The ultimate buying guide based on the hottest products featured on AdoramaTV.
1. Sony A7R II by Daniel Norton:
Clearly Adorama’s hands-on expert on this amazing 42.4 MP full-frame mirrorless masterpiece, he not only covers virtually all of its key features in an amazingly short time frame, but tells what each one does, end even points out limitations (such as performance at ultra-high ISOs) and assets (such as easy adaptation of vintage lenses), and gives numerous shooting tips, and examples of various applications. Outstanding!
2. Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art Lens by Ruth Medjber:
A brilliant professional photographer with a warm and engaging personality, she points out the unique characteristics of this innovative high-speed lens that launched Sigma’s popular Art Line, and demonstrates its versatility and the advantages of its wide aperture with her outstanding portraits of an attractive model. Also covered are its superior sharpness, fast Hypersonic AF motor with anytime manual focus override, close-focusing to under 1 foot for breathtaking close-ups, and the possibilities of adding an ND filter outdoors to enable shooting at wide apertures to capture beautiful bokeh.
3. Canon 70-200mmm f/2.8L IS II by Marcin Lewandowski:
He comes across as a warm, knowledgeable, and seasoned pro because he is one, and he’s clearly enthusiastic about one of his favorite lenses that he calls the flagship of Canon’s EF optical line. He points out the key advantages of the latest II model over its illustrious predecessor—closer focusing down to 1.2m, enhanced chromatic aberration correction an improved AF limiter, and better IS and showcases its capabilities with his superb images over a wide shooting range. It’s a must-see for Canon fans.
4. Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G by Marcin Lewandowski:
The friendly and articulate pro holds forth on one of Nikon’s most popular pro zooms, extolling its build quality, well-sealed, weatherproof construction, handy corrugated rubber contraol rings and excellent balance. He also praises its fast AH with easy manual override, Silent Wave Motor for faster AF, improved VR II image stabilization, and of course its outstanding imaging performance and versatility, all of which are illustrated by images of him shooting in the field and his excellent images under varied shooting conditions. Nikon fans take note!
5. Pentax K-S2 Overview by Daniel Norton:
He expertly runs down all the defining features in the latest high-performance Pentax including its cool new collapsible kit lens, flip-out LCD screen with two auto-switch shutter buttons for shooting convenient selfies, and 4K interval shooting capability. And she puts everything in context with outstanding images that show the real world advantages of eliminating the AA filter for crisper imaging, having 11 AF points with 9 cross sensors for superior AF performance with challenging subjects, and in-body image stabilization that works with older K-mount lenses. It’s a joy to watch.
6. LytroIllum Light Field Digital Camera by Martin Dorey:
This charming and amusing Brit manages to convey the essence of an extremely difficult concept—a Light Field Camera that uses a compound lens and sensor to capture “living pictures” that can be manipulated after the shot is taken, to create a range of possible images with different focus planes, sharpness zones, apertures, etc. using Lytro’s software that works similarly to Lightroom. He goes through the Illum’s camera DSLR-like controls and features that and goes on to shoot an engaging seaside scene with a seagull and then shows the amazing range of images you can generate from it. It’s absolutely fascinating and highly motivational.
7. Lensbaby Velvet 56 Overview by Marcin Lewandowski:
The master touches on his experiences with other Lensbaby products and then explains and illustrates the virtues of this unique 56mm f/1.6 lens that yields enchanting image with “a velvety look and pleasing organic bokeh” at wide apertures and sharp images woith just a hint of softness in the corners at f/8 and smaller apertures. He also extols the built quality of the lens and its ability to focus down to 5 inches (1:2) for impressive close-ups. His images, mostly portraits, really show the capabilities of this lens that will “take your images beyond the ordinary.”
8. Fuji X-T10 Overview by Daniel Norton:
Adorama’s friendly, straightforward camera guru gives a succinct explanation of the key features of thiscool broad-spectrum enthusiast-aimed mirrorless camera, including its unique APS-C-format X-Trans CMOS II sensor, virtually silent new 77-point AF sensor with focus peaking display, multi-exposure capability, film simulation modes, and 7 programmable buttons. All the features are shown so clearly and described in such plain language. It’s almost like standing right there at Adorama’s camera counter. Well done!
9. Westcott Flex Overview by Ruth Medjber:
You couldn’t ask for a more entertaining and informative overview of this amazing product, essentially a bendable, lightweight, waterproof plastic sheet of 256 LEDs that can be configured in any number of ways to provide lighting in tight spaces, indoors or out. It can be taped or clamped to practically any surface, comes with a mounting frame and control unit that can be dialed down to only 5% power, and can be set up as a light box with accessory diffusion cloth. As usual, all the possibilities are beautifully illustrated with the presenter’s compelling images.
10. Canon EOS Rebel T6i/T6s Overview by Claude:
This forthcoming and relatable overview by one of Adorma’s talented presenters is a masterpiece of concision that presents two outstanding new broad-spectrum Canon 24.6 MP DSLRs and explains what they can do, their similarities, and their differences with admirable clarity. Both have imporessive features sets including a 19-point cross-type AF sensor and a full-resd burst rate of 5 fps, but the step-up T6s adds HDR and Servo AF in live view, which is clearly shown in an excellent hands-on demonstration.
