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5 best camera phones for perfect holiday photos – for less than £600
Yasmine specialises in shopping advice and finding the best deals during sales events like Black Friday, helping readers get great value for their money.
Avoid the disappointment of blurry or washed-out holiday photos by upgrading your smartphone camera before your next adventure.
To help you choose, Which? tests phone cameras across 10 different real-world environments. We check front and rear lenses for crisp zoom, even flash and accurate colours.
One thing has become clear from our testing: exceptional quality doesn't have to break the bank.
Here are five fantastic, rigorously tested smartphones that all cost less than £600.
For more options, take a look at our guide to the best smartphones
Can an affordable phone match a flagship for holiday snaps?
Adam Speight, Which? smartphone expert, says:
'You don't have to drain your bank account to capture those holiday memories. Sure, the most expensive flagships on the market pack staggering hardware that will suit photography fanatics. But for anyone just trying to photograph a squinting family or a nice beach sunset, shelling out for absolute peak performance is overkill.
'Look around today, and you'll find phones taking brilliant pictures at virtually every price point – right down to the most affordable tiers.
'Building a lovely album relies on a dependable handset that focuses in a flash and handles harsh, glaring sunlight well. Just grab a solid all-rounder that fits your budget.'
Phones with great cameras for less than £600
Log in or sign up to Which? to find out which phones are great at taking holiday snaps.
Popular smartphones among Which? members
These are some of the most popular handsets with Which? members and among our most-clicked online reviews.
iPhone 17
- iOS
- 6.3-inch screen
- 2,622 x 1,206 pixel resolution
We like: Generous storage
We don’t like: New iOS design makes apps harder to distinguish
Apple’s latest smartphone, the iPhone 17, has a 6.3-inch screen, three cameras and the A16 chipset. Combined, those should bode well for the quality of photos you can compose and shoot.
The front camera even has the clever ‘Center Stage’ auto-framing feature that tracks your face and keeps you centred.
Read our iPhone 17 review.
Google Pixel 10
- 6.3 inches
- 2,424 x 1,080 pixel resolution
- Three cameras
We like: 5 x optical zoom
We don’t like: Not a massive upgrade from Pixel 9
Google’s latest Pixel 10 smartphone features a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 1,080 x 2,424-pixel resolution and is powered by Google’s newest in-house Tensor G5 chip.
There’s a triple camera setup: a 48Mp main wide lens (with a macro focus mode for close ups), a 13Mp ultra-wide, along with a 10.8Mp telephoto lens that supports 5x optical zoom, something previous Pixels lacked. The front-facing selfie camera is a 10.5Mp wide lens.
Read our Google Pixel 10 review.
Samsung Galaxy A26
- 6.7 inches
- 2,340 x 1,080 pixel resolution
- Four cameras
We like: Super affordable
We don’t like: No wireless charging
From Samsung’s cheaper A range, the Samsung Galaxy A26 has a big screen and a four-lens camera system made up of a 50Mp main camera, an 8Mp ultra-wide and a 2Mp macro sensor on the rear, and a 13Mp selfie camera on the front.
You can buy it in black, white or a pale minty green and with either 128GB or 256GB of memory.
Read our Samsung Galaxy A26 review.
