Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I am glad that Mr. Buff is able to give us more gear to help improve our photography.

I just purchased Vagabond II, I wish I knew about the mini, the weight and size of the mini is very manageable yet you do not seems to loose much shots. On the Mini you also gain two AC outlets, fuel gauge, quick change battery, USB port.

So what advantages does the Vagabond II has over the Mini other than a few more shots and maybe a faster recycle time???

Recycle time will be a bigger advantage if you use more lights or more powerful lights. Also, many find its weight to be an advantage when weighing down light stands. however, the Vagabond-mini will remain a better choice for most.

The battery capacity of Mini is almost the same as V2. I would suggest the Mini for one or two monolights . . . especially if they are used at less than full power. For Zeus . . . V2 definitely. For three or four monolights used toward full power, V2 will give you faster recycle, but two Minis will give you more battery life. A big issue is sulfating . . . if you are not really careful with keeping V2 or any other pack that uses SLA batteries charged the battery may become useless very early. This is not a problem at all with Mini.

Overall, unless you need really fast recycle of a lot of WS the Mini is much more advanced.

Question:

Is it possible to power the MINI from a 3rd party battery e.g. a car battery ?

One of the nice features of the Vagabond II is the fact that you can supply it from an external battery. Where weight is not much of an issue...ie you are travelling to a locaton and getting close to it in a car this is nice feature.

Regards

Patrick

What is the purpose of the USB port on the vagabond mini ?

Regards
Patrick

according to a post from Paul on FM:
Vagabond Mini can run from an SLA battery, but not nearly as efficiently as from its own Lithium. The inverter current is low enough to operate from most auto cigarette lighter sockets. Also, since the battery meter is designed for the 14.8V Lithium it will likely always show low or dead in indicating a 12V SLA battery.



I believe it was part of the core inverter package.

Many users want the USB port to charge iPhones, wireless routers and such.

I've just purchased the ABR800. For outdoor location shoots and having the Mini on the shoulder strap will be nice. I don't have to drag the VII around from one side to the other side of the building.

Many customers are opting for one Mini per light.Costs more but eliminates wires . . . three Minis weigh half of one V2 and provide nearly times the number of shots, no sulfating problems, redundancy, greater flexibility of light placement and bullet proof reliability.

Just to clarify; the Mini is available for ordering but not yet shipping until November?

Thanks