Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Thanks TS, After Pauls comments just a week or so ago I didn't see how LR could be correct, good to have the facts confirmed by you guys.

Cheers,

AB.

Done !!



For no particular reason, I might of thought that they will come with "universal" sockets ........

Most people would not have too much of an issue with getting the wrong voltage, as (say) if you're in Australia and order the 240v VB-Mini then the only 110v items you might have would be 110v AB's or an AB800R......Like my mate !!

If you have the 220v AB's, or the Einsteins then the voltage wouldn't be an issue.

But back to me :roll:

I finally made the decision and brought two Elichrom Style RX600 units, the new RX Skyport set and a spare RX transmitter so I can fire / adjust the lights while not having to continually remove the transmitter from the camera.

I got a good deal and the price came out a shade under the PCB / Einstein equivalent.

As loyal readers would be aware, I've been vacillating since April, and so on the eve of the release of the Einstein V2 what tipped me to the Elichroms ?

Obviously the RX600's are not clear winners, were this the case I would of purchased them months ago, the same applies to the Einsteins, were they clear losers again I would of purchased the Elichroms months ago......

It seemed to me, that for my situation, the Elichroms were a nose ahead in several races, which, when considered in total, made them the overall winner.

As far as customer service goes, clearly PCB was a winner by the length of the straight !!

Reliability, I awarded a tie, while the Einsteins reliability is at this stage is an unknown, long-term reports of AB lights in general do not seem to indicate too many issues.

Value, I gave it to Elinchrom by a fair margin, in Australia AB's do not (generally) seem to be seen as a "premium" brand whereas Elinchron is highly thought of here.

Given that I could buy either for (around) the same price the value did not seem to be there for the Einsteins.

For better or worse, I must also confess I was partially influenced by the (removed) YouTube video.

I don't think anyone knows the full story on that but undoubtedly the guy did have issues, but as to the motive or cause I believe there is something "fishy", also evidenced by the speed at which the video disappeared .....

Unrelated to this decision, I have decided against a VB-II for portable power.

I had a chance yesterday to play (OK, I lugged it around as an assistant for my mate :D) with an Explorer, and while it is no light-weight it is smaller and lighter "in the flesh" then I had envisaged.

The (Australian batch at least) VB-II's seem to have major issues with the inverters, so I'm looking forward to the VB-Li (hopefully it'll still be heavy enuff to act as a light-stand weight :D !! ).

It'll be interesting to compare them with the Explorer-Li, both as far as cost and specs go.

I looked at the Leadpower 750, but while the specs seem great, I have not seen any independent reviews, I also consider them to be too expensive ........

Executive Summary

As far as I was concerned, In Australia the Einstein / CC combination is a lot dearer then it is in the USA, and tipped the "value - equation" for me in favour of Elinchrom.

YMMV :D !!

AB.

Talked to the Einstein order goddess today... she said that pre-orders that were deferred due to waiting on the v2 lights should be at our door within a couple weeks. She expects the orders to be filled rather quickly as many people didn't opt out and wait for v2. Just a heads up.

I actually have an EVENT for next week on SEPTEMBER 25, and I had sent my 2 1600 Alien Bees in and 2 CSRB Wireless Remotes in cause they had said (CUSTOMER SERVICE) that they would be shipping EINSTEINS OUT in the end of AUGUST and first week of SEPTEMBER and now knowing this I should have waited Mr. Luap C. Ffub....I sent mine in on the middle or close to the end of AUGUST now I am in trouble SPOKE to LORIE ...but hope things get resolved, I really want MY 2 EINSTEINS with 2 CSRX Remotes......I am so ANXIOUS to use and TEST them out, I wouldn't mind being a TESTER, and REPORT back to THE CHIEF....LoL :D

Call Lori and re-order ABs for fast delivery, then return them when your Einsteins are ready. Tell her I said this is OK. Lots of cost to us but we break our butts to assure happy customers. As long as too many customers don't start using our liberal policies just to "borrow" equipment with no intention of actually buying we will continue these policies . . . it's worked for 28 years now.

I won't enumerate all they reasons for missed projections, but there are plenty of them . . . all factors out of our control.

That's what I would call customer service to a fault! Bravo Paul.

Raymond, the way I look at things professionally, if I am the designated photographer I am accountable to the client to have equipment on hand. I simply won't put myself in a situation where I have to explain that somebody was supposed/expected/hoped to ship something by date X, etc. You do not want to walk into a dental office or a hair salon appointment to find out that they are waiting for some new and improved tool and put themselves in a position where they do not have anything on hand that does a proper job now, do you?

I do not know if I mentioned this to Paul before or not, but I feel that there ought to be a Buff showroom and rental center in NYC and LA for the higher end stuff, that can serve as a service point for local photogs to pick up spare bulbs and/or get an extra loaner unit or a replacement for their one being serviced. Meanwhile shipping can be consolidated on the back end, with cost savings and simplified logistics.

-- Alex Karasev

I agree about the convenience for big city customers, but would raise the price dramatically for the rest of the country. NYC and LA account for maybe 8% of our sales and this can only lead to "what about Miami and Chicago, etc" and then our whole business model is gone and everybody pays more . . . a lot more.

Hey Paul/TS,

I know I'm always late to the party, but I just saw at the revised pic of the E640v2 front from the AB site - lookin' good... real clean finish. 8-) Might you be able to elaborate a bit on what exactly was changed in regards to the v1's heating issues?

Looks like the v2 faceplate has a new bi-leveled surface around the flashtube & has some indentations on the outer sides (increased airflow perhaps, or just to hide the screws?), but there's no hint of any additional body vents or anything else from that photo. Curious, did any of the internals change in regards to this?

Reference pic:http://www.paulcbuff.com/pcb2009/Images/e640face2.jpg

I believe the only internal change for heat dissipation was to the heat sink.

I've been in the hospital for 5 days . . . . I'll explain the whole principle and changes in a few days.There's a lot more to it than simply beefing up heatsinks . . . a completely different airflow design.

http://www.paulcbuff.com/pcb2009/Images/e640face2.jpg