The Smartta SliderMini 2 is a compact and portable app-controlled motorised slider for mirrorless and DSLR cameras, as well as smartphones. The original was a highly regarded and it has now been improved with a more powerful motor allowing you to use heavier cameras when using it vertically or at an incline.
Priced at $399 this is available to buy direct from from Smartta now.
Features
- App control for speed, timelapse, loop mode and more
- Manual control via button on side
- Automatic shutter control to start and stop recording
- Slide Distance: 20cm
- Horizontal Load : 15kg
- Vertical Load: 1.25kg
- Connectivity: Bluetooth LE, shutter trigger cables
- Speed: 0.1mm/s to 1mm/s
- Battery: 52 hours normal use, 14 hour active slide
Smartta SliderMini 2 vs the original Slider Mini – What has been improved?
Smartta appears to have scrubbed any mention of their original slider, so the exact differences were not 100% clear.
The power of the motor appears to have been significantly improved, while the horizontal remains the same at a weighty 15 kg, the vertical load has increased 25% from 1 kg to 1.25 kg.
The battery has also been improved slightly going from 48 hours to 52 hours.
So not a huge amount has changed but the vertical load capacity can make the difference between it working with your camera or not.
In Use
The slider has a 3/8-16″ threaded bolt so if you want to use a smaller camera (which I did) then you will need to add on a 3/8-16″ to 1/4-20″ thread adapter.
It is possible to use this out of the box with no app, there is a button on the side which performs basic functions. Once switched on a double press will make it go right and triple press left. Four presses will move it to the middle.
Using the app will get the most out of the slider though, as this allows you to customise its function and have it all working autonomously controlling your camera with the aid of the camera shutter cables. Connecting to the app was quick and easy, with my P40 Pro I just loaded the app and allowed it to connect automatically, no accounts needed or anything.
Using the app you can set the slider speed from 10mm/sec at its fastest, down to 0.1mm/sec making the time of travel 20 seconds to 2000 seconds (33 mins). Testing different speeds, the footage shot was always perfectly smooth with no notable shaking.
The app does more than just set the slider speed and stop/start. The app has a variety of modes built-in, allowing for custom speed curves, time-lapses and stop motion. This can then work in conjunction with the shutter release cable, the slider will trigger your camera when appropriate at the interval specified, allowing you to capture time-lapses that may last multiple hours over a single fluid motion.
My testing was done on a flat surface, but the underside of the camera there is a 3/8-16″ socket with a 1/4-20″ adapter for mounting it to a tripod plate.
The slider does make quite a bit of noise when in motion so this is something worth taking into account. I imagine most motorised sliders will suffer from similar issues.
Price and Alternative Options
The Smartta Slider Mini 2 is priced at $399 including worldwide shipping. With me not being massively into camera tech, that seemed like a very high price. Until I looked at competing options.
Pretty much every motorised camera slider on Amazon is well over £200.
The Neewer Camera Slider seems to be the best reviewed at £238 and it offers 80cm of motion though it is not very portable dure to the size
The edelkrone SliderONE v2 which offering a very similar specification will set you back £410
Overall
While this is certainly not cheap, it is more affordable than other similar specced option.
This offers a premium experience with exceptional build quality, a portable form factor and ultra smooth movement.
The app works well and I think this could be what differentiates it from some of the cheaper offerings on Amazon
Posted by Mighty Gadget Blog: UK Technology News and Reviews
