The Android smart phone / tablet devices are now very nicely integrated into the range of Google products. Here I would like to summarise some of the Android / Google Apps that you can use to assist you in your photography.
- It is always very handy to have your camera manual handy when you are out and about, if you have a query on the settings or operation of your camera. So drop a copy of your camera manual in pdf form on to your device and you will have it with you all the time.
- If you synchronise your tablet / phone clocks and your camera clock to the correct time you can record your travels on the “My Tracks” App and save the track in the form of a .gpx file and when you get back home you can process the .gpx file to apply the GPS coordinates on to your image files. This way you will always remember where each image was captured. The Nikon VeiwNX-i software is excellent for this.
- Load the Mobile Stellarium App on to your tablet / phone and this will enable you to see the beauty of the night sky. This is very useful if you want to get some beautiful images of the Milky Way or other astro images. The App will essentially show you where the various stars are and also the position of the Milky Way depending on the time. The following image is a screen capture of the Stellarium from my Android device.
- The TPE (The Photographer’s Ephemeris) is an excellent App to show the direction and time where / when the sun is rising and setting. It also shows similar information for the Moon rising and setting. The following image is a screen capture of the TPE from my Android tablet.
- I also find it useful to keep a spreadsheet when using Neutral Density (ND) filters, showing the extended exposure time for the various ND filters I use. I take this spreadsheet with me on the tablet. Such as the following example.
These are some of the ways that I used my Android tablet to advantage with my photography. Your Android tablet or phone can therefore be a very useful device to improve your photography.
The latest tablets are very similar to a mini computer and can prove to be very handy and powerful when used to their capability.
The equipment I use for my photography is mainly as follows: