my n8 took perfect quality photos before and after the anna update, with or without the flash. Not sure what u mean by better handling of the flash, as i have never had problems and i take alot of photos. Heres an article about the improvements anna made.
http://conversations.nokia.com/2011/08/22/nokia-n8-camera-mega-update-beta-test-open/
can u be more specific about the problems u have faced?