Well, Apple has been in the news quite a lot this week. And being iPhoneographers and fans of Apple, we couldn't let this week go by without writing a post. Originally, we were going to launch right into the iPhone stuff...but with the very sad news of Steve Jobs passing on Wednesday we couldn't possibly start a post about the iPhone without mentioning the revolutionary man himself. Steve Jobs was a truly great visionary, who changed the world of technology forever with his forward thinking...he will be greatly missed, and our hearts go out to his family who will surely feel his loss most profoundly. 

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Regarding Apple's big iPhone announcement this week (which feels a bit less important now...but I guess that's life...), we’ve been waiting on tenterhooks to find out just what Apple have been up to behind the iPhone scenes. Whilst we are super stoked that the new iPhone will have a major camera upgrade – and for many iPhoneographers that’s reason enough to get on board, but for some of us (myself included) this announcement leaves us in a bit of a quandary. Do we upgrade to iPhone 4S right away, or do we wait for the actual iPhone 5 which might be better still? It's the archetypical dilemma, you might say, should we follow advances in technology as soon as they come out? Or should we wait to get the upgraded technology at a later date and risk feeling left behind (read: totally jealous) until the next release.

Well, for many of you this will depend on your mobile service provider and the way they handle your subscription. In many cases you get stuck with them for 2 years when you buy an iPhone contract, but Apple generally upgrades the device every year! So buying the iPhone 4S today means bypassing the iPhone 5 next year or paying out of the nose to upgrade when the 5 comes out. Let’s not even TALK about buying an iPhone off the shelf as for many of us this is just crazy business. 

So we figured some of you might be in the same position we are in today…into iPhoneography but wondering whether or not to upgrade…? So here’s the upgrade situation as we see it. There’s essentially three types of iPhonographers: casual snappers, amateur enthusiasts, and pro photographers turned iPhoneographers. Which one are you? 

If you take photos here and there, snap a photo occasionally, or only use your iPhone camera when you think of it – you’re a casual iPhoneographer. 

Amateur enthusiasts are a likely to be quite involved to totally obsessed with iPhoneography. They are snapping all the time, have tried all the apps, and are immersed in photo-sharing culture on Instagram and the like. 

Pros turned iPhoneographers are pretty self-explanatory, and we’re seeing much more of this these days. Pro photogs going mobile are doing some amazing things with iPhoneography – and there will surely be more pros going this way as technology advances even further. Most pros are likely to upgrade anyway so this post doesn’t necessarily relate to them… 

So are you thinking about upgrading? Well, there are a few good reasons you might consider upgrading: 

-	you are a casual iPhoneographer wanting to get more involved 
-	you want to print your photos larger than 8x10 size (that's what the additional megapixels will help you with)
-	you take a lot of HDR or panoramic photos, and you do a lot of editing on the iPhone and want better and faster editing capabilities. 
-	you need a lot more space for photos (and especially videos), and you don't mind shelling out for the 64GB 4S.
-	you are on a 3GS and want to not only upgrade your camera, but also have better luck with the iOS upgrade. 

Let me explain a few of those points above. 

There’s a lot of hubbub about the upgraded 8 megapixel camera and we’re agreed that it will likely be a huge step up. But don’t forget that a camera of that size is also likely to be quite power-hungry, so despite the dual-core A5 chip, you may still experience slow processing. This point remains to be seen, so on that basis it might be worth waiting to see what the reviews say about actual processing speed on the iPhone 4S. Also, it goes without saying that if you’re still on the 3GS (like I am), you may also want to consider upgrading (to at least a 4, given that the iOS 5 update may wreak havoc on your phone). I’ve had a play around with iOS 5 on my own 3GS and have found it quite sluggish and slow, mind you it is still a BETA version…

So, what’s an iPhoneographer to do? Well, if you want to print your photos, you need more megapixels, and you need a lot more space then it’s a no-brainer. Upgrade. 

If like me, you’re on the fence but know you need to go one way or another – perhaps wait until the 4S actually comes out to see what other iPhoneographers and reviewers are saying about the camera and editing capabilities. Of course, if you don’t upgrade you won’t get to try out Siri, and let’s face it, we all want a personal assistant in our pockets, so maybe you should just get the dang upgrade anyway...Apple does it again! 
