Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I am on the Einstein preorder list and was looking at the Vagabond unit besides other accessories to get at the same time. It looks to be an excellent value but next to Einstein it looks quite - what's the word - pedestrian (doesn't everything, though?) :-)

I tried to quantify what that meant, and here's what I came up with:

1. Battery technology. Lithium Ion power density by volume and especially weight makes it the best suited tech so far (if managed properly) for portable power, in my opinion. We're not there yet with fuel cells and nanotube catalytic converters, but this isn't the good old 20th century anymore, either. I would love to see a fan-ventilated LiIon pack that can deliver, in the same weight and almost the same size, 2-3 times the present capacity and especially amperage.

2. Power distribution. If this power could be routed to 2 on-board power outlets, with 1:1, 2:1, 4:1, and unmanaged (plain parallel) power ratio between them, selected by a switch, one could perhaps allow the main monolight unit set to the higher output to draw the higher charging current, such that it does not lag behind the dialed-down fill and accent lights in charging cycle.

3. If the unit could count the output current peaks and estimate their energy it could perhaps include a display counting down the remaining flashes at the current power level. I'm sure a learning and reasonably accurate circuit would be intricate to design from scratch and am not sure what is available off the shelf. I can only say it would be super-useful. Even a crude peak current counter + battery voltmeter, that uses factory estimates for the other factors, (forgoing precisely integrating the charging and output current over time and factoring in self-discharge, temperature, battery condition and other factors), would be extremely useful, as its estimate would still be much better than my own, unassisted by such a display.

3. Design wise, on the one hand I like that padded carry case but at the same time it seems a bit too warm and sloppy. A mean looking hard shell with rubberized corners would be more appealing as a pro piece if kit, plus promote better cooling. Last but not least, what's with the Rigid-orange color? :-)

Regards

Alex

We have engineering job openings!

Paul, coming from you that's quite a compliment. :-)

I am a NYC based photographer, although I may have taught myself SolidWorks and do have an EE degree and other related background and aspirations.

I've already imposed what almost amounts to a resume, on this forum, http://www.paulcbuff-techforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=118&p=1804#p1804, so unless you signal that this is preferred, I feel awkward discussing what I may or may not be able to contribute to PCB Inc., on the Technical Discussion forum

My contact info is here
http://karasevstudio.com/contact.shtml
and if you point me to the best way to reach out to find out if I can be of help, I'll be happy to do my part to see if there is anything good I can contribute to your company.

Alex

EDIT: P.S. Ironically I was looking at http://toolhacker.com/2010/01/bosch-dewalt-makita-milwaukee-ryobi-ridgid-hilti-battery-specs/ and momentarily it made me think of the totally opposite perspective. The better contemporary cordless tool batteries like the 36V LiFePO4 DeWalt DC9360 contains just a hair over 1/3 the stored energy of the VagabondII, in a relatively compact form factor. If a pack like this could snap on the back or top of some monolight it could be a portable power solution without the dangling wires.

While at the present state of the art 1/3 of 100...120 full-power flashes is not spectacular, it is respectable considering the compact and light form factor, and the current it is capable of delivering is quite high, and let's not forget it is just a battery, so one could charge up and bring along some spares. Last but not least, the capacity is only going to go up so in a year or two we may see 20-25% higher capacity in the same size/weight.

Responded by email.

That indeed is a cool idea. Dewalt's connectors are also relatively standard. I didn't realize they were already using LiFEPO4 batteries.
They have a bigger volume so cost should be somewhat acceptable too ($115 each)...

Thank you :-)

Yup, keeping a pack or 2 per light and having NO wires (not even to the power pack on the floor) would mean the ultimate mobility.

LiFEPO4 is indeed about the best off the shelf LiIon on the market today, so kudos enough to Dewalt guys to keep up. Re: connectors: all makers try to patent theirs but the intent is to thwart cheaper 3rd party batteries from fitting the tools not the other way around. So in terms of a mechanical design to accept a given battery, I think it's pretty easy to side-step any patents yet make it fit. Peak-performance Lithium Ion batteries and chargers are complex and that knowledge base is expensive to maintain in-house. So if Paul could leverage 3rd party batteries and chargers like these top-flier Dewalt's, first of all there's no need to deal with the cost and delay of designing and UL-listing the chargers and batteries, secondly those specific batteries will only go down in price.

Even if a new monolight with the battery adapter on the back was a few years down the road, a battery reciever pack that clipped to a lightstand would work for now (on existing lights). The only wire would be a short run to the head. The modular concept of this would be a no-brainer buy for me.

How would these batteries handle the way a flash unit draws its power? Would the lifecycle of the battery be similar to its use with drills, etc?

Brian

There are some other brands of knock-off lights that seem to be doing something similar now (Flashpoint?). If Buff were to come out with something like this they would become the undisputed king of location lights/power. A DeWalt battery that clips onto the lightstand would be seriously cool, highly portable way to power the lights. It would be instantly backwards compatible. A powerful lightweight battery plus lightweight Einstein would basically have no real competitor. The lights are already better than the cheap knock offs because of their reliability and 640ws power. Add the selection of Buff modifiers and I just don't see anything out there that would come close as a system. I would think DeWalt would work out a deal here. THis would be a product that would not only appeal to new Einstein customers, but also potentially every owner of Buff lights out there too.


Kent in SD