Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello,

I have searched the forums and know that this will not be a new topic of conversation....

.... I am UK based and am lucky enough to have 2 x ABR800 (do not know how that happened) and I love them. I run them either direct from mains (with step down box) or off of a mini-vagabond or Vagabond unit.

Now... I have always had trouble mounting the Moon Unit. It seemed pretty self explanatory to me... put on and twist till it twists no more. However half way through a shoot the Moon Unit would wobble and fall off.

I always thought that it was due to me being a bit of ****** who refused to read the instructions.

Right now I am doing some product photography so I am shooting with the Moon Unit on a table with the camera pointing down.... so I thought that I would go and read the instructions.

I did.... seemed pretty easy (put it on and twist) and I could not for the life of me see why I had messed it up before. So I did.

My made-up Moon Unit refused to mount in the way suggested by the instructions. It is difficult. Either it goes on and jams... or it goes on one side and is blocked out from the other.

I read this forum.... look for burrs it said. I did. It has one and I set about trying to remove it with a scapel. However that is tough plastic. I moved onto a Dremel Multitool... that did better but, as anyone who has used a Dremel knows, it is a nuclear option... I have had to proceed with care. The burr is much reduced but not gone....

.... so then I thought "b***** this!.... I have another un-made Moon Unit and an unmounted ABR800"... I will go and see if the other one mounts and practice.

I did... (no burrs) and guess what? Same problem in exactly the same manner... it either goes on and is stiff, cannot be twisted (due to the fact that one side refuses to move in the mounting groove - it is off or just not fitting).... or goes on one side and twists but does not go on the opposite side (causing it to fall off when shooting).

So what gives? Am I a ham fisted boobie? Is there a trick? Was there a faulty batch of rings which were just a smidge to small? I love my ringflash but I have learned (the hard way) in the world of photographic equipment that if it needs forcing then it is wrong, something is going to break... if it is not easy then stop and seek help.

HELP.

Right.... here is a pictorial story of me trying to mount the Moon Unit Mounting Ring.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008938339/in/photostream

Here is our three main protagonists... me (hand) the flash unit and the ring! Let us begin... please excuse that I have named the following two files in not consectutive order.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008955262/in/photostream

I align the ring in the way in which the ring appears to most efficiently fit on the ABR800.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008943068/in/photostream

.... and we are in! The ring snuggly slides over the ABR800....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008958979/in/photostream

And here we are the ring is over the ABR800.... this side fits flush (remember I have the same problem with 2 x rings and 2 x ABR800).....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008958379/in/photostream

.... but wait! What is this.... this side does not sit flush.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008960360/in/photostream

Give it a wiggle.... oh, wait this looks promising (actually this is as promising as it gets - if you look closely it is still not fully flush - see below - but to the untrained eye it appears good so.....)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008959469/in/photostream

.... lets try to rotate.... nope, locked solid.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008920804/in/photostream

It appears to be jamming on this left hand side. The ring is not actually flush and the groove is not aligned and the ring cannot rotate.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008919988/in/photostream

Wriggling it causes this side to drop and accentuate the ring flashes inability to sit flush.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25234883@N02/8008919066/in/photostream

.... and this where the story ends. Jammed and not sitting flush again! I stop my photo-story here because this covers the basics, repeat this frustrating story over and over again for hours.

It might not always go in this order and it might sometimes look up and then down again. But what you can guarantee is that this ring does not mount, on both heads and on both rings.... it is just frustrating.

I hope it is me being a dingbat, but actually I am trying different things and doing the necessary reading.... it is not as simple as a) it should be and b) the price tag I paid dictates that it should be.

The images have not shown up, is this because the post is subject to approval?

If not can someone help me to post the relevant images?

Many thanks.

Please contact customer service info@paulcbuff.com for this question. They will be happy to explain the steps in detail.

I have done, no response as yet.

So......

....... I was e-mailed by a woman from Paul C. Buff.... who proceded to tell me the exact same procedure as:

a) the instructions
b) common sense
c) this forum
d) other customer service/technical support agents.

It did not help.... the weekend has been slipped into and my product photography is unable to move forward... three days lost.

There seems to be a willful blindness by the people at Paul C. Buff over this issue...... Everytime I try to flag I am gently told that I must be doing it wrong.

That what I need to do it make sure that I have the ring the right way round and that I should place (that is P-L-A-C-E) the ring over the outer ring flash... then I should twist it (T-W-I-S-T) until it locks into place.

This is a fantasy.

I want the next technical support person to assume that I have tried everything (that is E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G) both in and out of the literature and the rings will not go on.

The point I am at is can you please test 2 x Moon Unit rings at the factory and send me them.... because the two I have are not the correct shape or size to easily fit my ABR800 and therefore are not fit for purpose that means that the ABRs (fantastic though they are) are useless to me.

You should have gotten an email from Lori today. This seems to be a matter that will need to be handled by customer service at this point.

May I have the same support? I gave up trying to mount my moon unit on my Einsteins, and it's been sitting on a shelf for months.

Were you trying to mount the moon unit on an Einstein? Or did you mean an ABR800?

Einstein. Thanks, Dave! (tech support contacted me and helped me work through it!
Once again, PCB service is second to none!