RDKirk wrote:
After all this rambling, I think CNC-ing the thing out of a solid chunk of aluminum and adding tail fins would really ring my chimes, but that would be expensive and unnecessary. The electronic improvements in the specifications--light quality and control--are a magnitude above anything else at this price point, and build quality that I could experience handling the unit is at least equal in all respects (and superior in some) to anything at its price point.
RDKirk wrote:
There is a saying: "A man with lots of money in his pocket is good looking and also sings well." This flash unit has lots of money it its pocket.
Doesn't that saying essentially mean, "a person looks much more attractive to you when they have the ability to buy your affection"?
shatterkiss wrote:
Doesn't that saying essentially mean, "a person looks much more attractive to you when they have the ability to buy your affection"?
If we are talking about the human species, I think that is correct
RDKirk wrote:
It's not the extruded aluminum of the WL, but polycarbonate (Lexan) is pretty well proven for this kind of purpose. Aluminum is certainly tougher, but is aluminum necessary? Any impact that's going to break the Lexan would break internal components inside an aluminum shell anyway--the Lexan is as tough as it needs to be.
I've been using a pair of B1600 along with a bunch of WL X3200. I really like the light weight of the B1600, actually. I feel better about them sitting 13 ft. up in the air too. Especially in the winds we get here. I'm an outdoor photographer and have found the B1600 casing is really pretty tough. I manage to break or destroy at least one lens or camera every year, but so far haven't damaged a B1600.
So,if Lexan housings equal cheap amateur stuff, does this mean WL and Zeus are professional and most EU products - El, PF, Bron, etc are cheap amateur stuff?
Two23 wrote:
I've been using a pair of B1600 along with a bunch of WL X3200. I really like the lightweight of the B1600, actually. I feel better about them sitting 13 ft. up in the air too. Especially in the winds we get here. I'm an outdoor photographer and have found the B1600 casing is really pretty tough. I manage to break or destroy at least one lens or camera every year, but so far haven't damaged a B1600.
Kent in SD
That's another big point in favor of the Lexan. Even for me now, with a mix of AB and WL units, if I had all WL units, it would literally equal an additional 30 pounds I'd have to haul on location.
So that's why I say it's a personal/psychological kind of thing. You can't logically base a "build quality" judgment on the metal/Lexan issue. It's not that hard to stamp out a sheet of cheap steel, wrap it around some mundane, low-quality innards, and crow in the marketing literature about "build quality better than 'plastic.'" It's 'way more complex than that.
shatterkiss wrote:
Doesn't that saying essentially mean, "a person looks much more attractive to you when they have the ability to buy your affection"?
It may also mean that he's successful because he's good at his job, even if he's not the most handsome guy in the world...and success makes one look much better.
Paul Buff wrote:
So,if Lexan housings equal cheap amateur stuff, does this mean WL and Zeus are professional and most EU products - El, PF, Bron, etc are cheap amateur stuff?
In my portrait circles, your major competitors are Photogenic and Norman--which, of course, you know, although that doesn't seem to be realized among most of these forums. I can't see any reason why anyone should prefer either of those over a Paul C Buff light, and especially not over the Einstein cum CyberCommander. That combination replaces a whole assistant--or certainly reduces some of the need to hire one.
Paul Buff wrote:
So,if Lexan housings equal cheap amateur stuff, does this mean WL and Zeus are professional and most EU products - El, PF, Bron, etc are cheap amateur stuff?
No, I'd say the Eu units are expensive amateur stuff (note the grin people, I'm just teasing).
As we used to say in bicycle racing, a talented rider (aka Lance Armstrong) could win on a department store bike.
It' not just the equipment, its the talent of the person using the equipment.
I've been amazed how much plastic is placed in areas of Elinchrom flash heads that is critical to their long term wear. And now just the Quadra.
I recently stripped the plastic washer/nut opposite the main tightening handle on my Ranger RX head... This is a A$3.5k kit, but Elinchrom have saved 20 cents by using a custom plastic nut instead of a standard metal nut...?
Paul Buff wrote:
So,if Lexan housings equal cheap amateur stuff, does this mean WL and Zeus are professional and most EU products - El, PF, Bron, etc are cheap amateur stuff?
I believe pretty much every comment was praising the lexan for it's weight and strength, and the original poster even agreed to that. I think you mis read it.
This was a just general comment. This appears in these forums all the time . . ABs (and now even Cyber Commander/CyberSync and now Einstein are called cheap plastic inferior build in comparison to "professional" equipment. In fact virgin Lexan is the most durable and "uncheap" plastic available . . . same as the Elinchroms except considerably thicker.
An advantage that wasn't mentioned yet is the electrical insulation a resin housing offers. Less risk to get electrocuted in case of an internal faiiure. Paul, I'd emphasize this in the sales texts.
PeterBerressem wrote:
An advantage that wasn't mentioned yet is the electrical insulation a resin housing offers. Less risk to get electrocuted in case of an internal faiiure. Paul, I'd emphasize this in the sales texts.
miccullen wrote:
Most sales brochures probably don't want to:
a) mention electrocution, or
b) mention failure of the device.
:-)
That was always a point with Vagabond, too. The original Vagabond came with a ground cable and advice to use it. That gave some people the idea that it was more dangerous than battery/inveters that didn't come with a ground cable.
Au contraire--anything putting out 18 amps of AC needs grounding for safety--other companies just didn't provide for it or mention it (except maybe in the small print of their manuals). Vagabond II doesn't come with the ground wire, but the outlets are GFCI protected...are others?
bugaglo wrote:
Paul, if it possible to cement this small Transceiver by an acrylic glue together with flash head permanently? How reliable this device?
Sure. And you could glue your speedlight to your camera. The transceiver is very reliable. But what if we come up with an even better transceiver unit at some point?
