Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I can't find a way to order a PLM without the expensive speedring. For someone who intends to own more than one and doesn't use them all simultaneously why do we need to buy a speedring with each PLM?

All PLM's ship with a speed ring. The price for the PLM with the speedring is the same as the price for V1 without. It is advantageous to have multiple speedrings, particularly with different sizes of PLM, as the shaft the speedring connects to varies in length based on the size of the PLM. Having multiple speed rings allows you to keep the speedring permanently attached to the shaft, preventing the need to remove it and reattach it everytime you change sizes.

As TS pointed out, when you order a PLM we are giving you the speedring and our cost of V2 is considerably higher than our V1 cost. The thinking is that most customers are going to use Buff lights, or Elinchrom.

If you have more than one PLM it's assumed you are going to use both? Unless you are using Buff or Elinchrom there is no way you would want to not use the speedring. If you buy two different size PLMs, you could use the 86" speedring/center rod on all sizes, but the shaft would stick out the back if you use it on smaller PLMs. If you share a common speedring you would be faced with constantly taking it off one rod and putting it on the other, and you could not use more than one PLM with speedring at a time. Then you would be an unhappy camper.

This was set up this way so inventory and shipping control assure customers they get everything they need when the buy a PLM. Having to reship orders because customers weren't sure exactly what they needed cost both us and the customer more time and money. We ship close to 1000 packages a day and doing it this way minimizes errors and costs to everyone.

Finally, when you look at the cost of a PLM VS anything else, it's pretty hard to make a case for an "expensive speedring" when it's included free in the very low price.

The PLMs are so attractively priced already, it seems odd to complicate things by suggesting things be removed to lower the cost a relatively small amount. I really appreciate getting a speedring with each PLM, as I do want to be able to use more than one at a time, so having it included is really a value added thing for me. The fact that V2 includes them a no extra cost over the V1s is really generous (and not something that most suppliers would do--other places would nickel and dime us, separate charges for each, separate shipping charges for each.)

This is why Paul Buff is my first choice, first stop.

I had no idea what the price of the V1 was but saw the £40 for individual speedring and assumed without it the cost could be reduced. I plan to use it with mostly speedlights where the ring is unnecessary with the flash on a horizontal bracket.