Adorama Flashes

ShutterLag · 03-17-2009, 08:46 AM

So, I've been looking into expanding, or I guess rather, starting my lighting setup. I'm basically looking to get the best "bang for the buck" as I'm just starting out. I'm debating some low end studio lights, like the FlashPoint II from Adorama ... or getting a couple shoe mount flash units and of course using them off camera.

If I go the shoe mount flash route, I'll probably get a fairly decent main flash to use on camera as well ... and then I came across the Adorama flashes, like the "Auto Bounce" and "Twinblitz". I haven't been able to find much useful information on these flashes. Is anybody here using them, or have some advice either way on whether I should consider them or not?

Thanks.

Venturi · 03-17-2009, 09:10 AM

Generally speaking - you get what you pay for. And while I do like Adorama as a store, I'm not really fond of their 'store brand' product offerings.

Having said that, there are viable and affordable flash options out there. The Vivitar 285HV was a great workhorse flash and if you can find pre-buyout copies they're great. The design was sold recently to Cactus however, and quality control and reliability are now highly suspect on any newly stocked 285HV you may see.
There's a new flash that just hit the market though that looks very interesting. It was designed by one of the techs over at Midwest Photo Exchange with Lumopro, and the feature set was put together from requests and advice from the Strobist community. Here's the info on it from strobist.com; there are links to where to buy in the blog post...
Strobist: Manual Flashes: Two Debuts and an Adoption

By the way, both of those Adorama flashes are out of stock on backorder which in my experience with adorama means "no freakin idea if we'll ever get this item again".

ShutterLag · 03-17-2009, 09:34 AM

Cool, thanks! ... I'll check out the link.

Haha, I know the adorama stuff is backordered ... I'm not in that big of a rush ... but knowing that I actually will get the product I order in some reasonable amount of time would be nice. :-)

Helen Oster · 03-18-2009, 05:53 AM

Originally posted by Venturi

By the way, both of those Adorama flashes are out of stock on backorder which in my experience with adorama means "no freakin idea if we'll ever get this item again".

I am sorry that this is your experience; unfortunately, many manufacturers and distributors refuse to commit to a delivery date - and what we don't know, we can't give out!

Originally posted by ShutterLag

Cool, thanks! ... I'll check out the link.

Haha, I know the adorama stuff is backordered ... I'm not in that big of a rush ... but knowing that I actually will get the product I order in some reasonable amount of time would be nice. :-)

If you would like to contact me directly with the SKU number of the item you are interested in, I will see if our buyers have any update on when we expect to receive any into stock..

Sincerely

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com

Venturi · 03-18-2009, 09:00 AM

It wasn't my intention to disparage Adorama, Helen. I do buy *a lot* of gear from you folks, and post your listings often when people are looking for specific items here. I just didn't want ShutterLag to assume the items would become available in short order.

The "backordered" thing is just a nuisance of e-commerce common to many online shops. While an empty bin/shelf in a brick-and-mortar store costs money a web listing for an out of stock item does not - and it's still great search engine fodder. The people responsible for maintaining the online inventory know this and generally don't remove items immediately even if they know the likelihood of the item returning to stock is slim/none. The clever e-shops will often show the item you're looking for that's "out of stock" and then give the customer alternatives "We don't have this, but you might be interested in these".

Just a couple examples from your site, since we're discussing Adorama here, that had been on my radar (dates are when I first pulled up the products online):
HLTWINVOSP Hahnel Twin V Professional Charger for the Olympus, Samsung & Pentax Pro DSLR Digital Batteries - "temporarily" out of stock since July '08.
INT271 Interfit Photographic Flat Panel Reversible Black/White Reflector, 35" x 70" with Stand & Tilting Bracket - "backordered" since Jan '09.

Again, I wasn't picking on Adorama. If he'd brought up B&H or pretty much any other shop showing "out of stock" and/or "backordered" I'd have given the same caution about holding his breath while he waits.

03-17-2009, 08:46 AM	#1
ShutterLag Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 25	Adorama Flashes So, I've been looking into expanding, or I guess rather, starting my lighting setup. I'm basically looking to get the best "bang for the buck" as I'm just starting out. I'm debating some low end studio lights, like the FlashPoint II from Adorama ... or getting a couple shoe mount flash units and of course using them off camera. If I go the shoe mount flash route, I'll probably get a fairly decent main flash to use on camera as well ... and then I came across the Adorama flashes, like the "Auto Bounce" and "Twinblitz". I haven't been able to find much useful information on these flashes. Is anybody here using them, or have some advice either way on whether I should consider them or not? Thanks.

03-18-2009, 05:53 AM	#4
Helen Oster Adorama Camera Representative Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New York Posts: 550	Adorama Camera Customer Service Originally posted by Venturi By the way, both of those Adorama flashes are out of stock on backorder which in my experience with adorama means "no freakin idea if we'll ever get this item again". I am sorry that this is your experience; unfortunately, many manufacturers and distributors refuse to commit to a delivery date - and what we don't know, we can't give out! Originally posted by ShutterLag Cool, thanks! ... I'll check out the link. Haha, I know the adorama stuff is backordered ... I'm not in that big of a rush ... but knowing that I actually will get the product I order in some reasonable amount of time would be nice. :-) If you would like to contact me directly with the SKU number of the item you are interested in, I will see if our buyers have any update on when we expect to receive any into stock.. Sincerely Helen Oster Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador helen.oster@adoramacamera.com

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03-17-2009, 09:10 AM	#2
Venturi Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tulsa, OK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,636	Generally speaking - you get what you pay for. And while I do like Adorama as a store, I'm not really fond of their 'store brand' product offerings. Having said that, there are viable and affordable flash options out there. The Vivitar 285HV was a great workhorse flash and if you can find pre-buyout copies they're great. The design was sold recently to Cactus however, and quality control and reliability are now highly suspect on any newly stocked 285HV you may see. There's a new flash that just hit the market though that looks very interesting. It was designed by one of the techs over at Midwest Photo Exchange with Lumopro, and the feature set was put together from requests and advice from the Strobist community. Here's the info on it from strobist.com; there are links to where to buy in the blog post... Strobist: Manual Flashes: Two Debuts and an Adoption By the way, both of those Adorama flashes are out of stock on backorder which in my experience with adorama means "no freakin idea if we'll ever get this item again".

03-17-2009, 09:34 AM	#3
ShutterLag Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 25 Original Poster	Cool, thanks! ... I'll check out the link. Haha, I know the adorama stuff is backordered ... I'm not in that big of a rush ... but knowing that I actually will get the product I order in some reasonable amount of time would be nice. :-)

03-18-2009, 09:00 AM	#5
Venturi Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tulsa, OK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,636	It wasn't my intention to disparage Adorama, Helen. I do buy a lot of gear from you folks, and post your listings often when people are looking for specific items here. I just didn't want ShutterLag to assume the items would become available in short order. The "backordered" thing is just a nuisance of e-commerce common to many online shops. While an empty bin/shelf in a brick-and-mortar store costs money a web listing for an out of stock item does not - and it's still great search engine fodder. The people responsible for maintaining the online inventory know this and generally don't remove items immediately even if they know the likelihood of the item returning to stock is slim/none. The clever e-shops will often show the item you're looking for that's "out of stock" and then give the customer alternatives "We don't have this, but you might be interested in these". Just a couple examples from your site, since we're discussing Adorama here, that had been on my radar (dates are when I first pulled up the products online): HLTWINVOSP Hahnel Twin V Professional Charger for the Olympus, Samsung & Pentax Pro DSLR Digital Batteries - "temporarily" out of stock since July '08. INT271 Interfit Photographic Flat Panel Reversible Black/White Reflector, 35" x 70" with Stand & Tilting Bracket - "backordered" since Jan '09. Again, I wasn't picking on Adorama. If he'd brought up B&H or pretty much any other shop showing "out of stock" and/or "backordered" I'd have given the same caution about holding his breath while he waits.