How interesting and what a coincidence. Paul Buff pretty much disappear from the forum for a couple months and by accident all a sudden he ends up posting in the order of 20 long posts the same exact day he announces the release of his new product! Not long ago he was defending himself with the argument that he was helping the forum by just answering questions. Now like the made in TN that's really growing made in China by the minute he is not sticking to his statement. I also remember a time when according to him digital controls were inferior compared to the AB or Zeus slider and now with the Einstein it appears that digital controls were not that bad after all.
As Buff slowly goes away from the 30+ years technology he build his reputation upon, he is getting caught like the competition with modern supplies made over seas. Nothing wrong with that apart that he now takes defance and refuge comparing his situation to the other brands lining up with them! Finding refuge in such a way after bashing the same competition for years on forum is quite hilarious to witness. One by one he is adopting the competition technical details he used to criticize. He even came up with the Zeus which was inspired by the competition but is also the shortest living power pack system I have ever seen. Did not hammer the competition as expected and probably never even came close to touch that market. Looking at this back turning activity over a period of a few years, Buff would call that trolling.
I don't see what people find innovative when someone contradict himself so often and so much only to line up with what the competition already does. There is confusion here. Low price is great but not innovative at all. So where are all those great followers who were supposed to buy into the Zeus. All vanished, they follow the price not the leader. There is just a puff of hardcore boys left that can't grab the full picture. It's not wrong to come up with ways to make the product much more affordable than the competition, but there is something unhealthy about criticizing the competition that much only to mimic it in the end. Forums are not the place for that kind of advertising.
Well low cost is certainly not the main attraction of PCB's products... there's nothing comparable to an Einstein, PLM, or VML at any price, unless you count the PLM copies.
And I really can't blame Paul for trying to defend himself, however awkwardly, from flames like this. I mean, what on earth is your point? Geez.
Y'all sound like jealous competitors. I have no idea whether anybody here is, but this is what they sound like, these are the kinds of "arguments" that they marshal, the primary goal being to kick up enough dust to confuse and frighten potential customers.
PCB's direct sales model means that everybody else in the industry is his competitor, and there's reason to believe he's kicking their asses. You really think none of them are trying to discredit him?
Pathetic.
MauriceBlair wrote:
How interesting and what a coincidence. Paul Buff pretty much disappear from the forum for a couple months and by accident all a sudden he ends up posting in the order of 20 long posts the same exact day he announces the release of his new product!
I'm not the biggest of PCB products, except for the PLMs, but I don't understand this thread at all. I'd rather talk about the products in a way that has a real bearing on photography.
photomarvin wrote:
I'm not the biggest of PCB products, except for the PLMs, but I don't understand this thread at all. I'd rather talk about the products in a way that has a real bearing on photography.
Same here. For me the mini-lithiums seem like a very interesting product. I could see purchasing a couple of them to go with my 600RX's. A 600RX and lithium pack would be less power than the full sized Ranger units but it would also weigh half as much. I know there are supply issues but I would much rather see threads showing what people are doing with their PLMs and Einstein's than all of this stuff.
I don't see what people find innovative when someone contradict himself so often and so much only to line up with what the competition already does. There is confusion here. Low price is great but not innovative at all. So where are all those great followers who were supposed to buy into the Zeus. All vanished, they follow the price not the leader. There is just a puff of hardcore boys left that can't grab the full picture. It's not wrong to come up with ways to make the product much more affordable than the competition, but there is something unhealthy about criticizing the competition that much only to mimic it in the end. Forums are not the place for that kind of advertising. ...Show more →
so a version of the Zeus that has all the Einstein technology is what you are waiting for,Maurice? even though you are fortunate enough that price is not an issue you should accept that the masses of hobbyists like myself who live simply see what Paul is doing as our best hope of getting to play with great gear. and PCBs policy of free upgrades to the quality standards that Paul is happy with is the enlightened, noble model. can you cite anyone or any manufacturer that offers that relationship with their customers?
how often does Steve Jobs give free hardware upgrades when Apple ships something poorly executed or designed?
the proof of Paul's ways are written in the backorder status of so many of his products
even with all the resources the world offers, demand exceeds supply. and Paul never stops improving his products.
isn't Paul a hero by any definition just for his commitment to democratizing lighting?
the rest is just noise
MauriceBlair wrote:
How interesting and what a coincidence. Paul Buff pretty much disappear from the forum for a couple months and by accident all a sudden he ends up posting in the order of 20 long posts the same exact day he announces the release of his new product! Not long ago he was defending himself with the argument that he was helping the forum by just answering questions. Now like the made in TN that's really growing made in China by the minute he is not sticking to his statement. I also remember a time when according to him digital controls were inferior compared to the AB or Zeus slider and now with the Einstein it appears that digital controls were not that bad after all.
As Buff slowly goes away from the 30+ years technology he build his reputation upon, he is getting caught like the competition with modern supplies made over seas. Nothing wrong with that apart that he now takes defance and refuge comparing his situation to the other brands lining up with them! Finding refuge in such a way after bashing the same competition for years on forum is quite hilarious to witness. One by one he is adopting the competition technical details he used to criticize. He even came up with the Zeus which was inspired by the competition but is also the shortest living power pack system I have ever seen. Did not hammer the competition as expected and probably never even came close to touch that market. Looking at this back turning activity over a period of a few years, Buff would call that trolling.
I don't see what people find innovative when someone contradict himself so often and so much only to line up with what the competition already does. There is confusion here. Low price is great but not innovative at all. So where are all those great followers who were supposed to buy into the Zeus. All vanished, they follow the price not the leader. There is just a puff of hardcore boys left that can't grab the full picture. It's not wrong to come up with ways to make the product much more affordable than the competition, but there is something unhealthy about criticizing the competition that much only to mimic it in the end. Forums are not the place for that kind of advertising. ...Show more →
Very observant. I bet you're a great photographer.
Yawl might want to pursue this thread RE "Made in Germany" Priolite light purported to be actually Made in China . . . bring some diversity to this thread.
tkm5280 wrote:
@ the "tiny but persistent group of activists": Why don't you get a life!
Yeah, I'll defend PCB, but why should I or anyone else have to, in a constructive lighting forum?
Dude, you kinda showed up after the party was over, now you're drinking the left over half-empty cups. Most people have already moved on with their lives...
You do realize that a forum has many different threads, right? And in those threads are topics that loosely relate to the overall thread title, right? And if a certain thread doesn't interest someone, then they likely won't click on the thread (if they have a life), right?
Where would you suggest that the OP place his question about the paternity of his lights?
I guess this question is rhetorical because you have a life and probably won't see this in a thread you have zero interest in...
amplexis wrote
thanks miccullen.
in a world ravaged by "marketing" the saints are known for their less than professional genuine enthusiasm.
Saint Paul!?
amplexis wrote:
so a version of the Zeus that has all the Einstein technology is what you are waiting for,Maurice? even though you are fortunate enough that price is not an issue you should accept that the masses of hobbyists like myself who live simply see what Paul is doing as our best hope of getting to play with great gear. and PCBs policy of free upgrades to the quality standards that Paul is happy with is the enlightened, noble model. can you cite anyone or any manufacturer that offers that relationship with their customers?
how often does Steve Jobs give free hardware upgrades when Apple ships something poorly executed or designed?
the proof of Paul's ways are written in the backorder status of so many of his products
even with all the resources the world offers, demand exceeds supply. and Paul never stops improving his products.
isn't Paul a hero by any definition just for his commitment to democratizing lighting?
the rest is just noise...Show more →
Why would I want a Einstein/Zeus pack when I already have that for years with an other brand? Masses of hobbyist playing with their gear. I'm, woow, I just don't know what to say. I was trusting Buff when he was saying he equipment was for the pros but I guess I should have know better. I'm falling from high, this hurts. Alright, I'm back, I get it. I had no clue the hobby photographers had grown in such proportion, masses, impressive. Wait a minute! So that would explain why Paul's weird 60%. So it's not 60% of the market but 60% of his market. Know what, thinking loud, I just realized, that makes perfect sense why the Zeus never made it. It all ads up today and thanks to your post. I love it. So, tell us, how do you play with your Eintein? Are you the kind doing the dropplet freeze thing in the bucket or you did you choose the ballon pop? Please post some pics. Thanks
MauriceBlair wrote:
makes perfect sense why the Zeus never made it
That's probably a topic for another thread.
IMHO, it was because a) digital doesn't need as much power as older film, b) people (not pros or old timers, but the hobbyist/prosumers) hate dealing w/ ratios or moving heads back and forth on a pack/head system. The higher end profoto/bronco pack/heads systems let you adjust power levels like monolights and have a nice range of modifiers and rental options.
AFAIK, people who use speedo gear also rarely use the 2400ws packs any more. They do the single 805/1205 pack to single head thing. Speedotron's achilles heel was probably a lack of unique "cool" modifiers except for their beauty dish (that and Profoto gave their gear away to rental houses and had some cool modifiers) and they missed the boat on cool tech except for their explorer pack, but that's another different topic...
Paul Buff wrote:
Yawl might want to pursue this thread RE "Made in Germany" Priolite light purported to be actually Made in China . . . bring some diversity to this thread.
Michael Quack is known to be a huge fan of Hensel lights. In fact, he rents them out and has some very detailed insider knowledge of the company. On the other hand, Priolite was founded by the former CEO of Hensel.
There's no reason to believe Michael any more then to believe anyone else. In fact, when it comes to Priolite, there's many reasons NOT to believe Michael. I'm not saying he's lying, but I do say that he might ommit certain facts or state assumptions as if they were facts. Which might lead others to believe something wrong to be true.
