Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I just got 2 new Einsteins. The consistency of light in terms of color and power are great. I have already used them on 2 shoots thus far. The first shoot took place in my studio. The second shoot was done outdoors at sunrise. Here are some technical details about the gear I used for the 2 shoots.

5D Mark II w/ 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS
7D w/ 24-70mm L f/2.8
Pocketwizard Plus IIs attached to the hotshoe of each body
Pocketwizard Plus II attached to the Einstein via 3.5mm sync cord

In the studio, I noticed that the Einstein would not fire most of the time when triggered remotely. If I pressed the test button on the Pocketwizard Plus II that was attached the the Einstein, it would fire 100% of the time. When triggered by the Pocketwizard that was attached to the hotshoe of my camera, the Einstein had a very low success rate for firing. It did better as I got closer. I stopped the shoot and reseated the Pocketwizard attached to my hotshoe, reseated the sync cord and still had the same issue. I then replaced both Pocketwizards with another set and still same issue. Again, I had a higher success rate as I got closer so I compromised and just shot closer.

The next morning I brought my Vagabon II, one of the Einsteins, and an Alien Bees B800 as a backup to an outdoor sunrise shoot. I started shooting and had the same exact issue with the Einstein. Luckily I brought the B800 as a backup. I switched to the B800 with the exact same sync cord and same Pocketwizard and it fired 100% of the time.

So this makes me think that there might be an issue with RF interference. Has anyone else had similar issues with Pocketwizards and the Einsteins? How can this issue be resolved? Thanks in advanced for the help.





I also own and use 3 Alien Bees B800s, an Alien Bees ABR800, a White Lightning X1600, and a total of 8 Canon speedlites.

Have you tried a longer sync cord? If this is an interference issue, perhaps moving the PW receiver another foot or so away from the Einstein would resolve it.

I'll give that a try but that would mean I would have to buy new cords which I should have to do. I'm hoping to hear from Paul or anyone else that can offer a definitive answer.

We have tested Einstein to death with PW and never had a problem. Not sure if they are PW2. I've heard many stories about PWs having interference problems from certain speedlites - it all over the forums. Have you tried position the PW receiver further from the Einstein?

The uP circuitry is pretty well shielded in Einstein. I know Rob Galbraith has used them extensively with PW, as has Ellis Vener and John Fisher and have not reported this sort of problem.

We are investigating this further.

From http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/ ... astmessage

dmward wrote:
What is interesting about this is that the E640 is a IGBT controlled monolight and the Speedlites that interfere with the PW Control TL devices are IGBT as well.

Wonder why that was not a problem with earlier PW triggers and Speedlites? Since the PWs are all using the same freq and the Canon 580EXs have apparently been high emitters for some time.

As for source for longer cables try Flash Zebra.

RD, not sure if a metallic hat for PW would be the answer. More likely a PW holder that would shield the antenna from the Mono. It would have to be between the light and the PW.

I wonder what they guys at PW are thinking now about investing in a licensed freq. with these problems while everyone else is using the 2Gig unlicensed freq without a problem.

From Paul

The IGBT circuitry has nothing to do with this. The small amount of EMI initially appears to be a result of the Einstein low power 12V switching power supply and possibly a little being radiated by the LCD display. This is pretty standard technology used in many devices. The interface problem appears to be related to the PW sensitivity to interference as demonstrated by similar problems with some speedlights and other equipment. We found in our testing that nothing is being generated at the PW's actual operating frequency.

Both CyberSync and Skyport use the same 2.4GHz range chip, which has excellent rejection of EMI and I have seen no reports of this sort of interference from either, even though the 2.4GHz band is far more crowded than to 300-400MHz range PW is in. However, as stated, Mac Airport and other WiFi devices use the same 2.4GHz band and do have interference problems.

Shielding the PW may or may not have any effect . . . it the problem is coming through the antenna you can't shield it without blocking the desired signal. If the problem is affecting other circuitry in the PW shielding could help, but should be grounded . . . a real pain.

We have found that using a ten foot sync cord completely eliminates any problem - simply spacing the PW away from other devices.

As for using this situation to exploit sales against a competitor, we won't do that. LPA-PW is a good solid company and has contributed much to the industry and shouldn't be dumped on or exploited . . . at least not in my code of ethics. These things happen in many products as more and more RF is used.

Over time we will attempt to zero in on exactly what the PW is sensitive to and improve the situation from our end if possible. Perhaps we can change power supply frequency a bit and/or add some shielding around the source, once we are sure we have it completely identified. But this takes time. Of course, it is impossible to shield the LCD and keep it visible.

There is too much shame and blame in the world so we prefer cooperative solutions and respect among customers and competitors. Meeting FCC regulations can only go so far in preventing localized interference. Even longer distance EMI is problematical as anyone with a cell phone or WiFi well knows.

The frequency bands used by PW and CyberSync are both licensed and both devices are FCC approved. The 2.4GHz band, however, is globally licensed and permitted in all countries, while PW is faced with having to use different frequencies in US and Europe due to different allocation of frequencies on the two continents.

If you really want to see uncontrolled EMI problems, buy a Chinese eBay tripper. Most make no attempt whatsoever to meet FCC specs and produce terrible amounts of EMI outside their operating band as well as extreme amounts of harmonic emission.

No, it wouldn't be the answer to the problem, but someone could probably sell a milliion of them! :lol:

I just received my new Einstein and seem to be having the same problems. Shooting Nikon D700 along with AB800s and AB400. I set everything up to see how it would work, connecting everything with PWs (Plus and Plus IIs). First thing I noticed was that I couldn't fire anything with my Sekonic L358 and module. It would fire on occasion but nothing reliably. So I thought I will use the Sekonic in wireless mode with a PW transmitter in hand. That seemed to work in the basement but when I was on an actual shoot it seemed to work to start but then I noticed that the Einstein was not firing and just replaced it with an AB800. I would really like it if my PWs and 358 would work with this new flash but who knows

I guess I will have to learn how to use the cyber commander and the bunch of new AB receivers I now have. (or leave the Einstein in full dumb mode and just let the slave fire it, I do appreciate the new slave location,....but that would seem a shame). As I am attempting to learn the Cyber Commander I see that the full range of the Einstein is not being represented on the CC. It won't decrease power on the unit into the bottom 2 stops, I have to walk over and do this manually. I am assuming the problem lies in the fact that I have identified the flash as an AB1600 and not as an Einstein because I didn't see that choice.

The answers may be simple, but so am I and slow to boot, any help is appreciated.

pictor.

This is correct, when you open from studio, or open from a certain channel, Einstein automatically registers itself.

YOU MUST "OPEN FROM..." studio, memory or individual channels (in the "open memory" section of the menu) to get the system to properly function. Just telling the CC channel 5 is such and such light, can lead to issues, particularly Einstein (as you cannot specify Einstein, as it is automatic)

Thanks for this info as I will get one of my Einsteins next week and I need to know how to set it up with my CC that currently has lights saved on it. I can't seem to find any instructions(posted or printed) on how to do this. My CC already has WLs setup and saved on the MicroSD card and I don't want to erase it. Can you please post a sticky on how to set Einstein up with the CC in all configurations(with and without light/s already saved on the sd card or onboard mem)? If the instructions already exist, please let me know where to find them. Thanks.
Looking forward to spending time with these full featured flash units.

RMS