Ray-Ban Silver Mirror vs. Silver Flash

Silver Mirror (left) vs. Silver Flash (right)

I love sunglasses. My friends tell me I have a problem. Maybe I do but my problem is your benefit!

I also love to debunk things and genuinely help people. My reviews are free and never have any ads nor do I get any money for recommendations. I also own or frequently use all items which appear in Adrian’s Gear or otherwise.

I want to help!

Recently, while looking at some sunglasses, I had never seen Ray-Ban’s Silver Flash or Silver Mirror in person. I wanted some absolutely mirror finish aviators but images on Ray-ban’s website don’t do them justice. Looking for some reviews of both were of absolutely no help. In fact, some literally are quoted saying “there is no difference.”

To find out for myself, I bought a pair of both. To put it simply, anyone who claims there is no difference has neither owned them nor looked at them in person, or maybe just making things up. They are definitely different.

Let’s clarify the differences between these lenses.

Silver Mirror—a highly reflective, dark gray, with a mostly mirror finish. I write ‘mostly’ because one’s eyes are not completely concealed from onlookers. The lenses I would say are 80% mirrored. They are also very neutral in their tint, meaning no nearly no color shift, and a medium darkness.

Silver Flash—like their colorful (Flash) brethren, they are extremely reflective and to the extent I would call them 95% mirrored. There is almost no seeing ones eyes through these lenses. The tint is very neutral and a little darker.

In pictures, due to exposure and other variables, it would be hard to say which is which looks like what but the image above represents a good everyday experience. But if you want a truly mirror finish on a pair of Aviators, Silver Flash is the way to go. Something a touch more subtle, the Silver Mirror is a better choice.

If you want an example, watch the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day. While that might be an unexpected recommendation, the T-1000 sunglasses about two-thirds way through the film are what I would call ‘silver flash’.

Personally, I really like both pairs of sunglasses but the Silver Flash are really the way to go. They are beautiful.

Feel free to ask any questions about them in the comments and I’ll give as much detail as I can. Thanks for reading!

Gore Closefit Tricot Gloves — The North Face

I wasn’t expecting to review these gloves but they’ve turned out to be so much greater than expected that I had to share.

Living in Chicago, where it can get pretty brutally cold, gloves are a requirement. The need to be warm, easy to keep track of, not terribly expensive (because they get lost easily), must work with touchscreen devices, and ensure the highest dexterity possible.

I’ve gone through a lot of gloves. Many claim to be warm and aren’t. Many claim to work with touchscreen devices and don’t—or at least not well. Or those that are warm are bulky an impede manual dexterity. My last pair of gloves, also from The North face, were okay but I never loved them. They barely worked with touchscreens, were thick but not terribly warm, and wind cut right through them.

Just a few weeks ago, while shopping for some gym gear, a sales associate at REI went to search an item I couldn’t find and I took the time to looks at some gloves. I tried on the updated version of what I had currently—still mediocre. I tried some heavier gloves but they were just too bulky. I saw the Gore Glosefit Tricot Glove, picked them up but they were so thin they almost felt like latex kitchen gloves. But the tag noted ‘cold’ which appeared to be the second tear for The North Face gloves and therefore warmer than my current, thicker gloves. The tag also noted ‘windproof’ which is a huge advantage in Chicago. Made from Gore-Tex, it makes them highly breathable and offers some water resistance.

Jersey lining

Trying them on, I found them to fit very nicely—fit like a glove, I suppose! And pulling out my iPhone, they were super responsive on the touchscreen. In addition, the grip was awesome with tiny, silicon dots (apparently known as Jersey lining) on much of the palm, index, and middle fingers. I was almost able to let go of my iPhone XS. As many of you will likely be able to attest to, phones can easily slip out of one’s hand when wearing gloves. No bueno.

I was sold and took a pair home.

These gloves haven’t failed to impress me. Probably the most important attributes of these gloves isn’t the touchscreen compatibility or the grip but the how warm they are and the dexterity they allow.

While they aren’t terribly thick and therefore aren’t super insulated, they are windproof and that helps a ton. Especially here in Chicago, something every Chicagoan isn’t extremely well acquainted with is the brutal wind that sails off Lake Michigan during winter. A -12°C (10°F) day isn’t so bad… until the wind cuts into you like a razor.

Walking down the street my hands were free at my side without any chill, discomfort, or numbness. Further, I also was on a photographic mission and had my FujiFilm X-T20 in had and that is the second plus.

These gloves offer such dexterity that I am able to operated all the small buttons and dials with little impediment. Filmmakers and photographers rejoice—these gloves are go you. In fact, I’ve added them to my Filmmakers’ Gear list. Pull a memory card, operate a touch screen, adjust white balance or shutter angle with the Gore Closefit Tricot Gloves.

I can’t praise them enough—I’me sure there are some glove that are warmer but not as thin. Offer greater dexterity but not as warm. But these made for such a great combination of features, dexterity, warmth, grip, touchscreen functionality, and more that I highly recommend picking of a pair if this review spoke to you.

Price: $45

Feisol TT-15 Mark 2 Tabletop Tripod

With 2019 only days away, embarking on a new photography project, and picking up the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm ƒ2.8 Macro lens, macro photography will be something I’m looking forward to. To supplement my efforts, I wanted to add a new tabletop tripod to my gear list. It isn’t my first but the two I own are really not much more than tripods for some iPhone photography.

As Adrian’s Gear goes, I know good gear when I see it and the Feisol TT-15 Mark 2 carbon fiber tripod immediately had my attention. Made is the USA, Feisol was a company I wasn’t familiar with. Something said that was going to be a solid piece of gear, however.

The first thing that caught my attention, other than a simply design, was the three position locking points for the legs. So many tabletop tripods are either collapsed or open. In other word, only one useful position.

The next feature that was important to me was my option to choose my own tripod head. While Feisol recommends their CB-30D head, I have more tripod heads than I know what to do with. Currently mounted is my Benro IB1 ball head—it is rather large so I might use my Leofoto LH-25 which has a lower profile.

To connect a tripod head to the base, there is a 3/8 screw but it also has a flat head slot on the underside. It doesn’t sound like much of a feature but it is really valuable. Many tripod head just simple get screwed onto the legs which means various feature of said head could be misaligned or simply inconveniently postponed. But with this flat head screw, one can properly align the tripod head and then tighten it to the base. It is especially valuable with a panning head, such that the 0 or 360 or whatever degree you’d like is in the proper position. This would also apply to aligning where one would like the knobs and levers of the head. I personally aligned the 0 degree mark to one specific leg that would likely also remain the forward leg when in use.  

Lastly, with how much I am going to be packing this with me, I wanted light weight and the carbon fiber will support heavy cameras but keep it lower weight in transit.

Side note: while I have a carbon fiber tripod, the Manfrotto 190CXPRO3, I actually prefer aluminum tripod *because* of their weight. Tripods aren’t always fun to travel with but their main focus is to stabilize one’s camera. The weight is very welcome rather than having to weight it down later with a sandbag for example.

The locking mechanisms for the legs also function very nicely. In fact, I was unaware of this feature until I first used it but the latch is spring loaded such that one can adjust each leg with only one hand. Pulling down on the latch will unlock the leg to move to a higher (lower tripod height) position. While pulling down on the leg will simply lock to a lower position putting the tripod into a higher position.

I’ve only had the Feisol TT-15 Mark 2 for a short time, I’m already very pleased with its performance. It feels a little more like a professional tripod than some other tabletop tripods that feel like an afterthought to the tripod manufacturer.

This is not a cheap tripod, however. The legs alone will cost one $69. Adding a head, even a “cheap” one will likely push the overall cost to over $100. Some might balk at the price but there are two things in photography one shouldn’t go cheap on: lenses and tripods. A lousy tripod will either not function properly at all or just drive one mad… or both.

I’ll have this tripod for a long time and I’ll experiment with several heads to find which one I think works best for this petite set of legs—it won’t take long because I expect I’ll be toting and using the Feisol TT-15 Mark 2 frequently here in 2019. But as it stands, I already highly recommend this tripod and look forward to using more Feisol gear in the future.

Price: $69