Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

8mm and 7mm relate to the diameter of the umbrella shaft. 8mm is thicker and more structurally sound than 7mm, but Elinchrom uses 7mm shaft umbrellas.

In directly, the 8mm shaft versions must use the umbrella hole, which is off center. Our speed ring versions can mount centered on the flash tube, allowing more focusability (mainly in the extreme silver). The speedring version can be configured to use a 7mm shaft, which will also use off center mounting. So while the shaft diameter itself does not have anything to do with the light quality, the designs of the umbrellas and how they mount will imact it to some degree.

Ordered a 86" Soft Silver with diffuser! :D Thanks, Paul!

I also have a 64" Extreme Silver + diffuser. Think they would work well together set up camera right and left on a single model? I'm thinking so.

There should not be any reason they will not work well together. I cannto say that identical outputs will achieve identical results, but it should be pretty close.

From my experience thus far, I suspect you will find yourself using the Soft Silver direct, without diffuser most the time. The reason I say this is the shadow structure and catchlights should be fairly close with or without diffuser, but the undiffused will give you a little more pop and a nice feathered control of spill, whereas the diffuser will give you flatter looking light and the 150° coverage will give you less isolation of the light patterns.

Though I don't do a lot of shooting, I sometimes find too much diffusion can lead to rather flat , lifeless lighting. It really depends on the subject and desired results.

I'm looking forward to seeing direct soft silver results from the really good shooters.

The build quality is the same as v2 just different fabric right? i'm thinking about ordering 2 sometime soon, though i'm actually wondering if i should diversify and pick up the octabox + a 86" plm rather than 2 soft silver plms. time to ponder.

edit: what does BOC stand for? (I know it's the black cover for the white plms but couldn't find the definition of the acronym in the comparison.)

Is the V2 Silver the same as the new Soft Silver? If not, where does the V2 silver fall in the current product spectrum.

The structural frame of "v.2" PLMs are available in three fabrics. Extreme Silver and translucent white, which are the original two surfaces. Soft Silver is a new fabric on the same frame. Extreme Silver vs. Soft Silver can be loosely likened to polished vs. brushed aluminum.

We will also have 8mm shaft only versions with all three fabrics.


Black Outer Cover

Thanks, Paul. I ordered the soft silver because it will give me exactly what you made them to do. :) I only ordered the diffuser because it's cheap.... and I may want softer broader light sometime. I received my 86" soft silver today and it is awesome. Thanks! I'm in St. Louis so all deliveries from you arrive the day after I order. 8-) Wish I had some shots to share soon but my next real shoot is weeks away. I definitely plan on using my PLMs... together and individually.

On a side note.... with October coming up..... the 86" diffuser makes one hell of a ghost costume!!! :lol:

Backwards. The fabrics and arc shape are identical for the 8mm straight shaft and the speedring mount. The difference is how the frames are made. The 8mm frame is built like PLM V1 . . . an "ordinary" umbrella type frame, but with 16 fiberglass ribs and shorter, double wall shaft so it doesn't poke you in the eye.

But don't confuse the new 8mm design with the original V1 . . . the arc shape is entirely different and is the same as V2. All the knockoffs are copies of the original V1 arc, and produce inferior patterns and catchlights as a result.

Were it me, I would use a PLM Soft Silver plus diffuser over the octabox . . . slightly more even face illumination, 16 sides rather than 8 (IMHO, circular catchlights are nicer than octagonal), cheaper, easier to setup and more versatile because it converts to an undiffused PLM that pretty much replicates the spill control of an octa with a 40° grid, gives you more output, less overhung weight on the stand, shallower profile, easier setup, etc.

The only advantage I see to the octa would be for lighting silverware and wine bottle, ets, where the light unit visible in the center might not be desirable.

My favorite studio use would be an 86" undiffused Soft Silver PLM™ behind me. It's big enough so you can stand dead center and get a shadowless giant ringlight effect, or move the camera off center to get a variable main + fill, with whatever degree of shadow/contrast you like depending on how far off center you place the camera. On models and catchlight I think you'll find the silhouette of you and the camera won't be objectionable . . . I've seen lots of high end fashion shots done this way and find it actually can add interest to the catchlights.

For outdoor shots overpowering the sun, do the same thing with an Extreme Silver for seamless mix of ambient and flash, with essentially no flash shadows and almost any degree of sun-kill you want.

The BOC is black outer cover, but it's only black on the outside . . . silver on the inside, so it adds a good bit of output over a straight black cover normally used by other manufacturers.

^ Thanks for the detailed response paul. you just made a sale of 2 PLM 86" soft silvers. 8-) Will do some shots and comparisons so that I can familiarize myself between the plm silver vs soft silver.

p.s. your customer service is awesome. A great big thanks to Vicky!