Hi all, I'm sure some of you out there can help out here.
My wife has requested a new phone for her birthday with her only requirement being that it sports a better camera than her existing phone - Xiaomi Mi4 4i. My only requirement (being an Ozbargainer) is that it be cheap! Thinking as close as possible to $200 (yep i know it's very cheap).
Can anyone out there point me in the right direction of a few options.
Thanks scrimshaw for all the info and your pics look great! I have a note 4 myself, unsure if it has the same cam or not as 4x?
No. Xiaomi is well known for sourcing camera modules from different suppliers even for the same line of phones. So you might end up buying a device that has a Samsung or Sony sensor, basically a lottery.
those are not my pics btw. you can search for device tags on Flickr and you can see photos that have device metadata in them.
Note 4x sells for $152.99 on Aliexpress, so that ends up being $195 AUD
Thanks again. I've never minded my shots in light but guess I've got no idea then who my module is from!
it has a better camera than existing…
haha as soon as I read that, I expected to see the words "for wife" or "for gf" in the post!
Quick question to OP, what's the camera for?
Because the difference in camera performance between the mid-range and the high-end is getting smaller and smaller.
On top of that, as each photo gets automatically converted to a different format at each shot, quality decreases, and so the differences become much smaller.
And then when you talk about well-light photos about subjects close to the lens, ie Regular shots, the differences again get smaller and smaller.
Then when they get uploaded to social media like Instagram and Facebook, they get heavily compressed bringing them neck and neck.
Lastly, when after-effects like Instagram filters are added… now the quality differences are indistinguishable.
So if they "need" a great camera, just for Instagram… perhaps you should rethink this a little?
It'll mostly be for full ppl light shots and at a pinch I'd say plenty with our newborn as the primary subject! She doesn't care so much about Instagram or Facebook but does now have a small photo printer she's firing some shots off. Otherwise it'll be usual outdoor travel shots.
Alright, so because of those use cases she would need a "good camera" but not a high-end one.
I would say a Samsung Galaxy S5 level is what you should target. Maybe a little better S Note 4 level also possible, it would be hard to filter for a decent handset at that amount if it must be new.
Would a refurbished/lightly used model be acceptable?
My only requirement (being an Ozbargainer) is that it be cheap! thinking as close as possible to $200 (yep i know it's very cheap).
Whoever said "true love doesn't come cheap" has never met you.
It's true! That said..in absolute terms is $200 on a bday present cheap? It certainly is for a phone though so I agree that much :)
Surely there must be some compact point-and-shoot cameras well below $200 with far superior photo quality than even the best phones? Plus optical zoom too.
Yep but let's be realistic here..it'd never leave the house!
As the old saying goes, the best camera you've got is the one with you right now.
Sorry, I don't know why (must've confused with another post) but I thought this was a camera to snap up a new baby, in which case it wouldn't even be noticed amongst all the baby paraphernalia.
You are right.
Redmi Note 4x?
review https://www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/xiaomi-redm…
Here are some shots taken with the Note 4x on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=redmi%20note%204x