App Does the Math for Photographers

Review by Dave Williams

There’s a new app developed by Peter Holdmann to aid photographers, particularly when it comes to any mathematics involved in photography and video. Designed for the iPad, it goes by the name of Photo Boffin, and has a simple, easy-to-navigate interface divided into sections: Exposure Compensation, Lens Angles, Depth of Field, Solar, Lunar, Aurora Forecast, and Timelapse. 

The self-explanatory sections serve different purposes, with some containing the data that pertains to the lighting conditions photographers need to know based on location, while others contain data points that you can select to help work out photographic formulas. The Exposure Compensation section, for example, allows you to adjust Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO, and designate filter strengths, resulting in an Adjusted Exposure that accurately provides the correct settings, along with a timer. 

The Solar section is an extremely helpful, all-around tool for photographers, showing all the solar phases throughout the day, based on the user’s location. The three phases of twilight are a useful thing to know, along with Golden Hour and Sunrise. This data is easily accessible along with information pertinent to technical or architecture photographers, such as Lens Angles and Depth of Field. 

Creating a timelapse always involves a great deal of thought, but the Timelapse section helps by working out what you need to know using frame rate, shooting time, or final length so you can determine the other attributes required. 

If you know what the problem may be that needs to be solved, Photo Boffin is ideal; however there’s no explanation offered in-app if a user perhaps doesn’t know what he or she is looking for, or what the settings required might be. As an app designed to help photographers by removing the mathematics and simplifying the process, Photo Boffin does the job. ■