Does new iphoto have same filters as iphone 5 (IOS8)? I have old iphoto so my filters from pics taken on iphone 5 don't save when uploading to iphoto from '09 - upgrading might fix this?

Does new iphoto have same filters as iphone 5 (running IOS 8.1.1)? I have old iphoto (from 2009) so my filters from pics taken on iphone 5 don't save when uploading to iphoto from '09 (8.1.2)-

When you download photos from a mobile device with iOS 8 by connecting the device to USB, only the original photos will transfer, and none of the edits or filters. That is independent of the iPhoto version you are using; upgrading to iPhoto 9.6 will not fix this. See this knowledge base article: iPhoto and Aperture don't have edits to photos you import from iOS 8 devices

Apple recommends to mail the photos instead of downloading:

This is expected behavior. Only unedited originals will import to your Mac. As an alternative, you can share images you've edited from Photos via email. Once you tap Send to send the email, you'll be asked what size you'd like to send the photos as. Be sure to choose Actual Size in order to retain the full size image.

Note that photos you share will have all iOS 8 image adjustments applied.

The problem is, that iOS 8 has been developed for iCloud Photo Library, but that is still only Beta, and on the Mac only accessible from from the iCloud web interface. The Photos.app (early next year) will make it possible to download photos with edits applied.

When you download your photos with Image Capture instead of with iPhoto, you will see sidecar files "IMG_20XX.AAE", or similar. These are the edited versions of your photos, describing the filters and other settings. The problems is, that there there are not yet any apps on the Mac, that can read these files. We'll just have to wait a bit.