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The New Einstein Monolight Studio Strobe (Part 1)
Okay, I want to start today by discussing some of the new technical features included in the Einstein monolight from Paul C. Buff Companies (Alien Bees, White Lightning, Zeus). First, the Einstein is an all digital light, meaning all of your controls are now digitally driven. No more sliders to adjust the brightness of either the modeling light or the strobe itself. This means you have a much more accurate display of exactly what power levels the Einstein is putting out. The (250w!) modeling lamp can automatically track the output of the strobe (half power on the strobe would also give you half power from the modeling light, as an example). This allows a "what you see is what you get" when you are setting up your lights. This is not a big deal to me, I want as much power from the modeling light as I can get as a focusing aid, but there are some applications (primarily product photography) where this is an important feature. The modeling lamp can also be independently adjusted, and typically I just set it to full power. For those who are used to the Alien Bees, having a 250w (instead of a 100w) modeling light is wonderful! (I should also mention at this point that the Einstein's have a powerful fan built in, heat being the enemy of electrical circuits). The next feature which is of little interest to my American readers, but a big deal to those in Europe or the Far East (or people like myself who travel outside the US), the Einstein will work on either 110v/60hz or 220v/50hz (or any combination there of). And it's plug and play, you don't have to find a switch on the unit, just plug the light in and the Einstein does the rest. Again, this may not seem like a big deal to someone in Omaha, but as I will discuss later, this feature could dramatically effect all of us who want to order an Einstein. The Einstein in it's current configuration is a 640ws monolight strobe at full power. In many respects which I have discussed endlessly in the past, this is a meaningless number. What you really want to know is at 100 ISO, what f stop am I getting at full power say 20 feet away with a standard reflector? I will have that data for you after I finish my studio tests in the next few days, but I have seen pictures which indicate this strobe puts out a lot (lot, lot) of light. Remember I said the Einstein is an all digital strobe? This is one of the areas where the new electrical circuitry comes into play. In the past with most mono lights, decreasing the power output meant some interesting things would happen. One, you could get a significant shift in color temperature, particularly as you went to 1/4 power or less. Also your flash duration tended to go up (not down!), again you might start to pick up motion blur at the lower power settings. The standard answer to these problems was to have different powered monolights, and you'd switch between them as your lighting solution changed. For most this was impractical (I mean other than my friend Sam Tang, who among us has 30 monolights in their studio? Certainly not me!), so you might buy an Alien Bees AB800 as a mid range light, and if you found you needed more power on a regular basis you might eventually purchase an AB1600 (rated at 640ws). But this was not the best solution. Why not buy the most powerful light available, and simply power it down and still have consistent color and a short flash duration? Today, you can, and it's name is Einstein. (For those of a technical bend, the circuitry that allows all of this in the Einstein is something called IGTB, this circuitry has been in use with speedlights for a number of years but only recently been available for more powerful circuits like those employed in the Einstein. I don't know what IGTB is, I don't understand it, but I know what it does!) I'm going to digress here for a moment to discuss flash power and it's practical application in the studio. When I started in this business (admittedly a long time ago), if you shot with a 35mm SLR for magazine reproduction you were for the most part limited to using Kodachrome 25 (that's ISO 25!) That was the only film with a small enough grain and a richness of color that the magazines would accept. On some rare occasions if you were shooting outside and you had lighting issues, you might get away with Kodachrome 64. (Now you know why everyone used a tripod! The film was slow and lenses, particularly long lenses, were no where near as fast as they are today.) In those days if I needed f8/f11 in the studio shooting ISO 25 film, I might need a main light with 1200 to 2400ws, particularly if the light had a modifier like a softbox mounted on it. Today your digital SLR probably has a base ISO of 100 or 200, and let's face it, you can't really see any grain (noise) even at ISO 400 with any new DSLR camera. Doing a little math quickly shows us that to obtain the same results at ISO 200 compared to ISO 25, I need three fewer stops from my light source. That means that if I previously needed 2400ws at ISO 25, I now only need 300ws to give me the same result shooting at ISO 200. I own and have used Speedotron 2400 packs for twenty six years, but that kind of power is rarely necessary today. Okay, finishing up I want to discuss some other new physical features of the Einstein, particularly for those familiar with Alien Bees. One thing you notice as you unpack the light is that there is a dome which covers both the flash tube and the modeling lamp. This dome is UV coated and significantly reduces UV light from being transmitted from the strobe. While at first glance this may seem to offer some protection for the flash tube, the dome itself is fragile and wouldn't offer much protection, but it is there. Secondly the mounting brackets for the light modifiers (such as the new standard 8.5" reflector or the speed rings used to mount softboxes) are much improved over the lighter brackets used in the Alien Bees lights. If you own a newer White Lightning or Zeus, the mounting brackets are the same as they are with those strobes. I have mounted big softboxes on my AB800, including the large foldable Octabox (47") and never had any problems with the mounting brackets, but I have a much better feeling about the new brackets! That's enough for today, if these were the only features which are a step up from the Alien Bees series, the new Einstein would certainly justify it's current price of $499.95. In the next installment of this report I will cover the actual studio applications that take this light to the next level. Finally, I want to say something about that 110v/220v power thing and why it might be important to you. In the past, if our members in Europe, Australia, or the Far East wanted to buy an Alien Bees strobe, they would have to special order the light because it had to work on 220v. Today with the Einstein's, that is no longer an issue. This alone significantly opens a huge new market for Paul C. Buff Companies. I know they are in the process of building a new facility to manufacture the Einstein's, but keeping up with demand is undoubtedly going to be something to think about in the short run. And now the disclaimer. I am a sponsored photographer for Paul C. Buff Companies. I am not paid directly, but Mr. Buff has arranged to allow me to use and test some of the new products as they are released. I did buy all of my original Alien Bees lights, including my original AB800 and the original ABR800 ringlight and wrote about them frequently before I was sponsored (most notably "A Ring-ing Endorsement" about the ABR800 ringlight which I posted here in 2006). I make my living and pay all of my bills shooting magazine and advertising work. I enjoy what I do, and I love writing. Your friendly neighborhood Fish -- Sponsored Photographer for Paul C. Buff Companies (Alien Bees, White Lightning, Zeus and Einstein) For additional information about the Einstein lighting system from Paul C. Buff Companies, please read The New Einstein Monolight Studio Strobe (Part II), and The New Einstein Monolight Studio Strobe (Part III). -- John Fisher 900 West Avenue, Suite 633 Miami Beach, Florida 33139 305 534-9322 http://www.johnfisher.com Apr 11 10 12:49 pm Link John - Not to threadjack in anyway, but really quickly I wanted to say thanks for taking the time to listen and for including the disclaimer. Shows me you're a stand-up guy. Peace. -=>D Apr 11 10 01:03 pm Link Is this unit you are testing the final final or a unit for QC testing purposes? Apr 11 10 01:11 pm Link . Watt-seconds are *only* an indication of the storage capacity of strobe capacitors. Watt-seconds do *not* account for the inefficiencies of electronics, cables, flash tubes, reflector/modifier, etc. Only a Guide Number (GN) for each combination of strobe, cable (if from a power pack), and reflector/modifier is useful, as you mentioned, above. I would also like to know the color temperature meter readings for 10% increment power settings (at both t.5 and t.1 as well as the flash duration for each power setting) and the standard deviation of those data points. The camera shutter speeds for t.5 and t.1, at the various power settings, should also be included as they affect the strobe's color temperature in a camera exposure. A description of the testing setup(s) would allow one to repeat the testing that you do. Such repeatable data will be a good start in allowing one to compare the new strobe with other strobes and various graphs could be constructed for easier evaluations. I am hopeful that your testing will produce such repeatable data. AB might have to test and publish some of the requested data. . Apr 11 10 01:32 pm Link All I care about is F stop full power at ## feet and ### ISO... Then color temperature and t1 and t5 at full and lowest power settings... Patiently waiting for those #'s... I have 2 AB1600's but they are worthless for anything but a big area or outdoors, these could very well replace them for me... Apr 11 10 01:45 pm Link A M Johnson wrote: Good question. From what I understand I have an actual production unit (a very early production unit, serial number 5 if I read it correctly!). It is my understanding that (as earlier reported by others on this forum) production will ramp up slowly to allow earlier adapters to put the Einstein through it's paces and report back any significant issues. This was also true of the ABR800 Ringlight, I purchased serial number 8 and it quickly became apparent that the mounting bracket on the light needed to be changed. It was, and all early purchasers were sent the better mount as it became available. Apr 11 10 02:06 pm Link I just ordered mine. The salesperson told me they should ship out sometime next week. Apr 11 10 02:12 pm Link The Einstein in depth at Fred Miranda. Paul Buff answers a lot of questions. http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/876748 http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/886861 Apr 11 10 02:28 pm Link Will King Photography wrote: Were u already on the pre order list ??? I thought it would be months before there were done filling all the pre orders. Apr 11 10 03:02 pm Link Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote: Yes. I was pre-order #27. Apr 11 10 04:14 pm Link RSM-images wrote: Apr 11 10 04:50 pm Link John Fisher wrote: I think it's a mistake for them to lump all those lights together like that. Profoto and Broncolor in the same group as Bowens and Norman? Gives a skewed impression of the numbers. But that's marketing. Apr 11 10 05:27 pm Link DMHolman wrote: Apr 11 10 06:17 pm Link DMHolman wrote: http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1888 Apr 11 10 06:26 pm Link exartica wrote: Hehehehe, you need to read your own quote. It says precisely what I said, with most monolights it is only at full power that you get the minimum flash duration. You do get a wide range of power control, but only get the short flash duration at maximum power. Apr 11 10 06:39 pm Link exartica wrote: That may be where the discrepency comes from for me. I forgot they are dealing solely with monolights. I don't have info on any of the monolights in question regarding their control circuits. Apr 11 10 06:46 pm Link John Fisher wrote: Of course it does. At what point did I say I was contradicting you? I was simply providing supporting information from an alternative source. Who put the stick up your ass? Apr 11 10 06:55 pm Link exartica wrote: See there now .. no good deed goes unpunished. Apr 11 10 07:08 pm Link exartica wrote: Ah, I seem to be a bit touchy tonight. Having this stick up my ass will do that. Sorry Boss. Apr 11 10 07:29 pm Link Personally, I like switches and sliders. Apr 11 10 10:07 pm Link These lights are looking better and better... there's the color consistency, short duration, 9 stops of adjustability, and I just read that - at low power - they kept up with an 8 FPS burst from a D300. A very cool product IMO, especially for the money. Apr 11 10 10:44 pm Link Get a chance to try these on a shoot yet? And are you saying you don't have much use for your Zeus packs any more? I find it hard to believe the Einstein would be powerful enough in noon sunlight w/ a modifier, which was why I was hoping he'd have a 1000WS version of it... Apr 12 10 09:17 am Link The Einsteins are as powerful as the B1600s, which I own, so they should be able to handle noon sunlight very well, especially with the PLM or High-Output Beauty Dish. Testing of the PLM's output: http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/d … 952919015/ Apr 12 10 09:46 am Link Moderator Warning!
exartica wrote: Someone needs a refresher of the Forum Rules. Apr 12 10 11:25 am Link As for the technology, I have a 25 year old on camera flash which employs the same. Perhaps the most significant benefit of this monolight is the shield protecting the flash tube. Using equipment (such as the old alien bees) which has the potential to explosively project shards of quartz into the face of a woman whose career depends on her appearance is a risky proposition. But in any case, I find your review problematic in that it doesn't identify a single area in which the device needs improvement. To that extent, it constitutes a whitewash. I would, however, thank you for your extended description. From what you have said, they sound good. Apr 12 10 11:40 am Link Michael Yamin wrote: Yep...no problems w/ a good reflector...I was thinking more an octabox... Apr 12 10 11:44 am Link Hi Jen, Actually Exartica's original post was in support of the information I was providing about t.1 (and t.5) times normally increasing as you go to lower power levels with monolights (the Einstein actually has shorter t.1 and t.5 times as power levels go down). I misunderstood what he was trying to say, and gave him an undeserved poke in the eye. His response may have been unkind, but certainly understandable given my reply to his post (and I probably would have said the same thing he did under similar circumstances). BUT, thanks for watching my back. That is always appreciated! Fish -- John Fisher 900 West Avenue, Suite 633 Miami Beach, Florida 33139 305 534-9322 http://www.johnfisher.com Apr 12 10 11:47 am Link SKITA Studios wrote: I said "especially", as in, it'll do the job with anything but the largest diffused modifiers. Apr 12 10 02:41 pm Link These lights look pretty impressive. If they perform as promoted, these may just be "the" studio lights to own. Time will tell, but I dont see ANY lights that will out do these. Now if I can just find the funds to buy em! Apr 12 10 02:47 pm Link me, too. i have 5 JTLs one of which is digital and i find that one really annoying (very hard to operate blind with one hand whereas i can easily reach across with one hand and twist a knob). now if i were doing something where it had to be repeatable across sessions i guess it would be helpful to be able to dial in the precise power setting. Cspine wrote: Apr 12 10 02:48 pm Link RSM-images wrote: Is this the equivalent of rating radio transmitters based on input wattage? Apr 12 10 03:06 pm Link DBVE Imaging wrote: Why do you say that? What makes these lights better than, say, a standard profoto setup? Apr 12 10 03:13 pm Link i am waiting for Tesla to come out with his own light kit... wireless battery packs and remote triggers that work from up to 12 miles..also invisible soft boxes.. you can shoot thru them and they emit light.... Apr 12 10 03:20 pm Link rp_photo wrote: That's one of my pet peeves .. talking about the power of a strobe based on the watt-seconds. As I've said before, talking about the output of a strobe in joules makes just about as much sense as talking about the power of a car based on its gas tank capacity. Apr 13 10 12:43 am Link DMHolman wrote: Read and learn: Apr 13 10 09:53 am Link Bill Sylvester wrote: Read ... didn't learn anything. I probably would have, if they had defined what constitutes "the average box and cable system" (or in PCB's case average monolight). Apr 13 10 03:07 pm Link DMHolman wrote: Apparently you have a bug up your a** about PCB products. It wasn't marketing hype or smoke and mirrors. They never hid their actual watt second numbers, but simply showed that with a similar modifier it would product more usable light than the same watt second head and pack system or as an equivilent amount as a higher rated one. Since most of us relate to "what f:stop will this give me", this is a very clear way to compare units. DMHolman wrote: You are either being intentionally obtuse or ignorant of the history. When this term came about there weren't very many monoblocks around. While it is still handy to use when comparing to head and pack systems, the rest of the data is better explained by the f:stop at 10 feet with standard reflector and softbox charts. Photogenic didn't come out with their monoblock until after PCB. DMHolman wrote: And what would that be? Sep 23 10 08:04 am Link FYI, this discussion is 5 months old. Sep 23 10 08:16 am Link Really? From April? Really? Ok. Innovative Imagery wrote: No, as was clearly stated I have an issue with using misinformation and obfuscation to sell things to people. No, they don't hide their actual watt-second numbers, but they use an antiquated unit of measure to give the illusion that AlienBee products output more light than their contemporaries. Innovative Imagery wrote: So that I'm clear, your point is they are using an arbitrary and antiquated unit of measure with no relevance to contemporary lighting systems, but if you ignore that it's helpful? Innovative Imagery wrote: Read your own message and you can hopefully figure that out for yourself. Sep 23 10 02:25 pm Link DMHolman wrote: The real problem is that Watt-Seconds is not a measure of light output. it is a measure of input power. Sep 23 10 04:35 pm Link |