This is by no means a definitive list and I’m sure there will be some people who have great apps I haven’t tried yet and if you have please drop me a comment so I can check it out for myself. At the time of publication this blog article is about the Apps I have on my android device that in some way assist me in my path to capture the world through my camera.

1. Vignette - Lets kick things off with a Camera App for the phone itself! I’ve tried quite a few camera app’s even a trial of Vignette before but they all seemed pretty familiar expect for one called Retro Camera (see review later) I used that for months and then I read on twitter someone ranting about how good the latest release of Vignette was so I thought why not give it another try. I can tell you I was not disappointed! the new range of features, effects and boarders along with the ability to save pre-sets leaves lots of possibilities (I already have access to 3 on my main screen). The photo quality itself albeit limited by the capabilities of my Samsung Galaxy S hardware were actually pretty good and for the price of $4.02 I’d recommend it to anyone. Some examples:

2. Retro Camera – “With Retro Camera you’ll take delicious old-school pics your friends will drool over. 5 cameras, 5 sets of vintage vignetting, film scratch & cross processing effects for that off-the-hip analog look. Inspired by the old Lomo, Holga, Polaroid, Diana & toy cameras whose iconic styles we treasure. Instant Nostalgia now free.” - The website says it all and its true the photo emulation effect of Retro Camera coupled with the unpredictability of the mobile phone camera can result in some surprisingly great images. They do a free version and a donate version, which if you love the app like I do… you’ll soon be purchasing. I also think the paid version allows for larger file sizes. Some examples:

3. Sundroid - “Everything you need to know about the movements of the sun and moon! Calculates sunrise, sunset, twilights, golden hours, length of day, the path of the sun, and moonrise & moonset times for any date, anywhere in the world. Handy for astronomy, photography, outdoor activities, planning gardens, holidays, hunting, and more. Four widgets are included so the information is at your fingertips when you need it.” - So simple yet so handy. Sundroid allows users to quickly view all sorts of sun and moon data instantly based upon your GPS position. The UI is great and the golden hour feature is great for us photographers. Combined with a good weather app this one is a winner in my book.

4. Weather,Alerts,Quake,Barometer – “The key point of Elecont Weather is an unique combination of innovative design and professional quality of weather forecasting. The conception of placing weather data on the clock face is very easy for reading and understanding and helps you to plan your outdoor activities considering weather forecast with hour accuracy.” – Has to be the best weather App I have used yet. I used to use weatherbug but the functionality was limited and the UI wasn’t great. This App is so much better the UI is great and it provides hourly updates as well as 10 day forecasts. Accuracy is pretty good but never 100% as with any type of weather forecasting. Well worth the purchase.

5. Photometric – “Tools for photographers. Allows you to calculate the aperture and the exposure time from a given ISO sensitivity and a given exposure value (EV).” – A very basic app but does what it says on the tin so to speak.

6. Flickfolio - “FlickFolio is a fast viewer and uploader for Flickr that will auto download your photos for offline viewing wherever you go. FlickFolio auto downloads your photos for fast offline viewing. The auto downloads are small, ~100MB per 1000 photos, and sync while your phone charges.” - A must have for any flick user! I like the flickr mobile site but I just don’t find it fast or captivating enough to spend longer than 5 minutes on it. This app shows what the potential is for development on the flickr api creating a great UI and lovely way to display your images coupled with an intuitive way to display your contacts photos and easily comment!

7. Geotag Photos Pro - “Automatic geotagging of your photos. Simple & powerful, supports RAW formats! Professional geotagging solution – all you need to geotag photos taken by your EXTERNAL camera (DSLR or compact one). Supports JPG & RAW file formats.” - Seems to be the best Geotagging App on the android market place. I havent had much experience with it yet but i plan on trying it out over the next few days. All I can say at this point is that it looks stable, simple and well worth the purchase, automatically geotags your SLR photographs even abroad without the use of a data connection! Update: Ive been using the app for a few weeks now and all I can say is that I dont regret the purchase. Flickr automatically recognises the geotags when you click to add the location, the web tools to update the images are great and it works with Raw files I highly recommend this as a cheap geotagging solution.

8. Tumblr – “Post to Tumblr. Support for Text, Photo, Link, Chat, Quote, Audio and Video. Set advanced post options and edit, too. Built-in Dashboard. View, like and reblog posts. View your blogs. See your posts, drafts and queue. Landscape support. Share menu support.” – Ok strictly speaking not directly a photography related app I thought of this one more as a distribution app as with my next selection. Tumblr is a good service where photographs can go viral with other users posting them on their blogs. As with any social network site it isn’t for everyone and it requires participation but I like the platform so i thought the app work a mention.

9. WordPress – “Write new posts, edit content, and manage comments on your WordPress blog. WordPress for Android is an Open Source app that empowers you to write new posts, edit content, view stats, and manage comments with built-in notifications. WordPress for Android supports both WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress (2.9.2 or higher) blogs.” – As with the Tumblr app this app just allows you to post updates to your wordpress blog, I use it occasionally to post when I’m away from home but more often just to check in with my stats and moderate comments. Very simple to set up and does more than I expected.

10.  Easy Release – Model Releases – “Easy Release replaces inconvenient paper model release forms and contracts with a slick, streamlined application. Collect all data and signatures right on a touch sensitive Android device then email a PDF of the release right to you. Pre-bundled with industry standard (Getty Images) model and property releases in 13 langs. – Approved for use by Getty Images and Alamy contributors!” – A great way for photographers thinking of displaying their images to obtain a model release. You never know when the next snap you take might become your greatest potential earner through repeated stock sales later down the line so its important to obtain model releases where ever possible and this app makes it so much easier to present and have signed the release which is then emailed on in PDF format.

Also worth a mention…

Note Everything – “A notepad for taking different notes and types with many features. A note (notepad) application where you can create text-, voice- and paint-notes. Your notes can be organized in folders. You can create shortcuts on home, send notes, use live folders & much more!” - No photographer should ever be without a notebook, I normally carry a small notebook with me everywhere but just incase I forget among a variety of other reasons I use Note Everything. Its a great app for taking quick notes and recording voice notes. The UI is simple but works well and the pro version unlocks a host of new features:
- Photo notes
- Checklists
- Durable checklists
- Reminder
- Encryption (password protection)
- Stick notes to status bar
- Full automatic backup to sd-card

Dropbox – “Dropbox lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your Android device, and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.” - Again not directly photography related but useful for photographers none the less. This app makes it so easy to transfer files between your PC and phone as well as giving you extra free cloud storage. Sign up and get an extra 250mb with this link.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well that’s the end of my top 10 android apps for photographers. If you have any suggestions of other good app that are photography related please post in the comments so I can give them a try.

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So what have I been spending my hard earned cash on…

1. A new Samsung 1TB Portable Hard Drive – £73.00 from Amazon, I was needing a cheap storage solution for backing up my ever growing back catalogue of images. I’ve always been a fan of Samsung electronic equipment and the reviews were positive. I opted for the portable size ones as they do not require an independent power supply.
2. A Canon Lens Extension Tube EF 12 II – £57.99 from Amazon, I already have a dedicated Macro lens the Canon MP-E 65mm Which is a brillaint lens but it can be a bit restrictive for macro shots due to the narrow size of the frame which the lens allows. I’ve bought the EF 12 II to enhance the potential of my macro photography using some of my other lenses, in particular I’m excited to try this with my Canon EF 50mm F1.4.
3. A multi pack of 42″ Reflectors -  £13.95 including shipping from Amazon, an item I’ve always wanted to buy but never got around to! I’m looking forward to having this in my kit bag for portrait shoots when I’m out an about.
4. A Mini Softbox formy 580ex Flash – £7.95 including shipping from Amazon – Another little cheap accessory I have been toying with the idea of buying for quite some time! Not sure how good this will be but for the price I couldnt pass it up! I’ll do a few test shots once it arrives and let you decide for yourself.

Theres a few other items on my wish list but I was wondering are their any accessories that you have or want in your kit bag that are high on your list? Let me know in the comments section below and I’ll check them out!

To purchase any of the above items click on the photo and it will take you straight to the amazon page.

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