Photo Pills is an app designed to help photographers plan where to take pictures by showing where and when the sun, moon, and milky way will be along with details of the camera exposures and depth of field. The last two may only be of interest to serious photographers but the astronomical information is excellent for wild camping. Want to see exactly where and when the sun or moon will rise from a specific spot. Photo Pills can teel you so you can position your camp to get the first rays of sunshine, or perhaps in midsummer not to get the first rays! All the stages of sunrise and sunset are shown and all the phases of the moon.
Chris Townsend’s verdict
Photo Pills does much more than this and is a very powerful and complex app. If you try it I recommend the online instructional videos as it’s not that easy to use.- sun, moon, milky way information
- No desktop app
- Basic maps, takes time to learn
- No desktop app
| Quick specs | |
|---|---|
| Recommended for camping and photography Costs: $10.99/£9.49 Platforms: iOs, Android Maps: terrain, hybrid, satellite Features: planner; sun, moon, milky way positions, camera & lens settings calculators Offline: Yes www.photopills.com |
PhotoPills has calendars that can show the rise and set times of the sun and moon for a week and more at a time and also daily details including the different phases.
The maps are basic and designed just to show the astronomical information. They’re not for navigation. When planning you can move a pin to a location and see information about the sun or the moon and where and when they will rise and set. This can be used to decide where to camp and also where to be to see the sun or moon come up behind a certain feature such as a summit or, usually more dramatic, a dip between high points. Plans can be downloaded for offline use.
Photo Pills does much more than this and is a very powerful and complex app. If you try it I recommend the online instructional videos as it’s not that easy to use.
