The problem is a result of the global recession. Component suppliers have reduced their inventories to the bone for lack of demand. Now that demand is picking up they're running out of everything. Saw the same thing in the 70's with 16 to 24 week lead times on many parts.
No Kidding.
Imagine how disappointed the guy who has invested his money in developing the product and wants to sell it is.
No matter how bummed everyone is that they are showing up more later than sooner, I'm sure it is even more frustrating for Paul
it's not that it is showing up later, it's that it keeps dragging on and on...I'm talking about all the way back when the Alien Bees Max was supposed to come to fruition...I would rather he just say they will ship first quarter and have a realistic expectation...under promise over deliver...not the other way around.
the ABMax snafu was understandable...different tech (the switching PS) that turned out to be unreliable which they didn't know about until close to production, so it needed an entire redesign...
Surprises happen in engineering. The only way you could avoid the surprises is to avoid announcing anything until it's actually being built and put into warehouses to ship (which sounds like where the Einstein is now when they hit parts issues)-: Then you'll have people complain that they just bought an AB or WL and weren't told about the Einstein being about to be released :-P
I guessed wrong too, even when I had a few surprises factored into the estimate...I thought I wouldn't see it until Feb when they announced ship date was early Dec
I would prefer that Paul tell us exactly what he is telling us. It is up to us as buyers to put a filter on that and make our own decisions. Yes, I'm disappointed that they are not here yet but I understand why because Paul has been open and up front about it.
He could have been like other manufacturers and just released the AB Maxes to improve his cash flow and start recouping some of the development costs. Instead he decided the finished product was not up to his standards, so he pulled it. I consider this a positive, not a negative.
The way things have been going, I think this project needs an exorcist more than an engineer. The original Einstein which never materialized morphed into the ABMax which morphed into the current Son of Einstein. It will be interesting to see what ships first, the Einstein 640 or the Pocket Wizard FlexTT5/MiniTT1 for Nikon.
I sold three of my AB800s in anticipation of the E.
Compared to all the fluff and BS I endured in the telecom industry during 30 years, including the Y2K run up, Paul's openness and honesty about his product development process is so refreshing to me.
And when someone critical has a health issue everything else comes second. Best wishes to Mike.
And thanks Paul for your courage to be open with customers and letting us make decisions based on real information.
no offence but is the delay of the Einstein really tied into what happened to his engineer, MIke? I feel really bad and wish Mike and his family the best so please don't misunderstand, but this product was going to be 'ready' to go in December and now we are approaching March.
I guess I just don't get understand why Paul hasn't just said you know what guys I have no idea when the Einstein will be released...I would feel more comfortable with that than getting regular updates that due this and that it is not ready to ship.
Seems like a very long drawn out soap opera of sorts. I have to believe these would be really cool lights if they actually existed other than the ones Paul has been playing with for over a month.
I was told in an email by Kimberly at Paul C. Buff that they were waiting for parts and expected to begin production in March. It would be nice if the updates on their web site were dated so you knew when the post was made.
I hope Dr. Mike recovers and all is well as that is a true human story and I feel for him and his family. That said, I find it pretty funny that Buff has been advertising for engineers for over a year now (according to their site) and in the biggest slowdown in the US economy, an economy where almost 20% of men between 25 and 54 are out of work and the wider unemployment rate is 10%, when manufacturing is particularly hard hit forcing many engineers of all types into flipping burgers, they can't find anyone qualified. And that they blame part of the delays on this. Funny how it's always the fault of something or someone else and not Buff Inc. At this rate when they finally get the first dozen test units built to final specs they'll blame their inability to actually make any more on the lack of qualified workers to assemble the over 2500 units backordered. Or, if there's any justice, by then the backorders will have dwindled to a more manageable number. A dozen perhaps.
