If you’re hunting for a phone under £300 that can actually produce convincing night and even basic astrophotography shots, you’ve probably noticed the market is noisy. Flagship phones have tall claims and huge budgets for computational photography, and many budget phones try to mimic that with marketing language. In my hands-on testing at Wcetesting Co (https://www.wcetesting.co.uk) I’ve found that a few carefully chosen cheaper Androids can deliver results that, with the right technique, come remarkably close to flagships—especially for social-ready images and reasonably detailed star photos.

What “comparable to flagship” really means

When I say “comparable,” I’m not claiming a £250 phone will out-resolve a £1000 flagship sensor in a blind lab test. What I mean is: with good conditions, a tripod, and the right post-processing, some budget phones can produce nightscapes and starry sky images that look just as pleasing and shareable as those from top-tier devices. The trade-offs are typically:

  • Less dynamic range in raw files
  • Smaller sensors that struggle in extreme low light
  • Less polished automatic computational tricks (or fewer frames stacked)
  • Slower autofocus in dark scenes

    • Nevertheless, the final visual output—if you’re shooting long exposures, stacking, and editing—can be surprisingly close.

    Top budget Android picks under £300

    After testing several budget and mid-range phones, three models stood out in terms of raw potential for night and astrophotography. I’ll be blunt: Google’s Pixel phones remain the benchmark because their computational pipeline and Astrophotography mode are simply excellent. But there are non-Pixel options that deliver strong results if you’re willing to use third-party apps and manual workflows.

    PhoneMain sensorNight/Astro supportRaw/DNGTypical UK price
    Google Pixel 6a12.2MP Sony IMX363 (larger pixels)Pixel Night Sight + Astrophotography mode (excellent)Yes (raw via apps & Pixel Camera)~£200–£299 (used/new deals)
    Google Pixel 5a12.2MP Sony IMX363Night Sight + Astrophotography (very capable)Yes~£180–£250 (used/clearance)
    Redmi Note 12 Pro (108MP)108MP Samsung HM2 (pixel-binned)Night mode (software dependent), no native Astro modeYes (DNG in Pro mode)~£220–£300

    Why these three? The Pixel 6a and 5a combine solid sensor hardware with unmatched computational night processing—Night Sight and the dedicated Astrophotography mode—which often yields images with less noise and more visible stars without complex manual steps. The Redmi Note 12 Pro (or similar 108MP phones) offers a large high-megapixel sensor that allows heavy cropping and can capture more raw detail in longer exposures, but it needs manual technique and apps to approach the same output.

    How to get flagship-like night/astro shots on a budget phone

    Regardless of which phone you pick, the technique makes the largest difference. I’ve reproduced flagship-worthy shots using a Pixel 6a and a tripod more than once. Here’s my workflow:

  • Use a tripod. Stacking and long exposures require absolute stability.
  • Disable digital zoom. Use the main wide sensor whenever possible for best light capture.
  • Enable raw/DNG capture. For Redmi and many non-Pixel phones, use Pro mode or a dedicated camera app that saves raw. On Pixels, Night Sight handles stacking, but raw capture with a third-party app gives you more editing headroom.
  • For Pixels: use Night Sight Astrophotography mode. Tap for focus on the brightest star region, hold still for the multi-minute capture.
  • For non-Pixels: use Open Camera, ProShot, or a GCam port if available. Set manual exposure (several seconds or up to 30s depending on sensor), ISO as low as you can while keeping exposure acceptable, and shoot multiple frames for stacking.
  • Stack frames. For severe noise reduction and increased star signal, stack multiple exposures in Sequator (Windows), Starry Landscape Stacker (Mac), or DeepSkyStacker for raw alignment. This is where a budget phone can close the gap with a flagship.
  • Post-process in Lightroom or RawTherapee: adjust exposure, noise reduction, contrast, and colour balance carefully. Be conservative with sharpening—stars can bloom if over-sharpened.

    • Apps and tools I use

    Computational photography matters, but so do the apps you choose. Here are the ones I keep in my toolkit:

  • Google Camera (GCam): On many budget Androids, a well-modded GCam port unlocks Night Sight-style processing and can drastically improve low-light shots. Compatibility varies by device.
  • Open Camera: Free, lightweight, and supports long exposures and raw capture on many phones.
  • ProCam/Manual Camera apps: Useful when you need fine-grained control of shutter and ISO.
  • Sequator / Starry Landscape Stacker / DeepSkyStacker: For stacking multiple images to boost SNR and reveal fainter stars.
  • Lightroom Mobile or RawTherapee: For raw editing and final toning.

    • Practical shooting tips I swear by

    These are the hands-on things that separate a mediocre night photo from one that looks flagship-class.

  • Scout a dark location and check light pollution maps. Even the best phone struggles under heavy urban skyglow.
  • Aim for the brightest part of the Milky Way (season and hemisphere dependent) or a cluster of stars—the sensor will capture these more readily.
  • Use manual focus where possible. Autofocus hunts in the dark; on many phones you can long-press to lock focus or use an app that allows manual focus adjustments.
  • Bracket your exposures. Capture several frames at slightly varied settings to give yourself options for stacking and selection.
  • Take reference frames for foreground. For starry landscapes, take a short, well-exposed frame for the foreground and blend it with stacked sky frames to preserve detail.

    • Realistic expectations and final recommendation

    Flagship phones still have advantages: more advanced multi-frame algorithms, larger sensors in some models, and better lenses. But after testing, if you asked me to pick one single budget Android under £300 that gives you the best chance to produce night and basic astrophotography images rivaling flagships in visual quality, I’d recommend the Google Pixel 6a (or sometimes the older Pixel 5a if you can find it at a good price).

    The reason: its Night Sight/Astrophotography pipeline is polished, consistent, and user-friendly. That means less time wrestling with settings and more consistently usable images straight out of the phone. If you want to push further and don’t mind more manual work, a 108MP Redmi/POCO with raw capture plus a GCam port and stacking workflow can also produce great results—but it requires more patience and post-processing skills.

    If you’d like, I can publish a step-by-step, camera-by-camera comparison gallery showing side-by-side crops from a Pixel 6a, a Redmi 108MP, and a flagship—shot in the same conditions—so you can judge for yourself. I can also include exact exposure settings, raw previews, and a downloadable stacking pack if that helps you replicate the results.