Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I haven't seen any examples with the pyrex color lowering glass with the einstein and was thinking about purchasing one to go with my einstein. My question is how effective is the glass at lowering the temperature of the einstein's flash and also what color temperature will the resulting light be? I plan on using this for an outdoor night time shoot and was wondering if it would lower the temperature of incandescent street lamps.

thanks

It's only like a 200-300K or so difference... this dome accessory is really only necessary when mixing E640's with some other brands of studio strobes that output 5200K instead of 5600K to help match the color (usually inside a studio)... 200-300K difference isn't really noticeable outside a controlled light environment like a studio.

It's not really going to affect any ambient sources like street lights. It you want to match the color of those for whatever reason, you're better off using gels. Even then, there are so many different types of lights used in a given street block/buildings that it would be quite a chore to match them all, you'd always get color casts from them, so you'd pick one to mimic your 'key' light color.

Does this help at all?

^ super helpful thanks. I was assuming that the pyrex glass would act as a orange gel as someone on another thread was looking for ways to gel a plm with the einstein.

thanks for the feedback.

Cool, np.

Well if that's the case, one approach would be to wrap (or tape ) a gel(s) around the PLM's speedring assembly (cutting the gel just short of speedring's base for some airflow). That should effectively warm/cool the light output as needed.

Give that a shot and see if it works for your application.

Referring to the standard Einstein dome rather than the option color lower one, I have done a lot color testing since the Einstein was designed and the tubes were measured and color corrected to 5600°K.

Turns out because the standard dome is Pyrex, it actually reduces the UV and blue/magenta end of the spectrum slightly and lowers the actual color temperature by about 200-300°K. So the stated 5600° only applies if the standard dome is removed. With the dome in place, the measured color temperature is about 5300 to 5350°K.

These measurements are exceeding difficult to quantify with absolute accuracy . . . I have about every color temperature meter made and they read by up to 400° different from one to another and another 200° or so depending on flash to meter distance, even at $1000+ each, so I use actual camera shots with Adobe Bridge, RAW and WhiBal card to be confident of the most reliable statement of color temperature and R/G color "tint).

Actually, this is good because AB units produce 5600°K at Full and about 5200°K at minimum power. As a result, Einstein in Color Mode very closely matches an AB set to about the middle of its power range.

FYI - using the same RAW shots and WhiBal card, a Profoto D1 measures about 5900°K at Full, and about 5300° at minimum (1/64 power) whereas the older Profoto Compact lights measure about 5200° at full and 4800° at 1/16 power . . . a nightmare to mix and match.

As for the optional color lowering dome on Einstein, the result will be around 5150°K.

We could specify a different coating on the Einstein tubes and get the color to 5600° with the standard dome, but don't plan to do this as we would end up with two versions in the filed with different color temperatures.

Another note . . . AB color temperature, Red/Green "tint" and color shift VS power setting are essentially identical to Elinchrom RX series . . . I've measured both dozens of times.

"Another note . . . AB color temperature, Red/Green "tint" and color shift VS power setting are essentially identical to Elinchrom RX series . . . I've measured both dozens of times."

I read your article and am in agreement with the color shift for both elinchrom and the alienbees line. Makes sense to have the orange pyrex for matching the alienbees line at the lower temperature if one had both alienbees and the einstein lights.

I would only suggest using the color warming dome only if the ABs are used near the bottom of the power range.

I think you'll find a near perfect color match with ABs around 1/8 to 1/4 power, with the ABs about 200° cool at full power and about 200° warm at 1/32 power. You would get the same results with RX series at the same power levels when used with Einstein.

Most mixes of modifiers will give you more than 200° shift from one to another. If you use white PLM knockoffs (Can you say Wescott and Cotsworld?) prepare for a big surprise when you see fluorescent blue and color temperatures above 6000°K.

has anybody checked on the color temp and color shift on the zeus packs?

from full power to minimal power.

i just bought the einsteins and am interested in adding the zeus line to the mix

thanks

phil

When using the slider, the color temperature will be 5600K at full, and lower about 80K per stop in reduction, just like the Bees and WL lights (and every other voltage controlled light). However, you also have at your disposal the ratio switch. With one head, if the switch is 1:1, then the full flash power (1250 or 2500 Ws) will fire through the light. If the ratio swith is set to 3:1, then 3/4 of the power will fire through the A socket, and 1/4 through the B socket. In either case, the power can be reduced via the slider. You can use one head plugged into either. Regardless of socket or power distribution, if the slider is set to FULL, then the temp is 5600K, reducing 80K per stop. If you use 2 heads, the color temp stays the same, but the power is 50/50 or 75/25 depending on the ratio switch.