Update, used this all today for eclipse. And the total eclipse feature worked great. Got some great pics (for iPhone) of Corona and even some faint prominencesThis is a great app, it makes much better pictures of the sun that the native camera app. It also defaults to the 5x camera while the normal photo app switches depending on light conditions. It would be even better if it added remote shutter support either from the Apple Watch or one of this Bluetooth shutters. I know this app is for handheld photos but many might mount the phone to a tripod or on binoculars or telescope. For people using a telescope it would be nice if the app also offered support for the normal lens on phones. However for handheld photos of the sun this app in its current form is great.

While I’ve only played with the app a couple times taking pics of the sun there is one critical feature that’s missing. Bluetooth support. Considering that many people may want to use a tripod to help steady their shot, especially if zoomed in being able to trigger the shutter via Bluetooth should be standard. All that happens is the trigger increases my Ringer volume. I have an iPhone 15 Pro Max with the latest iOS release. I’d think with the last total eclipse in the continental US until 2045 that this wouldn’t be missing.With that said, none of my 3rd party camera apps do this either - Moment, Camera+, Nightcap. Yet Filmic and MoviePro do allow Bluetooth to start and stop video recording. The other apps that can do video don’t work in video mode either. I took off one star due to this. Though maybe that’s just they way it is.

a. Great app! I used it to photograph the annular solar eclipse from the suburbs of Albuquerque. I left the kit at home. I used the app on an iPhone 13 Pro. My wife used the app on an iPhone X. We each used an improvised filter cut out from approved, silvered solar viewing glasses. The material caused an orange color and some haloes. What worked well. The autofocus worked great! I did not need to lock it.I could not photograph the sunspot that we saw through binoculars but that may have been the filter. The partial 60-sec timer. Changes. For some of us, the Zoom and Exp buttons got stuck on the left edge and needed tapping a few times. Maybe make them a few pixels bigger. Put the time on the screen so that we do not have to close the app to see the time. Annular eclipse is a bit over exposed even at the lowest exposure but that may be our filter.b. Combined with a suitable filter, it provides easy adjustment of the zoom, exposure, and focus. There is a button to take photos at regular intervals, an intervalometer. It worked well during the 2023 annular eclipse. You can temporarily attach an approved filter material to the phone using masking tape or binder clips!c. In April 2024, we got the filter kit. It went on easily and the Velcro pad stayed on the back of the phone. After you put on the filter, turn up the screen brightness. Now you can see the dim image onscreen while squinting towards the partially eclipsed sun and the bright sky! It was too cloudy to use the app.d. Try a zoom from near 4 to 15 and exposure near -2. For each eclipse, the autofocus worked well and we did not have to manually adjust focus.e. Unclear which lens it uses on a multi-lens phone. For example, for a 6X zoom does it use the 2X lens and 3X optical zoom or 5X lens and 1.2X digital zoom?

NASA recommended to buy a filter for your cell phone camera and posted a few web stores to buy them from. The filter that Solar Snap uses was the highest rated one, so I bought it. I’m so freaking happy I did! We drove 10+ hours to see the totality of the eclipse on 4/8/24 and this app and filter made our photos! The app lets you adjust for Focus, Zoom, and Exposure and that made all the difference! I even took a few photos without using Solar Snap and you can’t tell we were at an eclipse.Others I know also used Solar Snap and were extremely pleased. I will definitely use this app for future eclipses!