PhotoPills iPhone app is a Swiss Army knife style toolkit for outdoor photographers

From checking changes in light to making sure of the right exposure length, any pro photographer will emphasise the importance of planning when trying to achieve the perfect outdoor or night image.

Taking all the various variables into account for creating an immaculate landscape shot can be something of a laborious task, but Photopills aims to make life significantly easier for pros and amateur photographers alike.

The app hands the user a series of tools, or “pills” that help you to plan the timing and positioning of your shot as well as dial in the best settings for your camera. 

For example, the map feature lets you select a location and then gives you access to a host of useful information such as the direction of light throughout the day and also the times of moonlight and golden hours.

Assistance for space snaps

There’s also tables for depth of field and hyperfocal distance, while other tools include a focal length calculator and settings for time lapses.

The most impressive feature comes in the form of its of Augmented Reality functionality  – select the app's Sun or Moon modes, hold up your phone, and you can see where the sun is going to set, or where the position of the moon will be at any time on any given day. 

It’s not just useful for standard landscape shots, however, with the app also extremely useful for astrophotographers. As well as the aforementioned Sun and moon feature, Photopills also allows space snappers to map the exact position of the Milky Way at specific times via an impressive Night Augmented Reality feature, while there’s also dedicated tools for assisting star trail shots.

We’d like the option of using the app in landscape mode (right now it only works in portrait), and its pricing may make it a little too expensive for hobbyist photographers. But if shooting vistas is your thing, or indeed your job, then PhotoPills is an absolute must download.

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