# Celeris – Photo Planner — Next-gen photo planning

> Next-gen photo planning (iPhone/iPad app by Stefan Engel.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/celeris-photo-planner/id6795455170 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Stefan Engel](https://appshunter.io/developer/893179878)
- Category: Photo & Video, Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 72 MB
- Languages: American English, German (Germany)
- Released: 2026-08-19
- Data updated: 2026-10-02
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/celeris-photo-planner/id6795455170/reviews.md

## What is Celeris?

Plan the photo. Find the moment.

Celeris is visual photo planning built around the picture you want to take. Choose your standpoint, direction and focal length. In a simulated camera view, see how your subject lines up with the sun, moon or Milky Way. Then find when the picture becomes possible – and take the plan outside.

Start free. Unlock the full version once, with no subscription.

A 3D WORLD BUILT FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
Terrain, water, real photographic landmarks, your own 3D objects, camera and sky share one view. Where terrain data is available, Celeris shows the real horizon. Forests, fields, rock and settlements colour the land; the sun and moon light it, cast shadows and change its appearance through the day. Twilight, haze and fog help you picture the shot. Fog and rainbows are simulations, not weather forecasts.

THE LANDMARK MATTERS
Castles, towers, bridges and rock formations can stand in the sky as surveyed 3D models. The curated collection keeps growing; you can also build your own objects from parts and place them on the terrain. Models cast shadows on the ground and each other. Model and terrain coverage varies by location.

FIND THE OPPORTUNITY
Set the frame from 10 to 1200 mm, in portrait or landscape, or make a panorama. Two controls find the next or previous time the sun, moon, Milky Way or a selected sky object becomes visible inside that exact frame. The real terrain skyline and the darkness needed to see it count too. A separate transit finder handles the ISS.

The month calendar reveals promising nights. Event search finds sunrises, the moon, Milky Way, eclipses and more; Location Finder compares viewpoints for sunrise, sunset and the Milky Way. Save the place, time, direction and lens as a plan with a rendered picture.

DAY INTO NIGHT
The time scrubber carries the colours of twilight and the sun's and moon's arcs. The 3D sky shows planets, stars, the Milky Way, zodiacal light and the ISS. The full version shows light pollution in the sky and on the map and finds nearby dark places. Find worthwhile nights for meteor showers; the full version draws their radiants and time-compressed meteors in the sky. Estimated meteor rates help with planning; they are not a guarantee.

OUT IN THE FIELD
AR lays the calculated sky over your camera view. Widgets show events and your next plan. On Apple Watch, see the night as a ring, your next plan, a compass to your standpoint, the moon and ISS, plus a sequence timer and watch-face complications.

START FREE. UNLOCK ONCE.
The map, 3D view, terrain, catalogue, your own models and plans are free to use, with planning limited to 48 hours around now. The full version opens more dates and features with a one-time in-app purchase. No subscription. One purchase unlocks it on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Plans, places and your own models can sync across your Apple devices through iCloud. No Celeris account, ads or trackers. English and German.

The star catalogue uses HYG (Astronexus) and OpenNGC (Mattia Verga), both CC BY-SA 4.0; sources and licences are in the app.

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Version | $8.99 | one-time |



## Version history (last 4 releases)

### 2.2 — 2026-09-26

Celeris 2.2 lets you see more of the planned shot – and find its moment faster.

• The 3D view adds water, coloured terrain and twilight with warm light towards the sun and cooler colours away from it.
• 3D models cast shadows on terrain and each other, even in moonlight.
• Find the next or previous time the sun, moon, Milky Way or a selected sky object is visible in your frame. Terrain and darkness count too.
• Meteor showers in events, search and calendar; the full version adds radiants and time-compressed meteors in the 3D sky, plus an estimated rate for your location.
• Apple Watch has a richer night view with twilight, moon and Milky Way, alongside your plan and compass.

Also new: village lights and traffic after dusk, finer control of your standpoint and plans shared as files. One-time in-app purchase for the full version, no subscription.

### 2.1 — 2026-09-14

Celeris 2.1 makes the sky truer and the planning sharper:

• Light pollution: how dark the night sky is over a place, with an approximate Bortle class – in the full version drawn into the 3D sky, laid over the map in atlas colours, and searchable as the darkest places within reach
• The zodiacal light after dusk and before dawn, twinkling stars low over the land, stars with a white core and a coloured skirt, the aperture's diffraction spikes at long focal lengths, and a play button that can run at real time
• Panorama mode: a grid of overlapping frames on the chosen lens
• The planets Mercury to Neptune in the object picker, the planner and the sky, Saturn with its rings; oppositions and greatest elongations under More; the lens now reaches 1200 mm
• New widgets: the station's next crossings of the sun and the moon, and a countdown to your next plan on the lock screen
• Celeris on Apple Watch: the night as a ring, a countdown to the next plan, a compass that walks you to the standpoint, the moon, the galactic centre, a sequence timer and the eclipse day, with complications for the watch face
• Wish for and report 3D models, straight from the app

The full version remains a single purchase with no subscription, valid on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

### 2.0 — 2026-09-08

Celeris 2.0 expands planning throughout the app:

• Real 3D terrain across Europe and the United States, with light, shadow and adjustable fog
• More than 100 included models of distinctive castles, structures and rock formations, plus an editor for your own 3D objects
• ISS passes and transits, solar and lunar eclipses, and rainbow planning
• Sun and moon paths, star trails, sunstars and deep-sky imagery in the 3D view
• AR navigation to the planned camera position
• A new native Mac app; plans, places and custom models sync through iCloud

The full version remains a single purchase with no subscription, valid on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

### 1.0 — 2026-08-19

No release notes.

## Apps similar to Celeris

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Sun Tracker AR: Shade Map](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sun-tracker-ar-shade-map/id6803856065) | — | Free | Photo & Video |
| [Viewpoint: Photography Planner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/viewpoint-photography-planner/id6763723179) | — | Free | Photo & Video |
| [LensTrails](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lenstrails/id6788136488) | — | Free | Photo & Video |
| [Sunset Prediction](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sunset-prediction/id6777125304) | — | Free | Photo & Video |
| [UMi Mount](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/umi-mount/id6503953666) | — | Free | Photo & Video |
| [HDR Diagnostics](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hdr-diagnostics/id6759677976) | 5.0 (5) | Free | Photo & Video |

## More apps by Stefan Engel

- [AutoND](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autond/id893179875)
- [Caelum](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/caelum/id1508735328)

All apps by Stefan Engel: https://appshunter.io/developer/893179878

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-02.*