Back in September Apple announced their new iPhone line-up, with the 8, 8 Plus and X, the latter of which created the most excitement amongst the public, but which also came with a delayed release date and a very expensive price tag. I put myself on the Upgrade Programme in 2016 and so had the opportunity to change my iPhone 7, and I decided this time I really wanted one of the handsets with a dual lens camera system. Eventually I decided to go for the 8 Plus, although slightly worried about it being a larger size than I was used to, it was a decent amount cheaper than the X and critically, it was available immediately.

As soon as I started using the camera on the phone I knew I’d made the right decision. The second lens on the back adds such a level of flexibility that it’s revolutionised my photo-taking on the go. In fact I took my Fuji X30 on a recent trip to Granada, but I’m not at all sure it was required, the iPhone can do just about anything about the “proper” camera can do. Obviously it’s no replacement for a DSLR, but then you don’t want to drag a heavy DSLR around with you a lot of the time.

So here are  the pictures I’ve been most pleased with since I’ve had the phone…

 

After some initial reservation I’m also loving the new filters in the camera app, especially the “Dramatic” variations. The latest version of Photos for Mac is also very impressive with many more controls and adjustments than previously available. Last summer I bought a year’s Adobe Lightroom subscription, but I think the improved functionality of Photos for Mac means I won’t need to renew for another year.

In summary, the iPhone 8 Plus’s cameras have given me a significantly more powerful photograph-taking tool on the go, effectively making my smallish-sensor compact camera redundant. I’ll still use my Nikon DSLR, I’ll still use film cameras sometimes, but it’s great having a camera I’ll “always have with me” be able to do more than I was able to do before.