Arsenal - Is it a good buy?

[molested_cow]

Meet Arsenal, the Smart Camera Assistant

What I am really interested is it's ability to capture time lapse across very different lighting conditions such as day to night, as well as focus stacking, which will be very helpful for macro shots(provided that it can work just as well under low light conditions).

I don't really need to use it to tell me how to adjust my camera, that's my job and fun.

So has anyone got one already? Any experience, opinion to share?

 

[n614cd]

I have a competitor. Pulse Camera Remote

Have not used it a lot. But I like it.

Tim

Sent from my SM-J737T using Tapatalk

 

[Overread]

I wonder how it stands up to other automated systems?
From what I can tell one of its biggest selling points might not be that its actually better than any other, but that its doing all those functions in one product for one price, instead of being a separate tool for each one. There are many time laps, focus stacking, interval etc... devices out there, but often they are only doing one of those functions. So you can easily end up with a bag of attachments and a greater cost then one tool that does them all.

Focus stacking wise there's always debate on if its better to change the focus or move the camera setup itself; Stackshot takes the approach of motor driven rails and moving the camera itself; this software is using the cameras built in focusing system only. In my experience chances are most casual use of focus stacking will be fine with moving the focus point as the shift in focal length should be minimal. It might be that its not "as good" when it comes to situations where the lens might not have as fine a focus system (eg using a 50mm lens with extension tubes as opposed to using a 100mm macro).

 

[molested_cow]

I have a competitor. Pulse Camera Remote

Have not used it a lot. But I like it.

Tim

Sent from my SM-J737T using Tapatalk

Everything Pulse does I can do on my camera, and it has a swivel screen, so live view on my phone is nice but not critical.

 

[molested_cow]

I wonder how it stands up to other automated systems?
From what I can tell one of its biggest selling points might not be that its actually better than any other, but that its doing all those functions in one product for one price, instead of being a separate tool for each one. There are many time laps, focus stacking, interval etc... devices out there, but often they are only doing one of those functions. So you can easily end up with a bag of attachments and a greater cost then one tool that does them all.

Focus stacking wise there's always debate on if its better to change the focus or move the camera setup itself; Stackshot takes the approach of motor driven rails and moving the camera itself; this software is using the cameras built in focusing system only. In my experience chances are most casual use of focus stacking will be fine with moving the focus point as the shift in focal length should be minimal. It might be that its not "as good" when it comes to situations where the lens might not have as fine a focus system (eg using a 50mm lens with extension tubes as opposed to using a 100mm macro).

I agree. I don't think this kind of automated system is for the real professionals or people who REALLY want to control every detail of their input. For regular photos, I will still do everything myself. However for time lapse across day/night( star to day\sunset to stars) I will need something to help me. For macro, I am not a serious macro photographer, so investing in hardware like a rail isn't an option, plus it's too much hassle in outdoor. Therefore a software option will be really neat. What Arsenal does is the system will write a new RAW file of the stacked image, so you won't have to do the stacking in post, which is neat too. It's just that as of now there are more complains about its bugs than praises on their FB and youtube, so I have my doubts.

 

[n614cd]

I have a competitor. Pulse Camera Remote

Have not used it a lot. But I like it.

Tim

Sent from my SM-J737T using Tapatalk

Everything Pulse does I can do on my camera, and it has a swivel screen, so live view on my phone is nice but not critical.

I use it for long exposure shots, like one minute, ten minutes...
It also is handy for the remote shutter features, so I can take photos of the family and not scramble to get in place in ten seconds.
But then, my camera is from late 2013; so it may not be needed for my next one.

Tim