Check out the link :
http://www.alienbees.com/cybersyncplus.html

$179!

very interesting...

Wow! Very interesting. I hope it's not exactly $179 after pre-order period.
Do I see that it will also work with speedlight (flashes) in combination with studio strobes? If so, that will be good.

Mufutau

Thanks for making me spend more money, a$$.

I want so badly!

Brilliant! I never thought we'd get to this level of control this soon.

From the site:
You can also use other manufacturer’s lights with CYBER COMMANDER™, but the function will be limited to remote tripping, grouping and the camera f-stop metering and display. Since they don’t contain a Buff-compatible remote jack the other features cannot be implemented.

Looks like it's making use of the existing wire-based controller built into these strobes. Most other manufacturers will have to create this type of system from scratch and won't be able to offer backward compatibility with it. This is a major competitive advantage for years to come.

Can someone explain this:
...relative flashpower using the European standard numerical 0 to 10 scale.

Elan II wrote:

Can someone explain this:
...relative flashpower using the European standard numerical 0 to 10 scale.





Currently PCB products show minus f-stops as the scale, ranging from "Full" to "-5f"

<Chas>

If it delivers as advertised... this is the most revolutionary product to hit the lighting world in a decade, maybe more.

Paul, you've outdone yourself.

I hope the commander has a PC port, the ability to have this much control with strobes while using a regular flash (what I do at present often) cannot be ignored.

Beni wrote:
I hope the commander has a PC port, the ability to have this much control with strobes while using a regular flash (what I do at present often) cannot be ignored.

Not quite.

Re-read the info - the only lights that can be modulated are PCB products. I *believe* that the corresponding receivers will have to plug in to the lights using Paul's RJ-xx phone jacks.

The only thing this will do for any non-PCB light is offer radio triggering with groups (much like the skyport).

Jonathan H wrote:
Beni wrote:
I hope the commander has a PC port, the ability to have this much control with strobes while using a regular flash (what I do at present often) cannot be ignored.

Not quite.

Re-read the info - the only lights that can be modulated are PCB products. I *believe* that the corresponding receivers will have to plug in to the lights using Paul's RJ-xx phone jacks.

The only thing this will do for any non-PCB light is offer radio triggering with groups (much like the skyport).

It can also meter non Buff lights and display the f stops on the CC. Grouping is almost infinite. F-stops of groups can be displayed.

Hi,

As along-time White Lightning fan, I'm very interested in this new system, but I'm curious about how the CSR+ (the AC-powered receiver) gets its power. It would be very convenient if it could be powered by the light's cord from the wall socket or a Voyager II battery. I hope the user wouldn't need to run a second power cord to each light just to power the receiver, though that might explain why they're offering the CSRB+, the battery-powered receiver. I'd appreciate any additional information on the Cyber Commander system. Thanks!

Jim Quinn

Jim,
The CSR+ is an AC powered device. It plugs into the light and the light cord plugs into it. There is a jack for the sync cord and the RJ-14 connector for the control channels.

the CSRs have the same AC power through arrangement. works like a charm and has the added benefit of being a pull out safety shoulc someone trip over the cord.

Hi Jim,

Here you go:

Paul - it meters too?

Hot damn. Anybody want to buy some Dynalite gear?

Does it work with Canon's flashes ?.

It will fire them and tell you what F stop they deliver relative to the other flashes based on the initial setup.
They can be assigned a channel and included or excluded from a setup by programming the light channels into groups.

It will not change the power remotely, that requires the control channel connection that is proprietary to PCB products.

I meant that I wanted to fire the commander via pc port. Infact that is exactly what I said.

Hi,

Thanks for the explanations and photos on the CSR (and CSR+) receiver. That's exactly what I hoped. I'll be ordering a set soon, along with a few more Alien Bees B800s and some other gear. Made in America - darned nice to see that!

Jim Quinn

Wow! This is too good to be true!

I want to know how it meters the lights? Is it measuring some kind of voltage, or light? If it's light, how the heck is it metering it?

Thanks dmward. Can it also fire a remote camera like PW ?

dmward wrote:
It will fire them and tell you what F stop they deliver relative to the other flashes based on the initial setup.
They can be assigned a channel and included or excluded from a setup by programming the light channels into groups.

It will not change the power remotely, that requires the control channel connection that is proprietary to PCB products.

I want to know how it meters the lights? Is it measuring some kind of voltage, or light? If it's light, how the heck is it metering it?

Paul has said on his forum that it has a built-in reflected light meter (metering at the camera). That's not doing much for me, but the prospect of full control of Buff lights from the camera is something I found incredibly valuable with his older Radio Remote-One devices.

Also, he's said on his forum that he's started engineering on a C-cell powered flash system.

RDKirk wrote:
I want to know how it meters the lights? Is it measuring some kind of voltage, or light? If it's light, how the heck is it metering it?

Paul has said on his forum that it has a built-in reflected light meter (metering at the camera). That's not doing much for me, but the prospect of full control of Buff lights from the camera is something I found incredibly valuable with his older Radio Remote-One devices.

Also, he's said on his forum that he's started engineering on a C-cell powered flash system.

It's not an incident light meter? Yecch.

I was ready to get out my credit card.

RDKirk wrote:
I want to know how it meters the lights? Is it measuring some kind of voltage, or light? If it's light, how the heck is it metering it?

Paul has said on his forum that it has a built-in reflected light meter (metering at the camera). That's not doing much for me, but the prospect of full control of Buff lights from the camera is something I found incredibly valuable with his older Radio Remote-One devices.

Also, he's said on his forum that he's started engineering on a C-cell powered flash system.

Wrong. It was incident/reflected with movable dome. I realized the reflected mode was not usable without metering zones so it is now only incident. That's why we suggest carrying it around like a flashmeter and firing from CST on your hotshoe. You can fire from either and, if you like, you can put CC on your hotshoe to adjust power and groups, etc., then take it off to do meter readings.

And yes, we're working diligently now on the C Cells built into Einstein 500. All of this is causing delays - but in product development, delays, like xxxx happen.