Hello, how the hell are you? If this is your first time here, thanks for stopping by. In this blog, I am going to talk about why we went with the older iPhone 17 Pro instead of waiting for the newer model, the iPhone 18 Pro. The newer model is weeks away from being released, and that should be the one that you wait to buy or at least that is what Apple wants you to do.
iPhone Upgrade
Why are we upgrading and why the older model again? Well, you see, we were sporting the base model iPhone 14’s, which have been great and for the last three years, they served us well. I loved the red iPhone 14 that I was using to the point that I almost didn’t upgrade at all. The main reason for getting the phones now is because I am cheap and no other reason. The rumor mill is going cray that Apple is going to charge 200-300 more for the phones. That is not something that I can afford on the money that I make, so now was the time. The older iPhones that we had were starting to show their ages. I mean, I was having to charge mine twice a day just to keep it usable.
Why the iPhone 17 Pro and not the iPhone 17
Coming from the iPhone 14, any of the newer iPhone 17 lineup would have done it for us. The iPhone 17 would have given the upgrade for the day-to-day use case that we have for them. The iPhone 17e and iPhone 17 Air would have been great as well, but that battery life on both of them was not going to cut it for us at all. They were not even in the running for what we both use our phones for. The only feature that all four of the phones have that we were interested in was the front-facing camera. That being able to record horizontally or vertically is one of the key features that we wanted. The next thing was the video aspect from all three rear cameras now that we are doing YouTube, those are going to pay for themselves.
iPhone 17 Pro is the way to go.
When it comes to battery life, cameras, and processing power, the iPhone 17 Pro is the one model that was going to last us a very long time, and that is fine with me. The camera on the rear is why I personally wanted the phone. You see, I am making the shift from shooting with my DSLR. I am sick of the bulk that all that gear offers me. I wanted to go mirrorless for all my shooting needs. That would mean that I would have to sell all the DSLR gear that I have and start over again, and I really didn’t want to do that. The iPhone 17 Pro gives me a higher output in megapixels, so that means that my prints for my images would still be able to be done. The fact that the telephoto lens is now a 48MP means that all three of them are now. This was exactly what I needed for my photography.
Is the iPhone 17 Pro good enough for photos?
Short answer is yes, the iPhone 17 Pro gives me the ability to just carry one setup for all my shooting needs. The iPhone with the lenses is truly the best value that you could buy for a camera system alone. For around 1100 dollars, you get three cameras and three lenses along with a computer to edit the images on. This is the main reason for buying the iPhone 17 Pro. The processing power is so strong that you don’t really need to buy a “REAL” computer or camera anymore. The iPhone’s camera focal lengths are little prime lenses that go with you all the time and give you so much choice for shooting on one device. I was at the point that I was shooting with a super zoom lens in order to keep the weight down for my landscape images.
iPhone 17 Pro for a professional landscape photographer
This is where I tell you that all you truly need is this style of flagship phone for shooting professional landscape images. Yes, you can totally do that with the advancements that have come in the iPhone 17 Pro. There are not all upsides to buying this phone. In order to truly take advantage of the phone, you have to really understand that first and foremost you are going to be shooting in good light for all your images. Once the sun sets or right before it rises, you are going to struggle with the images. Then you have the night shooting where the phone is also really going to struggle. Yes, you can shoot at all three of those times, but the images are going to look so much better on a DSLR or Mirrorless setup. For me, though, I am shooting in the mid-day sun now, so that is yet another reason why I bought the iPhone 17 Pro.
The biggest issue with the iPhone 17 Pro
This is the point that I tell you the iPhone 17 Pro has two flaws that hold it back from truly replacing a dedicated camera system. If you are wanting to truly shoot the Milky Way and Macro, the iPhone is not going to cut the mustard for those two genres. The image quality that you get from the iPhone on both aspects straight out of the camera is shit. The images are overprocessed for the night aspect to the point that you see artifacts that look like worms in the start. That is the iPhone processing the noise out, and it is not doing that good of a job at it. Then the Macro, you have to spend more money and buy a Macro lens to attach to your phone in order to get good enough images for macro. The process of switching lenses on the phone is just too much. Like once you get the image that you want, the phone is like, “Nope, we need to switch cameras,” and then you are truly fucked. I would rather have my DSLR with its macro lens; it just easier for me at least.
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, the amount of money that I spent on the iPhone is worth it for it to be my main camera for my landscape images. I feel that being able to cull and edit the images on the phone makes the process easier for sharing the photos. Being able to change perspectives when out shooting is so much more fun on the iPhone. Then you have the act of shooting is more freeing and fun on the iPhone. I am not having to think about the settings at all. I am shooting in Aperture mode on the iPhone, and all I have to worry about is focus and composition for my images. It is so awesome. I love the ability that I have with the iPhone for my style of shooting. I am not really printing my images anymore, and I am just sharing them on social media, so the need for larger prints is not there. The act of just making a photo is key for enjoying the iPhone.
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