Best Camera Smartphones Under 15000 (September): Realme 5 Pro, Mi A3, Vivo Z1 Pro, Realme 3 Pro, Note 7 Pro, Galaxy M30, Honor 20i

Finding the best smartphone under Rs 15000? We got a whole bunch of some of the best camera smartphones you can buy under 15000. Realme 5 Pro tops the list with a quad camera system powered by the 48MP Sony sensor. The list is followed by the newly launched Xiaomi Mi A3 with a triple camera system and Redmi Note 7 Pro with a dual camera setup.

All the top three camera smartphones under 15000 list are powered by the 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor.

The September edition of the top camera smartphones under 15000 rupees list remains mostly the same except for a couple of additions. Both Mi A3 and Realme 5 Pro have pushed Note 7 Pro and Realme 3 Pro down. Vivo Z1 Pro sticks to the list. Here goes our latest September list of the top camera smartphones under 15000.

Only the best camera smartphones under Rs 15,000 are listed based on camera performance, outdoor quality, low light shots, sensors for different purposes and image processing.

Realme 5 Pro

Realme 5 Pro comes with a high quality polycarbonate body on the out sporting a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ for protection. The device offers a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels with a water drop notch on top. Realme 5 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 712 SoC, the same chip which powers Vivo Z1 Pro with 4GB, 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage.

Rear Camera: Realme 5 Pro is the only quad rear camera smartphone under Rs 15,000 with a primary 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 primary sensor. The f/1.8 sensor couples with an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle with an f/2.25 aperture and a 119-degree wide-angle lens.

Front Camera: Upfront the device comes with a 16-megapixel Sony IMX471 selfie camera.

Camera Performance: Pictures taken in normal model on the new Realme 5 Pro come out sharp and crisp.. They are well detailed with great contrast, but the colors are not exactly accurate, but it can be fixed via some updates. You will notice that the smartphone uses AI to boost up the colours, which can be controlled to an extent. Orelse, it works fine.

The HDR mode works well adding details in shadows and highlights. 

Chrome Boost helps to improve the dynamic range and dial up the colours to a huge extent. The last two lenses are a 2-megapixel macro lens and a 2-megapixel portrait lens with f/2.4 aperture. You can take some good macro shots, while the portraits lack details.

Both the cameras upfront and back offer electronic image stabilisation (EIS). Realme 5 Pro runs on a sizable 4,035mAh battery supporting VOOC 3.0 fast charging along with the compatible 20W fast charger in the box. Overall, it’s a great camera smartphone on a budget offering great results in all the departments.

Xiaomi Mi A3

The third generation Mi A3 has been unveiled recently, and the smartphone will sell starting at Rs 12,999 in the country. With a very good 3D curved glass design on the out, Mi A3 feels very premium and compact. It features a 6.08-inch HD+ AMOLED display with a circular drop styled notch and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The handset comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor, full-glass body with gradient finish and a triple camera system.

Rear Camera: At the back Mi A3 comes with a triple camera system featuring the 48-megapixel primary Sony IMX 586 sensor, an 8-megapixel secondary sensor with a 118-degree and a wide-angle 2-megapixel tertiary sensor. 

Front Camera: Upfront, Mi A3 features a 32-megapixel selfie camera. It can take some great wide-shots, even in low-light.

Camera Performance: The new Mi A3 offers some great camera performance on a budget. With the three camera setup at the back, the price justifies for the performance it offers. It matches the likes of Note 7 Pro and Realme 5 Pro, and at times better. The contrast is great, details are good, colors are accurate and natural. The wide-angle lens come in handy at times.

Xiaomi Mi A3 is powered by Snapdragon 665 SoC coupled with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage. Both the variants of the Mi A smartphone supports UFS 2.1 storage capabilities. The device is backed by a 4,000+mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging (ships with standard 10W charger in the box).

Redmi Note 7 Pro

Starting with the most-popular smartphone in the list, Redmi Note 7 Pro continues to top the list of current best smartphones under 15,000 rupees. The top mid-range smartphone from Redmi comes with a premium glass design body on the out sandwiched between Corning Gorilla Glass 5 body. Redmi Note 7 Pro on top has a 6.3-inch Full HD+ dot notched display.

Rear Camera: At the back, Redmi Note 7 Pro packs in a dual camera system comprising of the 48MP Sony IMX 586 sensor as its primary lens coupled with a 5MP secondary depth sensor.

Front Camera: Upfront, Redmi Note 7 Pro packs in a 13-megapixel wide shooter.

Camera Performance: It’s the only smartphone to come with the original 48MP Sony IMX 586 sensor. All photos come out sharp and well detailed with top contrast and almost accurate colors. At times, the camera struggles to capture details, if you zoom in. The HDR mode works well adding details in shadows and highlights. Colours are very natural compared to rivals.

Redmi Note 7 Pro runs on the 11nm Snapdragon 675 processor with on MIUI 10 top based on Android 9 Pie backed by a 4,000mAh battery supporting 18W fast charge (ships with the standard 10W charger in the box). The smartphone is available starting at just Rs 13,999 via Flipkart and Mi.com for the base model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage.

Vivo Z1 Pro

The newly launched Vivo Z1 Pro is the latest to join the under 15,000 list. house a massive battery powered by fast charging capabilities. The smartphone comes with a 6.53-inch Full HD+ display offering a screen-to-body ratio of 90.77 per cent and a punch-hole inside the display. Z1 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 processor with a 3 camera system at the back panel.

Rear Camera: Coming to optics, Vivo Z1 Pro uses a 16-megapixel sensor, an 8-megapixel super-wide secondary sensor and finally a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Front Camera: Upfront, the Vivo phone packs in a 32-megapixel selfie shooter.

Camera Performance: Vivo Z1 Pro does a good job for its price in terms of overall photography. Maybe not be better than Note 7 Pro, but not bad either. The contrast is great, details are fine, colors are great and the sensors do their job well. HDR improves dynamic range and the wide-angle camera does use the lens correctly to come in handy at times.

Vivo Z1 Pro runs on Android 9 Pie with Funtouch 9.0 on top. As a plus, Vivo Z1 Pro comes with a huge 5,000mAh battery. It supports 18W fast charging technology and also packs in a fast charger inside the box. It takes around 2 hours to fully charge from 0 to 100 perfect. Charging it for around 40 minutes can ease you through the day.

Realme 3 Pro

Up next, Realme has it’s mid-range winner under 15,000, the Realme 3 Pro. The super budget smartphone from Realme scores high in almost all the departments. Realme 3 Pro comes with a high polycarbonate body on the featuring a 6.3-inch full HD+ water drop notched display on top. It has added Gorilla Glass 5 with a gradient design at the back.

Rear Camera: At the back, the smartphone has a dual camera setup featuring a 16MP Sony IMX 519 sensor. The main sensor has an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 5MP depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. It’s the same camera as OnePlus 6T.

Front Camera: Up front, Realme 3 Pro uses a 25MP selfie shooter with an f/2.0 aperture.

Camera Performance: Pictures taken in normal model come out sharp. They are well detailed with great contrast, but the colors are not exactly accurate. It uses AI to boost up the colours. Orelse, it works fine. The HDR mode works well adding details in shadows and highlights. Chrome Boost helps to improve the dynamic range and dial up the colours to a huge extent.

Running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor, Realme 3 Pro available in two variants with the new ColorOS 6.0 on top based on Android 9 Pie. The whole Realme 3 Pro package is backed by a 4,045 mAh battery supporting VOOC 3.0 fast charging (20W) with a Micro USB powered brick inside the box. Realme 3 Pro is available starting at Rs 12,999 via Flipkart.

Samsung Galaxy M30

Taking the list further, it’s the hit Samsung Galaxy M30 smartphone next on the list. Samsung Galaxy M30 is one of the only smartphones in list to feature a triple camera setup at under Rs 15,000. Galaxy M30 dons a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Full HD+ display featuring a water drop notch on top called the Infinity-V display. On the outside, it’s a high-quality plastic polycarbonate body with gradient finishes.

Rear Camera: The triple camera system on Galaxy M30 features a 13-megapixel f/1.9 primary shooter coupled with a 5-megapixel ultra-wide lens and a third 5-megapixel depth lens.

Front Camera: Upfront, Samsung Galaxy M30 comes with a 16-megapixel wide sensor.

Camera Performance: The Galaxy M30 offers some great camera performance on a budget. One of the only smartphones to come with a three camera setup, the price justifies for the performance it offers. It matches the likes of Note 7 Pro and Realme 3 Pro, and at times better. The contrast is great, details are good, colors are accurate and natural. The wide-angle lens come in handy at times.

The smartphone runs on Samsung’s own in-house Exynos 7904 SoC octa-core chip coupled with 4GB or 6GB of RAM. Galaxy M30 runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with One UI on top backed by a massive 5,000mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging (ships with the fast charging supported adapter in the box). The base model of Galaxy M30 starts at Rs 13,990.

Honor 20i

The newly launched Honor 20 series has a perfect camera smartphone at under 15,000 bucks. A toned-down model of the original Honor 20, the new Honor 20i comes with a three camera setup at the back along with a super 32MP camera sensor upfront. On top Honor 20i has an edge to edge water drop notched display measuring 6.21-inches.

It’s a Full HD+ display offering an immersive experience with a thin chin down under. Honor 20i is powered by a Kirin 710 chipset running on Android 9.0 Pie with EMUI 9 skin on top.

Rear Camera: Honor 20i sports a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 24MP primary lens, an 8MP wide angle lens and a 2MP depth sensor.

Front Camera: Up front, the Honor phone has a 32MP camera.

Camera Performance: In broad daylight the shots come out well offering a lot of details and good contrast. The colors are a bit artificial at times and are almost without any noise. AI plays a big role. Overall, it’s good even it artificial and low light. There’s also a special dedicated night mode for long-exposed shots. 

The Honor 20i comes with 4GB RAM and 128GB memory, backed a considerable 3,400mAh battery. Currently, after the price cut, Honor 20i is available at under 15,000 rupees starting at Rs 14,999, making it a perfect option for an all-round performance along with some great camera performance.