MIOPS
MIOPS Smart+
MIOPS Smart+ Smartphone Controllable Camera and Flash Trigger for High Speed Photography & Timelapse with Camera Conection Cable (MIOPS-SM-S2)
Alan
Works pretty well, still learning it. Amazing functionality they don't talk much about. Subtracted 1 star because the documentation on how to use it leaves a lot to be desired. Basically it tells you what functions are there, not how to use them.
Was shipped the wrong cable version, but I already had C1 cables.
Vargha Mehregan
I wish I had this years ago. So useful and user friendly. Love it
Joe
Only giving 4 star because I haven't tried in the "Real World". This is just a helpful tip.
Customer
So 1st use capturing lightning from a Southern Arizona Monsoon. Set up is super simple, but use the APP trying to utilize the controls on the unit drove me to distraction. Some things I would like to see improved is AGC for the lightning detector, The plastic hotshoe mount does not look all that rugged, luckily I have several hotshoe to 1/4-20 adapters, and that is the screw mount point on the bottom of the unit. It took 96 tries last night to get this image, but if I had been shooting manually, well, I would still be out there. I would also love to see a IP64 rating at least for the device. I am going to use it in inclement weather, so either that or a housing/cover to protect it. But so far happy with the product and price point! Make sure you verify your camera model for the cables, or order the proper cable with the unit.
Matthew Foran
For true high-speed photography this device is useless. The attached graph shows an input pulse in blue and a series of response times in red. I set the delay at 0ms, 5ms, and 10ms. The median response time is not bad, but the spread is around 1.5ms. That might not sound like a lot, but imagine trying to photograph a speeding bullet. You set your camera so the bullet will be perfectly centered if the trigger goes off at the median response time of 1.5ms. In one trial the trigger hits at 0.8ms, and the next at 2.3ms. At 300m/s, the bullet will be 23cm out of frame in either direction. Now that's a lot!
Support took a week to respond and confirmed this is the expected behavior.
If you do not need high-speed precision, this device is awesome. The UI is good and it is just so convenient to have everything in a neat little package rather than building your own circuits. The cables are interchangeable, so you can use the same device with any brand as long as you have an adapter for the camera's trigger port.
Phxforsale
Easiest way to catch lightning!
Jan Raak
Purchased the device to catch thunder & lightning. The 'laser' mode turns out to be great.
Using it on a Nikon D850 and Nikon D5300.
BL Coastal Memories
Likes = price, ease of use, delivery, functionality
Cons - I've missed some great lightning bolts
The miops was my budget answer to the over priced imo name brand lightning trigger that costs double the amount of this device (and offers 85 % less functionality). My 3 star review is based solely on the lightning trigger part of the device. It works....but not consistent enough. The first time I used it, it was an ideal situation. Night, 5 second exposures and caught some lovely strikes. Used it for some day lightning yesterday and it maybe captured 5 out of 20 strikes. Breaks my heart because some of those were "ok that's the ONE I can go home and eat dinner now" type of strikes. Instead I had to wait through some more failed attempts. But you will capture some and that's better than nothing. All the other features work amazing.
William
**Updating Review** Super disappointed by this seller "Quantum Networks" but thankfully the Manufacture cares enough about their products to step in and correct this sellers questionable practices. All said and done, I finally got my trigger and this thing is AMAZING!! It's CRAZY how configurable this device is and can also be 100% controlled from your phone, WoW.... works just like I thought it would/should and if you are on the fence about spending the money on this thing, just do it you won't regret the purchase (I would just STRONGLY recommend not buying from the aforementioned seller).
PSC Video Service
Love It!!!
BGB
I haven't fully used this yet so this review is mostly just to help you out if yours won't turn on.
WON'T TURN ON?
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If, even after charging it all day, yours won't turn on, it is probably because one of the gold contacts for the battery is recessed and isn't making contact. See the attached photos to see what I am talking about. I contacted MIOPS support via their webpage and heard back within hours. They said it was safe to just use some tweezers to pull that little buddy out a little further so it can make contact. After I did that, it works like a charm.
So, if yours won't turn on, you have two options, exchange it, or just pull the contact out.
HANGS AFTER 3 MINUTES OF USE
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While testing this on lightning mode, I quickly realized that the unit was hanging and becoming unresponsive after about 3 minutes of not snapping a photo. 1 minute was fine, 2 minutes was fine, but after 3 it hung and needed to be powered off and back on. No photos would be triggered and buttons did nothing.
I e-mailed MIOPS support and they told me that I must be on firmware version 2.0 and to upgrade to 2.1. So it was a known issue and the upgrade did work. To upgrade the firmware, download the MIOPS Smart app for your phone (I was on IOS) and connect to the MIOPS with bluetooth. In the app there is a menu item to update firmware. Click on that and follow the instructions.
REVIEW
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I decided to go with this for the extra hundred+ instead of Pluto because Pluto can only be used with a smart phone and app but this can be used with a smart phone or on the unit itself. My phone dies all the time, I don't want it to be a single point of failure. Also, this has a changeable battery, while Pluto did not.
The casing is plastic and the mount to attach to your flash hot shoe on the camera is also plastic and not adjustable and doesn't quite fit in the hot- shoe for one of my cameras. If I didn't have the issue with the battery contacts and the flash mount, I'd give this a 5.
I did very basic testing so far with laser, lightning, timelapse, and sound triggers and they all worked. As time goes on and I play around with this more, I will come back and update if necessary.
