PhotoPills vs ShutterCount Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PhotoPills
Plan and capture stunning photos of the sun, moon, and Milky Way. This app helps you visualize celestial events and landscape compositions with advanced planning tools and augmented reality.
- 2D Map-Centric Planner (Sun, Moon, Milky Way)
- 3D Augmented Reality Views
- Celestial Event Finder
- Photo Plans Manager
- Location Scouting Tool
- Calculators (Long Exposure, Timelapse, etc.)
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Unlock your creative potential! Discover how to easily turn any Sun, Moon and Milky Way scene you imagine into a real picture… and start shooting truly legendary photos every time you pick up the camera! Whether your passion is to capture beautiful landscapes, immortalize the infinite night sky, surprise the bride and the groom in their happiest day... or to travel the world, PhotoPills will make you love exploring new artistic possibilities to tell visual stories in a way it wasn’t possible before. * All in one app PhotoPills is your iPhone and iPad personal assistant in all photographic matters. It provides tasty remedies to answer most of the questions when planning and shooting your creative ideas: - The First 2D Map-Centric Planner: Sun, Moon, Milky Way - Sun, Moon Alignments Fast Finder - 3D Augmented Reality: Sun, Moon, Milky Way, Celestial Equator, Polaris, DoF, FoV - Photo Plans Manager - Location Scouting Tool - Key information: Sunrise/set, Twilights, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Moonrise/set, Supermoon dates, Moon Calendar - Calculators: Long Exposure, Timelapse, Spot Stars, Star Trails, Hyperfocal Table, DoF, FoV - Widgets: Sun, Moon, Milky Way - PhotoPills Awards… and much more! * Endorsed by Masters “PhotoPills is an invaluable tool which I use every time I plan a shoot.” – Mark Gee, Astronomy Photographer of the Year. “A tool every photographer should have.” – Kevin Raber, Luminous-landscape.com. “It pays off! Using such a tool ensures that we are repeatedly capable of quickly planning powerful shots; leaving maximum opportunity for more creative ruminations.” – José B. Ruiz, Innovation Award, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. * How it works Have you ever walked around a place and thought: "What a pity the Moon isn't EXACTLY right there... I would have captured a great photo!"? What about the Sun? And the Milky Way? Well, now you can let your imagination fly and calculate when this specific magic moment happens in just a few seconds: - IMAGINE: the Milky Way arching over a powerful landscape, a giant full Moon appearing from behind a nearby hill or a sunset between two rocks on a magic beach... The only limit is your imagination! - PLAN: easily calculate the exact date and time the scene you’ve imagined happens. Work smarter, not harder! - SHOOT: just get out there, immerse yourself in the great outdoors, and enjoy living and capturing unique moments. * Become a Legend Because we know the huge amount of time, energy and love you put in your photos. We want to HONOR them, SHOW them to the World, and REWARD you with up to $6,600 in cash prizes. It's easy and FREE! Just submit your creative photos from PhotoPills and join the Legacy! * Never waste an unmissable scene again Create a To-Do list of planned photos and get to the location on time. * Get it right Adjust your frame for the best composition before you shoot. Use the 3D Augmented Reality Views to see whether Sun, Moon and Milky Way will be at the desired position when pressing the shutter. * Explore, discover great places and create your own database of locations If you come across a location you’d like to remember, save it as a Point of Interest. * Enjoy all daily information in just one swipe with the Widgets Just swipe down from the top of the screen to get all the Sun, Moon and Milky Way events for your current location and date, in addition to your upcoming photo plans. * Get more than an app Our goal is not only to help you plan your shots, but also to help you nail them. Whenever you need help, take a look at our How-To articles and videos, join our free online courses or just contact us! “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take PhotoPills – you stay in Wonderland and we show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Remember: all we’re offering are Legendary Photos and Goosebumps in your skin, nothing more.”
ShutterCount Mobile
This app reads the shutter actuation count for Canon, Nikon, and Pentax digital cameras. It helps determine a camera's usage, check if a pre-owned item is truly new, and avoid service center trips. Features include unlimited readings, wear indicators, and history logging.
- Unlimited shutter count readings
- Shutter wear indicator
- History logging in CSV format
- Live View and electronic shutter counters (optional)
- Graphing and shutter life forecasting (optional)
- Canon EOS camera management (optional)
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*** The original, most feature-rich and only iOS shutter count reader that works with all new Canons *** ShutterCount displays the number of shutter actuations (the shutter count) of your Canon EOS, Nikon or Pentax digital camera - see the complete list of certified models below. The shutter count is read directly from USB or Wi-Fi connected Canons, and from image files for Nikon and Pentax cameras. With ShutterCount you can easily check whether a newly purchased camera is really new, or how heavily used a pre-owned item is. And you can save a trip to a service center by doing the reading for yourself. BASE FEATURES • Unlimited readings • Counter for still photos • Wear indicator with numeric and graphical rated shutter life percentage display • History logging to track camera usage; logs are stored in CSV format that can be imported into Numbers or Excel for further processing • Reports in plain text format • Wizard to guide you through the reading process LIVE VIEW PACK (optional in-app purchase supporting select Canon models) • Counters for live view/videos and electronic shutter • Distribution chart PLUS PACK (optional in-app purchase) • Graphing • Shutter life forecasting (not available for some Nikon and Pentax models) • History deduplication • Canon EOS camera management (date/time sync, owner name editing, copyright information setting, outdated firmware warning, IPTC export/import) • Raw copyright information display and secure personal data wiping for Canons CERTIFIED CAMERAS USB connection (requires a Lightning to USB Camera Adapter or a USB-C equipped iPad; Wi-Fi on the camera must be disabled): • Canon 1D4/1DC/1DX/1DX2/1DX3/5D2/5D3/5D4/5DS/5DSR/6D/6D2/7D/7D2/40D/50D/60D/60Da/70D/77D/80D/90D/100D/200D/200D2/250D/450D/500D/550D/600D/650D/700D/750D/760D/800D/850D/1000D/1100D/1200D/1300D/1500D/2000D/3000D/4000D/8000D/9000D/C50/M6II/M50/M50II/R/R1/R3/R5/R5C/R5II/R6/R6II/R6III/R7/R8/R10/R50/R100/Ra/RP; Kiss F/M/M2/X2/X3/X4/X5/X6i/X7/X7i/X8i/X9/X9i/X10/X10i/X50/X70/X80/X90; Rebel SL1/SL2/SL3/T1i/T2i/T3/T3i/T4i/T5/T5i/T6/T6i/T6s/T7/T7i/T8i/T100/XS/XSi Wi-Fi/Ethernet connection is supported using built-in networking or Canon transmitters on the above cameras having the "EOS Utility" function. The camera must be paired directly with ShutterCount using this function. Image files: • Nikon D2H/D2X/D2Xs/D3/D3S/D3X/D4/D4S/D5/D6/D40/D40X/D50/D60/D70/D70s/D80/D90/D200/D300/D300S/D500/D600/D610/D700/D750/D780/D800/D800E/D810/D850/D3000/D3100/D3200/D3300/D3400/D3500/D5000/D5100/D5200/D5300/D5500/D5600/D7000/D7100/D7200/D7500/Df/Z5/Z5II/Z6/Z6II/Z6III/Z7/Z7II/Z8/Z9/Z30/Z50/Z50II/Zf/Zfc/ZR; 1 AW1/J1/J3/J4/J5/V1/V2/V3; Coolpix A • Pentax *istDL/*istDL2/645D/645Z/K1/K1II/K3/K3II/K3III/K3IIIMono/K5/K5II/K5IIs/K7/K10D/K20D/K30/K50/K70/K100D/K100D Super/K200D/K500/K2000/Km/KP/Kr/KS1/KS2/Kx Cameras not listed here are not supported. FOR DETAILED COMPATIBILITY INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT: https://www.direstudio.com/shuttercount/tech-specs Questions? Problems? Check out the Getting Started Guide (https://www.direstudio.com/shuttercount/getting-started), the FAQ (https://www.direstudio.com/shuttercount/faq), or contact our support by tapping Report a Problem on the More tab! DISCLAIMER: The app displays the camera's internal counter. DIRE Studio is not responsible for how well and accurately the camera maintains that counter. The forecast is calculated based on your previous usage, and will change if you use the camera differently in the future.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PhotoPills at 4.7 against ShutterCount Mobile's 3.3. PhotoPills also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (85% vs 56%). ShutterCount Mobile's advantage is price ($9.99 vs $10.99). On update cadence, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
PhotoPills costs $10.99 and ShutterCount Mobile $9.99 up front. ShutterCount Mobile sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. PhotoPills asks for nothing beyond the download.
PhotoPills holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhotoPills has 1.5K ratings behind it against 66, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of PhotoPills's written reviews are positive against 56% of ShutterCount Mobile's.
PhotoPills ships an update every 2 months, ShutterCount Mobile every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PhotoPills | ShutterCount Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10.99 | $9.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better | 3.3 (66 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.9% of reviews — better | 55.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 66 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #12 — better | #68 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PhotoPills S.L. | DIRE Studio |
Customer experience
PhotoPills
ShutterCount Mobile
User reviews
PhotoPills
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Comprehensive planning tools
- 🚀 Powerful features for astrophotography
- 💡 Excellent tutorials and support
- 🌟 Indispensable for photographers
- ⭐ Incredible value for money
Room to improve
- 🤔 Steep learning curve
- 🤯 Overwhelming complexity
- 🤖 Confusing user interface
- 🔋 Battery drain issues
- 🗺️ Inaccurate location tracking
ShutterCount Mobile
From 66 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✅ Works reliably when properly configured
- ⚡ Quick shutter count retrieval (5 minutes or less)
- 💰 One-time purchase, no recurring fees
- 📱 Compatible with multiple Canon camera models
- 🎯 Accurate shutter count readings
Room to improve
- 🔌 Complex connection setup process
- ❌ High failure rate for certain camera models
- 📚 Vague and unclear instructions for beginners
- 💸 Expensive for a single-purpose utility app
- 🚫 Limited camera model compatibility
Bugs and requests
PhotoPills
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when using depth of field calculator
- Location settings not persisting between sessions
- Milky Way position not aligning correctly
Requested features
5 requests- User guide in multiple languages
- Improved integration with other apps
- More customization options
- Weather forecast integration
- Apple Watch companion app
ShutterCount Mobile
Reported bugs
11 issues- WiFi pairing fails on certain camera models
- App doesn't connect despite correct configuration
- Shutter count displays as zero on mobile version
- Inconsistent readings between mobile and desktop versions
- Connection timeout issues lasting 30+ minutes
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Incompatibility with 5GHz WiFi networks
- Camera not detected in pairing wizard
- USB connection not working with newer iPhones
- App crashes during connection process
- Cannot differentiate between mechanical and non-mechanical actuations
- Bug in latest camera firmware prevents reading shutter count
Requested features
9 requests- Clearer, more detailed step-by-step instructions per camera model
- German language version
- Improved error messages with troubleshooting guidance
- Support for non-mechanical actuation differentiation
- Lower price point ($2.99-$3.99 range)
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Better documentation for USB connection method
- In-app tutorial or wizard improvements
- Support for older Canon camera models (60D, 5D Classic, T5, 30D)
- Automatic camera detection without manual pairing
In-app purchases
PhotoPills
No in-app purchases
ShutterCount Mobile
- Feature Level 6 to 7 Upgrade$1.99
- Live View Pack$5.00
- Plus Pack$7.00
Questions
Is PhotoPills free?
Is ShutterCount Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, PhotoPills or ShutterCount Mobile?
Do PhotoPills or ShutterCount Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, PhotoPills or ShutterCount Mobile?
Which is more popular, PhotoPills or ShutterCount Mobile?
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