Review

[rwechsler]

I own the Unleashed for my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV for some weeks now. It is an incredible great camera trigger. But has also some weaknesses. In this post i just write down what i like and what i don't like about the Unleashed camera trigger.

What I don't like

• Update: The iPhone app shows that there is a new firmware update available. But unfortunately, updating my Unleashed camera trigger fails. -> I hope Foolography will fix this issue.

• Bulb mode: Weird times in the selector. You cannot set minutes and seconds. Times are predefined. Times starts from 1/91 until 4.6h. You can choose from 64 predefined times. This results in times like 10.0 s, 13.0 s, 16.0 s, 20.0 s, 25.0 s, 32.0 s -> For me not usable. I want to choose minutes and seconds.

• Case: There is no case for transportation which protects the trigger and the plugs. -> Please add such a protection case.

• Timelapse mode: No review of the photo is available -> Please add photo review incl. gradation curve.

What I like

• Size: Tiny trigger. Great.

• Power usage: Very low. Great.

• Timelapse mode: Just set up your camera and configure interval and duration in the app and push the start button. Very easy and reliable. You also can change the camera settings in the app during timelapsing. Great.

• Autoramp mode (Holy Grail Timelapse): It was never so easy to set up a holy grail timelapse. Just set up your start configuration at the camera and in the app und push the start button. Everything else is done by Unleashed. Easy and reliable. You can sit down and wait until finished. There is also the possibility to adjust the exposure during timelapsing. Great.

Verdict
The Unleashed is the best camera trigger I have ever user for timelapsing. It is so easy to use, to configure and so reliable. GREAT job guys. The only thing I regret is that I did not discover the Unleasehd camera trigger earlier.

Wish
I hope there will be an Unleashed camera trigger for the Canon EOS R5 soon. I will be your first customer.

[Unfoolishly]

What I don't like

• Bulb mode: Weird times in the selector. You cannot set minutes and seconds. Times are predefined. Times starts from 1/91 until 4.6h. You can choose from 64 predefined times. This results in times like 10.0 s, 13.0 s, 16.0 s, 20.0 s, 25.0 s, 32.0 s -> For me not usable. I want to choose minutes and seconds.

I agree with this one, but I would like to see a UI screen that shows separate options (in tab screens?): one with predefined times to pick from easily (most used settings average Joe uses); another with all customizable options available to the user. And the limit taken off of the max time of 4.6h. Why was there ever a limit introduced? I have no idea? It's not because of the battery drains within 4.6h!

Another great option would be if I could gradually increase/decrease the shuttertimes to be open, like in a "wave of times", if you know what I mean?
Like this pattern: 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s ---use 8s for a while (keep for 1 hour at 8s exposure time)------- 8s, 7s, 6s, 5s, 4s, 3s, 2s, 1s. Sort of hardening/softening the exposuretime to create a special effect. You can't do this (as a human) without the App and Unleashed! You need to have this automated, because no human can time this correctly!

Greetings,
Unfoolishy

[Oliver]

Hi rwechlser,
thanks for your kind words! I'm glad you like the Unleashed

I'll address some of your concerns:

What I don't like
Update: The iPhone app shows that there is a new firmware update available. But unfortunately, updating my Unleashed camera trigger fails. -> I hope Foolography will fix this issue.

That certainly shouldn't happen. We did get a notice an issue that can sometimes cause failing firmware updates with the very latest production batch. We're still doing some tests to see if we can fix that issue remotely. The good news: the Firmware on your Unleashed is actually newer than the ones currently available for install through the apps, so you're actually currently unable to downgrade your firmware. ;-) Only a handful of Unleasheds were shipped out like this, so I'm really sorry if you are affected. If we can't find a remote solution by the time the next firmware update comes out, we will of course offer you a free replacement.

Bulb mode: Weird times in the selector. You cannot set minutes and seconds. Times are predefined. Times starts from 1/91 until 4.6h. You can choose from 64 predefined times. This results in times like 10.0 s, 13.0 s, 16.0 s, 20.0 s, 25.0 s, 32.0 s -> For me not usable. I want to choose minutes and seconds.

We thought long and hard about this. We totally get where you are coming from and understand your wish for more fine-grained control. However, I must ask: Why do you need finer control? And if you do: do you also ask for finer control from the camera manufacturers than what they currently offer?

Let me explain our choice: Just like all Camera Manufacturers, we went with 1/3rd stop steps! That's right - we just continued the succession of shutterspeeds that you can set on the camera.
We did decide to have some overlap with the ones available from the camera for convenience, and also so that the user might notice what we're doing. We obviously have to add some "documentation" about this, as it seems to be one of the most misunderstood features that are perceived as limitations of the Unleashed. We're still figuring out a good UI for these kind of helpful messages in the app.
because Exposure time rises exponentially, the third stop steps get really, really big once you get into several minutes or even hours. This adds to the confusion, when you don't notice the pattern of 1/3rd stops.
So yes, everyone is used to setting minutes and seconds, but my humble opinion is that no-one needs to! I'll be very happy to listen, and will certainly consider making a change if you give me a compelling reason, and a good use-case.
The thing is, there is very little difference in exposure in any step smaller than one third of a stop! certainly nothing that would really be noticeably different than making a small adjustment in post processing of a raw file. In other words, the difference between the two longest steps: 3.6h or 4.6h which is a full hour, is just 1/3rd of a stop, just as the difference between 1/20th and 1/25th of a second. I get it, it feels super weird to jump by a whole hour there, instead of being able to set minutes or even seconds, but do you feel like you need 3600 more steps between 1/20th and 1/25th of a second too? Because really, that would be asking for the same thing! ;-)

Now - the advantages of using 1/3rd stop steps is that you are (or should be) used to them from every other setting in the camera, and if you decide to change the aperture by 1/3rd of a stop, you can simply scroll to the next value in the long exposure picker, and the exposure will stay the same.
When you add or remove an ND filter - they always come in full stops - you can just scroll up or down by 3x the number of stops of the ND filter and have your correct exposure - no need to have a calculator app for the ND filters anymore.

So, if you know this is what these seemingly random values mean, and how they'll benefit you, do you still think you need to set Minutes and Seconds?

Case: There is no case for transportation which protects the trigger and the plugs. -> Please add such a protection case.

The Unleashed is actually designed to stay on the camera at all times, but we get that that's not for everyone. You are one of very few people that have mentioned this to us.
We did initially consider making a part of the packaging removable, but ultimately decided against it. We will reconsider when we redesign packaging!

Timelapse mode: No review of the photo is available -> Please add photo review incl. gradation curve.

we're working on that! By Gradation curve, do you mean histogram? Or do you mean the exposure level over time?

[Unfoolishly]

Hi rwechlser,
thanks for your kind words! I'm glad you like the Unleashed

I'll address some of your concerns:

Bulb mode: Weird times in the selector. You cannot set minutes and seconds. Times are predefined. Times starts from 1/91 until 4.6h. You can choose from 64 predefined times. This results in times like 10.0 s, 13.0 s, 16.0 s, 20.0 s, 25.0 s, 32.0 s -> For me not usable. I want to choose minutes and seconds.

We thought long and hard about this. We totally get where you are coming from and understand your wish for more fine-grained control. However, I must ask: Why do you need finer control? And if you do: do you also ask for finer control from the camera manufacturers than what they currently offer?

Let me explain our choice: Just like all Camera Manufacturers, we went with 1/3rd stop steps! That's right - we just continued the succession of shutterspeeds that you can set on the camera.
We did decide to have some overlap with the ones available from the camera for convenience, and also so that the user might notice what we're doing. We obviously have to add some "documentation" about this, as it seems to be one of the most misunderstood features that are perceived as limitations of the Unleashed. We're still figuring out a good UI for these kind of helpful messages in the app.
because Exposure time rises exponentially, the third stop steps get really, really big once you get into several minutes or even hours. This adds to the confusion, when you don't notice the pattern of 1/3rd stops.
So yes, everyone is used to setting minutes and seconds, but my humble opinion is that no-one needs to! I'll be very happy to listen, and will certainly consider making a change if you give me a compelling reason, and a good use-case.
The thing is, there is very little difference in exposure in any step smaller than one third of a stop! certainly nothing that would really be noticeably different than making a small adjustment in post processing of a raw file. In other words, the difference between the two longest steps: 3.6h or 4.6h which is a full hour, is just 1/3rd of a stop, just as the difference between 1/20th and 1/25th of a second. I get it, it feels super weird to jump by a whole hour there, instead of being able to set minutes or even seconds, but do you feel like you need 3600 more steps between 1/20th and 1/25th of a second too? Because really, that would be asking for the same thing! ;-)

Now - the advantages of using 1/3rd stop steps is that you are (or should be) used to them from every other setting in the camera, and if you decide to change the aperture by 1/3rd of a stop, you can simply scroll to the next value in the long exposure picker, and the exposure will stay the same.
When you add or remove an ND filter - they always come in full stops - you can just scroll up or down by 3x the number of stops of the ND filter and have your correct exposure - no need to have a calculator app for the ND filters anymore.

So, if you know this is what these seemingly random values mean, and how they'll benefit you, do you still think you need to set Minutes and Seconds?

You're right about this Oliver, but does every user of the Unleashed App or camera know this too? Not every camera user has followed several photo courses in which this is explained to them, so most newbie DSLR camera users start their photography hobby just figuring out how to use the camera. By the time they have gained more photography knowledge, they will understand how "stops" work. But I can guarrantee you, most beginners don't know this, until they have followed some course on photography basics in which it is explained easily.

Maybe it is a good idea to implement both "hours, minutes and seconds" settings and at the same screen present which "stops" comes near these settings so the user can pick which one is closest to his/her liking for exposure time. Then your Unleashed also becomes educational in real-time :-)
You could also switch the "hours, minutes, seconds" controls with the "stops" control so that you select a stop and the time is set based on the stop.

Most people also don't know that a volume knob is not lineair but logarithmic in scale, but they do think it goes from 1, 2, 3, etc
Have you ever heard of the term "these go to eleven" from Spinal Tap? Here is the fragment of the movie: Spinal Tap - These go to eleven.
It addresses the idea that most people don't think in terms of logarithmic scales. They just want 'one step louder' :-)

I think most beginning photographers have the same idea, and I don't exclude myself from that way of thinking myself. Sometimes you just want the shutter to be open for 10min, not calculating what stop it is. I think the Unleashed App could be very helpful as a teaching tool also, making newcomers in the photography hobby feel more at ease not having knowledge of all settings, but getting some help from within the App in helping the user make the 'right' choice in settings.

Greetings,
Unfoolishly

[rwechsler]

Hi Oliver

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply.

I hope you can fix the firmware update issue somehow.

I understand now the time settings for the bulb mode. And probably you are right. It could work with the 1/3 stops. I have to check this in real.

If the Unleashed is always attached to the camera, I am afraid to damage my camera :(

I mean histogram, yes.

Hi rwechlser,
thanks for your kind words! I'm glad you like the Unleashed

I'll address some of your concerns:

What I don't like
Update: The iPhone app shows that there is a new firmware update available. But unfortunately, updating my Unleashed camera trigger fails. -> I hope Foolography will fix this issue.

That certainly shouldn't happen. We did get a notice an issue that can sometimes cause failing firmware updates with the very latest production batch. We're still doing some tests to see if we can fix that issue remotely. The good news: the Firmware on your Unleashed is actually newer than the ones currently available for install through the apps, so you're actually currently unable to downgrade your firmware. ;-) Only a handful of Unleasheds were shipped out like this, so I'm really sorry if you are affected. If we can't find a remote solution by the time the next firmware update comes out, we will of course offer you a free replacement.

Bulb mode: Weird times in the selector. You cannot set minutes and seconds. Times are predefined. Times starts from 1/91 until 4.6h. You can choose from 64 predefined times. This results in times like 10.0 s, 13.0 s, 16.0 s, 20.0 s, 25.0 s, 32.0 s -> For me not usable. I want to choose minutes and seconds.

We thought long and hard about this. We totally get where you are coming from and understand your wish for more fine-grained control. However, I must ask: Why do you need finer control? And if you do: do you also ask for finer control from the camera manufacturers than what they currently offer?

Let me explain our choice: Just like all Camera Manufacturers, we went with 1/3rd stop steps! That's right - we just continued the succession of shutterspeeds that you can set on the camera.
We did decide to have some overlap with the ones available from the camera for convenience, and also so that the user might notice what we're doing. We obviously have to add some "documentation" about this, as it seems to be one of the most misunderstood features that are perceived as limitations of the Unleashed. We're still figuring out a good UI for these kind of helpful messages in the app.
because Exposure time rises exponentially, the third stop steps get really, really big once you get into several minutes or even hours. This adds to the confusion, when you don't notice the pattern of 1/3rd stops.
So yes, everyone is used to setting minutes and seconds, but my humble opinion is that no-one needs to! I'll be very happy to listen, and will certainly consider making a change if you give me a compelling reason, and a good use-case.
The thing is, there is very little difference in exposure in any step smaller than one third of a stop! certainly nothing that would really be noticeably different than making a small adjustment in post processing of a raw file. In other words, the difference between the two longest steps: 3.6h or 4.6h which is a full hour, is just 1/3rd of a stop, just as the difference between 1/20th and 1/25th of a second. I get it, it feels super weird to jump by a whole hour there, instead of being able to set minutes or even seconds, but do you feel like you need 3600 more steps between 1/20th and 1/25th of a second too? Because really, that would be asking for the same thing! ;-)

Now - the advantages of using 1/3rd stop steps is that you are (or should be) used to them from every other setting in the camera, and if you decide to change the aperture by 1/3rd of a stop, you can simply scroll to the next value in the long exposure picker, and the exposure will stay the same.
When you add or remove an ND filter - they always come in full stops - you can just scroll up or down by 3x the number of stops of the ND filter and have your correct exposure - no need to have a calculator app for the ND filters anymore.

So, if you know this is what these seemingly random values mean, and how they'll benefit you, do you still think you need to set Minutes and Seconds?

Case: There is no case for transportation which protects the trigger and the plugs. -> Please add such a protection case.

The Unleashed is actually designed to stay on the camera at all times, but we get that that's not for everyone. You are one of very few people that have mentioned this to us.
We did initially consider making a part of the packaging removable, but ultimately decided against it. We will reconsider when we redesign packaging!

Timelapse mode: No review of the photo is available -> Please add photo review incl. gradation curve.

we're working on that! By Gradation curve, do you mean histogram? Or do you mean the exposure level over time?

[Oliver]

@Unfoolishly: Oh, so you're saying... a Manual might help? ;-) I think this might have been suggested before by someone.

Anyway, we know some in-app explanation would really help for this setting, we simply could not come up with a good UI yet, which doesn't annoy all the users that have already understood the concept.
We were hoping that seeing the set of faster shutterspeeds ( from 1/90 to 30s) that everyone should be used to, would at least help to see the 1/3rd stop pattern. But judging from the feedback we've had about this, it's not obvious enough.
We've actually implemented it so that the Unleashed can handle 1/6th stops, but decided not to show that in the app for now, for the sole reason that without explanation, people won't know it's 1/6th of a stop. Everyone's used to 1/3rd stops, so we decided to keep it in line with that.

About the 4.6hour limit: well, we had to stop somewhere. 4.6h is already way over the top. I don't know of anyone that ever does exposures anywhere near that long, and I did my research. Even Astrophotographers that modify their cameras to add cooling to their sensors don't do exposures that long - without cooling, you get so much noise that it's simply not worth trying. Typically everyone that might be interested in such a long exposure stacks their images anyway, to get better noise levels and better dynamic range.
What almost no-one knows: the Unleashed N1 is actually compatible with several Nikon Film-cameras, such as the F90, F100, F5 and F6. With film, you don't get overheating, so here it might actually make sense to attempt a 4.6 hour exposure.

Anyway, if you really want a longer exposure than 4.6 hours, you can always use the the TIME setting, where you press once to open, and once more to close the shutter - you can even get a good night's sleep in between!

[Unfoolishly]

@Unfoolishly: Oh, so you're saying... a Manual might help? ;-) I think this might have been suggested before by someone.

Yes, a manual would be highly appreciated, and not only for this feature. We discussed this before :-) By the way: is the manual ready for publication?

Anyway, we know some in-app explanation would really help for this setting, we simply could not come up with a good UI yet, which doesn't annoy all the users that have already understood the concept.

I think many newcomers would benefit from such explanation. Just have a look at all these second hand market websites where people sell their camera. Reason #1 for selling their camera: quit hobby (because too expensive, no time for it, and last but not least: too complicated to understand). Reason #2 for selling their camera: upgrade to a newer camera model.

It would be beneficial for users to have a setting available in the App to indicate to the App what type of user you are: Novice, Advance, Expert. Like the Dreyfus Model indicates.
There is nothing wrong with being a novice, because everybody new to photography starts at that level.
You could design the App in this way that the novice probably needs some help with some settings, like "translation" from time-settings to stop-settings for example. Experts don't need that. But experts could use some other extra settings not available in novice level.

Therefore I do think a manual (PDF) is mandatory, next to some in-App assistance. Not everybody is at the same level, but helping them overcome their beginners thinking (which is natural that they think that way, but that doesn't make it work that way) is highly recommended. Question: what kind of customers do you want to have? Only experts, or also novice people that will tell you after a while: "Oh wow, Oliver thanks for this App. Since I have started using the App my camera/photography skills have improved so much. I couldn't have grown so quickly without the in-App assistance! Thank you for that! I learned a lot in a very short amount of time.".

We were hoping that seeing the set of faster shutterspeeds ( from 1/90 to 30s) that everyone should be used to, would at least help to see the 1/3rd stop pattern. But judging from the feedback we've had about this, it's not obvious enough.

Have you ever seen people drive a car? Well, I have, and from what I have seen and sadly experienced myself (when somebody drove his car into mine on the highway while I was standing still in a trafficjam and his car cruised 80km/h and came to an halt IN my car, going from 80km/h to 0 km/h in a split second) it is clear to me that NOT everybody with a driving license can drive a car! So is it with camera users. Not everybody is skilled enough to operate a camera. People are strange beings. Some people even think that buying the best camera available will make them a better photographer and let them make better photo's. Well, is that true? No, because I have seen people make wonderful photo's with the most lousiest camera's you can think of. So your assumption "we were hoping..." is indeed based on false hope. Sorry for the bad news ;-)

We've actually implemented it so that the Unleashed can handle 1/6th stops, but decided not to show that in the app for now, for the sole reason that without explanation, people won't know it's 1/6th of a stop. Everyone's used to 1/3rd stops, so we decided to keep it in line with that.

Maybe it is time for a manual? And some in-App assistance would be really great too. Just a small idea ;-)

About the 4.6hour limit: well, we had to stop somewhere. 4.6h is already way over the top. I don't know of anyone that ever does exposures anywhere near that long, and I did my research. Even Astrophotographers that modify their cameras to add cooling to their sensors don't do exposures that long - without cooling, you get so much noise that it's simply not worth trying. Typically everyone that might be interested in such a long exposure stacks their images anyway, to get better noise levels and better dynamic range.
What almost no-one knows: the Unleashed N1 is actually compatible with several Nikon Film-cameras, such as the F90, F100, F5 and F6.

This is information you really should mention in the manual. I am not teasing you. It should be written IN the manual!

With film, you don't get overheating, so here it might actually make sense to attempt a 4.6 hour exposure.

Anyway, if you really want a longer exposure than 4.6 hours, you can always use the the TIME setting, where you press once to open, and once more to close the shutter - you can even get a good night's sleep in between!

Does every camera have a TIME setting? No, thus the Unleashed can provide functionality which the camera does not possess!

Greetings,
Unfoolishly

[Unfoolishly]

@Oliver: Have a look at the attached picture of a timer remote. The user interface (display) does not show the stops, but the time in hours:minutes:seconds.

I think many people are used to this way of thinking because other remotes do use this type of timing the camera.

timer-remote-no-stops.jpg

See what I mean?
It would be great to have BOTH in the user interface of the App: hours:minutes:seconds AND the stops that come near the set time.

In expert mode, the App could show only the stops. Because experts should know what they are doing, right? ;-)

Greetings,
Unfoolishly

[Oliver]

Does every camera have a TIME setting? No, thus the Unleashed can provide functionality which the camera does not possess!

Well, you're in luck! The Unleashed does. Tap on the "Long Exposure" setting. If you haven't already, a message will tell you to set shutter speed to BULB first. When there's a list of settings in Long Exposure, the very first setting there is "TIME".

Have a look at the attached picture of a timer remote.

I'm entirely aware that our customers might be used to setting up long exposures with hours, minutes, seconds because of those standard intervalometer triggers. That doesn't mean it's a good idea, or that we shouldn't think of better solutions, or that we should try to remain backwards-compatible with worse solutions.
But if someone gives me a valid, good use-case, for REQUIRING hours, minutes, seconds, rather than 1/3rd stop steps, I'll gladly listen!

[Unfoolishly]

Does every camera have a TIME setting? No, thus the Unleashed can provide functionality which the camera does not possess!

Well, you're in luck! The Unleashed does. Tap on the "Long Exposure" setting. If you haven't already, a message will tell you to set shutter speed to BULB first. When there's a list of settings in Long Exposure, the very first setting there is "TIME".

Well, I did manage to find this in the Nikon manual of my D7100, but not in the Nikon manual of my D90. When I plug the Unleashed onto my D90, does it show me the TIME setting in the App also??? Will this work with a D90? I have not given it a try yet. That is what I mean with: features the camera doesn't have, but the Unleashed adds extra features externally to that specific camera.

Have a look at the attached picture of a timer remote.

I'm entirely aware that our customers might be used to setting up long exposures with hours, minutes, seconds because of those standard intervalometer triggers. That doesn't mean it's a good idea, or that we shouldn't think of better solutions, or that we should try to remain backwards-compatible with worse solutions.
But if someone gives me a valid, good use-case, for REQUIRING hours, minutes, seconds, rather than 1/3rd stop steps, I'll gladly listen!

I absolutely agree with you on this one! No doubt about that! But could the App provide something extra, like an auto-translation of time settings to stop settings and a checkbox which can be toggled on/off to map the time to the stops or vise versa? That way you can teach the novice user to start thinking in terms of stops, not in terms of times.
It sure would help to indicate to the user that the best available solution is a certain stop value that comes near the time settings he/she wanted. Of course you could leave that out for expert users, who do know what they are doing all the time. Just an idea...
Rooting out bad ideas is always a problem with legacy devices (remember LPT parallel ports? PS/2 ports? USB 1.1/2.0 ports? etc). The manufacturers face this problem anyhow, because somebody introduced the bad idea, and many users adapted the bad idea in their use of operating with the camera and are now used to that way of thinking... and find no such functionality in the App, which would replace their old intervalometers... Sometimes it takes a long time to really replace people's habits, even if you want them to understand how it really works.

Greetings,
Unfoolishly