Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Have been waiting for a really long time and am wondering if this PLM will ever really materialize. Any news on this front?

I got my 64 inch last week, and a shipping notice for an 86 that will arrive next Thursday. A friend got hers last week, too. So they are shipping :-)

Rock on! thanks for the info.

I got my two 86" PLM 2's late last week. Had preordered them quite a while back, in the late Spring. I still have a 64" unit on order, but it is being shipped as included with a big yet-to-be-fulfilled Einstein 2 order, so it won't go until all the gear is ready to ship. Another confirmation that they are ready and shipping, depending on when you ordered them.

Just an aside. Those 86"'s are really big, a little bigger than I imagined. I'm used to really gigantic soft boxes in my work - like 10 x 42 feet - but not so used to something this big fastened on a single monolight. I'm not sure if they're bigger or heavier overall than my 4.5 x 6 foot Chimera lightbanks, but I'm a little concerned with how sturdily the 86" PLM will adhere to the front of my not-yet-received Einstein 2's. Luap has a foot pound torque rating for maximum force (at some type of weighted average distance from the point of rotation along the length of the light modifier) that the Einstein front plate modifier attachment "claws" can bear, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to calculate it - Chimera hadn't a clue when I asked them - so, I don't know if I may have to mount the PLM to the stand somehow and then the Einstein to it, or vice versa. I doubt that the former will be the case, as otherwise the nifty "cage" mounting gizmo included with it would be pretty pointless, but, there may be some limitation to it of which I'm not yet aware. Anxiously awaiting the E2's to find out.

Interesting. I agree with your concern, as even the beauty-dish with the tightest grid on it always makes me wonder if it will fall off once I put it on the boom. However, so far they have held everything I have put on them. The only think the Einstein needs is a handle to help you adjust the angle once a heavier modifier is on the unit. My Norman lights have this and I miss that feature in a bit way.

We are shipping PLM's as fast as we can get them. Einstein will have no problem holding the PLM.

Received mine last week. Looks pretty solid. The Einstein does not seem to have any problem holding the 86 inch on with the Speedring assembly, haven't tried the umbrella shaft.

I'm discovering that my WLs and ABs are both able to handle the 86-inch on the speedring. My only worry about ABs would be the strength of the ABS stand mount.

My physical examination of an Einstein last January leaves me confident that if the AB can handle it, Einstein certainly can.

Older ABs have a Lexan stand-mount, not cheaper AB plastic. Newer ABs and Einstens have Lexan stand-mount with steel insert . . . same as a much heavier $1000 Elinchrom RX600. All housings are Lexan, which costs about double wht ABS costs.

We receive very few reports of broken stand-mounts.

The stand mounts on the Einstein are great. I have to say that the small things that Paul mentions about the Einstein like the stand mount, umbrella holder, optical slave position and flash tube dome don't seem like big deals until you're using the Einstein. All these little things add up. I've been a big fan of the v1 PLM's - it may be time to get some v2's.

Tim