THE NEW PAUL C. BUFF EINSTEIN

EINSTEIN 640 – SPECIFICATIONS

POWERING:
• Auto switches to operate from 95VAC to 265VAC, 50 or 60Hz with no user attention or adjustment required.

RECYCLE TIME:
• 1.7 seconds to full 640WS at 120VAC, 60Hz or at 240VAC, 50Hz.
• Cycle time proportionally decreases as power setting is reduced.

CONTROL CIRCUIT POWER:
• Can tolerate power line voltages as low as 35VAC from Vagabond or similar pure sine inverters without crashing.
• Many competitive digital flash units crash if input voltage falls below about 80 to 90VAC.

INITIAL SURGE AC CURRENT AT 120VAC:
• In spite of the fast 1.7 second recycle time at 640 true WS, the initial recycle surge current is 16A and tapers down to 5A during the recycle period.
• This is slightly lower than previous Buff monoflash units and most competitive lights of similar power.
• When operated at 240VAC, 50Hz the surge and operating currents are approximately half the 120VAC values.

MODELING LAMP:
• Uses a standard, relatively inexpensive 120V, 250W bayonet-style quartz modeling lamp.
• Precisely voltage-controlled to maintain consistent luminosity and to track flash power within plus or minus 1/10 f-stop at any AC input voltage and any power setting within its specification.
• No user intervention or lamp changing is required to operate at different AC line voltages.
• The design of the modeling lamp regulator is proprietary to Paul C. Buff and yields dramatically less interference transmitted back to the power line in comparison to the unregulated and inaccurate household-style “phase control” dimmers used in most flash units.

FROSTED PYREX DOME:
• Protects the lamps from damage and serves to reduce UV emission from the flash tube.
• Equalizes the effective size and shape of the modeling lamp and flash tube.
• Modeling lamp filament is in exactly the same focal point as the UV-coated flash tube.
• Results in an extremely close relationship between flash and modeling light.
• Vastly diminishes the effect of any design or manufacturing anomalies in reflectors.
• The dome and lamps are removable and user-replaceable.
• An optional color lowering dome is available that reduces color temperature by 400°, click here to purchase.
  (Please Note: Cyber Commander cannot detect the presence of a coated dome and will display 5600°K in Color Mode with either dome)

REFLECTOR:
• The Einstein does not include a reflector. We recommend a 8.5" High Output Reflector for general purpose use.

POWER CONTROL RANGE:
• Uses multiple IGBT devices to allow a 9 f-stop (2.5WS to 640WS) flash power range.
• Adjustable in precise 1/10f steps from the rear panel or via Cyber Commander when optional CSXCV transceiver is plugged in.
• Voltage regulation consistency is typically accurate to better than 1/50f at 640WS and 1/10f at 2.5WS. Setting accuracy is typically within plus or minus 1/10f over the entire operating range.

COLORS AND MODELS:
• Initially, EINSTEIN will be offered in only one model (640WS) and only in black. This is because of the exceedingly low 2.5WS minimum power and the relatively small cost advantage gained by offering a lower-powered version. Another factor is that, unlike AlienBees, Zeus or White Lightning and most competitive models, shorter flash durations are obtained from a 640WS EINSTEIN than could be obtained from a lower-powered EINSTEIN.

FLASH DURATION AND COLOR TEMPERATURE:
• Proprietary IGBT allows flash duration to dramatically decrease as power settings are lowered. This is opposite to conventional studio flash designs where the duration lengthens and the color temperature falls when power is reduced. Click here to learn more about flash duration and IGBT.
• Two distinct operation modes are available from the rear panel:
• CONSTANT COLOR mode - the emitted color temperature is held constant at 5600K plus or minus 50K at any power setting or input voltage. At Full Power, the t.5 flash duration is 1/1600 second and the t.1 time is 1/540 second. As power is reduced to ½ power the color remains constant, while the flash duration decreases to approximately 1/1700 second t.1 (note that with IGBT control, the t.5 spec is no longer meaningful, so only the t.1 flash duration appears on the rear LCD display). As power is further decreased, the color temperature remains constant and the t.1 flash duration falls ultimately to 1/9,000 second at the lowest power settings.
• ACTION mode - the color temperature rises as power is reduced but the t.1 flash duration is minimized even further for maximum action stopping capability where absolute color consistency is secondary to motion freezing. At ½ power in ACTION MODE the t.1 flash duration is approximately 1/2000 second and the color temperature is approximately 5750K. Absolute values of flash duration and color temperature are indicated on the rear LCD display and are yet to be fully specified.

READY INDICATOR AND FIRING FREQUENCY:
• An advantage of the IGBT flash control is that, at reduced power settings, the flash capacitors are not completely drained when the unit is fired. Therefore it is possible to perform a rapid sequence of shots. The READY state indication is selectable from the rear panel; READY state can be indicated by the audible beeper, by the modeling lamp dimming when fired and returning on when recycled, by both, or by none. The rear panel READY indicator always turns green when the unit is fully ready to fire.
• Can be fired before the READY state is reached. Depending on the power setting and number of frames per second being shot, this can produce successively increasing reductions of exposure value and color temperature in a rapid series of shots at relatively high power. In typical fast action sports shooting, setting the power to around 1/10 power (64WS) will allow frame rates or bursts on the order of five to ten frames per second with excellent frame to frame consistency and extremely sharp action freezing.

REAR PANEL CONTROLS AND DISPLAY:
• In normal operation, the illuminated LCD display reverts to FLASH mode, as indicated by the blue icon box. Assuming the model lamp is set to TRACK FLASH mode, operating the ADJUST UP/DOWN buttons will raise or lower flash power in 1/10f increments per click.
• Holding one of the ADJUST buttons in will cause scrolling. The modeling lamp will follow the flash power for what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) modeling previews.
• At each of the 90 possible power settings, the power reduction relative to full power, current t.1 color temperature, current t.1 flash duration, current flash WS, current modeling watts and current EU reference number are all displayed.
• All functions of EINSTEIN are accessible from Cyber Commander and the above-mentioned parameter is also shown on the Cyber Commander LCD.

FUNCTION BUTTON:
• Pressing the function button cycles through the other LCD sub-screens to allow the user to set the desired function of each parameter, turning the selection function sub-screen blue for identification.

MODEL SUB SCREEN:
• Assuming the model lamp is set to TRACK FLASH mode, operating the ADJUST buttons while in the MODEL sub-screen will introduce an offset between the model intensity and flash power.
• The model lamp will still track the flash, but with a different relationship of model watts to flash WS. This allows the user to set this ratio to match that of a different light(s) that might be in use so as to enable WYSIWYG modeling between dissimilar flash units. In past systems accomplishing this required physically changing the wattage of the modeling lamps.
• If the modeling lamp is set to be separately adjustable from the flash, operating the ADJUST button will independently raise or lower the modeling lamp intensity.

REMAINING SUB-SCREENS:
• Allow the user to set the parameters of each function shown, including the frequency and channel used to communicate with Cyber Commander.
• After selecting any of the sub-screens, the LCD will automatically return to the FLASH sub-screen in ten seconds, as this is the primary screen used with the EINSTEIN once the parameters are set to the user’s needs.

POWER SWITCH:
• Functions like a modern TV. That is, when turned OFF the CSXCV transceiver module remains powered. Because of this, the EINSTEIN can be remotely powered off or on from Cyber Commander.
• All current settings are remembered when the unit is powered off or unplugged. Thus, in a studio using multiple EINSTEIN lights and Cyber Commander, the user can shut down all the lights from the Cyber Commander when a session is finished, and turn them all back on the next day in the same manner.

EASY SET:
• This is a recessed button used for instant setup to the most commonly used function parameters. When the EASY SET button is pushed, EINSTEIN is set as follows:
• Model lamp tracks flashpower with no offset.
• READY state is indicated by both modeling lamp dimming and by the beeper.
• The slave sensor is turned on.
• The unit is set to CONSTANT COLOR mode.
• The CSXCV transceiver channel and frequency are both set to “1”.
• Thus, EINSTEIN is ready to use in plug-and-play fashion for most users. After pushing the EASY SET button the user can then use the function button to change any of the settings mentioned.

NOT SHOWN:
• EINSTEIN also contains additional menu screens that allow the user to upgrade firmware, to set the LCD brightness, to set the delay time before reverting to the FLASH sub-screen and to perform other advanced setup information not yet defined.

TRIGGERING:
• Optional CSXCV Module
• Optical Slave Eye
• 1/8" Sync Jack

MICRO SD CARD SLOT:
• Features a plug-in slot for a standard 2GB Micro SD card.
• Used to upgrade the firmware via download or email should features be added in the future.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL:
• A thermostatically controlled high velocity fan and improved airflow, coupled with multiple internal heat sensors and circuit fault detection assure reliable performance under the most demanding commercial shooting.

SIZE:
• 4.8" height x 4.8" width x 5.7" length (body dimensions without lamps or mounting hardware)
  7" height x 5.4" width x 7.8" length (overall dimensions with lamps, dome and mounting hardware)

WEIGHT:
• 4 pounds, 5 ounces (without the power cord)

FUSE:
• The user-replaceable fuse holder (located on the back control panel of the unit) takes an SR5-F type 8A fuse. A spare fuse is included with each unit in addition to the pre-installed fuse. If further fuse replacement becomes necessary, additional fuses may be purchased at Digi-Key (http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=WK6240-ND).

WARRANTY:
• EINSTEIN has a 2 year factory warranty.

FULL DISCLOSURE - The information presented here is preliminary and deemed accurate, but is subject to change at any time.