My first attempt at using the new Arsenal 2 Pro unit to do a Holy Grail Timelapse about a month ago was less than stellar for several reasons but I learned what I needed to.

https://youtu.be/vWX9WUQ3PxY

The second attempt I took what I learned about the Arsenal 2 (and bringing a lightweight tripod) previously and applied it to the workflow.

https://youtu.be/4q55jIIvumg

I discovered that Arsenal, while it is pretty good at exposure ramping, is absolutely terrible at metering a scene. So this second time I used the adjustments values made the first attempt and started with the Arsenal's EV scale at -1 in daylight and when the light started dropping I gradually bumped it down over the course of an hour until I was at -3 when the sky should have been black. Then when I got it in LRTimelapse the exposure was perfect. I didn't have to do anything but the normal stuff: adjust black, white, midtones, saturation, white balance, etc...

I'm not sure if NOT having to drop the exposure in post got rid of all the banding from the first attempt but I don't see any. I do see that I need to clean my sensor... ?

So, the Arsenal isn't exactly stupid proof. I have to pay a little attention and drop that EV scale every 15 or 20 minutes until dark but it's way easier than having to change the camera settings yourself, mainly because I always found my self second guessing my adjustments (you only have a second or two to decide before the next image is captured) which made what would be ONE flicker of exposure turn into 2 or 3 flickers several frames apart.

At least I know I'm ready, and more importantly the Arsenal is ready, for my 10th anniversary in Zion National Park in May. I hope to get a couple epic time lapses there.

If interested find more info here: https://witharsenal.com/

I'm no shill for them and, if I'm being perfectly honest, I feel the majority of what Arsenal does is geared towards very beginner photographers. Judging by the images and questions I see posted in several facebook groups it is used primarily by people who don't know what they are doing and want a piece of hardware to do it for them. But, this exposure ramping, while not perfect, works well when you know how you have to make it work.

I got it at a kickstarter price of $250. It's now $439 which I would have a hard time spending considering I only want it for one thing. Timelapse+ View may be a better option in that price range but I have never used it.

Thanks,

Mike

qDslrDashboard is 10 Bucks. Even if you buy a cheap android phone for that this will be like 50 bucks. Quite a bargain and still the best features for holy grail shooting imho, if the camera is supported.

IF your camera is supported, I agree. I bought it a year or more ago and it worked somewhat with my 7D.2. Doesn't work with many newer cameras, thus my search for a solution...

Which camera are you using now?

a7 IV and a7s III.

I think Zoltan is working on Support for the newer Sonys, there are other threads where we already talked about it, just use the search feature and best reach out directly to Zoltan to ask what's the status.