I bought the original Arsenal with my Nikon D90, and now this one is so much better, I've been placed on the BETA lot of peeps and am looking at star photography, drop object in liquid etc and time lapse, both 1 ever so often and one every couple of seconds as explained in your video to make it like a movie. Thanks for that video by the way, can't wait for more to see the beauty of the Arsenal 2 workings.
Ok. I'm ready for another adventure. Why don't y'all come to South Carolina // The Coast I would love to get some ideas and techniques around the Blue Ridge Mountains and the ocean.
Wow, epic! Now, I realize it's not supposed to be about the gear...but yes, yes it is! I've been excited about new gear in the past, but never as much as my anticipation for Arsenal 2. Your videos and personal skill set the bar really high, and I can't wait for the delivery. Now I need to decide...do I need one for each camera??? ;) Thanks, Ryan.
Does Arsenal 2 support manual lenses like the Rokinon? Also, do you always shoot with the camera in manual mode? With an auto lens, do you leaf auto focus active or turn it off before starting the shot sequence?
I bought v2 for one purpose only: the Holy Grail. At 23:50 you hit the nail on the head saying as the scene turns to night you need to underexpose. BUT, you fail to mention HOW this is handled. The Arsenal unit isn't going to know that it's turning into night and it needs to underexpose. Did you sit there and slowly creep the EV slider down manually over the course of an hour or two?
Hey Michael, Arsenal's auto-exposure algoirthm (when holy grail is selected) handles it for you. (The EV slider is relative to Arsenal's exposure estimate, the same way the EV dial work on your camera.) As it gets darker (or lighter), Arsenal looks at the previous frames in the timelapse and uses a neural network to estimate exposure (similar to how cameras do auto-exposure.) In addition to the previous frames, the neural network also takes in the total amount of light hitting the sensor (calculated from the settings used to take the previous shots.) The neural network is trained on about 100,000 different photos, from an even distribution of times of day/night and golden/blue hour. Unlike cameras auto-exposure algorithms, Arsenal's holy grail algorithm can correctly predict exposure after it gets dark. Because the training examples are darker when it is night, the predicted exposure will be darker. (And it knows when its night based on the content of the image and the calculated luminance hitting the sensor) Hope that answer helps, it's a bit technical. The end result is you can leave Arsenal and it will handle the day to night for you. Thanks!
Hi Ryan. There is one major issue im currently facing with my Arsenal 2 Pro. So I want to have a holy grail timelapse , from day to a moon night to a moonsunset which brings out the milkyway to sunrise. Whenever i set the holygrail settings just as explained in the video, Arsenal decides that at an iso of 800 and shutterspeed 25 seconds it will be a good exposure for the milkyway to appear clearly even though it doesn’t as it needs something more than 2000 iso. If i limit the min iso in the camera to 2000, arsenal sets it at that but lowers the shutter speed, not to mention that limiting an iso of 2000 is not good for a day timelapse as its not needed. Is there any way around that?
Really nice video - thanks for doing this! Question, is the original Arsenal 1 capable of doing all of the Timelapse features that you used in this video? Or do you need the Arsenal 2? Thanks!
Arsenal 1 has the same great timelapse options you’ll find on Arsenal 2 but Arsenal 2 does offer a lot of benefits and exciting new features you won’t find in Arsenal 1. This includes faster processors, an onboard micro SD card, and new features like Deep Color, Panorama, Crowd Control, and Night Assist. Feel free to email help@witharsenal.com with any questions. Thanks!
Do you have any advice on letting a Z camera run all night? My one thought was turning on USB power delivery and plugging the arsenal into the wall or would that drain the arsenal faster than the plug can charge it
Love to do a holy grail… once I purchase the Arsenal 2. Haha! May I ask, what external power pack did you use for the holy grail? Also, I know your conditions were perfect but how would you prepare condensation from night to morning?
As mentioned in the video, that part was shot with in the "Basic" timelapse mode, which lets the camera manage settings. That mode is nice if you want to handle settings yourself, but it does make for bigger jumps in exposure most of the time. I'm guessing it was on the cameras aperture priority and the camera jumped big for some reason. If you shoot holy grail or "auto" it will smoothly ramp adjustments. (It's also possible this was on the cameras manual mode and Lucian just adjusted it while it was shooting, I'm not exactly sure which it was) Thanks!
We had a two v-mount batteries hooked up via a dummy battery and usb connection. Definitely overkill, we probably could have gone days on that setup. :-)
Very nice results. Does Arsenal 2 allow you to write the RAW photos to the card, so the timelapse can be tweaked in post (or does it output a video file only)? Is there support for the Edelkrone slider systems? One of the shortcomings of holy grail timelapses is the lack of motion blur during the daytime parts of the timelapse. I can't see a way to achieve this without adding some motion blur in post.
Hey Kris, thanks! As you shoot, the camera saves RAW+JPG (or just JPG if you're not shooting in RAW) to the card in the camera. You can process the RAW's in post with something like LRTimelapse if you want to edit the individual shots. Slider integration is done through the camera trigger port. (The slider does the triggering and handles the interval, then after each shot Arsenal 2 updates settings for the next shot and adds the frame to the preview). I'm not sure on Edelkrone sliders. On Sony's you need to use the usb-micro (multi port) for triggering, and USB-C for connecting Arsenal 2. Also, on the holy grail motion blur, yes, we've hit the same issue. We've started experimenting with adjusting a variable ND during the timelapse, which works, but needs some practice. Arsenal 2 lets you set ranges for your shutter speed it will try to maintain, but without ND it's hard to get those long shutters during the bright parts. We've talked about adding a button where you can pull off an ND at some point (if you can manage it between intervals), and press a button to have it handle the change in settings for the next shot. That's something I would use, but not sure if there's a big demand for a feature like that at the moment.
@@ryanstout22 thanks for the reply. Sounds ideal. I also contemplated the variable ND but can't be bothered to sit and adjust it gradually - exactly why I'm contemplating Arsenal as I'd rather enjoy the view than mess about with manual adjustments. The ND compensation button sounds like a neat solution, I'd definitely use it! Does Arsenal ignore sudden changes in light (e.g. if car lights come through the frame)?
@Kris yea, same. Usually I setup a timelapse on one camera and shoot stills with another :-) I feel like thats pretty common with people who do a lot of timelapses. Arsenal 2 will ignore any sudden changes (like headlights), but something like removing an ND is different because it's a persistent change in the amount of light hitting the sensor, so that causes issues. I'll think more about the ND removal button, I can't make any promises, but it would be a nice feature. It's still kind of complicated though because you need to remove it at the right time.
Individual shots taken with Arsenal 2 will all save to the camera. The stacked images we render and the mP4 video for timelapses can be saved to Arsenal 2’s onboard micro SD card and/or your phone. Please shoot an email to help@witharsenal.com if you have any questions. Thanks!
Thanks for your interst, Mark! You can learn more about all of the different timelapse modes here: support.witharsenal.com/en/articles/3196721-arsenal-2-introduction-to-timelapse Send an email to help@witharsenal.com if you have any questions on that. We're happy to help!
It's a Gitzo Travlers and a Markins ballhead. Definitely not the cheapest, but if you take good care of them (tear them down after being near saltwater or anything), they will last forever. Mine is 7 years old I think and looks brand new. Thanks!
I bought the original Arsenal with my Nikon D90, and now this one is so much better, I've been placed on the BETA lot of peeps and am looking at star photography, drop object in liquid etc and time lapse, both 1 ever so often and one every couple of seconds as explained in your video to make it like a movie. Thanks for that video by the way, can't wait for more to see the beauty of the Arsenal 2 workings.
Thanks a bunch!
Great tips, even as a long time Arsenal user I picked up several things I didn't know about the phone app - thanks
Fantastic video.
Amazing video and even more amazing shots! I can't wait for more of these to come out and to get mines later this year!
wow Ryan, amazing time lapses
Thanks!
Just pre ordered mine! Can't wait!
Thanks, Ron!
Got my arsenal 2 today! Excited to try this out.
Ok. I'm ready for another adventure. Why don't y'all come to South Carolina // The Coast I would love to get some ideas and techniques around the Blue Ridge Mountains and the ocean.
Great instructional video. Thanks. What is the make of the camera bag?
Thank you for inviting us for this journey and for the tutorial. What kind of pan & tilt head and motorized slider are they used at 31:20, please?
It was a Rhino Arc ii, highly recommended. Thanks
is it only me... or is the sound broken at 3:20 in that video?
We do note that in the video description and will be fixing it soon. Thanks!
@@ryanstout22 sorry did not see that
Wow, epic! Now, I realize it's not supposed to be about the gear...but yes, yes it is! I've been excited about new gear in the past, but never as much as my anticipation for Arsenal 2. Your videos and personal skill set the bar really high, and I can't wait for the delivery. Now I need to decide...do I need one for each camera??? ;) Thanks, Ryan.
Thanks a bunch! A single device will work with any supported camera as long you have the correct tethering cable.
Does Arsenal 2 support manual lenses like the Rokinon? Also, do you always shoot with the camera in manual mode? With an auto lens, do you leaf auto focus active or turn it off before starting the shot sequence?
I bought v2 for one purpose only: the Holy Grail. At 23:50 you hit the nail on the head saying as the scene turns to night you need to underexpose. BUT, you fail to mention HOW this is handled.
The Arsenal unit isn't going to know that it's turning into night and it needs to underexpose.
Did you sit there and slowly creep the EV slider down manually over the course of an hour or two?
Hey Michael,
Arsenal's auto-exposure algoirthm (when holy grail is selected) handles it for you. (The EV slider is relative to Arsenal's exposure estimate, the same way the EV dial work on your camera.) As it gets darker (or lighter), Arsenal looks at the previous frames in the timelapse and uses a neural network to estimate exposure (similar to how cameras do auto-exposure.) In addition to the previous frames, the neural network also takes in the total amount of light hitting the sensor (calculated from the settings used to take the previous shots.) The neural network is trained on about 100,000 different photos, from an even distribution of times of day/night and golden/blue hour. Unlike cameras auto-exposure algorithms, Arsenal's holy grail algorithm can correctly predict exposure after it gets dark. Because the training examples are darker when it is night, the predicted exposure will be darker. (And it knows when its night based on the content of the image and the calculated luminance hitting the sensor) Hope that answer helps, it's a bit technical. The end result is you can leave Arsenal and it will handle the day to night for you. Thanks!
@@ryanstout22 Thanks for the response! Honestly, I don't believe but I'll give it a shot and see what happens :)
Hi Ryan. There is one major issue im currently facing with my Arsenal 2 Pro. So I want to have a holy grail timelapse , from day to a moon night to a moonsunset which brings out the milkyway to sunrise. Whenever i set the holygrail settings just as explained in the video, Arsenal decides that at an iso of 800 and shutterspeed 25 seconds it will be a good exposure for the milkyway to appear clearly even though it doesn’t as it needs something more than 2000 iso. If i limit the min iso in the camera to 2000, arsenal sets it at that but lowers the shutter speed, not to mention that limiting an iso of 2000 is not good for a day timelapse as its not needed. Is there any way around that?
Can’t wait to (finally) get my arsenal 2. Soon be here, touch wood 🙃
Really nice video - thanks for doing this! Question, is the original Arsenal 1 capable of doing all of the Timelapse features that you used in this video? Or do you need the Arsenal 2? Thanks!
Arsenal 1 has the same great timelapse options you’ll find on Arsenal 2 but Arsenal 2 does offer a lot of benefits and exciting new features you won’t find in Arsenal 1. This includes faster processors, an onboard micro SD card, and new features like Deep Color, Panorama, Crowd Control, and Night Assist. Feel free to email help@witharsenal.com with any questions. Thanks!
Do you have any advice on letting a Z camera run all night? My one thought was turning on USB power delivery and plugging the arsenal into the wall or would that drain the arsenal faster than the plug can charge it
Arsenal 2 isn’t intended to charge your camera. We recommend a dummy battery with an external power source for extended shooting times. Thanks!
Love to do a holy grail… once I purchase the Arsenal 2. Haha! May I ask, what external power pack did you use for the holy grail? Also, I know your conditions were perfect but how would you prepare condensation from night to morning?
At 19:02 the brightness decreased dramatically, is this something Arsenal did not handle?
As mentioned in the video, that part was shot with in the "Basic" timelapse mode, which lets the camera manage settings. That mode is nice if you want to handle settings yourself, but it does make for bigger jumps in exposure most of the time. I'm guessing it was on the cameras aperture priority and the camera jumped big for some reason. If you shoot holy grail or "auto" it will smoothly ramp adjustments. (It's also possible this was on the cameras manual mode and Lucian just adjusted it while it was shooting, I'm not exactly sure which it was) Thanks!
@@ryanstout22 Got it, thanks! Can't wait for the Arsenal2 to be released!
Love the video. What was the external battery used in the "Holy Grail" shot?
We had a two v-mount batteries hooked up via a dummy battery and usb connection. Definitely overkill, we probably could have gone days on that setup. :-)
Love Lucian's delivery style - does he have any other tutorial videos (aside from the coming Arsenal videos)?
Thanks for that. I'll pass it along to him. We've got a few videos featuring Lucian out right now with more coming soon!
@@ryanstout22 👍 Where can I find them? I couldn't find anything on your channel or others.
Excited to get my Arsenal!
Got mine coming in January I hope ! I'm worse than a kid at Christmas , lol .
Thanks, Billy! We expect to see all the remaining pre-orders ship in January.
Very nice results. Does Arsenal 2 allow you to write the RAW photos to the card, so the timelapse can be tweaked in post (or does it output a video file only)? Is there support for the Edelkrone slider systems? One of the shortcomings of holy grail timelapses is the lack of motion blur during the daytime parts of the timelapse. I can't see a way to achieve this without adding some motion blur in post.
Hey Kris, thanks! As you shoot, the camera saves RAW+JPG (or just JPG if you're not shooting in RAW) to the card in the camera. You can process the RAW's in post with something like LRTimelapse if you want to edit the individual shots. Slider integration is done through the camera trigger port. (The slider does the triggering and handles the interval, then after each shot Arsenal 2 updates settings for the next shot and adds the frame to the preview). I'm not sure on Edelkrone sliders. On Sony's you need to use the usb-micro (multi port) for triggering, and USB-C for connecting Arsenal 2.
Also, on the holy grail motion blur, yes, we've hit the same issue. We've started experimenting with adjusting a variable ND during the timelapse, which works, but needs some practice. Arsenal 2 lets you set ranges for your shutter speed it will try to maintain, but without ND it's hard to get those long shutters during the bright parts. We've talked about adding a button where you can pull off an ND at some point (if you can manage it between intervals), and press a button to have it handle the change in settings for the next shot. That's something I would use, but not sure if there's a big demand for a feature like that at the moment.
@@ryanstout22 thanks for the reply. Sounds ideal. I also contemplated the variable ND but can't be bothered to sit and adjust it gradually - exactly why I'm contemplating Arsenal as I'd rather enjoy the view than mess about with manual adjustments. The ND compensation button sounds like a neat solution, I'd definitely use it!
Does Arsenal ignore sudden changes in light (e.g. if car lights come through the frame)?
@Kris yea, same. Usually I setup a timelapse on one camera and shoot stills with another :-) I feel like thats pretty common with people who do a lot of timelapses.
Arsenal 2 will ignore any sudden changes (like headlights), but something like removing an ND is different because it's a persistent change in the amount of light hitting the sensor, so that causes issues. I'll think more about the ND removal button, I can't make any promises, but it would be a nice feature. It's still kind of complicated though because you need to remove it at the right time.
Is it just me or are the locations bleeped out? Why?
great video, does it save to the camera as well as the device?
Individual shots taken with Arsenal 2 will all save to the camera. The stacked images we render and the mP4 video for timelapses can be saved to Arsenal 2’s onboard micro SD card and/or your phone. Please shoot an email to help@witharsenal.com if you have any questions. Thanks!
@@ryanstout22 Thank you
Can you make a condensed video?
Thanks for your interst, Mark! You can learn more about all of the different timelapse modes here: support.witharsenal.com/en/articles/3196721-arsenal-2-introduction-to-timelapse
Send an email to help@witharsenal.com if you have any questions on that. We're happy to help!
Once a timelapse has been started, does the phone (app) need to be in communication range of the A2 the entire time?
No
Once you’ve started the TL. You can walk away and the TL will continue to run. Thanks!
What Tripod/Head?
It's a Gitzo Travlers and a Markins ballhead. Definitely not the cheapest, but if you take good care of them (tear them down after being near saltwater or anything), they will last forever. Mine is 7 years old I think and looks brand new. Thanks!
31:46... epic.
Hi! Is this the arsenal v2?
Hi, this is Arsenal 2! You can check out all the new features here: witharsenal.com/