Maybe we'll see some new more competitive products from PCB going forward? I do know that the PCB strobes I have take a beating and always come through. They take a licking and keep on ticking!!
It's interesting that since Paul died AB has kinda gone gung-ho with all these "official Alien Bee photographer" sponsors and stuff. I don't think Paul was ever into that kind of marketing, but now that he is gone my Instagram feed is loaded with (I can't remember the official wording) AB reps and them doing workshop classes with these people and stuff. They've certainly turned that aspect of marketing up to 11 since he's been gone.
I have actually noticed the increase in marketing as well. In recent years, the website has been overhauled, the international distribution move, and sponsored brand ambassadors. I wish that they would put a little more thought into their product rather than the marketing. Although the YouTube and Instagram marketing is a smart move, PCB will need to do more than just cleaver marketing campaigns. Like we had mentioned before, PCB glory days are far behind them. I would love to see an innovative product that pushes them back into relevance. A shift in marketing approach is a good start, but it will take a lot more than that to get Buff back into the lighting discussions.
10+ years ago they were pretty much the known default bang for the buck strobe brand in the North American market, but have since been drowned out by the many Asian upstarts with more feature-rich product options. My impression is PCB kept costs under control and was able to get by with minimal marketing, though he did participate here on FM, even if sometimes he was rather abrasive and potentially did as much harm to his brand as he did good. The Asian brands have since dominated forum and social media mindshare. As stated already, more social media marketing is a start for PCB, but they definitely need to follow up with more competitive product, such as at least self-contained battery powered monolights. I wouldn't really care if it does TTL, but some form of HSS would be good. Having been a PCB user for some time, I'd give them a try if they did, but likewise, wonder how they could differentiate themselves from similarly priced competition.
rscheffler wrote:
Something that set PCB apart from many others, back in the day, was the great customer service. With a distributor, that may not translate to the European market.
When they tried to sell over here they seemed to have a flat £20 rate for postage of anything (even accessories) and customer service was some random bloke with a number that went mostly to answerphone. $20 item ended up costing me £65.
MNPNW wrote:
I have four Einsteins and one Digibee. One of my favorite features is the small size for traveling. I seldom use heavy modifyers so am not troubled by the mount.
I wish they had updated to HSS, built-in radios, and added a battery model.
I have V860's and AD200's too.
If starting over today, I'd look at Godox and Interfit.
I like the modeling lamps on the Einsteins and want that for any AC work.
The name / branding on the Interfit is even less attractive than the AB / Einstein; however, I'll not let that alone drive any future purchase decision.
The Godox 600 Pro is 10" long, for me a undesirable feature. Of course, that includes the battery. The 400 Pro is much shorter, maybe a better option for me.
For basic AC monolight, the Interfit Honey Badger (bad name) is pretty good at $ 260 for 320 WS. Built in radios too. For my headshot work, this is plenty of power and great portability.
The Godox system has so many options, it is a strong competitor.
I've had the same three AB800's for seventeen years. (knock on wood) I have yet to even replace a flash tube. I've beat the shit out of these lights.
I emailed them about sending them in for a tune up, and just as I did, a friend who "can't be bothered with electrical outlets and cords" sold me three brand new B1600's for a total of $300. He hardly used them, but of course he had to upgrade to the newer and better stuff out there (eyeroll)
I keep the AB800's in the studio and the 1600's are now specifically for location work. I haven't sent the B800's in yet, but will at some point in the next year or so.
I love people that give in to this constant upgrade addiction. Helps me get good stuff for low cost.
People always seem to forget that there are folks out there right now with much older gear making images that kick all of our asses.
I couldn't agree more. I bought four Einsteins in the last 4-5 years that have been to hell and back without any maintenance. I bought them for around ~$200 each and despite lacking some current features, they are still reliable. Knowing that customer service would replace basically the entire unit for less than $50 is reassuring. Use what you have and when the time comes where gear limitations keep you from improving your image then upgrade. I have cases of GAS, but have never gotten the bug for new lights. I have never felt Buff lights kept me from getting an amazing image.
Foztography wrote:
I couldn't agree more. I bought four Einsteins in the last 4-5 years that have been to hell and back without any maintenance. I bought them for around ~$200 each and despite lacking some current features, they are still reliable. Knowing that customer service would replace basically the entire unit for less than $50 is reassuring. Use what you have and when the time comes where gear limitations keep you from improving your image then upgrade. I have cases of GAS, but have never gotten the bug for new lights. I have never felt Buff lights kept me from getting an amazing image. ...Show more →
Yeah - I'm not a high volume shooter, so for me, the AB's work perfectly.
I had Simon Gerzina (former user here) do a two day workshop one time at my studio. One of the attendees brought his Profoto kits with him. The first day we used AB's, and the second day we used Profoto. When you spun the camera dial to look at the images on the back of the camera on the day of the AB's you could see color temp and exposure jump a round a little. When we did the same thing on day two with the Profoto, it was like watching a stop-motion movie; nothing changed in temp or exposure.
I'm talking apples to oranges here, but I say that because since I'm a low-volume shooter spending thousands and thousands just isn't necessary for me. My AB's do everything I need them to do for the type of work I produce.
I think shooters get caught up in this endless rotation of constantly upgrading. Especially going all-auto. I can't tell you how many times I've seen photographers with all auto equipment run into a snag and they can't flex their brains to manually trouble shoot their way out of it.
Sid Ceaser wrote:
Yeah - I'm not a high volume shooter, so for me, the AB's work perfectly.
I had Simon Gerzina (former user here) do a two day workshop one time at my studio. One of the attendees brought his Profoto kits with him. The first day we used AB's, and the second day we used Profoto. When you spun the camera dial to look at the images on the back of the camera on the day of the AB's you could see color temp and exposure jump a round a little. When we did the same thing on day two with the Profoto, it was like watching a stop-motion movie; nothing changed in temp or exposure.
I'm talking apples to oranges here, but I say that because since I'm a low-volume shooter spending thousands and thousands just isn't necessary for me. My AB's do everything I need them to do for the type of work I produce.
I think shooters get caught up in this endless rotation of constantly upgrading. Especially going all-auto. I can't tell you how many times I've seen photographers with all auto equipment run into a snag and they can't flex their brains to manually trouble shoot their way out of it.
When I picked up my first Einstein I did so because they have much more stable color temperature than Alien Bees. I keep my AB800 around as a background light if anything.
I started almost 30 years ago with a 200WS Norman - the one where the pack clamped to a light stand for reasonable portability. Eventually, I got a couple of Speedotron kits. When everyone ditched packs and heads for monolights, I got into Interfit, because they were cheap and plentiful for "used once" her in Utah. Apparently, the soccer moms with Rebels can't manage studio lighting. I did own a single Alien Bee, and it felt very cheap. But my assistant went to interview for a photo job, and all they had was an Alien Bee, which they asked her to use to demonstrate her skill. She got the job, so maybe the very simple operation of the AB can be a plus? I sent her to work with an Interfit kit on her first day.
After a 5 year hiatus, I'm trying to pick up where I left off. I'm looking at PCB gear again. Do the Digibees have the color cast problems of the older Alien Bees?
jsv_20 wrote:
After a 5 year hiatus, I'm trying to pick up where I left off. I'm looking at PCB gear again. Do the Digibees have the color cast problems of the older Alien Bees?
Digibees look good but from the research I did a while back Einsteins are going to give you the most consistent color. Also, if you look on the used market you are probably going to get better deals on Einstein units than you would on new DigiBees. The nice advantage of the Digibees is that LED lighting that could also be used for video (unless you need to record sounds because of the fans).
I bought my first "real" lights 1 year ago and went with a DigiBee 800 and an ABR800. I never considered Godox based on previous experience with their products.
The ABR 800 is the old Alien Bee technology and I can't give it much praise other than the "Moon Unit" is a nice "soft" modifier. The slider for power control and the stand alone trigger is super lame. The halogen modeling lights are dim and yellow. I would not recommend.
The DigiBee is another animal entirely. The LED modeling light is a total game changer providing REALLY bright modeling light with almost no heat and no burnt out bulbs. There is still no HSS but the LEDs + ambient + iso can sometimes bridge that gap without firing the strobes. The digital controls are also a big upgrade and the radio triggers are "semi" built in. I would definitely recommend the DigiBee 800.
I recently acquired a used DigiBee 400 because I needed a shorter flash duration. Operation appears identical to the DigiBee 800 save for one noticeable detail - the modeling light dims considerably as the flash recharges. This does not happen with the more powerful 800.
I have been VERY happy with the Paul Buff modifiers - especially the 18" Omni reflector with a 20º grid and the 7" LiteMod system with gels, grids and barn doors. Their durability and overall thermal management (with the Digibees) is beyond anything else in the price range.
The Einstein might offer better color consistency that the original Alien Bees but I feel the digital controls on the DigiBees have narrowed that gap considerably. If you have a job requiring that sort of color accuracy you should spend more $$.
I fear that Paul C Buff's journey to irrelevancy has more to do with their reluctance to follow simple business and marketing practices than a lack of High-Speed-Sync. If they would EVER have a sale or offer some sort of customer loyalty program I would buy twice as much from them. As it is I spend time scouring ebay for the few used items that surface.
And DigiBees are almost non-existent on the used market. They are so small and light and work so well as an LED "hot" light that nobody sells them.
The Digibees are great, and are pretty neutral in color. I use their LED modeling lamps a lot of video lights too, but as mentioned above, you do have to be aware of their fan noise.
snowblind-2 wrote:
I recently acquired a used DigiBee 400 because I needed a shorter flash duration. Operation appears identical to the DigiBee 800 save for one noticeable detail - the modeling light dims considerably as the flash recharges. This does not happen with the more powerful 800.
Did you check if you have the visual confirmation of flash recycle feature on? With that on, the Digibee will dim its modeling light while it's recharging.
Andre Y wrote:
Did you check if you have the visual confirmation of flash recycle feature on? With that on, the Digibee will dim its modeling light while it's recharging.
Thank you for that correction. Yes the dimming of the modelling light is related to the flash recharge confirmation being turned on. I had disabled this already on my 800.
snowblind-2 wrote:
And DigiBees are almost non-existent on the used market. They are so small and light and work so well as an LED "hot" light that nobody sells them.
I wonder if it's because those who buy them love them, or just that not many have bought? I get the feeling the DigiBees lose against the competitions's spec sheets and probably don't end up figuring in a huge number of people's final buying decisions. Thanks for the feedback about them. It sounds very promising. If they were IGBT controlled, I would seriously consider them for the shorter flash durations at lower power settings. Battery operated would be a bonus. Currently the only Buff option with IGBT is the Einstein...
rscheffler wrote:
I wonder if it's because those who buy them love them, or just that not many have bought?
In my case it's because I love them. I bought a DigiBee 800 from PaulBuff twelve months ago and wanted to add another immediately. I ended up paying $245 for a used DigiBee 400 package on ebay and I consider that a "deal" - Retail = $322.60 so roughly -25% discount from new but without the 5-year warranty.
For me the LED modeling light is the big reason as the lack of heat allows much more real-world usage.
EG#1 - Macro work with flower requires bright modeling lights to obtain focus but halogen modeling lights create so much heat that the flowers wilt.
EG#2 - I regularly use the DigiBees as "house lights" by pointing them at a ceiling or wall with a bare reflector.
I get the feeling the DigiBees lose against the competitions's spec sheets and probably don't end up figuring in a huge number of people's final buying decisions.
I agree sort of... If you're looking a flat panel LED with color temp control then a DigiBee is not going to be on your radar. If you're looking at Profoto B1s then a DigiBee is not going to be on your radar. If you're looking at GodoxAD400Pro then a DigiBee is not going to be on your radar. If you want HSS DigiBee is not going to be on your radar.If you think that internal flash battery packs are a good thing then a DigiBee is not going to be on your radar.
But – I think the PaulBuff hits a very specific "low+mid-level professional / studio amatuer" customer and both the Einstein and the DigiBee fit that customer well. If you are shooting mainly in a studio / home studio, or you want customer support, or you have past experience with failed battery packs and poorly functioning modifiers AND you want to spend less than $400 then the DigiBee is perhaps one of the few lights on your radar. Factor in that the DigiBee is a nice addition to an existing AlienBee or Einstien Kit and uses all the same modifiers and I think they do not have a problem with sales.
Thanks for the feedback about them. It sounds very promising. If they were IGBT controlled, I would seriously consider them for the shorter flash durations at lower power settings. Battery operated would be a bonus. Currently the only Buff option with IGBT is the Einstein...
Happy to share. Honestly - using a DigiBee 400 as a LED set lighting / modeling light and never firing the tube would still be an excellent compliment to Einsteins.
rscheffler wrote:
I wonder if it's because those who buy them love them, or just that not many have bought? I get the feeling the DigiBees lose against the competitions's spec sheets and probably don't end up figuring in a huge number of people's final buying decisions. Thanks for the feedback about them. It sounds very promising. If they were IGBT controlled, I would seriously consider them for the shorter flash durations at lower power settings. Battery operated would be a bonus. Currently the only Buff option with IGBT is the Einstein...
For most effective hyper sync, though, because of the IGBT, the Einsteins would have to be used at full power to be effective, if they even would be at all. There is information on the Einstein 640here.Thus, some would rather choose a different Buff light that is better for hyper sync. Of course, there are other factors that are involved with effective hyper sync but IGBT is just an unrelated feature - not something that is better overall. Lights all have their features and purposes.
