Pls Help me decide on the most cost effective phone when my biggest deciding factor is a nice camera but I'm not paying $800 for a dang phone - eviltoast

I’ve made a spreadsheet with a bunch of phone options. Mostly Samsung, Pixel, but there’s a couple Motorola and One Plus. I’m most comfortable with Samsung Galaxy but I’m open to changing. I looked up the main considerations and it seems like Megapixels is pretty much the biggest factor but I want something that can zoom in and still get a decent focus.

I can’t bring myself to spend $800 on a phone, I think the most I’ve ever spent is $350 and it felt painful but I’m also tired of being disappointed in my camera quality so I’m willing to go a little higher. My point being that I’m not asking for the best camera on the market because I’m sure I can’t afford it. Even used S53s are being sold for like $700 lol. So I’m guessing something a couple years older. Please advise 🙏

  • MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    Pixel 6a won the MKBHD camera contest. It’s very good, and is $329 new but often goes on sale, or is cheap used too.

    Also has lots of custom ROM support, if that’s something you’re interested in.

    • betsysoul@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, you really don’t need the exact latest generation when they’re released yearly.

      A Pixel 6a sounds like the perfect use case.