iPhone 8 and 7 Plus camera shootout
The iPhone 8 Plus has new larger camera sensors, a new processor and nifty new software tricks like Portrait Lighting Mode. But how much better is it than last year's 7 Plus?
Let's take a look.
iPhone 8 Plus
Here are a handful of my favorite photos that I took with the 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 Plus
I love the way the colors came out in this picture. It really makes that red Fiat 1100D pop.
iPhone 8 Plus
It's hard to take a bad picture of a sunset over San Francisco when there's no fog.
iPhone 8 Plus
Take a look at the detail of the books.
iPhone 8 Plus
Here are a bunch of comparison pictures taken with both the 8 Plus and 7 Plus. First up: Stella the cat taken with the 8 Plus.
iPhone 7 Plus
This 7 Plus photo looks good, but the one from the 8 Plus has more detail.
Cat comparison
Notice her fur and how the 8 Plus photos has a wider dynamic range of color.
iPhone 8 Plus - Dolores Park
Dolores Park taken with the 8 Plus. Notice the color of the sky and grass.
iPhone 7 Plus - Dolores Park
Now Dolores Park taken with the 7 Plus.
Dolores Park comparison
It's really hard to tell the difference. If you look at the lettering on the building, it's a smidgen easier to read in the picture from the 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 Plus - Cable car
A cable car taken with the 8 Plus.
iPhone 7 Plus - Cable car
And now taken with the 7 Plus.
Cable car comparison
There is a little more contrast in the photo from the 8 Plus.
Portrait Mode comparison
And here is a Portrait Mode photo taken by each phone. The one from the 8 Plus (right) pops a bit more than the 7 Plus (left).
iPhone 8 Plus Portrait Lighting Mode Effects
Here are all five Portrait Lighting Mode effects on the 8 Plus side by side. From left to right: Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage and Stage Mono.
iPhone 8 Plus - Portrait Lighting Mode Stage Light fail
The hardest lighting effect to get to work correctly was Stage Light which blacks out the background.
iPhone 8 Plus - Portrait Mode Lighting Stage Light fail
It didn't work much better on inanimate objects.
iPhone 8 Plus - Portrait Lighting Mode Stage Light success
But when it did work, like here on singer Xiomara, the results were gorgeous.
iPhone 8 Plus - Portrait Lighting Mode
Here are a couple more Portrait Mode photos from the 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 Plus - Portrait Lighting Mode
I was impressed with how the 8 Plus handled his curly hair.
iPhone 7 Plus - Flash
Then there's flash photography. Flash pictures from the 7 Plus can have the classic red eye and hard white zombie skin look that make me never want to use a flash.
iPhone 8 Plus - Flash
But the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X all have Slow Sync Flash. As seen here.
Flash comparison
Slow Sync Flash keeps the shutter open longer making the background less dark. The flash blends in better. This is my favorite feature on the 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 Plus Slow Motion
The 8 Plus can shoot slow motion video at 1080p 240fps vs. 120fps on the 7 Plus. The 240fps makes juggler Melanie Webster and her flying potatoes look even cooler. Check out this video to see the footage at full resolution.
iPhone 8 Plus - Nourish Cafe
The rest of this gallery are photos that I took with the 8 Plus like this quinoa waffle from Nourish Cafe.
iPhone 8 Plus - Nourish Cafe
I love the blue sky in this photo.
iPhone 8 Plus - Nourish Cafe
Overall, the 8 Plus is the best iPhone for photos and video.
iPhone 8 Plus - Nourish Cafe
But in November the iPhone X comes out.
iPhone 8 Plus - Twin Peaks sunset
Internally it is exactly the same as the iPhone 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 Plus - Twin Peaks sunset
The rear cameras are the same, aside from the telephoto lens.
iPhone 8 Plus - Twin Peaks sunset
The iPhone X, improves the rear telephoto camera with a faster f/2.4 lens and adds optical image stabilization.
iPhone 8 Plus - Twin Peaks sunset
On paper, it should take even better photos and video than the 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 Plus - Castro at night
But will the difference be drastic?
iPhone 8 Plus - Los Straitjackets
We'll have to wait and see.
Los Straitjackets - iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 8 Plus - Los Straitjackets
iPhone 8 Plus - Los Straitjackets
iPhone 8 Plus - Los Straitjackets
iPhone 8 Plus - Los Straitjackets
iPhone 8 Plus - Classic car
iPhone 8 Plus - Classic car
iPhone 8 Plus - Octo mural
iPhone 8 Plus - Green VW van
iPhone 8 Plus - Fireman's ladder
iPhone 8 Plus - Four Barrel Coffee
iPhone 8 Plus - Four Barrel Coffee
iPhone 8 Plus - Dramatic Flare
iPhone 8 Plus - Mission High School
iPhone 8 Plus - Dolores Park
iPhone 8 Plus - Dolores Park
iPhone 8 Plus - Dolores Park
iPhone 8 Plus - Dolores Park
iPhone 8 Plus - Dolores Park
iPhone 8 Plus - Twin Peaks sunset
For more on the differences between photos and videos from 8 Plus and 7 Plus, check out my in-depth comparison.