With the advancement of technology, mobile photography has become increasingly popular among photography enthusiasts. Capturing the beauty of the moon, however, requires specific techniques and equipment. Some Android apps have been developed to assist in moon photography, providing users with the ability to capture high-quality images of the moon. In this article, we will explore the best Android app for moon photography, its features, and what sets it apart from other apps.
Moon photography is a challenging task that requires patience, skill, and the right tools. In the past, capturing an image of the moon required expensive and complicated equipment. However, with the increasing capabilities of smartphones, moon photography has become more accessible. Using an Android app for moon photography allows users to capture high-quality images of the moon with just their phones.
There are several Android apps available for moon photography. Some are more effective than others in providing users with the tools they need to capture stunning images of the moon.
We have compiled a list of 8 Best Android App For Moon Photography for your consideration, which have undergone rigorous testing and evaluation by our team of experts.
Table of Contents
8 Best Android App For Moon Photography
1. Light Pollution Map – Dark Sky & Astronomy Tools
Light Pollution Map is an app designed to help astronomers and stargazers locate dark sites for optimal star gazing and photography. The integrated Light Pollution Map allows users to save and load their favorite dark sky locations, adjust the light pollution map overlay opacity and map type, and avoid light pollution on the distant horizon using a unique horizon safe radius tool. The app also includes an integrated cloud cover map and temperature indicator, an Aurora Overlay, an ISS Tracker, and the ability to configure alerts and notifications for upcoming celestial events.
Additional features of the app include moon information, live aurora and magnetic field info, astronomy calculators, live aurora webcams, a moon position tool, a night sky calendar, live NASA SOHO images, Astronomy Photo of the Day, and widgets. The app offers several upgrade packs or a monthly subscription with a free trial to access some features not available in the free version. The app also offers Night Mode and AMOLED themes to conserve battery life and reduce light pollution during stargazing.
2. Stellarium Plus – Star Map
Stellarium Plus – Star Map is a planetarium app that accurately displays stars, constellations, planets, comets, satellites, and other deep sky objects in real time by pointing the phone at the sky. The app has an easy-to-use and minimalist user interface, making it suitable for both adults and children. The Plus version has a vast collection of sky objects and advanced observing features for controlling telescopes or preparing observing sessions.
Stellarium Plus features an accurate night sky simulation of stars and planets for any date, time, and location, a collection of stars, nebulas, galaxies, star clusters, and other deep sky objects, and the ability to select the shapes and illustrations of constellations for many sky cultures. It can track artificial satellites, simulate landscape and atmosphere with realistic sunrise, sunset, and atmosphere refraction, and display 3D rendering of major solar system planets and their satellites.
The app also has a night mode to preserve eyes’ adaptation to darkness and a massive collection of stars, nebulas, galaxies, star clusters, and other deep sky objects. Users can zoom in on high-resolution images of deep sky objects or planetary surfaces and observe in the field without an internet connection. The app also allows for telescope control through Bluetooth or WIFI and advanced observation tools for predicting celestial object observability and transit times.
3. ProCam X ( HD Camera Pro )
ProCam X is a camera app that offers a wide range of features and controls that mimic those of a professional camera. These features include exposure control, white balance, ISO control, and manual focus. The app also offers burst shooting mode, intervalometer, and the ability to set custom video bit rate, among other things. The app can be used to record high-resolution videos and take pictures with different effects.
The app offers burst camera mode, facial recognition, front-back camera selection, and scene mode, among other key features. It also allows users to adjust shutter speed, focus distance, and ISO. The app offers real-time photo filters, location targeting, and multi-touch gesture control. It also supports external microphones and RAW (DNG) files.
To use the app’s manual features, the device must be running Android 5.0 or above with a camera2 API enabled by the phone’s vendor. The app is small in size and has a clean interface.
4. MoonCatcher
The app in question allows for the user to zoom in more than the standard factor, enabling them to capture close-ups of the moon on their screen. This is achieved through a hand-operated control function on the camera, with users able to adjust the exposure to achieve appropriate brightness levels. Additionally, the app features an HDR function for daytime photographs, allowing users to change the number of consecutive shots and composition sheets to achieve high dynamic range.
There are over 40 filters available within the app, allowing for various effects to be applied to photographs. However, access to all functions requires the purchase of a paid version. The app’s main functions include a photography function for crescent, waxing, and full moons, with the ability to combine multiple images into a high-definition composite. There is also an HDR function that combines multiple shots with varying exposure levels to expand the dynamic range.
Other camera functions include real-time display of ISO level, shutter speed, and aperture stop, white balance setting, and zoom capability. Users can select all resolution options available on their device. Furthermore, the app also contains a shake correction feature that minimizes position displacement, an image gallery, and image processing capabilities with a range of filters. The app also allows for easy sharing of photographs through email or various social media platforms.
The app includes several open sources, including openCV, GPUImage for android, and GPUImage.
5. NightShooting
The Night Camera is a camera application that has been downloaded over 5 million times due to its ability to capture high-quality night scenes and night skies. This camera application is suitable for handheld shooting, even in low light settings, and can capture beautiful penlight art and starry skies with bulb shooting. Users can shoot without a tripod, as long as they hold the camera firmly. The application reduces noise in dark scenes by compositing multiple shots and offers automatic blur correction to capture high-quality images with handheld shooting.
The Night Camera offers both automatic shooting and manual settings, such as shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, white balance, zoom, and self-timer. Even those without camera knowledge can use the simple wizard function to set up the camera easily. The application also supports shooting in dark rooms or with sleeping children or pets by allowing users to adjust the shutter volume to reduce disturbance.
The free version of the application has some limitations, such as a limit on image size when saving, transferring to other applications, Twitter, or sending via email. Banner ads will also be displayed. To enjoy regular in-app purchases and remove these limitations, users can purchase the full version. Before purchasing, it is recommended to test the free version to ensure its compatibility with their device. The Night Camera team can be reached on Twitter for support.
6. PhotoPills
PhotoPills is an all-in-one planner designed for photographers, videographers, and beginners. The app provides various features, such as a planner based on 2D maps of the Sun, Moon, and Milky Way, quick alignment of the Sun and Moon, 3D augmented reality of celestial objects, management of photographic projects, location search tool, and calculators for timelapse, spot stars, star trail, and hyperfocal distance. The app also includes a user guide and other features.
The augmented reality options use the device’s compass, which may not be available on some devices. The app has been endorsed by renowned photographers, such as Mark Gee and Kevin Raber.
The app enables users to plan a photo shoot by calculating the exact date and time when the desired scene will occur. This feature allows users to imagine a unique image and plan its composition. The app also enables users to save their planned photos, create a list of planned photos, and arrive at the location on time.
The app includes various calculators for settings such as timelapse, hyperfocal distance, equivalent exposure, angle of view, and equivalent focal length. It also allows users to predict the position and path of the Sun, Moon, Milky Way, celestial equator, and the North Star.
Users can save their favorite locations as points of interest and add notes and photos.
7. Photographer’s companion
The Photographer’s Companion application is designed to assist photographers in taking better photos using manual camera settings. It is aimed at both professional and amateur photographers with basic knowledge. The application provides tools to calculate alternative/equivalent exposure, depth of field, hyperfocal distance, field of view, shutter speed, and more. It also includes features for capturing sunrise/sunset, moon phases, stars, lightning, and fireworks. Users can calculate EV, distance, or aperture with a flash, and determine optimum settings based on the lighting of a location. The app is available in 12 languages and includes a countdown for long exposures. Photographer’s Companion Pro is also available with additional features and no ads. The developer can be contacted for suggestions, bug reports, and translations.
8. A Better Camera
A Better Camera is a comprehensive camera application for Android devices that offers a plethora of features. It has HDR mode that produces vibrant colors and rich details, providing professional-looking photos. The Panorama feature can capture up to 360 degrees with 100 MPix. Multishot offers a Group portrait, Sequence shot, and Remover feature to eliminate unwanted objects in one click. The Night mode is designed for low-light photography. The app offers Video recording with a pause function, time-lapse video and photo, Pre-shot feature, Burst and Expo-bracketing, Timer, and different focusing options such as ISO and White-balance.
A Better Camera also offers RAW capture for Nexus 5 with Android 5, Focus and Expo metering by separate points, Timestamp, Manual controls for Nexus 5, 6 and LG Flex 2, and access to all camera controls, settings, and functions. The app is available in the unlocked version ABC Unlocked, and a widget named ABC Widget provides quick access to any mode from the home screen. A Better Camera is an all-purpose, full-featured camera application that eliminates the need for multiple camera apps.
A Better Camera combines several top-ranked Android camera apps such as HDR Camera+, Night Camera+, and HD Panorama+ to offer the best imaging features. The app is open to third-party developers, thus aggregating the experience of Android developers community to provide users with the most complete set of imaging features ever.