Hey guys, I've been playing around with a few different digiscoping options this year and wanted to pass on a review of the Smart Optix adapter. In the past I really liked the MINITS iWitness system with the Monoloc but it never really did the trick for me (I have no doubt it's perfect for others) so I kept exploring other options. I still have it and plan to keep it around for use with a PVS-14, but recently I picked up an adapter from Smart Optix. It's significantly less expensive and quite simple, but very adjustable.
It's a larger attachment that seems to be designed as a universal tool to fit any kind of spotting scope occular as well as smart phone. You simply lay it over the lens and tighten a screw down to secure it, with contact points at the bottom to cradle the lens. Then the phone is placed into the adapter and another screw is tightened that compresses rubber jaws against the side of the phone to secure it. Finally a separate set of two screws are used to fine adjust the X,Y position of the camera to get the best possible picture coverage. That whole process is really fast and easy and I was up and running in no time.
I took it up a hill nearby with my spotter to take some through the lens pics. As simple as it is to mount, it doesn't feel as secure as the Monoloc and that's obviously the difference in how each other work with the latter gripping the occular over a larger surface area. Ironically, the way the MINITS iWitness adapter mounts into the Monoloc doesn't feel as secure as the Smart Optix adapter.
Airliner 2km away at 60x
Video of QANTAS flight departing
Overall I think the Monoloc and MINITS iWitness kit is solid and well constructed from anodized aluminum, though slightly limited to specific phones. The Smart Optix adapter is quite a bit cheaper and is made from plastic, but works very well with a variety of different phones and is easy to adjust to get a good image. Just something to consider...
smartoptix.com
It's a larger attachment that seems to be designed as a universal tool to fit any kind of spotting scope occular as well as smart phone. You simply lay it over the lens and tighten a screw down to secure it, with contact points at the bottom to cradle the lens. Then the phone is placed into the adapter and another screw is tightened that compresses rubber jaws against the side of the phone to secure it. Finally a separate set of two screws are used to fine adjust the X,Y position of the camera to get the best possible picture coverage. That whole process is really fast and easy and I was up and running in no time.
I took it up a hill nearby with my spotter to take some through the lens pics. As simple as it is to mount, it doesn't feel as secure as the Monoloc and that's obviously the difference in how each other work with the latter gripping the occular over a larger surface area. Ironically, the way the MINITS iWitness adapter mounts into the Monoloc doesn't feel as secure as the Smart Optix adapter.
Airliner 2km away at 60x
Video of QANTAS flight departing
Overall I think the Monoloc and MINITS iWitness kit is solid and well constructed from anodized aluminum, though slightly limited to specific phones. The Smart Optix adapter is quite a bit cheaper and is made from plastic, but works very well with a variety of different phones and is easy to adjust to get a good image. Just something to consider...
smartoptix.com
