Good Android Camera Phone within 25k

[mohityadavx]

1. Budget? Rs. 25000 (Please don't stretch it too much)
2. Display type and size? Dont want too big a phone, 4.7" max (Would prefer smaller)
3. Dual sim? Would prefer it supports dual sim but its not a deal breaker
4. Preferred choice of brand? Don't want unreliable brands like Micromax, Lava, Karbon etc. Also no HTC pleased, had terrible experience with it earlier
5. What camera option you want (flash, front facing camera)? Flash and decent front facing camera , need a good camera though
6. Preferred operating system? (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc). Android only
7. Preferred connectivity options (3G, 4G ready). 3G (4G is not a must)
8. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, internet, gaming etc)? Photography, casual gaming and social networking
9. Any specific mobile phones in consideration? None
10. Any other info that you want to share
Would prefer a phone with decent battery life.

 

[the.one]

The only high end devices with less than 5 inch size i know are z3 compact and galaxy alpha..

Some with 5 inch and decent cams are Mi4/Mi4i, Honor 6, vibe x2.

If you're fine with WP, L640/L730 have decent shooters too and will save you lot of money.

 

[ankushv]

S5 @ 23k on flip kart at 5.1 in screen . Great amoled screen but no lte .

 

[kkn13]

samsung S5 has a poor camera,it heats up after sometime of use and takes massively oversatured photos
even its display has unnatural colours and is oversaturated
as for LTE,very few phones will support LTE in India because India uses TDD LTE not FDD LTE so even buying an LTE phone is pointless unless it specifically supports TDD(extremely rare to find such phones , only 4-5 TDD phones in India)

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One Plus One and Mi4 have the best cameras in this range
both have Sony Exmor sensors which are the best sensors in android phones

nothing comes close to Lumia 640XL and 730 though,both have unmatched displays and cameras in this range,even battery life is top notch at 1.5-2 days of rough use

 

[ankushv]

Coming from a galaxy note , s3 and s4 once you experience amoled screens there's no turning back . just my humble opinion . Also in my humble opinion all my Samsung flagship phone cameras are good for my needs .
BTW I have the redmi 1s and the camera is quite good for its price . But the same cannot be said about my moto g first gen and redmi note 4 g .
Just my 2 cents .

 

[SaiyanGoku]

+1 to Xperia Z3 compact.

Consider oneplus one too despite the 5.5" screen size.

 

[$hadow]

Pick Mi4 or Z3 C is also a good option.

 

[mohityadavx]

Thanks guys! Guess will go for Xperia Z3 compact as am not particularly inclined towards Xiaomi/One Plus One

 

[devil'sdouble]

Galaxy S5 should be the first choice. Xperia Z3 Compact if for some reason you don't like it.

Reported Post 4 for spreading utter nonsense and misleading information.

 

[omega44-xt]

samsung S5 has a poor camera,it heats up after sometime of use and takes massively oversatured photos
even its display has unnatural colours and is oversaturated
as for LTE,very few phones will support LTE in India because India uses TDD LTE not FDD LTE so even buying an LTE phone is pointless unless it specifically supports TDD(extremely rare to find such phones , only 4-5 TDD phones in India)

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One Plus One and Mi4 have the best cameras in this range
both have Sony Exmor sensors which are the best sensors in android phones

nothing comes close to Lumia 640XL and 730 though,both have unmatched displays and cameras in this range,even battery life is top notch at 1.5-2 days of rough use

Seriously???
S5 has the best camera under 25k. It does over saturate pics a bit, but pics do look good, which most people prefer
As far as display is concerned, just change the mode & you are good to go with natural colours.
(Till S4, i too agree that the normal mode wasn't upto par, but since S5 I would say Samsung AMOLEDs are the best displays)

OPO & 640XL are too big for OP

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Thanks guys! Guess will go for Xperia Z3 compact as am not particularly inclined towards Xiaomi/One Plus One

Good choice....

I got one too recently @ 23k from eBay (Imported one)
Otherwise you would have to spend 30k for it, but it will have manufacturer warranty

 

[mohityadavx]

My dad uses S5, and while it has a really great camera, it simple has too many issues, for a phone that powerful, it hangs way too often and has plethora of other issues. Some friends had bought Xiaomi and their after sales service is terrible, I dont know about One Plus One but extrapolating it from Xiaomi, Micromax and host of others I am bit reluctant to buy the same.

 

[dashing.sujay]

samsung S5 has a poor camera,it heats up after sometime of use and takes massively oversatured photos
even its display has unnatural colours and is oversaturated

Sometimes, it's better to quote references rather than passing a personal comment (that too highly controversial) every time.

 

[devil'sdouble]

My dad uses S5, and while it has a really great camera, it simple has too many issues, for a phone that powerful, it hangs way too often and has plethora of other issues. Some friends had bought Xiaomi and their after sales service is terrible, I dont know about One Plus One but extrapolating it from Xiaomi, Micromax and host of others I am bit reluctant to buy the same.

Is your dad on Lollipop? If so, there shouldn't be much lags. No skinned implementation could be as bare (thus smooth) as stock Android, but Lollipop TouchWiz is one of the best which is out there, along with Sense. And what are those other issues to be precise?

In any case, if your dad has an S5, then you get the Z3 Compact, or the Alpha as someone said on last page. No point in having same phone, at least I think that way. But whatever you do just stay with good brands, Samsung, HTC, Sony those are, because you have good budget.

You could also look at the Desire Eye, if you are interested to try your luck with non-warranty unit, those are widely available on Ebay.

 

[ankushv]

Everyone loves to hate Touch Wiz . But after trying cm11/12/12.1 on my various Samsung flagship phones (note 1 , s3 , s4 ) I'm always back to stock rom . Besides tw on lollipop is great in my s4 . Cm always had issues .
Battery drain or camera problem or sound problem or Sim card not detecting problem or WhatsApp call/video problem etc . So I could not use it as a daily driver hence switched back to stock .
BTW I'm not talking about cyanogen os which is probably stable . I'm talking cyanogen mod roms .

 

[kkn13]

Seriously???
S5 has the best camera under 25k. It does over saturate pics a bit, but pics do look good, which most people prefer
As far as display is concerned, just change the mode & you are good to go with natural colours.
(Till S4, i too agree that the normal mode wasn't upto par, but since S5 I would say Samsung AMOLEDs are the best displays)

OPO & 640XL are too big for OP

Not true
Its camera is nowhere near the Xperia and Lumia line up at all
same goes for its display, settings cant change hardware problems
it doesnt have the best camera under 25k at all
even Mi4 camera is miles ahead

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Sometimes, it's better to quote references rather than passing a personal comment (that too highly controversial) every time.

oh yeah?
funny how you people will keep glorifying Samsung
ive had like 3-4 samsungs at home
heck my dad had a Note 3 and an S5 , I pretty much know what im talking about

also Im in the exact stream - films, photography etc , I can pretty much comment on quality etc because ive grown up having an eye for good quality photos,displays,speakers etc
my parents have editing studios

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Is your dad on Lollipop? If so, there shouldn't be much lags. No skinned implementation could be as bare (thus smooth) as stock Android, but Lollipop TouchWiz is one of the best which is out there, along with Sense. And what are those other issues to be precise?

In any case, if your dad has an S5, then you get the Z3 Compact, or the Alpha as someone said on last page. No point in having same phone, at least I think that way. But whatever you do just stay with good brands, Samsung, HTC, Sony those are, because you have good budget.

You could also look at the Desire Eye, if you are interested to try your luck with non-warranty unit, those are widely available on Ebay.

^^ This!! Get Z3C or HTC imho
some people have even grabbed HTC E8 for 24k recently in my friend circle
good buy, has decent size too

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even Moto X is decent
display is 5.2 and is pretty good to hold
camera is a bit of a let down despite being an Exmor sensor
still above average though

 

[mohityadavx]

Is your dad on Lollipop? If so, there shouldn't be much lags. No skinned implementation could be as bare (thus smooth) as stock Android, but Lollipop TouchWiz is one of the best which is out there, along with Sense. And what are those other issues to be precise?

In any case, if your dad has an S5, then you get the Z3 Compact, or the Alpha as someone said on last page. No point in having same phone, at least I think that way. But whatever you do just stay with good brands, Samsung, HTC, Sony those are, because you have good budget.

You could also look at the Desire Eye, if you are interested to try your luck with non-warranty unit, those are widely available on Ebay.

I am not sure what version is he using, I will have to check that. It used to overheat, and once it had issues with the microphone, also had call drop issues in between, basically within almost a year, we had to submit the phone thrice to the service center. I am not sure if this particular phone has some problems, or is it with S5 but anyways I dont wanna suffer similar fate all over again. Also, as you mentioned two different phone makes more sense.

 

[kkn13]

I am not sure what version is he using, I will have to check that. It used to overheat, and once it had issues with the microphone, also had call drop issues in between, basically within almost a year, we had to submit the phone thrice to the service center. I am not sure if this particular phone has some problems, or is it with S5 but anyways I dont wanna suffer similar fate all over again. Also, as you mentioned two different phone makes more sense.

its just samsung issues
people may not be ready to admit it but they have serious issues
my dads S5 and Note 3 had similar issues

 

[devil'sdouble]

Everyone loves to hate Touch Wiz . But after trying cm11/12/12.1 on my various Samsung flagship phones (note 1 , s3 , s4 ) I'm always back to stock rom . Besides tw on lollipop is great in my s4 . Cm always had issues .
Battery drain or camera problem or sound problem or Sim card not detecting problem or WhatsApp call/video problem etc . So I could not use it as a daily driver hence switched back to stock .
BTW I'm not talking about cyanogen os which is probably stable . I'm talking cyanogen mod roms .

Cyanogen Mod is one of the most unstable thing there is in Android world. No, I don't care what the lovers/ fans say. I used it on S2, then tried it on my Note 3 too, there is not a single ROM which could have more bugs.
TocuchWiz Lollipop is good, probably even very good to some extent.

I am not sure what version is he using, I will have to check that. It used to overheat, and once it had issues with the microphone, also had call drop issues in between, basically within almost a year, we had to submit the phone thrice to the service center. I am not sure if this particular phone has some problems, or is it with S5 but anyways I dont wanna suffer similar fate all over again. Also, as you mentioned two different phone makes more sense.

Dude, that is not a Samsung S5! I am sorry to say, either you are very unfortunate person to have a phone like that or you are just complaining because you hate Samsung. Samsung flagship phones have the most strong signal reception amongst them all (barring BB and Nokia). My last two phones were Moto X and LG G3, both would lose signal in places where my Note 3 keeps up, and not only keeps up, the signal is quite strong too! So no more LG nonsense for me, honestly the Nokia 1200 I have keeps up better reception than that, and I have a business, talking is one of the main priority here. Head over to XDA, and you will know anyway.
One of my client has S5, and it is quite honestly a fantastic phone, it's kinda big for the screen size, but still.

Off topic: I am shocked with the kind of nonsense goes on in this forum site! LOL! Never in my life I have visited a forum site where so much nonsense is posted, and allowed. Though whose loss is it anyway!

 

[Faun]

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION]
Don't exaggerate or sensationalize.

 

[kkn13]

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION]
Don't exaggerate or sensationalize.

Im not
sorry if I lost it there
Im just tired of people glorifying companies

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Cyanogen Mod is one of the most unstable thing there is in Android world. No, I don't care what the lovers/ fans say. I used it on S2, then tried it on my Note 3 too, there is not a single ROM which could have more bugs.
TocuchWiz Lollipop is good, probably even very good to some extent.

the reason for that is mainly Exynos