Android Older flagship phones with good camera for video recording

iPwnz

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I need a phone mainly for video recording. Gaming will be minimal as I already have a PC. And some of you may know that I've been looking for one for almost a year now. It's almost Dec already and I still haven't found one. :hilarious:

Honestly saying I don't consider myself "picky", I just think that many of these phones are crap especially when it comes to video recording which doesn't seem to be a matter of concern for most since most use their phones only for taking pictures and selfies. I mean if you look at the camera specs many of them are just copies of another with minimal change and 2MP+2MP for depth and macro whatever they call it. Many of these phones have average quality even when it comes to still photos with major issues like oversaturation, lacking details etc etc.
Anyway, my original budget for the phone was 25k and I still could not find a good phone for my use even in this budget. Truly shocking. My requirements remain the same. I need dual sim and microSD slot or 256GB storage variant as I will obviously need a huge storage for all the media. I don't care too much about the SoC used. Good video recording requires good stabilization and this is usually provided by the gyro-EIS. There are some phones in 25k which have gyro-EIS and from the specs on paper one may think its an easy choice but truth is many of these gyro-EIS are utter crap. You can look at youtube reviews. Many of these phones give shaky videos and poor video quality. I'm a Moto fan and considered the Moto Edge 20 Fusion as it has gyro-EIS (as per gsmarena) but the actual video recording is shite. I was really shocked. My belief and faith in Lenovo-owned Motorola is now completely shattered.

My original budget was 25k but I couldn't find any good phone. I should be able to raise this to 30k and no more.
I need 1080p60fps and genuine quality gyro-EIS. I don't need 4k or 5G. I also need microSD or 256GB model.
I found some new models which seem like they will suit my requirements, I checked the reviews but I still am not too sure. These phones are: Realme GT Master Edition and the Nords and OnePlus'es. If the Realme GT Master Edition really has good video stabilization then it will fulfil my requirement and budget.
One phone which I know for sure has good video recording is the Realme GT 5G. Here is a comparison video of the Realme GT and Samsung S21.
You will also know just how good the mic on the S21 is. But the Realme GT 5G costs 41,999rs and S21 costs 64,990rs which is way over my budget.

While pondering over this for a long time, a thought came to my mind. How about older flagship phones even second hand ones as long as its in mint condition?
So then what older flagship phones have good video recording? Which models should I consider?
 
I need a phone mainly for video recording. Gaming will be minimal as I already have a PC. And some of you may know that I've been looking for one for almost a year now. It's almost Dec already and I still haven't found one. :hilarious:

Honestly saying I don't consider myself "picky", I just think that many of these phones are crap especially when it comes to video recording which doesn't seem to be a matter of concern for most since most use their phones only for taking pictures and selfies. I mean if you look at the camera specs many of them are just copies of another with minimal change and 2MP+2MP for depth and macro whatever they call it. Many of these phones have average quality even when it comes to still photos with major issues like oversaturation, lacking details etc etc.
Anyway, my original budget for the phone was 25k and I still could not find a good phone for my use even in this budget. Truly shocking. My requirements remain the same. I need dual sim and microSD slot or 256GB storage variant as I will obviously need a huge storage for all the media. I don't care too much about the SoC used. Good video recording requires good stabilization and this is usually provided by the gyro-EIS. There are some phones in 25k which have gyro-EIS and from the specs on paper one may think its an easy choice but truth is many of these gyro-EIS are utter crap. You can look at youtube reviews. Many of these phones give shaky videos and poor video quality. I'm a Moto fan and considered the Moto Edge 20 Fusion as it has gyro-EIS (as per gsmarena) but the actual video recording is shite. I was really shocked. My belief and faith in Lenovo-owned Motorola is now completely shattered.

My original budget was 25k but I couldn't find any good phone. I should be able to raise this to 30k and no more.
I need 1080p60fps and genuine quality gyro-EIS. I don't need 4k or 5G. I also need microSD or 256GB model.
I found some new models which seem like they will suit my requirements, I checked the reviews but I still am not too sure. These phones are: Realme GT Master Edition and the Nords and OnePlus'es. If the Realme GT Master Edition really has good video stabilization then it will fulfil my requirement and budget.
One phone which I know for sure has good video recording is the Realme GT 5G. Here is a comparison video of the Realme GT and Samsung S21.
You will also know just how good the mic on the S21 is. But the Realme GT 5G costs 41,999rs and S21 costs 64,990rs which is way over my budget.

While pondering over this for a long time, a thought came to my mind. How about older flagship phones even second hand ones as long as its in mint condition?
So then what older flagship phones have good video recording? Which models should I consider?
go for used iphone 11.
 
LG V series can handle 1080p 60fps and has good manual video options. It has a good mic. It has something called 'steady recording'. How good it is depends what you want it for.

V20, V30 or V40 if you can find them used. These phones came out in 2016, 2017 & 2018. Likely you will need a new battery which the LG service centre can source. LG has spares for 5 years after the phone comes out. Don't try to source spare batteries elsewhere. They won't be genuine.

Add a sandisk extreme microsd and you should be good.

Video can kill battery fast, The V20 had replaceable batteries. The V30 & 40 do not. So your recording time will be affected.
 
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I think you could be able to go for an iphone that is a few generations old, This is because you say you need it for video recording and it is well known that iphones have had better video capabilities for quite some time, it is also likely that the software support for the iphone would still be active versus some ex android flagships.
 
I have a pixel 3 (not 3a) I bought refurb from flipkart for 12k. Supposedly it meets your requirements.
Got it in great condition (apart from a scratch on one button). and a fake xiaomi 10W charger (should have a 18W PD charger)
Let me know if you want me to try anything out with it. I bought it as a backup phone, has been working fine till now
Only catch is the poor battery life (but its in line with the pixel 4a I bought new, and use as my main phone)

EDIT: noticed you need an SD card slot - then you may need to look at the 3a (but not sure about the IS on that)
 
Just an update. My neighbor has a Nord CE 5G which I tested quickly. It takes very grainy videos in 1080p60fps. The video quality in 30fps was more decent than in 60fps.
 
iphone se 2016 128 gb @ Rs 10500 a local seller listed this its a brand new unit without box :D 4k recording rocks
Just curious to know whether it comes with an original battery having 100% battery health & also 1 year warranty? I simply love that phone’s form factor! :hearteyes:
 
I believe I had already mentioned this on one of your other threads... If Video Recording is the First Priority then Samsung S20 FE 5G is the best option around 35K. No other phones even in the price bracket of upto 40K can beat it.

If you can't go above 30K then Here also there is Only Device for You & again it's from Samsung only that is Samsung A52s ,It has OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) in Main Camera,IP67 Rating,Good Snapdragon 778G processor plus 3 years of android updates & 4 years of security updates.

You can easily get A52s (8GB Ram,128 GB Storage Variant) around 28k-29k in offline stores & It sells for 29500 on Amazon plus if your got lucky with few bank offers then You can easily get it at around 28K on Amazon as well.
 
So did you finally decide on what phone to buy. Even I am thinking of recording some videos showcasing day-to-day farm life and of the home improvement/DIY stuff that I do at my house and farm. I already have LG G8X which has good video recording. Instead of relying on OIS/EIS, thinking of buying a stabilizer or a gimble. Already have a 256GB card in the phone. Will try with the phone audio itself at first, because LG has option of recording both high quality audio and ASMR as well. But might buy an external mike in the future, if the phone quality feels inadequate.
 
So did you finally decide on what phone to buy. Even I am thinking of recording some videos showcasing day-to-day farm life and of the home improvement/DIY stuff that I do at my house and farm. I already have LG G8X which has good video recording. Instead of relying on OIS/EIS, thinking of buying a stabilizer or a gimble. Already have a 256GB card in the phone. Will try with the phone audio itself at first, because LG has option of recording both high quality audio and ASMR as well. But might buy an external mike in the future, if the phone quality feels inadequate.
I'm waiting for a sale on the S20FE. Hoping I can get it for 30-32k. I'm also in touch with sellers of old gen models like the S10e (it has superior video recording over the S9) and older iPhones. I ideally want a ProMax model if its going to be an iPhone because of larger battery. One seller said he will let me know about Realme GT 5T but no response.
For brand new models S20FE is an choice for me.
 
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