Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

These comments and implied accusations are not welcome here. Nobody affiliated with Paul C. Buff, Inc. posts here except the moderators and myself.

No, I have nothing at all to do with PCB other than being a very satisfied full retail paying customer. My life experience, coincident professional skills, and personal passion just happen to be in tune with the nuts and bolts of photo electronics in a broad sense. PCB products and corporate character won me over purely by accident after buying some used PCB gear, and subsequently digging for more info.

The used PCB gear I bought was given far too much negative attention by the highbrow folks on the forums I participated in, yet they were so straight forward to operate, and as reliable as steel anvils, that despite the derision from the crowd who likely never touched a PCB flash unit, they became my most often used studio lighting gear. Being who I happen to be, I also stripped a few units down to basic sub assemblies, and I was tickled with what I saw.

I do RF design, and I homebrew concepts into working devices. In my opinion, PCB develops fresh designs to classic high standards from the ground up, rather than copy competitors ideas with the cheapest silicon suits available on the international marketplace. Even in production (in my opinion), there is a greater focus on "right" than "cheap" at PCB. You can't beat that with a stick, and no matter how large the advertising budget of the competition, or how intense their attempt to convince, I just do not see the same level of fundamental commitment coming from any other peer manufacturer.

Because of that, I am a big fan of Paul Buff, and the way he does business, but it didn't come cheap, and it was earned. Einstein, in my estimation, is not "way beyond schedule". It is fashionably late, as is the likely case for such an entirely new device. Some people might have moved on from impatience, but they moved backwards, as there is NOTHING on the market today that can match Einstein specs from price to performance.

That was my initial point in my last post. Just wait. It exists. It will achieve production status soon. There is nothing else like it, so keep your shorts on, and be patient. PCB is not your typical mass market electronic design house. Their corporate DNA is certainly not a match for what we have come to expect in the market, as I believe it is based on a much higher standard than that. If you think I'm FOS, take a dare, and use the PCB warranty as your backup. I never met or spoke to the man, and he might prefer to shoot me right now, but I like the way they think, and I like the way they build things. I have no doubt that Einstein will set a new standard.

(I do have an autographed book from PCB though. Talk about multitasking, the guy can write... Scary....)


Voyager

It was in a thread that I expect would be no more than three pages back from the first. The response I referenced was written by Luap Ffub himself, and it was very clear, to the point, and specific. You might be able to search for his posts, or just scan the first three pages of the forum for relevant content. The bottom line (as I see it) is that no one would prefer to sell a returnable interim product as a matter of course, but these folks will bend over backwards to make certain that we have light when we need it. I don't need it, and I hope that others would not abuse the offer just because they can, but I am once again amazed by the extremes they are willing to reach in the name of customer support.

That's the kind of attention that Pros demand, and are often denied by the mega priced equipment providers.

Voyager

Yep, what Voyager said. I am not an employee, and I'm not sure why I'd give any indication that I was. I've been following the PCB line for about a year now, when I took a photography class at the local community college, and the lighting kit consisted of 4 AB800's.

I have been an electronics tinkerer from probably the age of 9 or 10, taking everything that was electronic that I owned, apart to figure out how it worked. I guess that stuck through college, because up until about 3 months ago, I've been involved in both military and consumer electronics design.

I'm still on the fence right now, if I am going to take advantage of my preorder status in line, or wait until the next round. If I wait, then I can spend about $400 less, and have a two light strobist setup, when ever I decide to order, then wait maybe 6 months, an get a couple Einsteins. It's not about if I will buy them, it is when. The strobist setup for me, would be nice to travel with, if needed, but I think the Einstein setup would be a lot easier to use, and would give me other options, as far as modifiers go, etc.

Luap, I'm afraid that what is happening here, in this thread, is exactly the reason why other manufacturers announce no product before its time. The fact that professional photographers (I'm assuming they are professionals) are sellling gear and/or delaying booking work in anticipation of the release of the Einsteins boggles my mind.

The grief you get for being upfront and honest will never cease and will only get worse, I'm afraid. No good deed goes unpunished.

I am one of the thousands on the pre-order list. I have a very important job coming up. And yes, I was hoping the release of the Einsteins would happen in time for me to get them to use on that job. I'm buying at least 6 of them, plus the appropriate remote controls and some lighting modifiers...this is not a small order nor an insignificant amount of money. Yet, I still have my old lights and surprisingly enough, they will service me quite well on this job, as they have for years. Speedotron Blacklines may not be fancy, but they work. They are also the size of a small truck and I don't care to haul them around anymore!

But be that as it may, my advice to you is to stop all these announcements. Don't tell people about upcoming products. And for gawd's sake don't offer compensation to people who buy your older product the day before you start shipping the new product. Then you'll be like everyone else and NO ONE OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE WILL GIVE YOU GRIEF because THAT is the expected behaiviour.

Luap, you build the best lights for the money. Period. Probably the best lights at any price. Try not to pay attention to the few that give you grief.

But we are not, and never will be, "other manufacturers". We do the things we do totally for the benefit of our customers . . . so they won't buy current products thinking there is nothing new on the horizon, then be angry when a new model comes out unexpectedly. To be honest, our sales are so good that we don't worry about "oh my God, they'll quit buying and wait for the new model" . . . the usual reason for surprise product announcements.

But I will say all the announcement I have made were based on complete anticipation that the announced projections were accurate. I have never been so let down by third parties and promises in my 29 year history.

Regarding your last comment, we would absolutely never discount an existing product right before we release an unexpected new product.

As for customers waiting for Einsteins, etc, I take this very seriously and apologize profusely. But the other side of the coin is that I am out around two million $ in cash flow from the delays. But I know from experience this will all come back once the products are introduced and the dust settles.

Fact is I've been doing this for very long time and simply don't do the same things that others do. When I make mistakes I put the customer way in front of quick profits.

All the speculation is really fun and we all have an opinion on how to run a business. In reality, it's Paul's business, his name is on the front and he runs it. I just want to know when the lights are available. So, I await, patiently for the word.

"Regarding your last comment, we would absolutely never discount an existing product right before we release an unexpected new product."

Actually, I was referring to the suggestion by Tech Support earlier in this thread (or a different one, can't remember) to buy the AB's and then trade them in for Einsteins later, getting some kind of credit for the AB's. I can't be certain, but I would not be at all surprised to find that that offer is unique to the industry. I know I've never heard of anyone offering anything similar.

I will ad to my "best lights..." comment by saying "best service..." as well. This industry would do well to take notes from your operating manual, sir.

We are not seeking marketing advice here, so comments have been deleted. Moderator

Apparently this is a communist board. Bye bye.