p.3 #1 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Dwain Morse wrote:
My take... if you leave a strobe cap on... well that's just plain stupid. Unprofessional? Eh, I like to think humans make mistakes and it's fun.
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Forgetting the cap should not happen for sure but when you are dealing with clients on an expensive shoot, it's not too hard to get distracted and skip a step.
At least, I admit my mistakes easely, yes I burned partially a cap a while back and yes I did not type WS but power. Do the other dude EVER admit any mistake? Go figure who has a real agenda. Did he design the overheating unit? Did he ignore the warning on this forum. Did he say he made a mistake? I don't think he better than me and especially to allow himself to complain
p.3 #3 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
My take. I have never ever in many industries that I have been involved in seen a situation where a company is so available for discussion. There is huge value in that.
Had an ongoing discussion with some other owner/president/chief engineer of a company lately?
Anybody in management in any company is supposed to support and endorse their product. You are fired if you don't.
I don't think you can fault PCB for their customer service, pricing, effort in R&D, etc.
Companies make products, bring them to market, and improve on them as time goes on...doesn't mean they have to take out a national ad to say "the prior product was total crap now that we have upgraded or fixed an issue"
The bottom line is, If you are upset about a particular thing, that is your prerogative but I don't see that as license to try to derail a constructive thread.
I am sorry if this was a personal attack on you Todd56...I was simply thinking to myself, "oh great, here we go again."
p.3 #4 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Todd, I don't know anything about these production issues that you brought up, but since this thread has taken a detour I'll put in my two cents. People make the best decisions with the data that they have at the time, but either because data is incorrect/missing or because it has not been evaluated fully, mistakes happen. Is it really necessary to make someone else wrong and punish him? We punish ourselves for our mistakes far more than anyone else ever will.
Let's get back to discussing ionizing gas and energy levels.
p.3 #5 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Getting back to the point of this thread; Alex is making a valid observation.
I have 7 Einsteins and find that they deliver as advertised. If I am doing something that is color critical then I will forgo the high speed action stopping capabilities. If I am shooting something where action stopping is critical, I will forgo the color critical capabilities.
Let's be realistic here, the lights used to capture the image are part of the input process. There are lots of tools available during post process to address color balance etc. One thing that can only be delt with during capture is action stopping. If the monolight helps accomplish that requirement kudos to the light.
p.3 #7 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Forgetting the cap should not happen for sure but when you are dealing with clients on an expensive shoot, it's not too hard to get distracted and skip a step.
Keeping track of those kinds of little details is the job of your assistant(s), which, if you are on an "expensive shoot" you'll be using. The job of an assistant is let you focus on the big picture and it's fine details. Not all assistants are equal, some are better than others; mediocre ones or worse, ones with their own agendas, are at best distractions and at worst serious nuisances. A good photo assistant even in a small market like Atlanta earn around $250 per 8-10 hour day minimum, plus meals. Clients will sometimes question the need for an assistant but they really do make a hood photographer both better and more productive and thus add greater value to the project than their monetary cost.
p.3 #8 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Paul Buff wrote:
Here is complaint message I just sent to Fred about Todd56.
Fred,
"get rid of this guy or me. I try to be constructive and you leave troublemakers like this guys."
I You want me gone, do nothing about this, if you want my participation here, tell Fred to clean up his house of haters. I have better things to do than baby sit whiners with support from real members.
Yeah, we've all heard that before from you, over and over again, yet you're back here all the time, bagging the other brands.
p.3 #9 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Ellis, if you're ever in need of an assistant in the Indy/St Louis/Chicago corridor(s), give me a holler. It's becoming less and less lucrative to assist these days, it gets old working with shooters who don't have a clue, much less the techincal chops to pull off a simple commercial shoot. It would be nice to work with people that understand the realities.
p.3 #10 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Keeping track of those kinds of little details is the job of your assistant(s), which, if you are on an "expensive shoot" you'll be using. The job of an assistant is let you focus on the big picture and it's fine details. Not all assistants are equal, some are better than others; mediocre ones or worse, ones with their own agendas, are at best distractions and at worst serious nuisances. A good photo assistant even in a small market like Atlanta earn around $250 per 8-10 hour day minimum, plus meals. Clients will sometimes question the need for an assistant but they really do make a hood photographer both better and more productive and thus add greater value to the project than their monetary cost....Show more →
p.3 #11 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Frugivore wrote: My take. I have never ever in many industries that I have been involved in seen a situation where a company is so available for discussion.
This is a common fallacy repeated on this forum ad nauseam. Paul has a website and can answer your questions there or you can call his office and chat with one of his helpful sales girls. You can also get loads of information from photographers on this forum who own Paul's equipment and can give your personal insights based on experience - much of it very good information about the pros and cons.
Paul has been a lightning rod because of his sometimes questionable comments - which is not appropriate for the CEO of a company. I can understand him getting defensive at times, but he has to get used to an open forum and the fact that some people don't think all that much of his gear.
IMO Paul would be better off buying a banner here that links to his website. I just shake my head when people fall all over themselves with the mistaken notion that Paul is some altruistic soul who blesses us with his presence to nobly inform us about his gear. But, like any smart business man he sees a good thing by coming here and posting info - which is really just free marketing and publicity for his gear.
It's a smart move, and those who don't see it as that is are naive to believe otherwise. Personally, I like Paul's gear. It's not the best, the cheapest or most reliable - but if offers good features for its price point and is a good tool for the amateur and non-commercial photographers. I think Paul's gear would sell just fine without his biased presence here and people would have no trouble contacting his company via phone or website if they have questions.
p.3 #12 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Deezie wrote:
It's a smart move, and those who don't see it as that is are naive to believe otherwise.
Wow...thanks for enlightening us...a guy that makes lights, is proud of his lights, wants to talk about lights, contributes to a forum about lights, wants to sell some lights, etc. What crazy talk!
Since everybody feels the need to provide their personal opinion...allow me! If you have a source that contradicts something someone says on here there is absolutely nothing preventing you from posting it.
Paul said the Grafit's duration is 1/8000 and funny enough the spec that Broncolour has on the internet is 1/6000....Here are 4 sources that confirm the 1/6000:
p.3 #13 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Crash10 wrote:
Wow...thanks for enlightening us...a guy that makes lights, is proud of his lights, wants to talk about lights, contributes to a forum about lights, wants to sell some lights, etc. What crazy talk!
Since everybody feels the need to provide their personal opinion...allow me! If you have a source that contradicts something someone says on here there is absolutely nothing preventing you from posting it.
Paul said the Grafit's duration is 1/8000 and funny enough the spec that Broncolour has on the internet is 1/6000....Here are 4 sources that confirm the 1/6000:
What's the point here? The link right above this states 1/7500 t.1 Another states 1/12,000 t.5
Last month the Grafit specs on B&H said 1/8000.
So I overstated the performance of another product and somehow that constitutes me hyping my product? Looks like reverse logic to me and nothing but getting into the weeds . . . for what purpose Plus I thought you said you were out of here?
p.3 #15 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Todd56 wrote:
Here is my only agenda ever. I'm not coming back. Gook luck to all.
Where are you actually coming from? You said above you were gone and not coming back. Boy that didn't last long.
Now you're back and posting increasingly nonsensical dribble with no facts or even the hint of same. I guess if members want that you'll remain active here, but to what end? Please tell me how my posting 1/8000 t.1 for another product and you coming back and saying, no, the other product it's slower than that . . . (1/6000) constitute me hyping my product over another?
I'll say again, if FM readers buy into this sort of illogical garbage I'm just wasting my time here.
p.3 #17 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Crash10 wrote:
The t.1 specs you post are longer then what Paul posted...so why are you trashing Broncolor, dude?
That's my point too . . . . he's trashing me and Broncolor both . . . an equal opportunity trasher who offers nothing but garbage and negative, useless comments in every post. I got my specs from previous Bron and B&H sites . . . they keep changing.
p.3 #18 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
Thought I was a geek, but this thread has taught me waaay more about spinning fans than I need to know. Based on my own testing, I do believe Profoto uses IGBT in the D4. Test results from the other links in this thread similarly suggest IGBT in the Pro-8a. These packs are expensive and of modern lineage: energy settings in 1/10-stop increments, and tight color consistency through the range. Those are not capabilities provided by bank switching and varistors of the Acute packs or the monolights.
The double/blurry image produced by the "preflash" of Profoto PiPE is certainly disappointing, at least at lower energy. At higher energy settings, the fixed-energy preflash is invisible and the resulting higher inrush of current is a win for stop-action. Still, not my kind of tradeoff.
You can observe the benefit of IGBT in my D4 test report. The longer ignition at full discharge allows me to chop off the tail and measure the color shift, although this requires a color meter. Under the right conditions, this might appear as a very minor color shift across the image (focal plane shutter).
p.3 #19 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
@Ellis, @Paul,
Thank you the explanation. Yes, I see a little bit of color banding from a speedlites, especially at 1/8 and 1/16 of power, where action was not stopped completely. I'll add close-up crop of that shot to a blog article to make it more visible.
I can get a Broncolor (want to try Scoro) from BHphotovideo, they can loan me one pack + head for the test. Hope I'll get the test in a week or two.
p.3 #20 · Paul C. Buff Einstein 640 in-depth flash duration test: action v.s constant color mode
rico wrote:
Based on my own testing, I do believe Profoto uses IGBT in the D4. Test results from the other links in this thread similarly suggest IGBT in the Pro-8a.
Not quite...they pre-warm the tube ("Profoto 8a packs use a technology that they call PiPE. PiPE stands for Pre ignition Plasma Establishing"). I'd be using Scoro pack and Pulso heads if I could afford them....$200-800 for a *FLASHTUBE*...yoowwww
Plus I thought you said you were out of here?