Unless you have been living under a rock the last couple of weeks, you will know that the Apple iPhone 8/ Apple iPhone 8 Plus have been launched, as well as the Apple iPhone X.
Our very own Lok has already had his hands on the new iPhone 8 Plus. He got straight to grips with the new camera to see what it can do. You can see what he thinks in his video, but here are the key points:
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: The body
The iPhone 8 Plus is an attractive looking waterproof phone with excellent build quality and full HD two-tone display.
The glass back as seen in the iPhone 4S is back! It’s grippier than the textured aluminium finish of the iPhone 7 Plus. A glass back allows for wireless charging. We’re not so fussed about this feature plus it’s a slower method of charging than wired.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: Camera
Just like in the iPhone 7 Plus, there are twin lenses – or should we say cameras. One is the standard wide angle lens and the other a portrait (tele) lens that is twice the focal length of the wide-angle lens.
Without going into depth at this stage, we are really impressed with the overall picture quality.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: Long Exposure Mode
Think you need a tripod for long exposure photography? Think again! There is a new Long Exposure mode that makes use of the phone’s image stabilisation and can be used handheld!
A long exposure is created by shooting a short video and taking a single photo during the video sequence. The video frames are then merged together to blur movement. Clever.
In Long Exposure Mode the picture quality is reduced, but it’s a really smart shooting mode in the iPhone 8 Plus arsenal.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: Portrait Modes
Apple claims the Portrait mode from the iPhone 7 Plus using the tele lens has been improved. From what we can tell, it’s not without its faults, especially on non-human subjects.
Then there is the new Portrait Lighting effect. Of all the effects, we found Studio Light and Contour Light useful for separating the subject from the background. Stage Light is less effective.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: Slow-Sync Flash
A phone’s built-in flash usually creates particularly unflattering portraits. A welcome addition then is the new slow-sync flash feature. When looking at like-for-like images taken with the regular flash and the slow sync flash, the latter makes for better portraits by a mile.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: Video
Video specification is top notch.
We are really impressed with the quality of 4K video recording, especially the dynamic range and clarity.
What’s new is that 4K video capture is available at 60fps – you can’t get that on a lot of ‘proper’ cameras! Slow motion videos are possible up to 240fps, when shooting at full HD 1080p.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: Vlogging
Could the iPhone 8 Plus be good enough for vlogging? Well, the front-facing camera does not have image stabilisation (OIS) or 4K video, so it is not perfect.
Switch to the rear facing camera – which has both OIS and 4K – and the quality is much better. However, there is guesswork involved for composition because you can’t see the screen. Reflections on the glass-back help a little though.
We’ll be interested to see how good the iPhone X is for vlogging and are hopeful that one of these two phones will act as our second camera for vlogging.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus: Price and information
The iPhone 8 Plus costs £799 from the Apple Store but is, of course, available on contract.
That’s all for now. We’ll be sure to check in again with a review of the iPhone X.
