Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi there:

I sometimes see the older Ultra white lightning and Zap ultra lights come up for sale either locally on craigslist or on ebay, and am almost always tempted to buy one (to replace my WL10,000 lights).

However, I would like to know what the benefits of the Alien Bees are over the older ultra or zap white lightning units are?

Do they all use the same mounting ring / speed ring for modifiers?

Can they use the same triggering and remote power adjustments?

Do the Alien Bees have different flash durations than the ultra or Zap series?

Any other differences I should know about?

Thanks in advance.

Ultra Zaps and Alien Bess are essentially the same functionally, except the UZ's have a separate control for model lamps, and Bees have fans. They do have mechanically different mechanisms for mounting modifiers, however, they are designed to use the same modifiers interchangeably (i.e. they do the same job differently). They even use the same flash tubes.
Also, all White Lightnings are metal, vs Lexan of the Bees.

The Ultras, however, will have a slightly longer flash duration, as well as an accessory mount that has 4 retaining screws which must individually be tightened to attach accessories. This will accept the same modifiers as the others. Additionally, they do take different flash tubes, of which two are required per head.

White Lighting lights do come with a 5 year warranty, and you may find a few UZ's with a few months left, but otherwise there is no warranty on either Ultras or Ultra Zaps as virtually all are outside their warranty period. Alien Bees, however, would have a 2 year warranty if bought new.

Thanks so much for the note.

Just so I understand though, I could use the same light modifiers designed for the Alien Bees on the Ultra and Ultra Zap series lights, correct?

And any remote power level adjusters that work on the Alien Bees should also work on the Ultras and the Ultra Zap series, right?

Thanks again.

Yes, all of our modifiers will fit all of our lights (except the 10,000's and 5,000's). Modifiers from another brand that state compatibility with our lights, should fit any of our lights, but we cannot guarantee that.



All Ultra, Ultra Zap, X-series and Alien Bee series lights have the RJ11 connection for use with the wired remotes, like the LG4X, and wireless remotes like the RR1 and Cyber Commander/CyberSync+.

Einstein does not have the RJ11 connection, but does have a new port for use with Cyber Commander (using a different radio module).

WL 10,1000 WL 5,000 and ZAP1000 lights do not have a remote port.

Of course all of our lights can be used with typical radio triggers for tripping the light.

Thank you!