Best Camera Phones Under 500 dollars – So, what are the best camera phones under $500 out there for those who’d like to forgo the standard phones and buy the best possible camera phones under the budget of $500? We’re here to take you through the Top 10 Best Camera Phones $500 2019.
Best Camera Phones Under $500
Product:
Rank:
Rating:
Asus Zenfone 5Z
1st under $500
9.5 out of 10
LG G6
2nd under $500
9.4 out of 10
Essential Phone
3rd under $500
9.3 out of 10
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
4th under $500
9.3 out of 10
OnePlus 5
5th under $500
9.2 out of 10
Huawei Honor 9
6th under $500
9.2 out of 10
Huawei P10
7th under $500
9.1 out of 10
Huawei Honor 8
8th under $500
9.1 out of 10
Asus Zenfone 4
9th under $500
9 out of 10
Motorola Moto Z2 Play
10th under $500
8.9 out of 10
Now that a growing number of smartphone manufacturers are trading their smartphones at cheaper cost points, it’s much easier for customers to afford an off-contract camera phone rather than purchasing the one with a two-year deal. The way that the best camera smartphones are priced has changed dramatically, and that’s one good thing.
Best Camera Phones
Asus Zenfone 5Z
Asus ZenFone 5Z smartphone comes with a 6.20-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 2246 pixels. The Asus ZenFone 5Z is powered by an octa-core processor and comes with 8GB of RAM. The phone contains 64 GB of internal storage that can be expanded via a microSD card. As for cameras, the Asus ZenFone 5Z has dual 12+8-megapixel primary camera on the back and an 8-megapixel front-end shooter for selfies.
The Asus ZenFone 5Z runs on Android 8.0 and is powered by a 3300mAh. The Asus ZenFone 5Z is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM and GSM) that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, USB OTG, FM, 3G, and 4G. The phone’s sensors include a proximity sensor, an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor and a gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Screen size | 6.2-inches |
| Screen resolution | 2,246 x 1,080 |
| Screen type | IPS |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Rear camera | 12-megapixel and 8-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 64/128/256GB |
| Memory card slot | microSD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 153 x 75.7 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 155g |
| Operating system | Android 8.0 |
| Battery size | 3,300mAh |
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LG G6
LG G6 smartphone comes with a 5.70-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1440 pixels by 2880 pixels at an IPP of 564 pixels per inch. LG G6 comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone contains 32 GB of internal storage that can be expanded via microSD card. As for the cameras, the LG G6 has a 13-megapixel primary camera on the back and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The LG G6 runs on Android 7.0 and is powered by a non-removable battery of 3300mAh.
It measures 148.90 x 71.90 x 7.90 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 163.00 grams. The LG G6 is a unique SIM (GSM) smartphone that accepts a Nano-SIM card. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, USB OTG, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass / Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Quad-core Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Screen size | 5.7-inches |
| Screen resolution | 2880 x 1440 |
| Screen type | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 5-megapixel |
| Rear camera | dual 13-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 32/64/128GB |
| Memory card slot | microSD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 163g |
| Operating system | Android 7.0 |
| Battery size | 3,300mAh |
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Essential Phone
Essential Phone Smartphone comes with a 5.71-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1312 pixels by 2560 pixels. The Essential phone is powered by 1.9 GHz octa-core processor and it comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone contains 128 GB of internal storage that can not be expanded. As for cameras, the Essential Phone includes a 13-megapixel primary camera on the back and an 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The Essential phone runs on Android and is powered by a non-removable 3040mAh battery.
It measures 141.50 x 71.10 x 7.80 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 185.00 grams. The Essential Phone is a unique SIM (GSM) smartphone that accepts a Nano-SIM card. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, USB OTG, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass / Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyroscope, and Barometer.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Screen size | 5.71-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1312 x 2560 |
| Screen type | LTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Rear camera | Dual 13-megapixel |
| Flash | LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 128GB |
| Memory card slot | no |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 141.5 x 71.1 x 7.8 mm |
| Weight | 185g |
| Operating system | Android 7.1 |
| Battery size | 3,040mAh |
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- Beautiful screen, Great feel, Super camera
- Slight plastic feel, Expensive
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone comes with a 5.50-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1440 pixels by 2560 pixels at a PPI of 534 pixels per inch. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is powered by a 1.6GHz octa-core processor and it comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone contains 32 GB of internal storage that can be expanded via microSD card. As for cameras, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has a 12-megapixel primary camera on the back and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge runs on Android 6.0 and is powered by a non-removable battery of 3600mAh. It measures 150.90 x 72.60 x 7.70 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 157.00 grams. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM and GSM). Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, USB OTG, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass / Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyroscope, and Barometer.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Screen size | 5.5-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1440 x 2560 |
| Screen type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 5-megapixel |
| Rear camera | 12-megapixel |
| Flash | LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 32/128/256GB |
| Memory card slot | microSD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm |
| Weight | 157g |
| Operating system | Android 6.0 |
| Battery size | 3,600mAh |
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OnePlus 5
- Premium design, Fantastic camera, Decent performance
- Pricier than previous iterations, Only Full HD resolution, no micro-SD card slot
The OnePlus 5 smartphone comes with a 5.50-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. The OnePlus 5 is powered by a 1.9 GHz octa-core processor and comes with 6GB of RAM. The phone contains 64 GB of internal storage that can not be expanded. As for cameras, the OnePlus 5 contains a 16-megapixel primary camera on the back and a 16-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The OnePlus 5 runs Android 7.1.1 and is powered by a non-removable battery of 3300mAh. It measures 154.20 x 74.10 x 7.25 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 153.00 grams. The OnePlus 5 is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM and GSM) that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, USB OTG, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass, Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 |
| RAM | 6/8GB |
| Screen size | 5.5-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Screen type | Optic AMOLED capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 16-megapixel |
| Rear camera | Dual 16+20-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 64/128GB |
| Memory card slot | no |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 154.2 x 74.1 x 7.3 mm |
| Weight | 153g |
| Operating system | Android 7.1.1 |
| Battery size | 3,300mAh |
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Huawei Honor 9
- Attractive design, Affordable, Great performance
- Single speaker, No optical image stabilization, Heavy bezel
The Huawei Honor 9 smartphone comes with a 5.15-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 428 pixels per inch. The Huawei Honor 9 is powered by a 1.8GHz octa-core processor and it comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone contains 64 GB of internal storage that can be expanded to 256 GB via microSD card. As for the cameras, the Huawei Honor 9 has a 20-megapixel primary camera on the back and an 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The Huawei Honor 9 runs Android 7.0. It measures 147.30 x 70.90 x 7.45 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 155.00 grams. The Huawei Honor 9 is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM and GSM) that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 3G, and 4G. The phone’s sensors include a proximity sensor, an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor and a gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 960 |
| RAM | 4/6GB |
| Screen size | 5.15-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Screen type | LTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Rear camera | Dual 12+20-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 64/128GB |
| Memory card slot | micro-SD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 147.3 x 70.9 x 7.5 mm |
| Weight | 155g |
| Operating system | Android 7.0 |
| Battery size | 3,200mAh |
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Huawei P10
- Improved design, Fast fingerprint scanner, decent performance
- Battery life isn’t great
The Huawei P10 smartphone comes with a 5.10-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. The Huawei P10 is powered by an octa-core processor and it comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone contains 64 GB of internal storage that can be expanded to 256 GB via microSD card. As for cameras, the Huawei P10 includes a 20-megapixel primary camera on the back and a 12-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The Huawei P10 runs on Android 7.0 and is powered by a non-removable battery of 3100mAh. The Huawei P10 is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM and GSM) that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass / Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 960 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Screen size | 5.1-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Screen type | IPS-NEO LCD capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Rear camera | Dual 12+20-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 32/64GB |
| Memory card slot | micro-SD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 145.3 x 69.3 x 7 mm |
| Weight | 145g |
| Operating system | Android 7.0 |
| Battery size | 3,200mAh |
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Huawei Honor 8
- Gorgeous design, Fast fingerprint sensor gestures, Great dual camera design
- No OIS on the camera, small battery
The Huawei Honor 8 smartphone comes with a 5.20-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 423 pixels per inch. The Huawei Honor 8 is powered by a 1.8GHz octa-core processor and it comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone contains 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded via microSD card. As for cameras, the Huawei Honor 8 has a 12-megapixel primary camera on the back and an 8-megapixel front-end shooter for selfies.
The Huawei Honor 8 runs on Android 6.0 and is powered by a non-removable 3000mAh battery. It measures 145.50 x 71.00 x 7.45 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 153.00 grams. The Huawei Honor 8 is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM) that accepts the Nano-SIMsmartphone. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, USB OTG, FM, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass / Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 950 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Screen size | 5.2-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Screen type | LTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Rear camera | Dual 12-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 32/64GB |
| Memory card slot | micro-SD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 145.5 x 71 x 7.5 mm |
| Weight | 153g |
| Operating system | Android 6.0 |
| Battery size | 3,000mAh |
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Asus Zenfone 4
- Beautiful design, Nice camera, Decent battery life
- Average display, Not the fastest CPU
The Asus ZenFone 4 smartphone comes with a 5.50-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. Asus ZenFone 4 comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone contains 64 GB of internal storage that can be expanded via a microSD card. As for cameras, the Asus ZenFone 4 includes a 12-megapixel primary camera on the back and an 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The Asus ZenFone 4 runs on Android 7.0 and is powered by a non-removable battery of 3300mAh. It measures 155.40 x 75.20 x 7.50 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 165.00 grams. The Asus ZenFone 4 is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM and GSM) that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, headphones, FM, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass / Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 |
| RAM | 4/6GB |
| Screen size | 5.5-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Screen type | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Rear camera | Dual 12+8-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Memory card slot | micro-SD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 155.4 x 75.2 x 7.7 mm |
| Weight | 165g |
| Operating system | Android 7.1.1 |
| Battery size | 3,300mAh |
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Motorola Moto Z2 Play
- Innovative modular design, Great battery life, Bright display
- Poor graphical power, expensive mods
The Motorola Moto Z2 Play smartphone comes with a 5.50-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 401 pixels per inch. The Motorola Moto Z2 Play is powered by an octa-core 2.2 GHz processor and it comes with 4 GB of RAM. The phone contains 64 GB of internal storage that can be expanded via microSD card. As for the cameras, the Motorola Moto Z2 Play includes a 12-megapixel primary camera on the back and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The Motorola Moto Z2 Play runs on Android 7.1.1 and is powered by a non-removable 3000mAh battery. It measures 156.20 x 76.20 x 5.99 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 145.00 grams. The Motorola Moto Z2 Play is a dual SIM smartphone (GSM and GSM) that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 3G, and 4G. The sensors on the phone include Compass / Magnetometer, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope.
| SPECIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Octa-core Qualcomm MSM8953-Pro Snapdragon 626 |
| RAM | 3/4GB |
| Screen size | 5.5-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Screen type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen |
| Front camera | 5-megapixel |
| Rear camera | 12-megapixel |
| Flash | Dual-LED |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Memory card slot | micro-SD |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G |
| Dimensions | 156.2 x 76.2 x 6 mm |
| Weight | 145g |
| Operating system | Android 7.1.1 |
| Battery size | 3,000mAh |
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Final Words
In right lighting conditions, the differences between our Top 10 Best Camera Phone Under $500 are negligible, and they all perform well. The differences become visible in specialist areas. Regarding different brightness levels, the newer automatic HDR functions prove their worth. But an OIS (optical image stabilizer) is still helpful in the dark, and this is missing with the budget-friendly, new models. But the problem of which camera performs best overall depends on where you are using it and what you use it for.
So, which smartphone delivers the best image quality for your needs? What do you think? What phone would you like to see on our list? What is the Best Camera Phone according to you? Be sure to speak up in the comment section at the bottom of the post and also let us know if you like our article on Best Camera Phone Under $500
