science

Multi Interface Shoe

Multi Interface Shoe is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Multi Interface Shoe rather than just read about it. In short: The Multi Interface Shoe (a.k.a. MI Shoe or MIS) is a proprietary camera hotshoe introduced by Sony in 2012, replacing an assortment of other proprietary hotshoes used by Sony in various types of cameras in the past.

Key takeaways

Multi Interface Shoe belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Multi Interface Shoe to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Multi Interface Shoe from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Multi Interface Shoe (a.k.a. MI Shoe or MIS) is a proprietary camera hotshoe introduced by Sony in 2012, replacing an assortment of other proprietary hotshoes used by Sony in various types of cameras in the past.

Overview The Multi Interface Shoe is a proprietary camera hotshoe introduced by Sony on 12 September 2012, replacing an assortment of other proprietary hotshoes used by Sony in various types of cameras in the past, including the Auto-lock Accessory Shoe (a.k.a. AAS or "iISO" shoe) introduced by Minolta in 1988 and used on Sony α DSLRs, SLTs and some NEX cameras, and the Smart Accessory Terminals types 1 (SAT) and 2 (SAT2) used on the majority of the Sony α NEX-line. It also replaces Sony's former Cyber-shot hotshoe, Intelligent Accessory Shoe (IAS) and Active Interface Shoe (AIS). At first sight, the Multi Interface Shoe resembles a standard ISO 518 hotshoe with middle contact and frame ground and without any vendor-specific extra contacts, but additional electrical contacts are hidden under the front of the hotshoe. Therefore, the hotshoe is mechanically compatible with any ISO 518-based equipment, and while it does not allow to control third-party flashes, ISO-based flashes can be triggered at least. The hotshoe also features three holes in its metal base in order to support an optional locking mechanism in the flash or other hotshoe device. It does not, however, provide an auto-locking mechanism as on the Auto-lock Accessory Shoe. Electrically, the Multi Interface Shoe includes all signals of both the Auto-lock Accessory Shoe and the Smart Accessory Terminal 2, thereby allowing passive electromechanical adapters to be used. For this purpose, Sony provides ADP-MAA (top: Auto-lock, bottom: MIS) and ADP-AMA (top: MIS, bottom: Auto-lock) adapters. Both adapters route through the "F2" and "F3" signals; the Auto-lock hotshoe's "F1" signal is connected to the middle contact of the Multi Interface shoe, not pin 20 ("F1#"), which is left open. MIS pins 7 and 15 ("REG_GND") are internally connected to both sides of the frame as well as to the GND signal of the Auto-lock shoe's side. "MIC_GND" pin 4 is left open. The ADP-AMA's Auto-lock hotshoe features a switch, which shorts MIS pin 21 ("PGND") to "GND" when the adapter is mounted on a hotshoe without hole (as on a camera, or with ADP-MAA or FS-1200). Otherwise pin 21 is left open in the adapter (indicating wired or remote use). Assuming that pin 21 is tied to PGND in a camera's hotshoe, this allows flashes compatible with the Multi Interface Shoe to detect if they are mounted on the camera or not as it is necessary for ADI to work. In the ADP-MAA adapter, pins 2 and 3 ("ID2" and "ID1") are directly connected to GND, whereas pin 1 ("ID3") is pulled low via a 470 kΩ resistor. The first cameras to use the Multi Interface Shoe are the SLT-A99, NEX-6, NEX-VG900, NEX-VG30, DSC-RX1 and DSC-HX50. It is also used on all newer cameras including the ILCA-series and ILCE-series. In 2014, the Hasselblad HV has become the first third-party camera to support the Multi Interface Shoe as well. In 2013, Sony released a third hotshoe adapter, named ADP-MAC. It allows to mount equipment with Active Interface Shoe onto cameras with Multi Interface Shoe. The Multi Interface Shoe was integrated into the existing Minolta/Sony TTL flash cable system by the introduction of the flash shoe FA-CS1M (VX9371), a remote hotshoe with four-pin TTL cable port and a Multi Interface Shoe on its top and bottom.

Electronic contacts

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Multi Interface Shoe

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Multi Interface Shoe claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Multi Interface Shoe before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Multi Interface Shoe ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Multi Interface Shoe

In research: Multi Interface Shoe appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Multi Interface Shoe in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Multi Interface Shoe is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Flash mounts, Sony A-mount cameras, Sony flashes for Multi Interface Shoe, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Multi Interface Shoe outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Multi Interface Shoe in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Multi Interface Shoe means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Multi Interface Shoe out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Multi Interface Shoe in simple terms?

Why does Multi Interface Shoe matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Multi Interface Shoe?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Multi Interface Shoe.