Since 2016, I’d been rocking Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus as my smartphone of choice. It served me well, doing everything I asked of it, including navigating drone flights and shooting gimbaled 4K video. But in late March I bought Apple’s budget phone, their third generation iPhone SE.

There were three primary reasons for the upgrade: The Sprint-T-Mobile merger and its pending network demands, flagging battery performance from the 6s Plus, and the SE’s A15 Bionic chip that will hopefully future-proof the new phone against obsolescence for what I’m hoping is four years. And the price, for an iPhone, was palatable.

After about a month into ownership, it’s fair to say the new phone’s performed well.

The camera on the old phone and the new phone are essentially the same, the difference being the SE’s got a f/1.8 lens and the 6s Plus has a f/2.2 lens. What I’m wrestling with is still getting the phone’s camera software and preferences dialed-in. My pictures often look simultaneously–and weirdly–sharp and soft.

I’m giving Apple’s High Efficiency format, HEIF, a tryout. It’s reduced file size saves storage space –moreso than JPG–but I’m wondering if it impacts image quaility. There’s no issue bringing those HEIF files into Photo Mechanic or Photoshop, I’m happy to report.

There’s been much written about Apple’s third generation SE: its antiquated look, the touch I.D., its diminutive size, no “Night Mode,” suspect battery life, and its single-lens camera. Those are all non-starters for me. The phone went into an Otterbox Defender case the day I got it. I can go two days without having to charge the SE (my old iPhone needed charging sometimes up to four times a day, depending on use). And I’ve got a 400mm f/2.8 autofoucus lens for those times I want to shoot tight in low light.

I don’t need or want “an experience” with my mobile device. I need it to work. And this iteration of iPhone does just that.