The tenth anniversary of the iPhone brings three new models, and we're comparing the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X for photographers.

Here's What the iPhone Does Well for Photographers

The iPhone is an incredible boon for photographers. Not only does it give us a compact travel camera, it provides a platform to share your photos online and in person.

A Thousand Photos in Your Pocket

Think about it. If the iPod put a thousand songs in your pocket, the iPhone let you put a thousand photos (or more) in your pocket.

It doesn't matter if they're snapshots, family photos, precious memories or examples of your portfolio. The iPhone doesn't just take photos. It displays them on demand. It shares them with the world as long as you have a network connection.

The iPhone started a trend of promoting photography like no other device in the world, paving the way for other smart phones to continue the tradition Apple made possible.

The Best Travel Camera Ever Invented

It doesn't matter if you travel a mile or around the world. The iPhone became the best travel camera ever created. Other phones had cameras, but they did little more than document subjects. The iPhone became a tool for the artists on the go. Again, it paved the way for the smart phones that followed, and the incredible rise of social media.

Thanks to Apple for putting a usable camera in a small form factor that could easily share online, there are now more photos taken annually than in the previous combined history of the world.

In 2000, Kodak announced that we took 80 billion photos. By 2015, we took a trillion photos and the numbers keep growing.

We have a propensity to create new photos. Some are for memories. Others for art. Thanks to Apple, photography is within the grasp of millions of people who never would've spent the money on a “real” camera.

The iPhone isn't Perfect

While Apple keeps enhancing the camera in the iPhone, there are still some things it just doesn't do as well as other cameras.

Reach and Resolution

Scott Diussa is a friend who works for Nikon Professional Services. I noticed something he posted on Facebook comparing the iPhone to the Nikon D850 that just came out – along with a 500mm lens.

Standing on the edge of a tarmac with fighter jets in the distance, he compared the reach of an iPhone with the D850. Yes, it's a bit of a joke, but it goes to show that we aren't planning on giving up the rest of our camera gear just because Apple brought out a new iPhone with an improved camera.

The iPhone shot showed some planes in the distance. Recognizable, but not distinguishable.

The D850 with a 500mm lens filled the frame with a jet. Then Scott took it a step further with a 100% crop showing the cockpit and very sharp lettering outside on the plane. With 46 megapixels, it was incredibly clear and impressive. Despite the advances in miniaturization and improvement in image quality, the iPhone camera just doesn't have that resolution or reach.

Some Photographers Fear the new iPhone Camera

Another post in a Facebook Group grabbed my attention. A photographer asked if we were worried about the new iPhone models. He'd seen a major magazine that shot its cover using an iPhone.

What that tells me is that a photographer can still get work no matter what tool he (or she) uses.

We routinely shoot images on our iPhones for marketing, social media and web graphics. It's nice to know that it can create a magazine cover under the right conditions. When you have good light, even a tiny camera and sensor can deliver great images.

Of course, it can also take a lot of crappy photos. It's the photographer who makes the difference, which is why we don't need to fear losing potential clients to an ...