Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Well, my Silver 86" PLM arrived. That's a BIG sucker. Think I finally got it set up right (It would help to have 6 foot arms). The set screw with the knob inside of the umbrella seems to be going through the holes in each of the shafts. This puts the AB light speedring about in the same plane as the edge of the umbrella, which I assume is the focal point of the parabola, giving a parallel beam of light.

But suppose I want a wider beam (my studio is small, and I can't get the PLM far from the model(s)). I can't find anything in the directions about that. And it's not clear to me what the small set screw in the hollow shaft that sticks out the top of the umbrella is for, or if I should ever touch it. Obviously, the only way to move the light in or out to focus is to loosen the set screw with the knob, and move the light in or out of the unbrella, but I don't know which way, and am not sure it will stay in position if the setscrew doesn't go through the hole in the inner shaft, which attaches to the light speedring.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,
Jeff Jessee

Moving in either direction will defocus the light, the amount of defocus varying with the amount of shift. The PLM should be held in place by the screw knob tightened on the intermediate shaft.

You're not going to get the PLM a lot wider than the diameter of the PLM in a small studio. Outdoors, at 20' to 50' distances you will see a lot more widening effect It's just the physics of the silver PLM . . . it can only adjust from about 9° to 18° beamwidth.

Thanks Luap-
Then maybe the white front diffusion fabric is what I should use. Would that widen it a lot more? And more important, would it still be fairly even light? I don't really need the extra light the silver provides for studio work, just thought I would try it for the different quality of light, but I guess the diffusion fabric would eliminate that. Next time I have a model, I'll try some test shots, maybe it will be wide enough for most poses bare, it is HUGE :-)

Jeff

An alternative to defocusing the silver PLM would simply be to get one of the white front covers for it. You end up with a large, diffuse softbox. It is a very nice light! Some people pay several hundred dollars for a 6-8 foot octabox, but this PLM and cover get you there very inexpensively, and you still have the versatility and portability.

You'll get a lot wider coverage than a defocused (18 deg) width, and it won't be a beam any longer. But it is another form of beautiful light.

Alternately, if you don't want the cover, you could either get a white 86 PLM, or even go down to a 64 in white PLM. Both are a bit wider than their silver counterparts, and the 64 might fit better in your studio if you need to be able to move it, aim it, direct it.

I love my PLMs--86 silver and white, 64 white, and the covers. I intend to get all the combinations and sizes. I don't think there is a need for any other umbrella than the PLMs.

Nobody is answering his question about the set screw at the top of the umbrella... let me make a comment or two about that...

First off, I love my Paul Buff gear. From my WL 5000s to my newly arrived 86-in. silver PLM and fabric cover! And I like the fact that in this world of faceless corporations devoid of humanity, we get Paul C. Buff along with the quality photo gear... we have a real person on the other end of the line, so to speak!

My impression of the 86 in. PLM:

Umbrella overall is Good, fabric especially. My concern is the hardware, especially that center shaft and setscrew. I had a problem getting the setscrew to grab the center shaft. It either didn't grab or it fell down into the shaft and had to be recovered off the floor by my 53-year-old eyes. I would gladly have paid another $15 for more beefy hardware. The spoke hub is wrapped and held into the spoke hub by a wire. Some of the spokes popped out of this hub and pulled their wires while I was trying to set it up (like the poster said above, it would help to have 6-ft arms). I got them back into their hub slots eventually. That center shaft should be longer and the end set screw should be much larger, IMHO.

I feel sorry for any flash head that has to hold this puppy in place on top of a lightstand! It is a test to lock down the head to keep it steady!

The diffuser cover is IMHO a vital part of the rig. It provides a very wonderful diffused light that at 86 in. is very flattering for models. I got my model into the studio just two days after it arrived. The results were impressive. The cover grips the rim and compresses the umbrellla a bit, leaving it a bit "bumpy" but it doesn't matter if it is flat or not. Looking up at the 86 inch white cover above her head, my model said it looks like a big white cloud.

I am using the 86 in. umbrella with a WL 5000!!! I am getting nice F 11 shots at 10 feet at ISO 200 with the sock on it (3/4 power). The only down side of the test was the fact that I had to back up so far in my 22 x 28 studio that I knocked another WL 5000 head off the table it was sitting on. It fell 3.5 feet to concrete. I figured I just lost a can for my clumsyness... neither the modeling bulb or flash tube shattered and when plugged in, it worked as well as before, albiet with a dent on the rim. Way to go Paul C. Buff! Rugged stuff!

:roll:

The set screw at the top is not designed to hold the 7mm rod, however, it can be replaced with a longer screw or set screw to hold it if desired. The main function of the set screw is to hold the hardware at the top of the fabric to the shaft that is the outermost shaft and the one that is "permanently" installed when you recieve the umbrella. If you use the speedring, then you should not need to bother with the set screw. If you use the umbrella shaft, then it can be replaced with a 8-32 thread substitute.

Paul Farace,
The PLM should not be "lumpy". Sounds like something is amiss. Please contact customer service about that.

I will look into getting an 8/32 replacement. The threaded setscrew is only about 4mm long and you can easily screw it completely down into the hollow center shaft.

The lumpy aspect is simply that the diffuser cover tends to pull the 86-in. umbrella slightly closed (say to 78 in.) and as a result it sags a bit here and there (causing the lumpynes).
I need to use the umbrella rod becuase I am using WL 5000s... the mount ring supplied will not fit on these old, but very reliable units.

I just got my two 64" White PLM's delivered yesterday. They are my first modifiers ever. If figuring out how to mount them to the included speed-ring, which would be really nice, or the regular shaft since I don't have unlimited room to leave them open with the speed-ring attached, is any indication of my abilities as a photographer or being able to take beautiful images, I might as well send them, the mini vag I also got yesterday, and the Einstein that came today, back. Although the instructions that came seem thorough, it might as well be college physics for me to figure it out. :(

I realize there is probably no comparison to these and the umbrellas I have used at the photo school I attend, but they are soooo simple. All they are is what appears to be a regular umbrella with a shaft and no handle. Pop it open like a regular umbrella, but the shaft in the hole on the studio light, and start shooting. This, not so much. :D

I'll eventually figure it out, or break them trying. Have a great weekend everyone.

If you want to use them the same way, put in the inner support rod (the hollow thing), screw it in to catch the hole, then put the solid rod in, put the solid rod in your strobe like a regular umbrella...