Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I love the idea of the speedring cage for mounting an umbrella on the E640. However, my immediate experience has been a little disappointing and I am looking for advice. The sheer size/weight of the 86" PLM, when mounted on the nose of the speedring cage causes the junction to bend causing the PLM to sag. The result is that the E640 no long points at the center of the PLM, but more toward the mid-upper part of the umbrella. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Please and thank you.

given the size and weight of the PLM, there will be some flex to the support rod. If it is assembled properly (that is to say, the flash tube rests right around the end of the open plane and the wing bolt is tight), then the flex will not cause an issue.

I just purchased 2 86" White PLMs and love the soft light they produce. However, I did notice the amount of sag they had when attached to my E640s. I understand that the weight of the umbrella will pull it down some, so I don't mind that it's not completely centered, but I'm concerned that over time it will really wear out the rod. I hope that if this breaks, the warranty would cover such damages. It just stressed me out a bit thinking about it when I was shooting. I can only assume that these were tested numerous times, so I suppose I'm merely documenting a concern as a customer. I feel that there should be a sturdier rod attaching the umbrella/speedring to the E640.

I have never heard of a PLM breaking under its own weight, but if it does, it would be covered under the year warranty.

I am writing to echo stevewalterphoto's comment. I just received and used my 86" PLM for the first time in the field. It's a great modifier, but I'm disappointed in the speedring post connection. The lack of stiffness in this center post is alarming. It sags quite a bit and the thumb screw never seems to tighten completely. To my surprise I found the accessory umbrella adapter seems to support the 86" PLM better than the speedring.

I would gladly pay for a stronger center post replacement part made specifically for the speedring cage, something that fits onto the PLM speedring cage without the need for screws or adjustment.

I've made a modification like this one to my PLM cages. It does a good job of making the assembly stiffer.

How does adding the nut make it stiffer? I can see how it would make it easier to remove the cage.

James

It solves the problem of "the thumb screw never seems to tighten completely." That's where most of the sagging comes from, IME: The play in the joint where the thumbscrew attaches the hollow rod to the cage.

With a 1 inch 5/16-24 hex bolt and nut from the local hardware store, and the lock washers that came with the speedring cage, you can used a pair of wrenches to tighten the bolt to the speedring so that it's rigid. And you can keep it in place as a permanent fixture.

Screw the hollow rod to the bolt, hand tightening it, and while the rod might flex a bit, you won't see any play in the joint. (And if the rod does flex, it's likely that you're using the wrong position for the PLM and need to move it closer to the flash tube.)

I've not had too much of an issue with sagging (smaller PLM's so far) but I'll definitely give it a try.
Thanks

James