hoangcong wrote:
Paul, do you know how long the testing of new products will undergo in USA before we can get them in Australia?
I am interested in the cyber commander and the upcoming einstein light and I was wondering how long does it usually take before you allow it to reach our shores? Or maybe now that you have representatives you won't need to hold back anymore?
Cheers
Tony
Remember, 1st line is more of a business partner than simple dealer. As such, we are investing in him and he is investing in us (I don't mean monetary investment - his company is his and ours is ours). We are both more concerned more with long term success than short term profits.
Regarding Cyber Commander, we will be shipping him some of these within the next couple of weeks as we get feedback from early adopters here. Same with Einstein . . . they will become available through 1st line very shortly after they are released here. We are still shooting for a December release of Einstein, though no absolute date can yet be guaranteed, It's well in progress.
Both products are firmware-updatable via Micro SD Card and download.
Until 1st line is able to develop a lot of stock they will gather orders and we will ship to them by air freight, so the typical lead time from them will be on the order of two weeks.
CreV wrote:
Can you show me the difference in light coverage between 8.5" Reflector and the existing 11R (45º). Maybe the 28º too?
I have pattern-shots of all of these and will try to assemble them and get them posted ASAP. In general terms, the 8 1/2" reflector, being physically smaller and shorter, has more feathering and broad pattern outside the primary pattern and is more of a general purpose reflector.
The 11" Long through has a tight and bright narrow beam with less out-of-pattern spill than either the 8 1/2 or 11R. The reflector that has the highest efficiency and near-zero out-of-pattern spill remains the silver PLM.
I picked up an 86" silver plm and the diffusion fabric ... really like the light coming out of the plm but what I found extremely difficult is putting on the fabric. From the instructions, you are suppose to attach the grommets while the umbrella is not extended. I would work my way around or in somewhat of a star pattern, and the grommets kept coming loose from the umbrella pegs. With some friends help, I was able to get all of them on but it was extremely difficult. Maybe I am going about this the wrong way ...
We are working on big improvements with another vendor ASAP.
As for attaching the diffuser fabric - perhaps the instructions got mis-translated. Heres the best way I know:
Open the PLM fully latched. Then place it on the light unit with the shaft through the diffuser hole. Then go around the perimeter, starting at the top, and place the grommets on the pegs, twisting each grommet 180° if necessary for a tighter fit.
Finally, rotate the whole PLM with diffuser attached to place the light unit in the center of the diffuser hole.
Sorry for being stupid and probably this has been posted and stated before but I was wondering about the cyber commander and the wireless triggers.
Are they possible to use outside of US or are the frequencies used in US a no go in Europe like the radiopoppers or pocket wizards.
I remember reading somewhere that the radio poppers in US are the same (similar) frequency as the mobile phone network and there fore suffers from interference issues in europe.
This was the case with some (not radiopoppers) I tried out a long time ago that was constantly triggering the strobes whenever anyone was talking on the phone around them.
Sheer hell in corporate portraits I can tell you.
Karl
karlpetersson wrote:
Sorry for being stupid and probably this has been posted and stated before but I was wondering about the cyber commander and the wireless triggers.
Are they possible to use outside of US or are the frequencies used in US a no go in Europe like the radiopoppers or pocket wizards.
2.4 GHz is universal in all counties we are aware of. We have no reports of interference from WI FI. Ironically, my Airport connection suffers badly in the presence of 2.4GHz phones but they don't seem to affect Cyber Sync.
karlpetersson wrote:
Sorry for being stupid and probably this has been posted and stated before but I was wondering about the cyber commander and the wireless triggers.
Are they possible to use outside of US or are the frequencies used in US a no go in Europe like the radiopoppers or pocket wizards.
I remember reading somewhere that the radio poppers in US are the same (similar) frequency as the mobile phone network and there fore suffers from interference issues in europe.
This was the case with some (not radiopoppers) I tried out a long time ago that was constantly triggering the strobes whenever anyone was talking on the phone around them.
Sheer hell in corporate portraits I can tell you.
Karl...Show more →
The problem is that the US PW frequency is not legal in EU and the EU PW frequency is not legal in the US. 2.4GHz is legal everywhere.
I live in the Cayman Islands, and I'd like to buy quite a few of your products. It's disappointing that you are no longer doing international sales... I'm sure we are not large enough to ever get a distributor as well...
Photography related equipment is actually the easiest item to import here as it is all duty free! Any issues with me having you ship to Cayman Islands Air Cargo in Miami and letting me do the importing? Any other options you have in the works?
I have a question for the last poster. Are you from the future? It is still Nov 03 and you registered on Nov 04. Would you mind looking up some lottery numbers for me?
Paul Buff wrote:
Forum members ask a lot of questions directed toward me. I try to answer questions and to provide the info they ask for. I try to follow the intent of the forum rules and not make sales pitches or bash others (I do defend myself when attacked without provocation). I would like the opinion of the members and, of course, of Fred. If the info I post is not wanted, I won't post anything but direct answers to direct questions.
I'm all in favor of you staying around the forum and answering questions in the manner described above. You are walking a fine line between being informative/helpful and using this forum as a marketing tool; especially considering the recent shutdown of the PCB forums. Personally, I think it should be up to the site Mods to decide if you cross that line.
I do not currently own any PCB products, though I use them frequently (they are a standard at many studios in the DC/MD/VA area). I own/shoot with Nikon speedlights and Elinchrom Ranger strobes. Even so, Paul's knowledge of the industry, insights to other companies, and frankly, his opinions are all useful information. Yes, he is passionate about his products, but he's also perhaps the most important single American currently in the lighting business, and I welcome having his inputs.
Case in point - the original PLM's use an Elinchrom-unfriendly 8mm umbrella shaft. According to a recent announcement on the Alienbee web site there will be a version 2 of the PLM's that make some minor improvements over the original - including a switch to a 7mm shaft. This was not an obvious step for Paul to take, since it doesn't alter the use of the PLM with PCB products; but it does increase his customer base, and gives people like me a great option for a portable, easy-to set up (& cheap!) light modifier. I plan on buying several of the new ones. (Hey Paul, want a beta tester?) I have to imagine that feedback from users on forums like this may have helped influence the modification.
Thanks Paul, thats great news.
Sorry for the off topic question and maybe not really a question to you but here goes.
Do you know why those frequencies are used by PW and RadioPoppers, this is only to satisfy my curiosity.
Karl
karlpetersson wrote:
Thanks Paul, thats great news.
Sorry for the off topic question and maybe not really a question to you but here goes.
Do you know why those frequencies are used by PW and RadioPoppers, this is only to satisfy my curiosity.
Karl
20+ish years ago when PW chose 344mhz for US it was spectacularly uncrowded. And still remains so today. Their main competition at the time were the Quantum slave triggers, which were on the same frequencies as wireless microphones and all sorts of other stuff which made them quite unreliable and helped PW achieve dominance
I think read radio poppers faq stating that 900mhz would give them more range or something. Nobody uses 900mhz wireless phones anymore so it should be a pretty interference free channel as well . . .
Frequency also dictates antenna design to some extent.
I haven't been here in a while but thought I should weigh in on this (now multi-page topic). Paul, please keep posting here and on the other forums you frequent. Having the ear of a manufacturer is invaluable to me. I use Alien Bees strobes in my studio (along with other brands) and am planning on picking up a PLM. Your products work and are inexpensive. What more can a pro photographer ask for? I don't mind if you want to use your posts as advertisements for your products. Nothing is forcing me to buy your products (other than the aforementioned quality and price). Just because you promote your products doesn't mean I am going to mindlessly run out and buy it. But being able to get your direct feedback is invaluable and makes forums like this worth frequenting.
dtomasula wrote:
I haven't been here in a while but thought I should weigh in on this (now multi-page topic). Paul, please keep posting here and on the other forums you frequent. Having the ear of a manufacturer is invaluable to me. I use Alien Bees strobes in my studio (along with other brands) and am planning on picking up a PLM. Your products work and are inexpensive. What more can a pro photographer ask for? I don't mind if you want to use your posts as advertisements for your products. Nothing is forcing me to buy your products (other than the aforementioned quality and price). Just because you promote your products doesn't mean I am going to mindlessly run out and buy it. But being able to get your direct feedback is invaluable and makes forums like this worth frequenting....Show more →
There is a fairly clear line in the forum rules forbidding actual promotion or marketing by posters, I try to follow this and to limit my discussion to descriptions of my products, primarily in response to questions.
Hello, i hope PCB still lurk out around here,
i've got one question about my vagabonds.
i never tried it yet cause of the lack of infos about it.
i'm in europe & using alienbees heads with a couple of vagabonds.
even if i shoot most of the time on location, from time to time it happens that i have to shoot indoor/close to some plugs/electricity available.
can i use my alienbees (not in europe 220v, but still in U.S. 110!!) plugged to my vagabonds... plugged into the walls?
i mean:
- does it work? i guess yeah.
- can it hurts both heads/vagabonds?
- does it may provoke any vagabond's battery issues? like they may die sooner than expected or something?
aswell i try to charge my vagabonds as soon as i used them.
i keep them plugged to the wall even after 100% charge... sometimes for a very few days.
cheers happycamp, will post that there in a few days if i don't have an answer here
- i really need to be sure that it won't hurt my vagabonds/heads, as i am in europe, i try to use my bees in a 200% careful way
You can leave the Vagabond plugged it (charging) and use it at the same time. But if you are using it heavily you might be discharging the battery faster than it recharges and could end up having to wait for it to charge back up.
A 240/120V transformer is probably a better long term solution.
