cwwmbm wrote:

That's not true.

Really!

2 more self destructed. These from another friend.

They work great if you open them once and never close again.
Faulty wire holding them together. Manufacture defect, on various 64" PLM's with in the past year. And there are various complaints. Seems to be a problem even with light use. A factor of how many times you open and close them. 12 times seems to be the limit for some. Will yours fall apart? Only time will tell. The fact that 2 people (I am testing mine) have had this same issue, and with the same amount of use, does not seem like a coincidence.

-JAY- wrote:

This is not a flashpoint vs westcott thread, and never has been. Nor is it a thread to convince me to buy it, I pretty much decided in the OP.

This thread is about reflective qualities of translucent umbrellas, and whether or not the parabolic shape was negated by the translucent quality of the fabric. It was derailed by a "just get a westcott" post.

From what I have read, translucent also acts as reflective, although with 1-2 light lose over a silver reflective. Pretty obvious, if translucent then it means light goes out the back. Para design will only help focus the light that is reflected.

So your results will be of interest to some of us.

Eralar wrote:
I don't know what more experienced shooters think of translucent Umbrellas, but I find it only shoots light everywhere, so with a very small studio space (read my appartment sitting room), I find I have absolutely no control of light when using it.

I'd rather get another softbox and get rid of it.

True, but when shooting outdoors, shoot throughs allow you to get your light closer to your subject, while keeping it out of frame (reflective needs the extra light to travel from the flash into the umbrella, then back out towards the subject.) Plus it's much more portable and transportable, I don't want to carry and set up four softboxes on a 40-60 minute hike up a mountain in the middle of the desert.

From another thread about a flash bracket - I used the umbrella on this shoot:

Herman Surkis wrote:

Really!

2 more self destructed. These from another friend.

They work great if you open them once and never close again.
Faulty wire holding them together. Manufacture defect, on various 64" PLM's with in the past year. And there are various complaints. Seems to be a problem even with light use. A factor of how many times you open and close them. 12 times seems to be the limit for some. Will yours fall apart? Only time will tell. The fact that 2 people (I am testing mine) have had this same issue, and with the same amount of use, does not seem like a coincidence.

I have two (have had them for over 6 months), use them on a weekly basis. I don't own a studio so every time I open it before the shoot and close after. Sometimes I would open/close it few times during the day if I move to another location. Either one of them have yet to show signs of being faulty. You should probably stop making every PLM related thread about your troubles. If you wanted to scam customs and not pay any fees don't come running and claiming that PCB is somehow at fault, it just seems petty and doesn't earn you any sympathy.

-JAY- wrote:

True, but when shooting outdoors, shoot throughs allow you to get your light closer to your subject, while keeping it out of frame (reflective needs the extra light to travel from the flash into the umbrella, then back out towards the subject.) Plus it's much more portable and transportable, I don't want to carry and set up four softboxes on a 40-60 minute hike up a mountain in the middle of the desert.

From another thread about a flash bracket - I used the umbrella on this shoot:

The lighting here is awesome, my favourite kind - underexpose the ambient a bit
Was the sun shining or was it covered by clouds?

cwwmbm wrote:

The lighting here is awesome, my favourite kind - underexpose the ambient a bit
Was the sun shining or was it covered by clouds?

Partial overcast / sunny - just a slight haze at times, other times full sun.

cwwmbm wrote:

I have two (have had them for over 6 months), use them on a weekly basis. I don't own a studio so every time I open it before the shoot and close after. Sometimes I would open/close it few times during the day if I move to another location. Either one of them have yet to show signs of being faulty. You should probably stop making every PLM related thread about your troubles. If you wanted to scam customs and not pay any fees don't come running and claiming that PCB is somehow at fault, it just seems petty and doesn't earn you any sympathy.

Scam customs?
The customs and duties and taxes and shipping costs have already been paid on a product that broke.

Cool according to your philosophy, if your camera breaks down, and cannot be repaired and is replaced by the manufacturer, then you should pay shipping costs and PST and GST again. Otherwise you are scamming the government and defrauding the poor shipping company.

And they are not my troubles yet.

And since you dislike people talking about problems with a product, perhaps you should ignore all previous comments on different forums and see if you can find the first version of the Einsteins to buy. I am sure that you could get a get price. Personally I am very happy that a lot of people complained, and I chose to wait till v.2.

You have 2 that have not fallen apart. Whoopy shite. I know 4 that have fallen apart. My 4 trump your 2.
And the boards as well as PCB blog are all over this. It is far from rare.
No not every 64" PLM is going to fall apart. But enough do, so that people should know it happens and at least have a choice about buying.

And I have been a LOUD PCB supporter when their stuff was being slammed by the PCB haters (other threads). However, I will be equally as LOUD when I think PCB is at fault in something.

And I will continue to interject when people recommend a certain product, if I have any knowledge good/bad about that product.

-JAY- wrote:

Partial overcast / sunny - just a slight haze at times, other times full sun.

But, are Paras any different then regular when used shoot through.
And can you confirm, that the Para shoot through are more directional when used as a reflective umbrella. If not, then there is no advantage to using a Para as opposed to a regular umbrella.

-JAY- wrote:

True, but when shooting outdoors, shoot throughs allow you to get your light closer to your subject, while keeping it out of frame (reflective needs the extra light to travel from the flash into the umbrella, then back out towards the subject.) Plus it's much more portable and transportable, I don't want to carry and set up four softboxes on a 40-60 minute hike up a mountain in the middle of the desert.

From another thread about a flash bracket - I used the umbrella on this shoot:

Very nice.
Adds just the right amount of punch, without going overboard.

-JAY- wrote:

True, but when shooting outdoors, shoot throughs allow you to get your light closer to your subject, while keeping it out of frame (reflective needs the extra light to travel from the flash into the umbrella, then back out towards the subject.) Plus it's much more portable and transportable, I don't want to carry and set up four softboxes on a 40-60 minute hike up a mountain in the middle of the desert.

From another thread about a flash bracket - I used the umbrella on this shoot:

Wow, thanks. Never thought of that... obviously I don't have as much experience shooting outdoors than in a tiny studio environment.

I'll have to try it, so will definitely keep mine now lol