My buddy, famous wildlife photographer Moose Peterson first turned me onto this app during a DLWS Landscape Photography Workshop. If you're a landscape photographer you know how important it is to know where the sun is going to be and at what time for a given location. While there are several apps that give you basic sunrise and sunset times, Focalware goes way beyond that.
Making use of the iPhone 3GS Compass
Although Focalware will work with any iPhone and the iPod touch, if you have an iPhone 3GS it gets better. The new 2.0 version now uses the built-in 3GS compass to give you much more accurate readings for the exact position of the sun or moon at a given time and location.
Lots of viewing options
At the tap of the Sun/Moon icon you can view the position that the sun or the moon will be in. If you rotate your device on it's side you can see the information as text instead of graphically.
View any location or custom locations
By default Focalware will use your current location. This is cool if you're already where you're going to shoot. However, if you're traveling to a shoot then it's imperative to be able to look up any location. Focalware not only lets you choose a location from a list, but it also lets you add your own custom locations and save them. The app lets you do this either by entering the coordinates or more importantly it lets you choose the location on the built-in map. Very cool!
The Bottom Line
There is no doubt about the fact that this is a professional app for use by professional photographers and videographers. If you have an iPhone 3GS, then it's a no brainer. However, if you have a previous generation iPhone or iPod touch the app may seem a bit expensive as you won't be able to use it to its full potential. It will work, it just won't be as accurate. If you need to know the sun and moon positions on a regular basis, this is the app for you. You can download it here from the App Store:
Focalware
Focalware allows you to calculate the Sun and Moon position for a given location and time. This is a must for landscape photographers.
- Spiral Development, Inc.
- Get on App Store
- $9.99
All info was collected on 23rd December, 2009 when the app was reviewed.
About Terry White
Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
great advice, as usual!
rick
Thanks Rick!
This is the greatest app for when you're on location and you need to know the place and direction of sunrise or sunset. Also, at any given time during the day, you can look and see when the sun will go behind that mountain or building or when the sun should clear the obstacle that blocks direct sunlight. I use it all the time, when on location and will frequently have other shooters and video crews asking about sun placement through out the day!