Paul C. Buff products coming to the UK....

Hi Kris, thanks. Yes I saw the thread on FredMiranda. Looks like the issue is not general. I will post how my units are working as soon I will put my hands on them :-D

I am not using PW but I will rent the set from TFC.

Best
J
 
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Bit of a naive question here. Are alien bees competitive with bowens type flash heads or more like lencarta level stuff?
 
dubcat said:
Bit of a naive question here. Are alien bees competitive with bowens type flash heads or more like lencarta level stuff?
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Not a naive question at all mate ;) All three brands, Lencarta, Bowens and PCB will have advantages and disadvantages over each other.

I'm not too familiar with either brand but by looking at specs and noting the feedback, PCB gear has serious potential in the mobile lighting on a budget department, before the release of the Einstein (Buff's newest monobloc head), the issues with PCB gear were mostly related to colour temperature consistency over a sequence of frames.
The Einstein addresses this issue and boasts consistent colour temperature across all power level outputs and duration of use.
The cheaper AB heads will still have these issues afaik.

Lencarta do not appear to have any reputation in the negative side, it's quality gear at affordable prices.

There were accusations that Lencarta was rebadged Jinbei gear but this has been proven to be quite incorrect.
Lencarta use cases and outer shells from Jinbei but the inner components come from Germany and Japan.

Read more here:
http://www.lightingrumours.com/lencarta-rebadged-jinbei-products-306

Personally, I have a serious interest in Buff's Einstein and VII power sources, these items have a huge potential for my requirements.

Consistent feedback and review suggests that all three brands deliver good results.
 
They will have to get past the Einstein interfering with the 433 signal from the wizards first, though I dont know how isolated the problems are. If PW were going to change frequency, they would have done it with the TTL Flex.

What exactly can PW offer that Buff cant with the Cyber Commander?
 
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Kris said:
They will have to get past the Einstein interfering with the 433 signal from the wizards first, though I dont know how isolated the problems are. If PW were going to change frequency, they would have done it with the TTL Flex.

What exactly can PW offer that Buff cant with the Cyber Commander?
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To be fair, I haven't a clue. One thing maybe that it's possible that potential PCB buyers will be a little miffed if they have to invest in another triggering system.

I'm a PW user, I have four plus II's that I have no plans on replacing or upgrading.
 
Tomas Whitehouse said:
...
Lencarta do not appear to have any reputation in the negative side, it's quality gear at affordable prices.

There were accusations that Lencarta was rebadged Jinbei gear but this has been proven to be quite incorrect.
Lencarta use cases and outer shells from Jinbei but the inner components come from Germany and Japan.

Read more here:
http://www.lightingrumours.com/lencarta-rebadged-jinbei-products-306
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Well, little has been proofen so far I think - which is not a problem from a photographers point of view since Jinbei gear is great as well (and even more affordable, depending, where you buy). However, the refference to the "German" (sic) PerkinElmer flash tubes is quite funny. Jinbei mentions to use the "Heimann" tubes. - As far as I am aware (living in Frankfurt and Heimann was a company from Wiesbaden, just around the corner) PerkinElmer ended up to buy the business unit of Heimann which produced the flash tubes after the original Heimann company went out of business.

Not to be misunderstood, I like the Lencarta stuff (also because I have quite a few Jinbei monos at home and as I was told, they are assembled in the same factory :)) but the discusion about technical equipment, coming from the same factory with basically the same specs - and even sometimes sharing the same errors in the data sheets (e.g. the ElitePro Head, just like the Jinbei DP is supposed to be 35cm of length; in reality - they are 43cm) - is a bit odd.

So if this is such an important issue for Lencarta, why don't they just open the Box - or better two boxes - and compare Jinbei and Lencarta heads in detail?
 
I think I will wait a while until I have more money saved, or until the price of these drops. IMO they do seem a little overpriced, (for the kit I would want to buy anyway) and the discount of buying as a kit is only about £15. Glad they are finally on sale here though.
 
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu I've just realised these are all + vat

an einstein vagabond and beauty dish is £905 nicker bloody hell
 
Ahhh!

In the club then!

I would still order it now. If Buff cant even fulfil the domestic demand for the Einstein (not by a long way, so it seems), what priority everybody else in the world?

Anybody fancy taking a bet when they might actually receive their Einstein?
 
JasonRS said:
Tell me about it.

A PLM with Diffuser is 200% the US price!
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Viewfinder have them for about £59+vat for the 84", and in stock, unlike Buff.

Unfortunately, no 7mm and no diffuser covers at the moment.
 
Kris said:
Viewfinder have them for about £59+vat for the 84", and in stock, unlike Buff.

Unfortunately, no 7mm and no diffuser covers at the moment.
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Having seen both in the flesh, the Buff is far superior.

It's just disappointing they're charging such a ridiculous premium in Europe. The importer is 10 mins from my house, and I'd even collect it to save shipping, but I can't get past it costing double the US price..
 
JasonRS said:
Having seen both in the flesh, the Buff is far superior.

It's just disappointing they're charging such a ridiculous premium in Europe. The importer is 10 mins from my house, and I'd even collect it to save shipping, but I can't get past it costing double the US price..
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An unmarked van and a crowbar should do it! :hug:
 
JasonRS said:
Having seen both in the flesh, the Buff is far superior.
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This surprises me.

I remember Buff complaining on a forum that the the mark 1 PLM copies were identical to his, because the factory where he had them manufactured let him down and sold them out the back door. That was one of the reasons he dumped it and went for the mark 2 version with a more reliable manufacturer, which even now isn't available to purchase. They certainly look identical.

In what way is it far superior?
 
Would love a Alien bee 1600 and pack for location work.
There ringflash looks interesting as well but heard bad reports on it saying it isn't made well.
 
One thing i'm wondering here is whats the deal with the warranties?

If the importer is just simply an importer and not somewhere with equipment and techs to do repairs then wouldn't units need to be shipped back to the US (at users time and expense?) Sure the repair will be under warranty but if you're looking at £100 and 2-3 weeks shipping each way then its a bit of a false economy.

Last year before the importer came on the scene i had looked into importing a few bees and a vaga for myself and it did look good value even after the vat+duty+shipping, but the prospect of needing to return it at my own expense turned me right off the idea.

If the importers are repairing or just swapping products that need to be shipped back then that'll be okay and it'd take away 1 of the 2 reasons why i'll not buy PCB. :wacky:
 
Kris said:
because the factory where he had them manufactured let him down and sold them out the back door.
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needs a better contract lawyer then.:D
 
but not in the UK and europe. they may be able to make thm, but can anyone sell them?
 
Design of an umbrella would be nigh on impossible to patent.

Its just an umbrella, but a very big one.
 
So, been several weeks now, anybody know whats the deal with these UK Alien Bee?

Anybody actually order and been given a date on when they might arrive in this country? Anything firm at all?

I see they are now substituting normal Alien Bee lights for the Einstein, which you can exchange when they finally arrive. Assuming they have the normal ones in stock.

One final Question - the normal 240v Alien Bee will not work with the Vagabond, as that is 110v only. So, if you want it portable, the only sensible option is to go for a Vagabond and multi-voltage Einstein, and put up with the long wait. Am I right?
 
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yep,

I got the answer... next week the stuff will hit UK... sadly no PLM II and Einsteins on the board this time... another "few" weeks of waiting...

... disappointment
 
I don't have an answers but...
No answer to my email question to the importers and apparently there are overheating problems with the Einstein and also problems when used with PWs, resulting in the factory trying to correct the problem and also upgrade the ones already sold with the problems. And they couldn't keep to their production schedule even before these problems came up.
It seems that non-US supplies are very much on the back burner, so don't hold your breath...
 
No, me either, too much unanswered and the expense puts me off. Also when the owner of a company says:

"Regarding PCB Europe, please take this up with customer service . . . Lori. I believe a substantial shipment is on its way to UK now, but can't keep up with everything. "

It does not make me really feel like dealing with them. Almost seems to shrug off Paul C Buff Europe.

I think my initial judgment was right, and will not be spending any money on Paul C Buff gear.
 
Mothman said:
Well... I will wait and i will spend my £££ on Buffs gear. It is just terrible that we need to wait for so long...

...However, i think it is worth the time !
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-10053-10715

I am just wondering Garry, what results I would get in above test from your Jinbei/Lencarta gear...
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Best of luck with your wait, from what I've heard the Einstein is worth waiting for - or will be once they've overcome the current problems - the question is, will they ever actually be available in the UK?

I know exactly what test results Lencarta equipment produces, I can't speak for Jinbei.

Lencarta studio equipment is designed for - studio use:) and so doesn't need to utilise IGBT controllers or tiny flashtubes to reduce flash duration. Like all new technology, IGBT looks good on paper but it's another level of sophisitication that may or may not create reliability issues, and using tiny flashtubes is likely to create heat and life expectancy issues.
Horses for courses, as always - for sports photography, probably worth the risk...
 
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