While I am relatively new to this phone-app'ery, therefore this list is not exhaustive, but these are some of the tools I find useful and have on both my iPhone and iPad. Apps for other makes of phone and devices are available, and if included as an item in the magazine, it should be expanded to cover Android and Blackberry apps.
In no specific order and with no attachment or relationship to any of these...
FotometerPro - this converts your iPhone/iPad into a simple, old fashioned light meter. The software has a range of settings from ISO 25 through to 6,400, apertures from f0.95 through to f1,000 and shutter speeds 1/4,000" to 16 hours. The retro styled unit has both incident and reflected modes and also comes with a nice audible countdown and alarm. While most cameras only meter down to 30 seconds before the user has to move onto the bulb setting, this is a great way of both metering for those tricky evening and night exposures as well as timing those longer shutter speeds.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fotom...439913393?mt=8
Depth of Field - many modern zooms fail to have usable depth of field scales and there are several apps which attempt to give you the details, in particular I like.
iDoF Calc - The apps come with many common camera "circle of confusion" details pre installed, therefore selecting and setting your camera model is simple. It is then very easy to use, set your aperture, focal length and distance to subject and the top section of the app shows the relevant details, from hyper focal distance, far limit, depth of field and near limit - a nice simple app.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/lv/app/idof-...348599110?mt=8
Field Tools - another simple and effective app, again it is relatively easy to set up. Most camera models are covered and while lenses are not listed, it is easy to add your own details, focal length and apertures. Once set up with camera and lenses, it is easy to swap between lenses and cameras as necessary.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/field...305817254?mt=8
Apptures Flashlight - this is a simple app, it turns your phone into a torch. While it eats the battery, when stuck in the field, in the dark and you are trying to sort your camera, it may be just what you need. There are plenty of others, but this was free and did what I needed.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/flash...404181268?mt=8
Moving onto reference material:
iBird United Kingdom and Ireland - this comes in a number of versions, the free "lite" edition covers a small handful of birds, but give a great feel to what the full app contains. The full app currently discounted by 50% at £6.99 is an amazing app and covers the 283 birds in UK and Ireland. While I am no expert, the photography is stunning and I particularly like the ID section and the sound recordings of bird song.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ibird...424729739?mt=8
Dragonflies & Damselflies of Britain & Ireland - this is a beautiful "wild guide" app for those who want to know a bit more about the subject. Well presented, great images, supported with plenty of detail. Amazing on the iPad, but also good in the field on the phone - some would say expensive at £9.99 but if you want to know what it is, when it is likely to appear, or is it a male, female, etc, this is what you need.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/drago...436991286?mt=8
The Photographer's Ephemeris (TPE) - this is a great app, while free for your PC, but currently £5.99 for iPhone/iPad. This is a global tool to see where and when the sun will rise and set, you can work out when you need to be in the location to get that rare shot of the sun in just the right place.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-p...366195670?mt=8
Marine Tides Planner - the free version gives today's heights and times, particularly useful if you want to know if there is any beach to stand on for your sunrise or sunset masterpiece.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marin...317900837?mt=8
Planets - this free sky chart app gives a good 2D and 3D view of the sky. The 3D is great for being able to get details of what you are looking at, as well as tracking objects such as the moon, being able to see where there they are and also where they will be.
Link - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/planets/id305793334?mt=8
Off course I missed that you have the ability to read the most excellent EOS Magazine on your device, a great way to access useful and handy reference material!
While this post is slightly longer than I wanted, I hope this sort of item would be of interest to others? I would love to hear what else other people use, I am sure there are plenty of variations on the above, but these are what I am currently experimenting with - the problem is while many apps are free, some are quite expensive and it is very easy to end up spending quite a lot of money. It is the sort of item you could do on an annual basis, updating on what is new.
I would love to see a nice "EF Lens Book - Eyes of EOS" Canon app, with expanded coverage that included the various cameras, lenses, flash and accessories. Those that used to get the EOS diary had access to simple reference lists of device functions and settings, an app would be a perfect format for this sort of material, especially when you are in the field and trying something new. It would be great if it covered all lenses, so include the back catalogue, we all cannot upgrade all the time and I have some old lenses I am in no rush to update or replace. I would like to see listed the information you forget, filter sizes, magnification, close focusing tables, especially details around converters and extension tubes, MTF tables would be nice??
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