Einstein 640 & PLM System Review From Paul C. Buff

The Einstein E640 strobe from Paul C. Buff is compact, light-weight excess weight device able of shouldering studio function yet portable enough to consider on area. The unit weighs in at 4 lbs and since it is self contained, it does not need a battery pack which cuts down on gear bulk.

I shot all around with the Einstein 640 and the 86 inch PLM (parabolic gentle) umbrella in studio to take a look at the items and see how they stacked up in my work stream.

The self full w1215 2500 watts 120 volt heater contained strobe unit held up wonderful during the check, it responding nicely to my design of shooting and did what I required it to with the 3 various lighting setups utilized in studio.

Some of the capabilities that stood out from the get-go were the condensed dimension, the Lcd show and the straightforward controls on the back of the device. Following firing it up and messing about with the controls for a bit I located it effortless to choose up and find out how to operate the device and make it do what I essential it to. The device is straightforward to handle, suits in the palm of your hand and has small established up appropriate out of the box.

The Lcd is a excellent function to see all of the configurations and understand the place the ranges are set. Adjustments are manufactured with the purpose and modify buttons on the back manage panel, with all parameters shown on the again-lit, Liquid crystal display screen (320 x 240 pixels). The monitor shows the output stage of the flash, the shade temperature, the output degree of the modeling lamp (the f-stop and watts), the modeling lamp placing, the recycle prepared status and setting, the slave eye standing, the motion or color mode variety and the CyberSync channel and frequency variety (I was not employing the CyberSync system for this review).

The Einstein unit recycles to full electricity in one.7 seconds. When the recycle is full, the prepared point out is indicated by both a auditory and visually que. Equally configurations are adjustable by way of the device to customise your shooing design. The Einstein consists of a flash sensitive built-in slave sync for wireless firing and comes with a common one/8″ to PC sync cord for immediate camera connection. The device can also be fired with 3rd celebration triggers.

Einstein spec highlights:

9 f-cease power variability (2.5 Ws to 640 Ws) Lcd digital controls Adjustable in 1/10 f-stops Motion-halting up to one/thirteen,000 next Brilliant, voltage-controlled 250 Watt modeling lamp Frosted dome go over minimizes UV emission UV Coated 12mm single-ring flashtube Audible and visual recycle indicator warn choices “Easy Set” button for quick return to default configurations Comprehensive distant management capability with CyberSync 4 pounds, 5 ounces (without having the electrical power twine) 7″ top x five.4″ width x seven.8″ duration (with lamp, tube, dome and shipping and delivery cover connected)

 

PLM System 

To be blunt, I beloved taking pictures with this massive umbrella. I use a good deal of elegance dish mild in my workflow so I have a solid knowing of the sort of parabolic mild attractiveness dishes produce. The PLM umbrella created a broader spread of light-weight that I enjoyed working with and could manage with ease. The PLM measures out at 86 inches throughout the arch from tip to suggestion, 72 inches throughout the open up face wonderful for generating a massive volume of gentle from a solitary supply. The particular design I tested with was the Delicate Silver lining. The device is created in 3 versions, White PLM, Comfortable Silver PLM and Excessive Silver PLM. The parabolic light produces directional lighting that easily can include condition to the topic or can be utilized as a big delicate light-weight resource when positioned closer to the matter. For the duration of most of the check shooting in studio I utilised the open confronted soft silver facet and later on extra the difusion panel that wraps all around the device. Even with the huge diameter of the umbrella, installing the diffuser is simple to accomplish without an extra established of fingers on set. Because of the comfortable silver lining, the back of the umbrella eliminates spill from the back again, reflecting all of the mild by means of the panel on to the subject.

I determined to set up and gentle 3 diverse eventualities to get a much better notion and realize of what the Einstein 640 and PLM could do. I needed to seem at the distinct ways the gentle and umbreala could be utilized as a one particular light-weight established up to generate three distinct appears.

The very first search was with the Einstein and Soft Silver PLM umbrella without having the diffusion. The light was placed digital camera correct (about eight ft from matter) and employed as a main light. This created a substantial contrast light that gave form to the subject matter. This set up would help create a lot more of a directional/spectacular light-weight to your matter. The second lights established up was with the very same as the 1st in terms of equipment, the Einstein was set up with no diffusion but the light-weight was nearer (three-4 toes from subject matter.) The light-weight was placed behind camera which permitted me to stand in front of the umbrella without reducing down the volume of gentle, providing a tremendous comfortable, thoroughly clean and airy search. With the dimension of the umbreala I was able to photograph the expertise from head to toe giving a wonderful even gentle prime to bottom. Third set up I additional the diffusion panel to the Einstein and utilised it as a fill gentle, mixing with the all-natural mild from the studio. This gave me a vast mild resource that permitted the expertise to rotate and move close to without a whole lot of repositioning the light.

 

Beneath are the a few different techniques to the light, principal to the side, primary more than camera and as a fill mild.

Total, this is a great device in a compact design that can work in studio or on-spot relying on your wants. The Einstein E640 retails for $499.95 and the PLM Umbrella utilized in this check retails for $seventy nine.ninety five by way of Paul C. Buff. When in contrast to other strobes sets that can easily expense above $2,five hundred for two lights, the Einstein may possibly be a wonderful decide for the photographer receiving into studio lights or on-location lighting without the huge budgets. For the on-spot photographer who is looking to get away from AA battery driven flashes, the Einstein paired with the The Vagabond Mini may be a massive phase up in the two volume of mild and power consistency alongside with the rechargeable pack.

There are a slough of light modifiers available that perform with the Alien Bee’s, White Lightnings and the Einstein models. You can read up on all of the alternatives at paulcbuff.com.