Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I just got my New V2.1 Soft-Silver PLMs (NSSPLM) yesterday and I used them for a job today.

I haven't tested it at all. Just put it together and figured if I didn't like what I saw or couldn't control the light directionality I'd switch back to the Silver V2.0 PLM I had also setup. CEO's don't like to be kept waiting. Risky yes, but I have great confidence in PCB PLMs.

First shot was close. Couple of bumps on the CyberCommander and everything was good.

Shot with the translucent front fabric and it renders a very nice smooth light with little fall-off from center to edge.

Very controllable and near neutral color with the white fabric.

Another great Paul C Buff product.

Bill F

Try it without the diffuser too. I think you'll be impressed with the softness, evenness and color, and particularly with the wide but directional pattern . . . much like a softbox with 30° -40° grid.. The diffuser is very smooth, but really increases the side spill.

Does anyone know if a PLM with 8mm Umbrella Style Mount and front diffusion fabric will work with a Lastolite triflash setup?

re: replacement shafts...

I have an 86" ver. 1 PLM. The shaft is broken & it is in always open, because the shaft crimped & I haven't tried to crush where it crimped & close it...

Would I be able to use any of those replacement shafts to rig it? Are the shafts hollow? I'm thinking that if it's 1mm difference between metals, one might slip inside the other?

I don't care if it will open/close, just as long as I can mount it to my B1600 units...

All of the pieces will fit together, yes. I assume the triflash bracket can hold well enough against the torque applied by the PLM. However, the light coming from three flashes in a "T" configuration is not going to be the most even. It will probably work OK, but not as well as a single flash unit.

The 1mm difference is in outer diameter. It's been a while, but it believe the v.1 shaft is too thick and also double wall. Even so, this does not mean you cannto find a suitable rod at a local hardware store.

V1 shaft is 8mm single wall. New 8mm PLM™ shafts are double wall up to the latch mechanism and shorter.

Laup,
Tried the SoftSilver without the diffuser on a fashion shoot. Like the results. Even better client liked the results.

Bill F

Ok, I was looking @ trying either the 7mm or 10mm shaft., thinking that either the 7mm shaft would fit inside the 8mm shaft, or the 8mm would fit inside the 10mm shaft, although, I'm not sure if the 10mm will fit in the AB umbrella mount slot...

For the softsilver, is the speedring still important? I.e., do you still need to focus it?
My guess is no need for the speedring because softsilver scatters light more, unlike the silver...