Budget (sub-$300 new) android phone with a decent camera?

[slackerinabox]

My dad's fairly happy with his galaxy nexus except for the sub-par camera. It now has a problem charging so it's time for an upgrade, any suggestions? The Moto G looks great other than the camera. I think we'd trade in some performance for better picture quality.

 

[Silenus]

Does it have to be new? Camera quality is one of the first things to go when cost needs to be reduced on phone. I'd argue that a USED Nexus 5 might be a good option. They are just getting down into the low or sub $300 dollar range now (but new is only $350). I was a Galaxy Nexus owner myself before my current Nexus 5 and I can tell you that while it might not be the best camera among current phones, it is CLEARLY much better than a Gnex camera. Overall a decent camera.

A used Moto X you can get now in the mid-high $200 range (or new for $313 on Amazon http://amzn.com/B00E92AV2W). That would be a nice step up from a Moto G in all respects including the camera.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The Moto X camera is really so-so. Honestly it is hard to get a "good" camera in Android for cheap, something that is a jump from the GNex is a price jump from the GNex.

Heck honestly I am waiting for the first "great" Android camera. Nexus 5, the Ss, the HTC 1 or M8 all have flaws. I thought HTC was going to nail it this gen, but instead they did that dual camera thing.

Does it have to be Android OP? I see the Nokia 1020 for less than $300 on Swappa, which is an excellent camera.

 

[slackerinabox]

The Moto X camera is really so-so. Honestly it is hard to get a "good" camera in Android for cheap, something that is a jump from the GNex is a price jump from the GNex.

Heck honestly I am waiting for the first "great" Android camera. Nexus 5, the Ss, the HTC 1 or M8 all have flaws. I thought HTC was going to nail it this gen, but instead they did that dual camera thing.

Does it have to be Android OP? I see the Nokia 1020 for less than $300 on Swappa, which is an excellent camera.

It doesn't necessarily have to be android. I think they want an iPhone but it's not in their budget, so I offloaded my old gNex for a bit over a year and they're pretty used to the operating system now. WinPhone's not difficult to get used to though, so I'm open

 

[vi edit]

I'd go Samsung S4. Under $300 and Samsung does a decent camera in their later phones. I love the size and function of my Moto X but its camera really does suck.

 

[jdoggg12]

I've been eyeing the LG G2 on Swappa.com for a while now... it's hovering around $280 for mint condition phones.

 

[bearxor]

The Lumia 925 hovers in the $200 range and has a good camera.
You can pick up a 920 for about $150 if you're on AT&T.
You can get iPhone 4S's for $200 or less on swappa.com and they have a good camera as well.

 

[quikah]

I gave up no Android specifically for this reason, just missing out on too many picture opportunities. Went with a Lumia 925 for $200, great camera (bit slow to start though), some missing apps is disappointing, but meh, I deal.

 

[Bman123]

The camera on my G2 is pretty good, I've taken some nice pics with it lately. The OIS makes a big difference I never get fuzzy pics with this phone