Paul Buff Discontinues Cyber Commander

smoke665

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Well I'm in a pickle. Last week my Cyber Commander started acting flaky. No problem, it's served me well, time to just replace it.

Quick call to PB to oder a new one, it's been discontinued 😳 They've come out with a new Hub that works through a phone app, that's camera specific. Looks like for now that's only Nikon and Canon😡

I've invested a lot of money in PB equipment over time, and now it's not looking promising for the future. They did send some parts that will hopefully fix mine, but if it doesn't I'm not sure where to turn.
 
Well I'm in a pickle. Last week my Cyber Commander started acting flaky. No problem, it's served me well, time to just replace it.

Quick call to PB to oder a new one, it's been discontinued 😳 They've come out with a new Hub that works through a phone app, that's camera specific. Looks like for now that's only Nikon and Canon😡

I've invested a lot of money in PB equipment over time, and now it's not looking promising for the future. They did send some parts that will hopefully fix mine, but if it doesn't I'm not sure where to turn.
You have only yourself to blame - if you had been buying enough units to make it profitable, Buff would still be making them.
 
You have only yourself to blame - if you had been buying enough units to make it profitable, Buff would still be making them.
They shouldn't have made them last so long LOL There's another saying "If it ain't broke - don't fix it". I know the thinking behind it, but since this is primarily a piece of studio equipment it doesn't need the bells and whistles. All it needs to do is set the lights individually or as a group and fire them when you click the shutter. It worked with any camera with a hot shoe. The new Hub is designed to work with the camera TTL, hence the manufacturer specific requirement. In studio I don't use or need TTL. Outside I use a speedlight with the capability built in.
 
Any replacements on KEH?

Every now and then, same on EBAY. It appears that used models are getting scarce, driving up the price. In the past they've gone as low as around $50, one this past week went for $137 plus shipping. The original new price was only $189. Haven't had time to research any alternatives. I can fire the lights with any wireless trigger, but being able to set the lights individually or in groups from behind the camera is a huge times saver and safety issue.
 
With respect, I think PCB gear's original appeal--affordable and workable--lost out to the cheaper speedlight solutions popularized by David Hobby's Strobist site and its online courses. Friends ditched PCB gear for those solutions while others moved upmarket. Hope you can get things sorted.
Some felt Buff's vocal right-wing /hater politics didn't help win new customers or retain old ones when he began dissembling in 2010 about racial profiling and Arizona's notorious SB 1070 law.
 
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With respect, I think PCB gear's original appeal--affordable and workable--lost out to the cheaper speedlight solutions popularized by David Hobby's Strobist site and its online courses. Friends ditched PCB gear for those solutions while others moved upmarket. Hope you can get things sorted.
Some felt Buff's vocal right-wing /hater politics didn't help win new customers or retain old ones when he began dissembling in 2010 about racial profiling and Arizona's notorious SB 1070 law.

Sadly I agree that the low end Chinese made lights like other products have been hard on American Manufacturing. PB lights are like tanks compared to them, and the quality of the light doesn't vary. You can't get that unless you jump up to the more expensive lines.

After a lifetime in business, I found that political opinions and politics don't work if you're promoting a business unless you're selling something no one else has or can get. Even then.....look out. One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes, the soup Nazi:
 
Alien Bees were the gateway lighting drug for a few friends who now use Profoto and Broncolor=$$$!
 
Alien Bees were the gateway lighting drug for a few friends who now use Profoto and Broncolor=$$$!
Those and Speedtron......hated the pack systems, but they lasted forever and the output was consistent. The price reflected it, a 3 light Black line kit will set you back over 6K now.
 
This, this, this, or this. ;)

If I ever get to the point I want monolights, I'm inclined to go with ABs or DBs.
 
This, this, this, or this. ;)

If I ever get to the point I want monolights, I'm inclined to go with ABs or DBs.

I have a couple of the popular Chinese monos, the difference in build between them and PB is night and day. Then there's the customer service, have a problem with PB you call, you don't go through a button pushing phone maze only to get voice mail. Everyone I've talked to is knowledgeable on the products.

The good news is I believe the part they sent will fix my problem for the foreseeable future. In the interim I'll keep looking for a spare.
 
Little update from Buff. Supposedly while the hub is camera specific for auto function it will manually fire the flashes from any camera with a hot shoe with a center pin or PC connecton. More importantly you will be able to control the light settings with the app using the same receivers that the Cyber Commander uses.
 
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