Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Can the moon unit be designed to make it any harder to get this thing attached? I don't think so. After an hour of playing with it and dealing with one side popping up just enough to not allow the unit to lock into rotation I thought I would post my frustration in hopes of a magical tip? This would be much easier if it was a giant thread.

come to think of it, the ONLY flaws I see in any of the AB line (which I use at my studio all the time), are on the ABR unit. Those namely being the attachment methods for both internal and external options on the ring unit itself and the lever of death. The attachment methods should be a loose thread with maybe a full turn before the lock. The locking pin itself is fine, but the lever is to easy to unlock as it is today. The unit we have in the studio always has the moon unit on it, and now I know who no one wants to remove the thing.

Also, the "lever of death" as we call it in the studio, is the locking lever that prevents the ring from gleefully sliding off the post to it's death. This lever is just plain backwards, because if you push down on it, it unlocks and **CRASH**. This should be the other way around, so it you brush it accidentally, it isn't a career move. The "cam" of the locking pin needs to be reversed so it can be locked correctly and an upwards motion is required to release it, that way gravity is helping keep the pin under pressure and detachment becomes purposeful. Why it is like it is now is beyond me. :shock:

On the unit I just bought, I plan to immediately drill a hole in that sliding post and put a screw in place so the unit does not play roulette with gravity like the one in the studio does. It has been released to it's potential death 4 times in the recent past because of this damn lever. Please revise this design and consider the ancient ritual of "drawing and quartering" for the designer of this specific aspect of the post adapter (or force them to use it, which might be against the Geneva Convention).

Otherwise, I love my ABR and every product I have ever used (and highly recommend them when I do seminars). So, take this as a minor flaw that you can easily fix to perfect your product lineup.

Ok, so I solved the issue with the help of my Dremel tool. There was a burr on the inside of one of the lips preventing the moon-unit adapter from spinning into place, and 3 more burrs on the top edge preventing the unit from sliding onto the ring enough. So, the 4 burrs were the problem and with some grinding are now fixed. However, I don't feel this is really represents the quality and design genius I see in the other products.

I am also going to drill that hole so the "Vertical Adjustment Lever", or "Lever of Death" does not get a chance to wreck my new light.

For those that are not brave enough to drill into that post, do yourself a favor and put a plastic wire-tie around the post and slide it as close to the ring as you can. This way the ring will not slide all the way off, but it might not go low enough for your camera. Adjust your tie so you get the perfect height and do not trust that lever!

You are not alone in this one. I had the same issue with my ABR's modifiers not going on easily and took an exacto knife to the inner edge to clean it up. Works like a charm now.

From time to time, I also have a little too much play in the lever of death and will sometimes use a rubber band as a wedge.

My only major current gripe with the moon unit adapters that I can't seem to get around is the umbrella post holder and how it and the locking lever don't function together in keeping the umbrella holder locked into place. Instead the holder just needs to be turned and looked at closely to make sure you have as much tongue-groove interlock as possible.

Normally this wouldn't be a big issue but I love using my ABR as a bounced fill in larger scenes.

This might seem like a rant but overall I am pretty contented PCB fan.

Yea, I agree with you in that this should be considered constructive criticism.

I love the product, but find these flaws so glaring yet easy to fix, I am a bit frustrated they have not been resolved a long time ago. I continue to recommend the product, but with special instructions on how to configure it so it does not end up in 10,000 pieces.

I have followed this thread, and have taken note of the issues mentioned.

TS

YAY! That is another reason I like you guys, you actually listen.

Yes, I agree with you here as well. I put some gaffers tape on it to stop it from rotating. I also think the cylinder on the holder should be longer to give it more stability. A "barrel" type of design with a hole on the front and the back would be a lot stronger over this funnel design.

The vertical adjustment lever is a cam tensioner. The hightest point of tension is when the knob of the lever is pointed to 12 o'clock. You may find suficient tension outside of this position, and if so, thats fine, but 12 o'clock is the strongest point.

TS

If you tighten the cam lock counterclockwise as intended, the weight of the unit causes more tightening, not less.