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White Lightning X1600 failed me (AGAIN)
For the second time in 2 months one of my WL x1600s has blown-up. Thankfully, I have others (Bees and WL) and after a quick mono light swap, the shoot went on as planned. But, I am not a happy camper. Thankfully the lights are still under Buffs long warranty but, I will still have the hassle of sending back. I have read the the WL X-series is not as reliable as other Buff products and, based on my experience, I would have to agree. Not happy about it at all.... Perhaps it is time to switch to a different brand of lights. Anyone else having trouble with the X-Series? Dec 24 07 09:54 pm Link I had a x 800 for about 3 years. It always worked fine, as did any other white lightning light. Maybe you have a bum one. Send it in for repair and let the company live up to their reputation. Sometimes there are bum pieces, from anyone. Dec 24 07 10:32 pm Link My X1600 failed after not much use. They repaired it right away. Dec 24 07 10:35 pm Link Cheap Strobes do that cause they are cheap. EL Dec 24 07 11:12 pm Link I've got one of the Ultra 1200 series and four of the older style 10,000 WL units and none have ever failed me. Ever. Dec 24 07 11:54 pm Link reliability isn't based on just how long it last, but how quick it's repaired, how good the repair is, the customer service, and the ease of handling those issues. after the fact. Paul C Buff has proven time and time again why they've earned their accolades. There's really nothing I can suggest if you want a bulletproof light that will never break on you. I hear its even worse when you pay $1500 for a pair of hensels when you try to repair them. My suggestion is mark it up as experience as you didn't send in the light after the initial failure. Plus Dude you're in Georgia (Same as me) the UPS hub is here. They get the repair in one day no matter how you ship it, and you get it back faster then anyone else in the world. Dec 25 07 01:20 am Link Trent Chau wrote: What? Is that the new spin from marketing? So if things are repaired quickly it's considered "reliable" even if it breaks all the time. Dec 25 07 01:54 am Link EL PIC wrote: LOL Dec 25 07 02:10 am Link Great you get to try out that special customer service we all hear so much about!!! I think its a huge part of the experience of the alienbees and maybe now its becoming a bigger part of the WL experience as well! Must have been so wanted by WL customers that they decided to give them some too!!!!! Its a shame that all companies don't have such great services offered, I am not sure speedotron or broncolor have a service department in all my years of owning them I never had a reason to call, maybe I am missing out Stephen Eastwood http://www.StephenEastwood.com Dec 25 07 03:04 am Link lll wrote: It's called "effective" reliabilty. Haven't you heard? Dec 25 07 03:10 am Link BlindMike wrote: I thought it was called "reflective" while its away, you get to reflect back on your purchase and they get to reflect back on what they had built Dec 25 07 03:18 am Link My cheap ass Alien Bees keep on flashing, after probably 100,000 pops... never had to go in for repair. Toppled a few onto cement and busted modeling lamps... but still flashing. How do I know I have at least 100,000 flashes out of them? I've sent TWO Canon 20D's to the shop for new shutters (rated for 50,000 actuations), and those cameras are designated for the studio only. search for the 'Exploding NORMANs' thread for some real fun! Dec 25 07 03:23 am Link Trent Chau wrote: I don't read it as the same actual light had blown-up twice, I think he meant it was the second light which had blown up on him, but if it did blow up and was not sent in I am curious what blows up means and how he fixed it Dec 25 07 03:23 am Link What? I have 6 of them and rent them out with the studio often, so far never had an issue, stick to heavy handed photoshop advice and leave the bashing for someone who had at least tried the X1600 regards Ray EL PIC wrote: Dec 25 07 04:38 am Link I have one that i got for location work and it going strong. Dec 25 07 04:50 am Link Digitoxin wrote: I wonder if "cockpit" problems played a part. Just what exactly are you doing to these lights to have such a high failure rate? Dec 25 07 05:08 am Link Trent Chau wrote: StephenEastwood wrote: For the record, I have a couple of WL X-1600s. THIS light blew up once.... Turned it one, triggered it, and it sounded like metal exploded and careened all around the inside of the housing. Sent it in and within a week, had it back. Worked fine. Great customer service, right? Dec 25 07 07:34 am Link Digitoxin wrote: Dan Hood mm/moderator wrote: Oh, that is easy.... In my studio, I put them on a lightstand and turn them on. Is there something wrong with that? Am I asking too much when I use them in a warm, dry area? Would it be better if I did not turn them on? Dec 25 07 07:38 am Link That is what is wrong they want to travel LOL I use the old ultra's still flashing after 10 years. Dec 25 07 07:59 am Link Digitoxin wrote: Dan Hood mm/moderator wrote: Digitoxin wrote: Now, I REALLY feel like an idiot. After the "pop" I immediately thought the unit dead. I tried it on a different electric circuit.... still dead. I concluded the light was dead and simply put a new light on the stand and got on with the shoot. Dec 25 07 08:02 am Link IBX Pete wrote: The Ultra's were the best lights Paul Buff has ever produced ... these lights never fail, work long and hard, I much prefer them over the X series. Dec 25 07 08:32 am Link Mal at Hidden Creek wrote: Glad to hear it. I couldn't afford the Ultra's when they were new, but I picked this one up on Ebay and it's worked just fine. Dec 25 07 08:53 am Link EL PIC wrote: You know there is always one that thinks money=better quality. I am looking at the quotes in here and the "Majority" of them about Paul C Buff and his products are positive. There is a photographer I know that uses more expensive lights and every time he shoots he's telling me how he had to send this thing back and that thing back. I use Alien Bee's and love the product and the outcome...their customer service is the absolute best! You just got one bad unit - it happens-but not often with WL or AB products. Dec 25 07 09:02 am Link It's like every other product. Some fail on you. Just send it in for repair. Thank goodness you did have back ups and it appears as if the same company of lights worked for you in that moment of crisis. It's probable that affordability to get those multiple lights for back ups saved the day. I have heard more horror stories on Hensels, than I have anything else, but I don't bash them. It's a matter of things do fail on you. J T Dec 25 07 09:27 am Link jtsmith wrote: Very true. Part of the appeal of WL/AB is their affordability/feature set. And, because they are a little less expensive, you can afford to have a few backups. Dec 25 07 09:55 am Link I used W/L for 6 years no prolem, this year one flash burned during photo shoot (Ultra zap 800), it's fix ( two weeks in service) and works good, but I would like to sell my set of ultra zaps (2x 1600 & 1x 800) and buy something ealse Dec 25 07 10:03 am Link lll wrote: Actually yes it is. Most high praise companies (Cars, Lights..blah blah blah) show that it's the whole company that's a pleasure to deal with rather than one aspect. When you only test 1 unit out of a batch of 100 for defects accross the whole line, you're going to miss something. Being able to quickly offer a solution to your client is one aspect of a business that is very important to their reliability. Dec 25 07 10:40 am Link StephenEastwood wrote: You definitely missing out the service department. Dec 25 07 10:47 am Link Even a Rolls Royce will break down from time to time. I would not be quick to judge the flash based on this experience. The notion that if you "buy a cheap flash" this is what happens is simply RETARTED! I have a Ultra 1800 and a few Alien Bees and have had zero issues. Where as I have a JTL Versalight 300 and will not buy anouther JTL flash. RETARTED people make RETARTED statments from time to time in order to get attention, so do not think that because you did not spend an unnecessary high amount of money that you did not get a quality product. Dec 25 07 10:49 am Link BlindMike wrote: Now THAT was funny! Dec 25 07 10:50 am Link StephenEastwood wrote: I have the vagabond II (PSI900GF) version now. If you have the older version (PSI900), you can call them up and ask an exchange to get a newer inverter. They will exchange it for you for free. Dec 25 07 10:53 am Link ..... Dec 25 07 11:04 am Link Digitoxin wrote: Classic! As the Dude said in The Big Lebowski - "New shit has come to light." Dec 25 07 11:06 am Link BlindMike wrote: Sounds like you change the definition to get the "smoke and mirrors" to work. Dec 25 07 11:10 am Link EL PIC wrote: All lights blow. I have heard stories about high end one's such as Elinchroms as well. Buff stands behind the product, I have had some minor issues with my White Lighting, which was handled promptly-my Calumets were a different story... Dec 25 07 11:14 am Link It's pretty unusual to hear of someone getting two problem units from Buff, but it could happen. If the breaker tripped once that might be a fluke, but if it trips again you should send the unit for repair -- could be a faulty breaker, or could be some kind of intermittent circuit problem. In general, seems like ABs and WLs are about as reliable as the more expensive brands, maybe a little better. If we see more complaints online that is probably because they have such a huge market share with young and beginner photographers -- the people most likely to be on these forums. For professionals, Buff stuff has two big advantages over most other brands: Quick, affordable repairs (plus a liberal warranty policy) and it is cheap enough that almost any photographer can afford backups. It may not the be fanciest or most prestigious, but it can be the best business decision. Dec 25 07 11:28 am Link Silver Mirage wrote: I don't see why most professionals just don't have 2 wl800's or 1600's in a spare roll case ready to go. You don't have to use it, but it's so versatile its awesome. I know some people are very peculiar about their brands, but really sometimes light is light (mostly when you need light and you don't have it). White lightnings and Ab's are a good comprimise between passable quality and cost. Dec 25 07 11:35 am Link The tech said they had a run of bad boards made for them on the 1600's. The board was spaced too close to the edge. We got 5 of these and they replaced all 5 even though only one gave us any trouble. Could happen to anyone. Dec 25 07 12:04 pm Link I had several Ultra units which never broke. Not in 15 years of constant use. I have four X units and they have all gone back for repair at one time or another. One unit has gone back three times. Now my main lights are Profoto and I use the W/L's as auxiliary lights if I need them. I was always a huge fan of White Lightning units. Not so much anymore. Dec 25 07 12:51 pm Link Trent Chau wrote: That's part of why I kept one of the bees when I upgraded to WL. If anything happens to a WL unit I can just swap to it and keep rolling. I have spares of everything else, I don't know why the lights would be any different. Dec 25 07 05:15 pm Link |