Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

What does PCB do with all the v1 Einsteins that get returned for v2 exchanges ? Do they get refurbished to v2 and sold as new ?

No, they are destroyed and appropriately disposed of. There really is not much that could carry over to the new version.

how do i get my v1 returned?

paul

I am interested in this as well. Got a V1 and two of the early V2 with the faulty fingers. Are the V2 fingers staying closed now? When and how are we going to get the replacements and get rid of the ugly rubber band system?

thanks

The finger issue is fixed. We will be contacting customers in order date for replacement units. Customer Service will be able to give you further details, as I do nto knwo the specifics on the trade in.

TS, thanks for the fast and candid answer. I have heard some concerns about new v2 Einsteins being refurbished from v1 parts. Hopefully this addresses the concerns.

Since they are being destroyed, perhaps it might make sense for us customers to hang on to the Pyrex dome, modeling lamp, and power cord when we prepare the Einstein units for return, since these parts are already well used. (And maybe the flashtube, too.) Just thinking out loud...

Allowing customers to hang on to spare parts would adversely impact their future revenues. PCB is already allowing customers to use v1 Einsteins as free loaners and paying for shipping for new v2 exchanges. Not sure how much more you can expect a company to do.

Ventana, you are right, but you need to understand that when the early v1 buyers purchased, they also expected a non faulty product, one that does not overheat or from which modifiers don't fall unless you use rubber bands.

In no way do I consider our v1 a free loaner, rather a headache. We did pay for the price that it was. We had it overheat and blow a model lamp during a wedding, and you never want to run in that even if you carry back up. Luckily we got the v2 but there you have to carry extra rubber bands around, which is rather silly. So I await the call any day about the switch.

I am sure cs will take care of us, that is why we purchase our equipment with this company and not other manufacturers. We have a full line up of PCB equipment and I am happy to know that if I call cs they always solve the problem at hand. I doubt that keeping a few bulbs would ever cause their company to worry about sales.

Boss13, that's definitely a valid point of view. I guess I've been relatively fortunate with my v1 Einsteins. Having used them for 6 months (approx 50K shots) for mostly fashion shoots I've only had one overheating problem. While shooting stills for a music video I wasn't allowed to trigger the strobes so I had to blast the modeling lights to 250W and the Einsteins kept shutting off. I just shipped back my v1 and look forward to testing the v2 next week. I'm hoping the product is bug free at this point.