As long as we're on the topic I thought I'd ask about the cybersyncs because I can't seem to get an answer anywhere else. During weddings I use a pocket wizard connected through the PC port on my camera to trigger flashes. I also have an on camera flash mounted to the hotshoe for fill. The problem is that that SB-800 seems to make the pocket wizard fire very unreliably, a problem I guess most people experience because of the RF noise it creates when it fires. Would a cybersync be affected by this or is it more reliable because it operates on a different frequency.
Paul, how about you send me a couple sets to try.
Just a note: I just placed my order for the 22" High Output BD this morning and received a discount since there was a new shipment of em but there were some cosmetic damages (scratches) on the outside. I spoke to David who said that it will not effect the light output and so I placed my order for it which brought the price of $79.95 to about $59 i believe. Although the shipping charge was $28+ UPS ground, I am a student so I received the 10% off. So my total for it was $82.77 [instead of the original invoice of $108.76].
Thought that yall would like to hear that there's a "discount" albeit for damaged cosmetic goods.
Eric Schwab wrote:
As long as we're on the topic I thought I'd ask about the cybersyncs because I can't seem to get an answer anywhere else. During weddings I use a pocket wizard connected through the PC port on my camera to trigger flashes. I also have an on camera flash mounted to the hotshoe for fill. The problem is that that SB-800 seems to make the pocket wizard fire very unreliably, a problem I guess most people experience because of the RF noise it creates when it fires. Would a cybersync be affected by this or is it more reliable because it operates on a different frequency.
Paul, how about you send me a couple sets to try....Show more →
I don't have and answer for this. We have heard many reports of SB800 interference affecting PW (especially the new ones), and have not seen any reports of SB800 interference affecting CST.
jjasef wrote:
Just a note: I just placed my order for the 22" High Output BD this morning and received a discount since there was a new shipment of em but there were some cosmetic damages (scratches) on the outside. I spoke to David who said that it will not effect the light output and so I placed my order for it which brought the price of $79.95 to about $59 i believe. Although the shipping charge was $28+ UPS ground, I am a student so I received the 10% off. So my total for it was $82.77 [instead of the original invoice of $108.76].
Thought that yall would like to hear that there's a "discount" albeit for damaged cosmetic goods.
$59 is right, It is a great deal. I paid a lot less in shipping and ended up ordering a second one. Still not thrilled with the detachable direct light blocker but i did take it off and shot it with the sock only, i was not happy with the results but i can see how it may be useful at some point
toddmitchell wrote:
$59 is right, It is a great deal. I paid a lot less in shipping and ended up ordering a second one. Still not thrilled with the detachable direct light blocker but i did take it off and shot it with the sock only, i was not happy with the results but i can see how it may be useful at some point
Have you ever shot with a white BD, with or without sock? I'm surprised you were not happy. From my view the new BD outperforms the original white version hands down, with or without sock or blocker, and certainly with grids. I would be interested in other opinions.
Paul Buff wrote:
A huge amount of info on all new products and complete Cyber Commander operating instructions are here
So the unit uses analogue power supply now?
Will the unit still have the Constant charge ?
I've blown 3 different 300w pure sine inverters with my B800 because of the initial peak
Is there any way to prevent the unit from frying the inverter?
CreV wrote:
I've blown 3 different 300w pure sine inverters with my B800 because of the initial peak
Is there any way to prevent the unit from frying the inverter?
Which brands/models have you killed so far? It's supposedly only a 33A peak from someone else's DIY vagabond measurement...
CreV wrote:
So the unit uses analogue power supply now?
Will the unit still have the Constant charge ?
I've blown 3 different 300w pure sine inverters with my B800 because of the initial peak
Is there any way to prevent the unit from frying the inverter?
First, When I tested Vagabond 2 I set up a Zeus 2500 and Dynalie 2000 pack and flashed them at full power continuously, each time they recycled until the battery was dead. Did this several times with no excess heat or failures. A single Zeus 2500 or Dyna 2000 draws about as much line power as 3-4 AB, WLs, Elinchroms, Hensels, etc.
All inverters are not created equal. A typical 300W inverter will shut down when the peak current exceeds about 4-5A. Early Samilex inverters current limited well (they were used in Vagabond 1) but newer versions tend to shut down instead of providing the continuous current limiting ability absolutely needed for charging flash systems. Off the shelf inverters are simply not designed for this task, and specs are rarely given regarding current limiting performance. This whole process is totally out of the box engineering and approaches voodoo magic.
Second, the analog power supply has nothing to do with digital control accuracy or consistency. Almost all digitally controlled lights such as Eli RX600, Profotos, etc. use analog power supplies. Our Einstein prototypes are absolutely consistent and accurate everywhere in the power range, The charge voltage is regulated to about 1/100f stop at the top of the power range and about 1/20f at the very lowest power setting (1/256 power)
The model lamps track absolutely regardless of AC input voltage above 112VAC or at any power setting. In Japan, because of their 100VAC standard, they still regulate with the same accuracy, but cannot produce the full output of 250W. (Most modeling lamp circuits are engineering afterthoughts and still use the same dimmer circuitry as household dimmers - no regulation whatsoever and big tracking errors, and typically the requirement for you to change lamps when you change input voltage.
We tried to go the "modern" switching power supply route based on promises of better efficiency, less heat and the ability to use non-pure sine inverters. After a year and $100,000, with the best consultants available, none of this came through sufficiently to meet my personal requirements, costs skyrocketed and reliability predictions were not satisfactory. I have a production ready AB Max in my studio and it works - but I won't sell them for the reasons stated.
The requirements for a flash unit switching supply power supply and ones used for a computer or TV are totally different, and very few engineers understand the requirements or can implement them. I found this out the hard way
Paul Buff wrote:
First, When I tested Vagabond 2 I set up a Zeus 2500 and Dynalie 2000 pack and flashed them at full power continuously, each time they recycled until the battery was dead. Did this several times with no excess heat or failures. A single Zeus 2500 or Dyna 2000 draws about as much line power as 3-4 AB, WLs, Elinchroms, Hensels, etc.
All inverters are not created equal. A typical 300W inverter will shut down when the peak current exceeds about 4-5A. Early Samilex inverters current limited well (they were used in Vagabond 1) but newer versions tend to shut down instead of providing the continuous current limiting ability absolutely needed for charging flash systems. Off the shelf inverters are simply not designed for this task, and specs are rarely given regarding current limiting performance. This whole process is totally out of the box engineering and approaches voodoo magic.
Second, the analog power supply has nothing to do with digital control accuracy or consistency. Almost all digitally controlled lights such as Eli RX600, Profotos, etc. use analog power supplies. Our Einstein prototypes are absolutely consistent and accurate everywhere in the power range, The charge voltage is regulated to about 1/100f stop at the top of the power range and about 1/20f at the very lowest power setting (1/256 power)
The model lamps track absolutely regardless of AC input voltage above 112VAC or at any power setting. In Japan, because of their 100VAC standard, they still regulate with the same accuracy, but cannot produce the full output of 250W. (Most modeling lamp circuits are engineering afterthoughts and still use the same dimmer circuitry as household dimmers - no regulation whatsoever and big tracking errors, and typically the requirement for you to change lamps when you change input voltage.
We tried to go the "modern" switching power supply route based on promises of better efficiency, less heat and the ability to use non-pure sine inverters. After a year with the best consultants available, none of this came through sufficiently to meet my personal requirements, costs skyrocketed and reliability predictions were not satisfactory. I have a production ready AB Max in my studio and it works - but I won't sell them for the reasons stated. ...Show more →
I meant if the powersupply will have a huge initial peak or a constant charge while charging up.
I really want to avoid buying vagabond because the shipping and taxes. And also my b800 did not just make the inverters shut down but actually frying them. As soon as I turned on my b800 the inverter started to beep and you couldn't restart them or anything. They were completely dead
Does 240v b800 have anything to do with it?
CreV wrote:
As soon as I turned on my b800 the inverter started to beep and you couldn't restart them or anything. They were completely dead
Does 240v b800 have anything to do with it?
Ummm...were they 120v inverters or 240v ones? brand/model#s
Unfortunately, they will still have the same initial surge as most studio flash, though it's been leveled out a bit. Have you tried the "blown" inverter on an ordinary load - like a 100W lamp? If it's truly dead, it's a bad inverter design and it's overload protection isn't working. Typically, inverters that shut down instead of current limiting (like computer UPS supplies) will instantly shut down on overload, but will come back on to a non-overload after you switch them off and back on. Most UPS's will run a big screen TV, but will shut don if you hook one up to a tv, and then turn the tv on.
The 240V shouldn't have anything to do with it.
Ironically, the switching power supply did work on non sine inverters of at least 500W per unit, but the very thing that allowed it to work on these inverters caused it to not work well on Vagabond type inverters. Short answer: As the voltage drops to a switching supply, the current draw increases - the opposite of what happens on an analog supply.
Paul Buff wrote:
Have you ever shot with a white BD, with or without sock? I'm surprised you were not happy. From my view the new BD outperforms the original white version hands down, with or without sock or blocker, and certainly with grids. I would be interested in other opinions.
I should have been more clear. I was not happy with the results due to my lack of experience in what i was shooting and with that mod.
it was just a fun shoot to try some stuff out and get a better feel for the beauty dish with & without the sock and direct light blocker. I really like the dish, that is why i picked up a second one.
this was my favorite shot from the 'testing' one light only with the new dish no plate w/sock http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/3991988348_3b3a9e89dd_b.jpg
Thats' a nice blend of flash and ambiant light Todd.
Just got my HOBDs the other day and had a chance to do some catch light tests. So far I'm pleased with the light weight construction of the dish and it's ability to work efficiently with low WS lights like the ABs. I know it is very important for some to have that close-up of the eyes to reveal a pleasing catch light. And in my opinion, the light's reflection looks best with the diffuser on and the light blocker off. Any other way and you can see dark center spots and/or a dark ring in the center. RMS
As for catchlight, I totally agree. Conventional white beauty dishes absolutely require a light blocker because the direct flash is so much brighter than the light bounced from the white dish surface. The blocker inevitably leaves a donut hole on the middle of the pattern.
In the 22HOBD, the light from the silver dish is bright enough compared to the direct flash that the surface of the diffuser is illuminated extremely evenly with no blocker in place so the catchlights are nice and round and have no donut hole.
When used without the diffuser sock, using it without the blocker yields a bit of extra snap and specularity because the catchlight is a circle with a brighter direct-flash center. Direct, with the blocker, all light is bounced so the specularity is lowered a bit, but the center has a donut hole.
Your shots demonstrate this very effectively. Obviously, a carefully balanced center diffuser instead of blocker can eliminate the donut hole - but this is difficult to design and we haven't gotten there . . . yet.
CreV wrote:
I've blown 3 different 300w pure sine inverters with my B800 because of the initial peak
Is there any way to prevent the unit from frying the inverter?
Just curious, why didn't you buy a Vagabond II after the first, second, or third time that happened?
Not sure if I missed this, but I saw that the old dish has been discontinued... is it ever coming back? Will the new distributor be producing the old one too?
Been reading wrong info on the other forums. We have never mentioned discontinuing the old dish.
Also, we don't buy products like this from "distributors" The 22HOBD and PLM and Vagabond II and many other accessories are our proprietary designs and are made only for us by various factories. Like any other manufacturer, we buy parts - ICs and such from distributors.
Our flashtubes are our proprietary designs and are made by a Chicago area company, but they outsource part of the production to European factories. Flash capacitors are also made to our specs by an American company, though their production is done offshore (the EPA has pretty much stopped all capacitor and many other components production in the USA.)
And to clear up any myths, our flash units and all CyberSync products are designed in house and made in America. Most of the parts come from American vendors. We make some of the assemblies in our Nashville facilities and assemblies that require robotic assembly are made by an affiliate in Kansas. The only electronics assembly we have made (to our proprietary specs) are the inverters used in Vagabond.
