Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I have some newer Einsteins- only a couple hundred pops on the strobes. Out of the four Einsteins that I bought I have had to replace the modeling lamp on one and on another one the modeling lamp is very dark (blackish color) now on the glass. The way I even came to notice this is that it seems considerably dimmer than the others. I seldom use the modeling lamps and for the little bit that I have it hasn't been on full brightness much at all. Like I said I only have a couple hundred pops on the lights to begin with. Is this normal behavior for them to darken so much...and so soon? The first one that I replaced I kind of dismissed as being a bad or faulty modeling lamp. Now that it seems that I will need to replace another I am wondering if this is normal or if there is a bad batch of lamps that went out. I do know that the bulb should never be touched without a clean cloth to avoid finger oils so that is not the cause here. FWIW the bulbs in question are the 150 watt lamps that came pre-installed.

No, this is not normal behavior, but some light bulbs will fail faster than others, even very early on. Contact customer service, and they will be able to determine if and what warranty resolutions are available.