Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

i was looking for portable battery power , so i come across the Alien Bee site , saw the Vagabond Mini look impressive , compact size and good number of shots , i have different strobes , wonder if any one have used with it , the make is Impact and its 300watts .

Please help , i hope the Vagabond Mini work with it , keeping my fingers cross

It's hard to imagine that the mini wouldn't work with your Impact lights. You could always try it with the knowledge that you can return the mini within the first xx (?) days for any reason......or no reason. You would, of course, be out the shipping fee. In the unlikely event it doesn't work, you could alternatively sell the Impacts and buy some Bees.

Agreed, I think the impacts are cheaper analog Chinese made lights. If I'm not mistaken, Paul Buff gives all his products a 60 day no questions asked return. But I think most analog lights will handle the voltage drop during recycle.

I own the VB mini and the larger SLA version, the mini is much nicer to drag out on location (3.5 lbs vs 18 lbs).

That being said, if the impacts work for you and your happy with them than enjoy them till you wear them out. Keep the Einsteins in mind for an upgrade when your shopping for an upgrade. I own an AB, 2 White Lightnings, and 2 Einsteins, I prefer the build Quility of the White Lightnings but I like the spot on exposures I get with the Einsteins. i have had one of my X1600 hit the ground from a height of 8 or 9 feet and it just bent my reflector and umbrella but the unit still works fine. One of my Einsteins did the same thing with a soft box on it and I killed it! I can be tough on equipment outside because I usually don't have an assistant to help me and the wind can come out of nowhere sometimes.

I called Paul Buff Inc and explained how I let the light hit the ground, my fault, not there's, and they just replaced the light knowing it was my fault. Because it was just a few weeks old they even emailed me a shipping lable to return my broken light. How cool is that? That is why I will never consider another brand. Who has that kind of service anymore? I can't say enough about there quality and service.