Syrp

I might not be using this the same way others are but it works very well for panning and tilting a camera for video streaming events. I wish there was a way to connect and control the genies with WiFi instead of Bluetooth. The Bluetooth has range and reliability issues. They can be worked with, but not as rock solid as I would prefer. Even something simple like, buy a router, set the ssid to xxxxx and the password to xxxxx, then connect the iOS device to that network, connect to the genies and you’re ready to go. I would think that would even make the update process go smoother. I’ve never had an update work on the first try. Later, you can add a screen to the app to use Bluetooth to let the genie know which WiFi network to use and what the password is. That can wait. I’d gladly put a dedicated WiFi access point in the room with no internet connection just to get some range and connection stability.

My frustrations began right out of the box when prompted to update my Syrp Genie Mini II to latest firmware. Getting the device the maintain it’s connection was a nightmare. However, after some perseverance I successfully updated only to be confronted with a far larger and still unresolved challenge. The link cable simply will not fire my shutter as intended. I have the “2S” cable and attempted to use it to fire both a Sony A7iii and a Sony a6500. I followed Syrp website advice to a tee (I.e. set to manual mode in camera, turn off live view, make sure the cables are firmly pressed in, make sure photo preview is off, reset the Genie Mini ii by long pressing 5-6 seconds, etc.) none of it worked and I followed up by wasting a day trying adjustments with what seems like every setting on my cameras. I’ve never been so frustrated with a software and corresponding device. I really had high hopes for this. So disappointing.

Been using the app and a few of the Syrp products the last few months. Overall it gets the job done and the products are well designed minus the way too easy to accidentally turn on any of the products by hitting the power button - a firmware update should be done to address this where you have to hold the power button for a few seconds and not just barely touch it. If you’re traveling you can basically assume that the jostling caused the product to turn on and lose battery life. As for the app, a new home screen interface should be done instead of the current setup. For example, the connect devices should be more prominently displayed and the back button shouldn’t be buried into the corner of the screen. One other app recommendation... adding new features that were promised in the early fall should be pushed out faster. I get it, it takes some time for some coding but 6-8+ months later is a tad slow. Big feature that is needed that was promised is the holy grail time-lapse feature. It’s desperately needed, especially since other companies have it inter grated into their product out of the box. And when the Holy Grail ramping is released, please, PLEASE add sun, moon, North Star, Milky Way center tracking via the GPS location of the phone. It’s already implemented (to some degree) by a third party intervolmeter. One device/app to rule them all would be epic.