Photography

AI device takes aim at the perfect camera shot

View 3 Images
The Arsenal is compatible with Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fuji cameras
Once it's mounted on the hot shoe, plugged in, and wirelessly fired up via an iOS/Android app, the Arsenal assesses the camera's current shot
Serious photographers often like to manually control their settings, and the Arsenal lets them do so remotely
The Arsenal is compatible with Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fuji cameras
View gallery - 3 images

The number of settings on a high-end DSLR or mirrorless camera can be truly overwhelming, even for experienced photographers. That's why Montana-based software developer Ryan Stout created the Arsenal. It's an electronic module that gets plugged into your camera, where it uses artificial intelligence to create the "perfect" shot.

Once it's mounted on the hot shoe, plugged in, and wirelessly fired up via an iOS/Android app, the Arsenal assesses the camera's current shot. It does this by comparing it to a database of thousands of other photos in which the camera settings are known, looking for shots that are most similar to the present one.

From there, it determines the best settings for the current shot, allowing for the type of camera and lens being used. Those settings are subsequently fine-tuned based on 18 different environmental factors – if a prominent object in the shot is moving, for instance, the Arsenal will shorten the shutter speed, or if more depth of field is needed, it will increase the aperture.

Serious photographers often like to manually control their settings, and the Arsenal lets them do so remotely

Of course, serious photographers often like to manually control their settings, and the app lets them do so remotely. Using a smartphone or tablet, they can change settings such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, plus they can see a live preview and actually take the shot – all from a distance of up to 100 feet (30.5 m). In this way, the Arsenal is not unlike the existing Miops Mobile system.

Users can additionally opt to do in-camera shot-stacking, in which multiple shots of the same scene – but taken with different settings – are combined into one photo. This makes it possible to get High Dynamic Range images, or ones in which both the foreground and background are in focus.

Once it's mounted on the hot shoe, plugged in, and wirelessly fired up via an iOS/Android app, the Arsenal assesses the camera's current shot

The Arsenal has a claimed battery life of approximately six hours per charge, and works with Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fuji cameras. It's currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, where a pledge of US$150 is required to get one – the estimated retail price is $250. If all goes according to plans, delivery is expected for next January.

The device is demo'd in the following video.

Sources: Arsenal, Kickstarter

View gallery - 3 images
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
3 comments
EugenioCaballo
An utterly useless device in my opinion. The amount of settings of a camera may seem overwhelming only to someone who has never used one before. Also it remains unclear how this device will access its database from say a forest or other remote location :)
SFR
Nobody, but nobody who uses a "high end" camera wants to hand over control to a device like this. The whole point of investing (if that can ever be the right word when applied to camera gear) in a versatile piece of kit capable of producing quality images is to create something in some way personal, not have some bit of AI software do it for you. You might as well go online and look at someone else's photographs. About the most hopeless Kickstarter idea I've heard of in ages.
Ianspeed
#SFR Complete agreement. Hmm, no thanks, this is a waste of time. Would these settings include the filters? i.e a Big Stopper and an GG ND16, and the timing of the subject, just as the wave recedes? That'll throw the settings out and bang goes the perfect image. I teach how to use filters to get the best out of your camera. Stacking for focus, try knowing your DOF. This is probably for people with all the gear and no idea.