Zylight Z90 on camera light for PMW-EX1 Received in UK

[Ian Smith]

Originally Posted by Brent Kolitz

Please let me know if you figure that one out. I've had the Z90 (along with their barndoors and the Chimera softbox) since the day it was released, and I also immediately was surprised that the accessories just spin around on the mount.

In theory you might want to rotate the softbox, for example, from horizontal to vertical orientation...but it would be nice if things were tight enough that you could rotate but not have it flop around so freely. I think I actually emailed Zylight about this, but I never heard back...

No, nor me. I think this is clearly a "young" company as their customer service is not great and they haven't thought some things through (it's not great advertising to have a web site that permanently shows your items 'on backorder' and the site navigation/explanations are confusing - Steve Cahill's video's do a far better job of promoting the product). Fortunately they have a great basic product so can get away with it. Perhaps someone going to NAB can ask them about this on behalf of the rest of us as this strikes me as a pretty serious design defect.

The barn doors accessopry suffers from the same problem (although thankfully being heavier they're far less prone to spinning wildly without provocation) so to me this is a design fault with the accessory adapter.

[Paul Burgess]

I am in the web business and offered them some helpful criticism about their site which is not good
They took the advice and thanked me for my help.
I think they are good people with a good product - they just need some tuning in to catch up with themselves.

[Steve Cahill]

The Anton Bauer Softbox fits perfect on the Zylight, without the plastic adapter plate that Zylight supplies. It is called the Anton-Bauer UL Softbox. I had a Chimera but it was too big so it was returned.

See the other blog about the Zylight with stills @
http://web.mac.com/stevecahill/Steve...7_Zylight.html

All the interviews were shot with the Zylight 90 and the Anton-Bauer UL Softbox @ http://web.mac.com/stevecahill/Steve...h_Zylight.html

[Ian Smith]

Originally Posted by Steve Cahill

The Anton Bauer Softbox fits perfect on the Zylight, without the plastic adapter plate that Zylight supplies. It is called the Anton-Bauer UL Softbox. I had a Chimera but it was too big so it was returned.

See the other blog about the Zylight with stills @
http://web.mac.com/stevecahill/Steve...7_Zylight.html

All the interviews were shot with the Zylight 90 and the Anton-Bauer UL Softbox @ http://web.mac.com/stevecahill/Steve...h_Zylight.html

Thanks for the information Steve.

It's a shame that Zylight sell the Chimera softbox and not the Anton-Bauer one in their accessory list. Same issue with the barn doors. There's something wrong when your blog is so much more helpful than the supplier's own web site or any attempts to contact them!

Must say I'm struggling to find suppliers of Anton-Bauer stuff here in the UK. Even when Google shows a hit when I follow the link through the item isn't there.

[Brent Kolitz]

Originally Posted by Steve Cahill

The Anton Bauer Softbox fits perfect on the Zylight, without the plastic adapter plate that Zylight supplies. It is called the Anton-Bauer UL Softbox. I had a Chimera but it was too big so it was returned.

Steve,

Do you have any other pics of how the AB softbox attaches to the Zylight without the plastic adapter? I can't really make it out from that picture or the one on your blog...

I don't know how much the AB one runs, but that Chimera cost a small fortune for what it is...and I hate having to wrangle that ugly adapter plate on and off the light.

[Bernard Racelis]

Originally Posted by Ian Smith

I also have a two piece folding arm with male threads at each end, but that can't be used because the thread on these is a smaller diameter than the thread on the hot shoe connector.

Can you by any chance show us a photo showing the hot shoe connector connected to the light so I can verify what I'm doing wrong or what is missing?

See this photo of the articulating arm and the hotshoe adapter:

http://www.palsomedia.com/ex1_test/hotshoe_adapter.jpg

The cylinder part of the hotshoe adapter has a threaded hole. One end of the hole is 1/4" and the other end is 3/8".

The bottom part which mounts on the camera hotshoe has long 1/4" screw that goes into the threaded hole in the cylinder. You can actually screw it at either end of the cylinder. Because the screw is long, you can screw it at the 3/8" hole and it will mate into the 1/4" thread portion in the cylinder.

The hotshoe comes packaged with the bottom part screwed into the 1/4" thread end of the cylinder. You'd need to remove it and reverse it and screw it at the 3/8" end so that you can screw the articulating arm into the 1/4" end of the cylinder.

[Ian Smith]

Thanks Bernard. Now sorted :)

[Steve Cahill]

The AB has two metal tabs that slip into the fins on the light. Not meant or designed to do so but it works and stays in place.

[Brent Kolitz]

Originally Posted by Steve Cahill

The AB has two metal tabs that slip into the fins on the light. Not meant or designed to do so but it works and stays in place.

Thanks for that, Steve. Damn -- it looks like I paid like 60% more for the Chimera, direct from Zylight, than it would have cost for the apparently more convenient A/B model...

If you don't mind another question, is the AB softbox rectangular or square, and if rectangular -- which way does it end up when you clip it to the Zylight fins?

[George Tasick]

I need to go change my pants!

This is the solution to so many of my problems!

Yay for technology!