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What don´t you like about Einstein E640?

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  • When hanging them from a ceiling grid, there is no good place to attach a safety cable.
  • The radio receiver module has a fragile connector on it. Not a problem when it is inserted into the light, but it needs to be protected when it isn't in the Einstein. Due to the way the receiver sticks out the top of the unit, you pretty much have to remove it when transporting the light. I would prefer a design with a more robust connector, or that would allow the receiver to stay in the unit when it is being transported.
  • It doesn't have an on/off switch; only an on/standby switch. In standby it will automatically turn back on when it hears certain RF Signals. I don't mind the standby mode, I just would prefer that it also had an "off" setting.
  • The user interface is a bit clumsy and is hindered by the quality of the rear LCD. There are very few physical buttons on the back of the Einstein. The user interface has multiple modes (the buttons perform different functions, depending on what mode you are in). The Einstein tells you what mode you are in by highlighting the corresponding section of the rear LCD display. Unfortunately, the highlighting is difficult to see unless you are directly on-axis with the LCD. If you use the Cyber Commander system then you don't need to see the Einstein's LCD, but the Cyber Commander's user interface is very complicated and not user friendly.
  • As others have pointed out, the modifier mount could be more robust.
 
EmailYasmin said:
These units offer probably the best value of money. If your clients are ok with these you are in luck. In NYC, some of our clients ask for Profoto and Elinchrom by name.

Yasmin.
Click to expand...
Umm...my guess is if you are considering einstein you aren't dealing with clients who specify the brand of lighting you're using...
 
DotCom Editor said:
I'd rather deal with ugly flashes that work beautifully than have to find a way to make ugly people look attractive in portraits.
Click to expand...
as a photographer you should know that

1) Nobody is ugly
2) Never refer to anyone as ugly
 
Hugowolf said:
Compared to what?
Click to expand...
Any other light I have used! At the basic:

-Power Button. Self Explanatory.

-Big arrows going up and down. For a strobe, I would say this is self explanatory as well.

Of course there is more you could look at and/or access. And then it is just a matter of hitting the function button until whatever it is you want to change is highlighted. Once highlighted, you use those big arrows up/down to cycle through the options. It all seems fairly straightforward to me.
 
John Deerfield said:
John Deerfield said:
Compared to what?
Click to expand...
Any other light I have used! At the basic:

-Power Button. Self Explanatory.

-Big arrows going up and down. For a strobe, I would say this is self explanatory as well.

Of course there is more you could look at and/or access. And then it is just a matter of hitting the function button until whatever it is you want to change is highlighted. Once highlighted, you use those big arrows up/down to cycle through the options. It all seems fairly straightforward to me.
Click to expand...
If all you ever want to do is to turn the light on/off and change power levels, then this is fairly self-explanatory. Of course, if this is all you ever want to do, the Einstein is overkill.

Once you start using the other features, the user interface can become a problem.

Sometimes I use the modeling light for positioning my lights (It's much easier to aim a hair light when the modeling light is on). Once the light is aimed, I may want to turn that modeling light off (It gets very hot when the modeling light is on and you are using a snoot or a grid).

With an Alien Bee, I press one button, and the modeling light goes off. A second button lets me set the modeling light for full power for aiming, or tracking to help pre-visualize.

With the Einstein, I need to press the mode button a few times until the appropriate part of the LCD highlights. If I am not looking at the LCD from the correct angle, this is really easy to miss. Once I am in the correct mode, I then press the UP or DOWN arrow to put the modeling light into the correct mode. I suppose it's pretty self-explanatory which arrow means Full Power, which arrow means Track power, and which arrow means no modeling light. Of course, then I have to press the mode button a few more times to get back to mode you described (up/down buttons affect power level).

If the Einstein is on a stand, and aimed, it isn't always trivial to get my eyes at the correct angle that makes the LCD highlighting easy to see.

To be fair, if I memorize all the various options, I don't need to look at the LCD. I can learn how many presses I need to get to various modes. Having to memorize how many button presses are needed is a symptom of a complicated user interface.

I'm not saying the Einsteins are junk, or that they are unusable. I'm just saying that their user interface isn't as easy to use an Alien Bee. I suspect the lower button count on the Einstein costs less to manufacturer.

By the way, I don't think the Einstein's power button is self explanatory. Many people incorrectly think the power button will turn the unit off. This is not correct, it puts it into standby.
 
CharlieDIY said:
Jack A. Zucker said:
DotCom Editor said:
I'd rather deal with ugly flashes that work beautifully than have to find a way to make ugly people look attractive in portraits.
Click to expand...
as a photographer you should know that

1) Nobody is ugly
2) Never refer to anyone as ugly
Click to expand...
Fortunately, I don't normally photograph people: there are plenty of uglies out there.
Click to expand...
Attitudes like that explain why these forums are so useless. I have little use for folks who call people ugly.
 
my guess is that you're a real prince in the mirror, too!
 
Jack A. Zucker said:
as a photographer you should know that

1) Nobody is ugly
2) Never refer to anyone as ugly
Click to expand...
Indeed, you are completely correct. As a portrait photographer, it is incumbent upon me to make everyone look -- and feel -- their best ever. And I strive to do that as I photograph them and engage them in conversation during the shoot. It's what puts food on my table and film in my camera . However, the anonymity of a forum such as this does provide the opportunity to opine with a healthy dose of candor.

The truth is we all have to photograph subjects who are morbidly obese (USA only?), singularly unattractive, or dressed in what appears to be circus clothing. This is one reason I never participate in tradeshow photo shoots that invariably offer up only skinny teeny-bopper models. Wouldn't it be nice to do workshops or model shoots with the kinds of actual average people we get paid to photograph?
 
so basically you're a troll.
DotCom Editor said:
Jack A. Zucker said:
as a photographer you should know that

1) Nobody is ugly
2) Never refer to anyone as ugly
Click to expand...
Indeed, you are completely correct. As a portrait photographer, it is incumbent upon me to make everyone look -- and feel -- their best ever. And I strive to do that as I photograph them and engage them in conversation during the shoot. It's what puts food on my table and film in my camera . However, the anonymity of a forum such as this does provide the opportunity to opine with a healthy dose of candor.

The truth is we all have to photograph subjects who are morbidly obese (USA only?), singularly unattractive, or dressed in what appears to be circus clothing. This is one reason I never participate in tradeshow photo shoots that invariably offer up only skinny teeny-bopper models. Wouldn't it be nice to do workshops or model shoots with the kinds of actual average people we get paid to photograph?
Click to expand...
 
Michael Fryd said:
  • When hanging them from a ceiling grid, there is no good place to attach a safety cable.
  • The radio receiver module has a fragile connector on it. Not a problem when it is inserted into the light, but it needs to be protected when it isn't in the Einstein. Due to the way the receiver sticks out the top of the unit, you pretty much have to remove it when transporting the light. I would prefer a design with a more robust connector, or that would allow the receiver to stay in the unit when it is being transported.
  • It doesn't have an on/off switch; only an on/standby switch. In standby it will automatically turn back on when it hears certain RF Signals. I don't mind the standby mode, I just would prefer that it also had an "off" setting.
  • The user interface is a bit clumsy and is hindered by the quality of the rear LCD. There are very few physical buttons on the back of the Einstein. The user interface has multiple modes (the buttons perform different functions, depending on what mode you are in). The Einstein tells you what mode you are in by highlighting the corresponding section of the rear LCD display. Unfortunately, the highlighting is difficult to see unless you are directly on-axis with the LCD. If you use the Cyber Commander system then you don't need to see the Einstein's LCD, but the Cyber Commander's user interface is very complicated and not user friendly.
  • As others have pointed out, the modifier mount could be more robust.
Click to expand...
Excellent info in this and many other posts here. Thanks!

How complicated / time consuming is it to switch modelling light on/proportional/off using the cyber commander? Is it easy to do this for all units/just one unit at a time?
 
DavidSvensson said:
...

How complicated / time consuming is it to switch modelling light on/proportional/off using the cyber commander? Is it easy to do this for all units/just one unit at a time?
Click to expand...
I don't have my Cyber Commander in front of me, but I do have a PDF of the manual ( http://www.paulcbuff.com/manuals/cc.pdf ).

Here are the instructions based on the manual and my memory (I can't find the page in the manual that explains how to do this). Although this is the overall gist of the procedure, please forgive any mistakes in the details of my explanation.

You repeatedly push the right joystick to the right or left until you get to the setup screen.

Once on the setup screen repeatedly push the right joystick up or down until you get to the Light Settings option. Press the right joystick to select Light Settings.

Repeatedly push the left joystick right or left until you have selected the light you want to change, or ALL for all lights.

Use the right joystick to move to the option for setting modeling lights. (I forget whether this is left/right or up/down). Once there you need to choose between the four options: On, Track, Adjust, or Off. (If someone knows the difference between Adjust and Track, please let me know).

Once you change the modeling light setting, you press the joystick to select it.

You then toggle the right joystick left/right to get back to the main screen so you can fine tune your lights.

Many say they find this process intuitive and easy to use. Personally, I find it a bit cumbersome, and think a device as powerful as the Cyber Commander deserves a better user interface.

At the very least, I think a device with a color bit mapped screen, and an internal micro processor should have a few "Help" screens or a better manual. There are many people who have trouble using the manual to figure out how to use the Cyber Commander. Perhaps all these people are wrong, or perhaps the manual isn't as good as it could be. There's no need to trust me on this. Follow the above link to the manual, and using only the manual, try to determine how to set the modeling lights from OFF to ON.
 
Again, compare that to the skyport remote.

To toggle modeling lamp:
  • select group/all button
  • if you selected group, now select a group with 1-4 position switch
  • Press hold + button for 2 seconds
To adjust power
  • select group/all button
  • if you selected group, now select a group with 1-4 position switch
  • Press hold + or - button
Very simple, never have to look

Buff should come out with a $125 remote similar to this.

Also, I've used the same battery for 4 months and thousands of pops.
 
And I actually don't have a problem with that, if one is using a modifier that big, one should use a couple of c-stands than can scoot close together. Also at that point it's more of a business expense (as you know) than a hobby expense.
--
'Nice pen, bet you write good stories with it.'
 
Nikonparrothead said:
And I actually don't have a problem with that, if one is using a modifier that big, one should use a couple of c-stands than can scoot close together. Also at that point it's more of a business expense (as you know) than a hobby expense.
--
'Nice pen, bet you write good stories with it.'
Click to expand...
I've rarely seen any pro have to resort to that. And getting a pair of stands aligned will be problematic when you have to adjust the light position!

Even with a 6' modifier, the elinchrom modifier holds well. (Note however that the elinchrom modifiers mounts are made of cheap, soft aluminum. If they actually made the modifiers out of nickel or steel I bet you could put a 10' modifier the elinchrom light, no problem)

A better bet for the buff stuff would be to get an adapter plate that has two 5/8 studs on it, one for the light, one for the modifier. I've seen them before but couldn't point to a product listing.
 
Jack A. Zucker said:
CharlieDIY said:
Jack A. Zucker said:
DotCom Editor said:
I'd rather deal with ugly flashes that work beautifully than have to find a way to make ugly people look attractive in portraits.
Click to expand...
as a photographer you should know that

1) Nobody is ugly
2) Never refer to anyone as ugly
Click to expand...
Fortunately, I don't normally photograph people: there are plenty of uglies out there.
Click to expand...
Attitudes like that explain why these forums are so useless. I have little use for folks who call people ugly.
Click to expand...
What affects the usefulness of these forums depends on each person's taste, or lack of. If you've never seen an ugly person, then you live in a different world than I do. Such a judgment has nothing to do with the utility of these forums for someone else, and I can understand why portrait photographers don't want to believe that, but on any kind of rational basis, it is true.

--
Charlie Self
http://www.charlieselfonline.com
 
I think the light quality of the Einsteins is great and repeatable.

The options for great speed and low power are great.

I find the fingers holding modifiers to make me nervous about failing when a heavy modifier is on board. Plus, I find the system awkward when attaching a heavy modifier by myself. Here's a product some may be interested in:
http://www.kaceyenterprises.com/?page_id=1054

I can live with the UI on the Einstein itself. It reminds me of the UI on my car's iDrive. I can figure out how to adjust everything intuitively, even if I can't just hit a single button to activate/toggle everything I want.

The Cyber Commander, OTOH, is a different story. Perhaps I'm just not as clever as I imagine. But even knowing what I wanted to accomplish did not allow me to figure out how to operate it without reference to the manual. It is only my personal opinion, but I think that is a design flaw. In other words, even if you know how to use a monolight, you'll need the manual, IMO. I find it hard to believe it wasn't possible to design it so that an experienced person could pick it up and run with it without reading a thing. Of course, maybe some have been able to do that and I suppose that's possible if you sat down with it for a while. If you were able to instantly navigate through the menus and controls, well, I'm impressed. Running everything manually with an L-758 works of course, but you miss out on the convenience of remote control.

I bought the Einsteins expecting to be able to use the modelling light at the full power I saw advertised. When I received the lights they had another, lower watt, bulb included with a suggestion to use that to avoid overheating. Lame.

I've read Buff himself in various forums and he comes across as his biggest fanboi. Also lame, in my opinion.

I was debating between offerings from Hensel and Elinchrom when I bought the Einsteins. I really liked the Hensel Tria units but wasn't prepared to pay for them. I really liked the Elinchrom Rotalux modifier and an easy way to attach it that Elinchrom lights provide. I think I've seen solutions to get one on your Einsteins. The collapsible Buff modifiers aren't bad, actually. And easy to set up and store.

Regardless, for the price-point and what they do well I suppose I'm still glad I got the Einsteins. The consistent output his great. The colour temp is great. The ability for flashes of very short duration is great. If you can get over any embarrassment you may feel at having the Buff name on your lights I think you'll be very happy.
 
P.S., it also seems like you shouldn't store the lights without removing the Cybersyncs first. And I am waiting for the eventual bending of the exposed connecting pins. Lame.
 
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