SMOKE GENIE: Smoke Machine on the Go Smoke machine in your hand

Fog and haze machines are used widely in cinema and photography to amplify ambiance and add depth to the scene. But most of these machines are for use in large spaces.  The Smoke Genie comes in a unique portable design and allows to create different quality haze and smoke in small areas. It’s useful for product photography and portrait shots.

In the box

The Smoke Genie is shipped in a hard plastic case and comes with different accessories (extension tubes, nozzles, jet tip, sponge tip, haze fan, ¼’’ mount adapter), a remote control, smoke chamber replacement units, and an extra bottle of smoke liquid.

The full set in the box

SMOKE-GENIE-box

Features

This pocket smoke machine is shipped without batteries and uses two big 18650 batteries with the option to charge them while in use through the USB-C port.

Another feature that the smoke genie comes with is the safety power button. With the unit turned off, one click on the power button shows the battery status. In order to turn on the unit, the power button needs to be clicked five times. This is to prevent the unit from turning on accidentally while stored.

Two 18650 batteries are required for operation

SMOKE-GENIE batteries

The glass chambers that contain the smoke liquid also come with an interesting safety feature — the rubber gasket changes color when the chamber is hot.

For safety reasons, the smoke genie comes with a plastic cover to prevent it from touching the hot glass chamber. The smoke coming in out of the unit is also very hot, so included in the kit there’s a number of nozzles. These allow the smoke to cool and also protect from accidental spurts of liquid coming out of the chamber.

Smoke genie is equipped with a smart screen that indicates when the chamber is installed or taken off, and also when a temporary cool off is required.

Below the screen, there are three control buttons to adjust the emission speed, emission power, and change between the two settings. On the bottom of the unit, there’s a metal female 1/4’’ mount that allows to position the unit.

Precautions

Before using this fog machine, you need to be aware of some precautions. As mentioned earlier, the glass chamber gets very hot, so make sure to always use it with enough liquid inside (at least 1/3).

Before storing the unit, remove the batteries to avoid accidental heating. The glass chambers need to be stored separately as well.

Operation

To prepare the smoke genie for operation, take the glass chamber out of its plastic cover, and screw it onto the top of the fog machine. Fill the chamber by lifting up the rubber gasket making sure not to spill any of the liquid and cleaning up if needed. Before the initial operation, Smoke Genie recommends allowing the system to absorb the liquid for 15 minutes. Install the batteries and the heat shield, and you’re ready to use the smoke Gene.

The smoke liquid gel

SMOKE-GENIE liquid

Once you install the batteries, the fog machine comes on automatically.  Make sure to use the unit with the chamber facing up. The provided extensions will help you to send the smoke to direct the smoke. In order to operate the unit, hold down the metal button on the back. You can also operate the smoke genie with the remote control.

Using the accessories included in the kit will help you to modify the quality of the smoke that this unit produces. The haze fan operates on the same kind of battery as the smoke genie itself. It’s a very simple unit, but surprisingly, it features a USB-c port to charge a single battery. The single button has multiple click settings to turn the fan on and off and to control the speed.

The jet tip accessory creates a narrow stream of smoke instead of the cloud that the Smoke Genie puts out without this tip.

The other accessory provided is the sponge tip. This is used with the soft extension tube to create a pool of smoke.

The sponge tip is designed to create a pool of smoke

SMOKE-GENIE

Conclusion

In conclusion, we found the Smoke Genie to be a versatile and very useful tool. It’s easy to assemble and work with and can help create an interesting ambiance in both small-scale and life-size environments.

Different methods for usage – fan and sponge 

SMOKE-GENIE fan

Pricing

We had a talk with PMI (the company behind the SMOKE GENIE) and we were told that the price for the SMOKE GENIE will be around $690. We are still trying to ascertain the exact availability of the unit and we will update the article accordingly. You can find more details on the SMOKE GENIE PMI website.

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Art Podolski is a photographer and video editor with an interest in marketing, technology and all things cinema. After shooting wedding photography for 5 years, he transitioned into creating video content for online projects and collaborating with various production companies.

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