SolanderSun and moon planner for photographers
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How Solander compares
Solander is a sun and moon planner for photographers on iPhone. It works out golden hour, blue hour and dark for the spot you choose, draws Apple Weather’s cloud forecast hour by hour on the same dial, and gives each of the next five nights its hours of clear dark and a verdict. It costs £2.99 a month or £19.99 a year after a seven-day free trial for new subscribers, with no account.
Who it suits
Solander is a good fit if
- you shoot the night sky and want to know whether the cloud will let you
- you’d like one figure for tonight’s clear dark, and a plain verdict
- you’d rather not make an account
Another app may suit you better if
- you need to know when the sun drops behind a hill: The Photographer’s Ephemeris, PhotoPills and Planit Pro list terrain features
- you’d like Planit’s tools with a weather forecast: its maker now recommends PlanIt Earth to new users; PlanIt Earth lists cloud forecasts with PlanIt+
- you plan on an iPad, a Mac or Android, or across devices: all four run on iPad; Ephemeris (Vito) on a Mac (Planit’s maker points Mac users to PlanIt Earth); PhotoPills, Ephemeris (Vito) and Planit Pro on Android; PhotoPills and Planit Pro sync plans, where Solander exports a file
- you’d rather pay once: The Photographer’s Ephemeris and Planit Pro are £9.99 and PhotoPills is £10.99
- you want a longer camera list: PhotoPills lists more than 2,000 camera models
- you’d like another language: the other four offer 4 to 15; Solander is in English
- you want an App Store privacy label that says Data Not Collected: Sun Surveyor’s does (£9.99)
Side by side
Of the sun, moon and Milky Way planners for photographers in our UK App Store searches on 15 October 2026, these four had the most ratings; Ephemeris (Vito) is Vito Technology’s Ephemeris: Photo Planner AR. Each row is what the app’s UK App Store page or website says; “Not listed” means we didn’t find it there.
| Feature | Solander | The Photographer’s Ephemeris | PhotoPills | Ephemeris (Vito) | Planit Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Seven days free, then £2.99 a month or £19.99 a year | £9.99; Skyfire forecasts from £9.99 for 3 months | £10.99 | Free; £0.99 a month or £9.99 for life, with a 7-day trial | £9.99; 3D Model from £0.99 a month, Location Explorer from £4.99 a month |
| Hour-by-hour cloud forecast in the iPhone app | Yes, from Apple Weather, up to seven days ahead | Not listed; sunrise and sunset colour forecasts with Skyfire | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Hours of clear dark for a night, cloudy hours cut out | Yes, for each of the next five nights | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| A verdict on the night | Yes: Go tonight, Cloud eats the window or Clouded out | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Countdown on the Lock Screen | Yes, for each window of light | Not listed; an in-app countdown | Not listed; Home Screen widgets | Not listed; reminders | Not listed |
| Exposure calculators for your own camera | Yes: five, for 292 cameras and 734 lenses and telescopes | Not listed in the iPhone app | Yes, with more than 2,000 camera models | Not listed | Yes, including depth of field and ND |
| Hills and terrain on the horizon | No: a flat horizon | Yes: line of sight and elevation | Yes: topography between two pins | Not listed | Yes: elevation and clear view |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro, Android | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Android | iPhone, iPad, Mac (as an iPad app), Vision Pro, Android |
What people ask of a photo planner
Will it be clear?
Planners show where the sun and moon will be; people also want to know whether they’ll see them. Solander puts Apple Weather’s cloud on the same dial as the light and cuts the cloudy hours out of the night’s dark.
Is it worth going out tonight?
A screen of figures leaves the decision to you. Solander gives the night one figure, its clear dark, and a plain verdict, with the cloud, rain and moon it judged on beside it.
How long can I expose before the stars trail?
Rules of thumb such as the 500 rule run long on high-resolution sensors. Spot Stars works from your sensor’s pixel size and lens, and says when a tracker lets you go longer.
Questions
Is there a photography planner with a cloud forecast?
Yes. Solander draws Apple Weather’s cloud cover hour by hour on the same dial as the sun and moon, up to seven days ahead.
How much is Solander?
Seven days free for new subscribers, then £2.99 a month or £19.99 a year, through the App Store.
Does Solander need an account?
No. Your shoots and trips stay on your iPhone, and you can export them as a file.
Does Solander work offline?
The sun, the moon and twilight work with no signal; the cloud forecast and the map need a connection.
What is usable dark?
The night’s astronomical dark with every hour of 35% cloud or more cut out. The moon is drawn on the ring but not deducted.
Checked 15 October 2026 on the UK App Store and each app’s own website. Other apps change; if something here is out of date, tell us on the support page.