adamdewilde wrote:
HAHAHH, awesome!
I'm down with everything but the pants (I use to brave Canadian winters in lightweight winter clothing). Tropical weather has made me soft, so maybe the pants would be a good idea. How do you use those gloves with your camera?
I use camera on tripod of course, and use the point of an ink pen or something to push buttons with. That way I don't need to take gloves off when it's really cold. If not so cold I have on a pair of very thin liner gloves that protect my hands for a few minutes, long enough to push a few buttons. Mostly I'm warm when setting everything up. I have the heavy stuff on so I can just hunker down and wait for as long as needed without feeling uncomfortable.
For what it's worth, I did brief tests of Vagabond Mini with a combination of Elinchrom and Buff lights today in response to many "will it work with RX600 questions" I credit Elinchrom with a pretty crash free digital power supply design,
Test 9/18-10 by Paul Buff
Equipment: Vagabond Mini Lithium, Elinchrom RX 600, Elinchrom D Lite 2, AlienBees B1600 (modeling lamps off in all tests)
Test One: RX600 only at 600WS: No problems, Recycle time about 3.2Seconds
Test Two: RX600 plus B1600 (1240WS total): No problems, Recycle time about 6.8 seconds. B1600 recycled slightly before RX600.
Test Three: D Lite 2 at 200WS: No problems, Recycle time about 1.1 Seconds
Test Four: D Lite plus RX600 (800WS total): D Lite recycled in 1.5 seconds, then RX600 finished recycle at about 4.5 seconds. Total = 4.5 seconds. During five tests, four were problem free and in one test the D Lite beeped two or three times during the 4.5 seconds, but still cycled in 1.5 seconds. No crash in any of these tests.
Conclusions: Mini will power at least one RX600 and will likely power two, with a predicted cycle time for two (1200WS) of about 6.8 seconds. Mini will power at least one D Lite 2 or D Lite 4, and will likely power two. Mini will power a combination of Elinchrom and Buff lights in as yet undetermined combinations.
That's good news for the Elinchrom users. I've seen a few interested in this combo.
Care to share a image of the Mini? I'm sure there are lots of people interested in seeing the actual unit.....
Those are CAD drawings..not the actual unit. But Kacey knows darn well Buff is using a prototype at this point. He's just trying to invoke a response from Buff to continue his childish online war with him.
This is my CAD rendering, but is photo quality of the actual housing. Housing molds are being made now so a real photo isn't possible until I received the molded parts.
I was a bit surprised how well the RX600 did. Thought it might crash, especially with two units. The RX600 recycle time and current draw are very similar to AB1600 and Einstein. I didn't measure the inverter voltage drop in this test but expect it went down to about 60V at 1240WS, then back up. Fans on RX and AB audibly slowed during recycle, which is expected.
With any of the flashes, recycle time is proportional to power setting I.E. two units set to 1/4 power each (300WS total) should recycle in about 1,5 seconds.
Something I didn't think to mention: With one Einstein set to say 160WS, the cycle time is about .75 seconds, but you could fire off four consecutive shots at 5fps (or even faster) and get four useable exposures, with a slight progressive lowering of exposure . . . easily corrected in RAW.
These and other tests are the production inverter and battery. Gotta' say I'm delighted with both.
Headshotz wrote:
Those are CAD drawings..not the actual unit. But Kacey knows darn well Buff is using a prototype at this point. He's just trying to invoke a response from Buff to continue his childish online war with him.
I don't agree with this and don't feel Kacey was out of line here at all . . . peace
Headshotz wrote:
Those are CAD drawings..not the actual unit. But Kacey knows darn well Buff is using a prototype at this point. He's just trying to invoke a response from Buff to continue his childish online war with him.
That would be way too subtle for a guy who rocks a 7' octa on a boom.
You'll know it when it happens mate, you'll know it.
I'm glad to hear the Minis are ticking along! Even better that there seems to be no issues with Elis atm.
Paul Buff wrote:
I don't agree with this and don't feel Kacey was out of line here at all . . . peace
I wasn't sure...
I have a friend that has experience in prototyping and have seen many companies use stereolithography/selective laser sintering to do prototypes before the actually completing a injection molded run. It's a pretty cool cost effective way of testing. A minor mistake in the actual mold can result in a huge delay getting the whole expensive mold remade or living with a flawed part.
&feature=related" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">(Here) is a link that shows the process for those not familiar. I find it fascinating myself and only takes a few hours to complete. In another thread you commented on the precision fit of the case, so I thought it was possible you prototyped the case too. Believe or not I hope this product is successful and spurs competition so there are many options for me and other customers.
Been there and done that. I rarely make a mistake on a mold that can't be fixed in five days . . . designed and made about 30 molds in the last year alone. If I need 3mil tolerance or less I get it . . . got a good mold maker who also does a lot of my metal work. Rapid prototyping produces nice looking parts but they aren't strong enough or stable enough to tell me anything that my CAD drawings don't tell me. Also, they don't tell you anything about the effects of draft, surface texturing, resin flow and undercuts. Just money and time down the drain for me. Now, if I relied on a mechanical engineer to do the mold designs, rapid prototypes would be necessary and what I do in a week and get made in a month would take 6-12 months and probably not work right.
Paul Buff wrote:
Been there and done that. I rarely make a mistake on a mold that can't be fixed in five days . . . designed and made about 30 molds in the last year alone. If I need 3mil tolerance or less I get it . . . got a good mold maker who also does a lot of my metal work. Rapid prototyping produces nice looking parts but they aren't strong enough or stable enough to tell me anything that my CAD drawings don't tell me. Also, they don't tell you anything about the effects of draft, surface texturing, resin flow and undercuts. Just money and time down the drain for me. Now, if I relied on a mechanical engineer to do the mold designs, rapid prototypes would be necessary and what I do in a week and get made in a month would take 6-12 months and probably not work right....Show more →
My friend is a Mechanical Engineer in the aerospace industry. I'm sure he would take no offense to your comment.... Just kidding... I'm sure he would. I've never seen anyone as fast on SolidWorks. Just like any profession I'm sure not everyone is at the top of their game. Right?
One example testing like this might show is heat and ventilation issues. If you just test the separate parts on a bench they could test fine. It makes sense when you package a battery and inverter in a Black ABS housing to make it as compact as possible it may display issues not seen on the bench. When you get it it the hands of a photographer attaching it to a light stand in the sun on a hot day unexpected issues might be a possibility. Especially when they are rapid firing the the thing. I predict this product will likely be subjected to repeated demands no commercial inverter/battery of its size has ever ben subjected to.
Don't get me wrong either.... I'm in NO WAY implying this is going to happen and has not been previously worked out by you. Just giving a example of the types of benefits this process could be useful and possibly superior to a bench test. I can see what you mean about the part may not be as strong or the texture correct.
In reference to the post above, I was running a single Profoto 600R off a Vagabond2. It was outside during the AZ summer, but even after sunset, it was still a cool 90+ degrees. I couldn't get the VB2 to work, it would shut off after 3 minutes, inside or outside the bag.
So, for me, making sure the VBM will not over heat during my outside shooting is a big factor for me.
"... in one test the D Lite beeped two or three times during the 4.5 seconds, but still cycled in 1.5 seconds. No crash in any of these tests."
I came to that same conclusion when testing my d-lite 4's (3) as the d-lite's did have a beeping glitch when powered off a battery. I will do a stress test and get an actual shot amount for elinchrom d-lite 4's at various settings when i receive my vagabond mini using my scripted canon s5 with CHDK.
here are my results using a smart ups and d-lite 4's
Again... I'm making a disclaimer here and I'm in NO WAY making the suggestion or implying this has not been worked out and is going to happen. It's seldom above 90 degrees where I live anyway
Kacey, no offense, but I am really not seeking engineering suggestions. I'm happy for you that you have a mechanical engineer you like for your projects.
sboerup wrote:
In reference to the post above, I was running a single Profoto 600R off a Vagabond2. It was outside during the AZ summer, but even after sunset, it was still a cool 90+ degrees. I couldn't get the VB2 to work, it would shut off after 3 minutes, inside or outside the bag.
So, for me, making sure the VBM will not over heat during my outside shooting is a big factor for me.
I have never heard of a V2 overheating due to ambient temperature of 90°. Since you were running from Vagabond, you must be referring to Compact 600R rather than Acute 600R
Are you sure the black ABS case of the light wasn't causing the problem? Might want to check with Kacey's engineer or Profoto? What's the current status of the V2/600R . . . working, dead? Why not discuss it with our tech help
Should I have any unexpected solar heating issues with Vagabond Mini Lithium I'll mold it in light grey (or maybe pink?)
Paul Buff wrote:
Kacey, no offense, but I am really not seeking engineering suggestions. I'm happy for you that you have a mechanical engineer you like for your projects.
Oh I think you misunderstood.... I have a friend that is a aerospace mechanical engineer, he doesn't work for me. He has given me some tips on CAD and we discuss his job from time to time. His work is much more complex than anything I would need. My intent was not to give you engineering advise. Just pointing out a example of a benefit of SLA that might be helpful when you said it is of no use at all to you. Obviously you would know better than any random member on a forum. I know you have said in the past you have looked high and low for a qualified engineer, so maybe just the suggestion there are some is a sore subject for you. IDK
Paul Buff wrote:
Might want to check with Kacey's engineer or Profoto?
Touche...... I take no offense to that either.
I take no offense to that either.