phone, the camera also delivers great quality pictures that place it well above other cameras with tester DXOmark’s lists for mobile cameras.

3. Huawei P20

The ”little brother” P20 from Huawei has a smaller camera than the Pro-variant, but is not lacking in any way whatsoever with its photo-taking abilities. The model was already quite affordable when it was released and now the price for it has fallen quite significantly and now feels like an unbelievably cost-effective choice.

4. Samsung Galaxy S9+

Last year’s flagship product from Samsung is exactly everything that you could want in a mobile and it certainly does not leave much to be desired. Samsung has long been amongst the best at making mobile cameras and despite the tough year it’s had, the Galaxy S9+ still impresses and its has gone down significantly.

5. Pocophone F1

This sub-brand of Xiaomi takes cost-effectiveness one step further. Despite having a perceived low price, we note that it has both very good specs and a notably good camera, especially for the price it sells at.

6. Xiaomi Mi Mix 3

Yet another top model from Xiaomi with a low price point. This model boasts a real screen photo-shooting mechanism that exposes the selfie camera. The rear-camera is of course not forgotten and also performs really well.

7. HTC U12+

Yes, HTC still makes solid mobile phones even if they haven’t made a lot of public fanfare about themselves. The U12+ continues the company’s tradition of putting out high-quality mobiles, whilst simultaneously giving us an awesome camera to enjoy.

8. LG G7 Thinq

LG has also been a smaller player in the UK market over the past years, but that doesn’t mean that they make bad phones by any means. The G7 is as much a top model from last year as any other, but with a top-tier camera included.

9. Oneplus 6T

Oneplus is also a player in the market with cheaper phones from China. Here again, we’re looking at one of last year’s big sellers with the lively and dedicated Oneplus user forum, which is a big part of the charm with Oneplus. The camera also works very well and is frequently updated for further improvements.

10. Sony Xperia XZ3

Sony also has had a tough few years but that does not mean that they’re necessarily doing anything wrong. The XZ3 may have a bit of an irritating name but it delivers a quality camera experience in a mobile that definitely does not disappoint.