Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I just tested out my brand new AB 1600 light, and I noticed on full power it was smoking. It did this consistently. If I lowered the power it would not smoke. The light was only on for mere seconds, so it should not be an over-heating problem due to time.

The smoke appeared to be coming from the top. I'm unsure if this was directly from the flash tube or from the socket of the flash tube.

I have a shoot in 2 days, and was hoping to use this as my main light, as my others are only 800s. Is it safe? What is causing this? This is a brand new light, and was never used before my test today.

Cheers

The best thing to do would be to call in immediately, that way there is not lag time in service (you will need to call in if there is in fact a problem anyway).

If the smoke is coming from the flash tube when fired, or from the model lamp, then it is likely skin oil buring off one of the two, and not a problem and will dissipate soon (assuming they are not touched again). If the smoke is coming from one of the vents in the housing, then there is likely a problem, and the unit would need to be replaced. This smoke would have a fairly strong smell associated with it, where as the finger oil would not have a smell or a very very faint smell.

Also, check the tube and model lamp for any sign of anything having been melted to inadvertently (shipping cover, diffuser, etc.).