Features
Plan the shot: 3D scouting and the alignment planner
Pick your subject, stand where you will shoot in a photoreal 3D world, find when the sun, moon or Milky Way lines up, then let Viewpoint watch the weather for you.
Stand there before you go. Planning a shot in Viewpoint is one journey: pick your subject, stand where you will stand in a photoreal 3D world with the sun, the moon and the Milky Way core in place, let Viewpoint find when it lines up, and save the plan. Then it watches the weather and the sky for you, and tells you when the shot will actually work.
The 3D world is part of Ultra, in beta: it works, and we are still refining it. Ultra includes everything in Max and adds the 3D world and the smart finder, with more on the way.
(replaced at launch)
1. Pick your subject
Start on the 2D map in Explore, which is on every plan. Tap what you are shooting: the first tap places the subject, the next tap places the camera, where you think you will stand. You usually know the subject before you know the spot, which is why it comes first. Rough is fine; you can correct both pins in 3D.
2. Stand there, in 3D
Tap 3D. The view starts at your camera pin, at eye level, facing your subject, with the field of view of your lens. Drag to look around, pinch to zoom, and tap the ground to walk to another viewpoint before you hike there.
- The sky at its true positions. The sun, moon and Milky Way core sit where Viewpoint’s own almanac puts them for the time on your plan, the same positions the 2D map and AR Scout use. A body below the skyline, or behind a mountain or a landmark from where you stand, is hidden behind it, as it would be through your viewfinder.
- Camera and subject, where you stand. Two buttons in the right-hand stack set the camera pin or the subject pin where you stand. Undo takes a pin back. Placing a subject in 3D is the way to get a steep peak or a tall building right, because a satellite photo is taken at an angle and the 2D pin can sit tens of metres from the real thing.
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Lens and time, always on screen. A pill in the header shows your lens and the time, for example **600 mm Sun 8 Nov, 04:30**. Tap the left half to choose the focal length and sensor you will really use, and the right half to scrub the day.
A short tour shows the gestures the first time you open the 3D world, and How 3D works replays it.
(replaced at launch)
3. Find when it lines up
Tap the violet finder square and drag a frame around the part of the skyline where you want the sun, the moon or the Milky Way core. When you lift your finger, Viewpoint searches for the passes.
- Look ahead 1, 2 or 5 years. One year is the default; two or five suit a rare alignment, such as a particular moon behind a particular summit.
- Results come one year at a time, this year first. Tap one to jump the world to that moment.
- Nothing found? Widen the frame, or move the camera and try again.
On the 2D map, the smart finder picks the dates for a subject you choose, and a frame drawn in 3D gives the same dates there. The finder is part of Ultra.
4. Save the plan
Open the plan menu and save. If you changed a plan you saved before, choose Save changes to update it, or Save as a new plan to keep the original as it was. Keep the frame with the plan.
5. Then it watches for you
A saved plan keeps watch, so you are not the one checking forecasts. Viewpoint follows the weather and the sky for that place: clear night, golden light, fog, darkness, the aurora, the moon and more. You’ll know when the planned moment is going to work, and when your next window opens, with smart notifications that stay quiet until there is something worth going out for.
- Saved Explore plans and their alerts are part of Pro.
- Followed places and their conditions and alerts are part of Max.
Read how the tiles and alerts work in Conditions and alerts.
Good to know
- The 3D world needs a connection to load the scenery. The rest of your plan, including the almanac and the alignment search, works offline as before. If the detailed terrain cannot load, you can still walk on a coarser surface, so treat pin positions as approximate until it is back.
- The scenery helps you judge the frame. Detail is high where the 3D map tiles are detailed and coarser elsewhere. The sun, moon and core positions and the times Viewpoint gives you are exact.
- Where it works: the 3D world is on iPhone, iPad and Android, on Ultra. If you already have Max, you can move up from the plans screen in the app.
Tips for a good plan
- Place the subject first, then the camera.
- Set the lens you will really shoot with before you judge the frame.
- Scrub the time, and if something looks off, check the date first and the camera pin second.
- Draw the frame around the part of the sky you want, not around the whole scene.
- Save the plan so it can watch the weather for you.
Read the full walkthrough: planning a shot in 3D