WTB: ProtoMachines light (LED1, LED2, LED8)

[KenElevenShadows]

I'd take this - wait for it - shot in the dark and see if anyone has a gently used ProtoMachines (LED1, LED2, LED8) that they want to sell. I am interested in purchasing one.

 

Please contact me through www.facebook.com/kenleephotography if you interested in this. Thanks!

 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

I wonder if anyone else on this forum has one besides you and I?  And mine's not for sale unfortunately but I'd probably let you borrow it if you were in a pinch.

 

Did yours meet an untimely end?  I admit to dropping mine on just the second or third night out using it; I had to send it back for repairs.  It's been fine ever since but they aren't as indestructable as, say a Nikon F4 which would probably leave a divit in the sidewalk if it got dropped.

[KenElevenShadows]

3 hours ago, Lou Gehrig said:

I wonder if anyone else on this forum has one besides you and I?  And mine's not for sale unfortunately but I'd probably let you borrow it if you were in a pinch.

 

Did yours meet an untimely end?  I admit to dropping mine on just the second or third night out using it; I had to send it back for repairs.  It's been fine ever since but they aren't as indestructable as, say a Nikon F4 which would probably leave a divit in the sidewalk if it got dropped.

It was broken, although somehow miraculously, I just found out that it will be fixed again! He did say my housing was toast, though, so I guess I've put it through its paces enough. 

 

And no, it's no Nikon F series or an SM 57, but still pretty well made. Thanks for the offer, but thankfully, it's fixed. I've also been looking into alternatives, but that's kinda slim pickings. And yeah, you drop an F4, and that's gonna be bad news for the sidewalk, haha!

 

This is more me trying to put it out there publicly that I am looking for a ProtoMachines of some sort used, as I am still interested in one.

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

I am happy to report that my ProtoMachines LED2 lives! ProtoMachines managed to fix it. Now, it has an LED8 housing (gray), so it looks very different. But at least it is working quite well! I am still interested in purchasing a used ProtoMachines LED1, LED2, or LED8, however. But I am also tracking down some alternatives, none of which are quite the same flexibility (or even colors) but might yield outstanding results nonetheless.  

[KenElevenShadows]

Attached is a very recent photo, a fisheye of the front end of a dilapidated, abandoned vehicle.

 

For this one, I experimented with a cheap $30 LED flashlight, this one called a Wurkkos FC11 high-CRI light. As you can see, it worked really well. It has ramped brightness, which helps, and a CRI of 90, which brings out a great amount of detail. So if the ProtoMachines LED2 ever goes south again, at least I can use something like this. And at $30, it's not very expensive. I am going to write an article about this low-cost option on Photofocus soon.

 

But yeah, still gonna try and see if I can purchase a used ProtoMachines.

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

Nice color of light.....  Is it adjustable?  That would probably be an incredible flashlight if it were. 

 

Glad George was able to get yours fixed.  He fixed mine for the meager sum of $30 or something like that.  But I sure learned quick to never drop it ever again!

[KenElevenShadows]

2 hours ago, Lou Gehrig said:

Nice color of light.....  Is it adjustable?  That would probably be an incredible flashlight if it were. 

 

Glad George was able to get yours fixed.  He fixed mine for the meager sum of $30 or something like that.  But I sure learned quick to never drop it ever again!

 

The brightness is adjustable in two different modes. I just wrote a review on this if you want to check it out!  

https://photofocus.com/photography/lighting-photography/can-you-buy-a-great-led-light-painting-flashlight-under-30/

 

George is super great, and that's fantastic that he was able to do that for you.

 

[KenElevenShadows]

I've got another article coming out next month. It's an LED RGB flashlight with absolutely beautiful light. I mean gobsmacking beautiful. It's a bit limited compared to the ProtoMachines, but it's super nice. I am still testing it, but it really has a lot of things going for it. The UI is not my favorite, though. So don't sell your ProtoMachines (unless it's to me, haha!  ).

[LeCycliste]

I’ve struggled with AOAM’s RGB Critter color LED flashlight over the last year. Their firmware rev 2.0 is better, but a three button interface with no display is really difficult to use at night. 
 

*** If anyone has a Protomachines LED1, LED2 or LED8 for sale, please let me know. I’ll buy it right away, as long as it works. ***

Thanks. 

[KenElevenShadows]

3 hours ago, LeCycliste said:

I’ve struggled with AOAM’s RGB Critter color LED flashlight over the last year. Their firmware rev 2.0 is better, but a three button interface with no display is really difficult to use at night. 
 

*** If anyone has a Protomachines LED1, LED2 or LED8 for sale, please let me know. I’ll buy it right away, as long as it works. ***

Thanks. 

 

Well, funny you should mention the RGB Critter! I have my mitts on the RGB Critter 2.0 right now and am in the midst of writing a review, which I mention above (quoted for your convenience, and that's very sweet of me  😞

 

Quote

I've got another article coming out next month. It's an LED RGB flashlight with absolutely beautiful light. I mean gobsmacking beautiful. It's a bit limited compared to the ProtoMachines, but it's super nice. I am still testing it, but it really has a lot of things going for it. The UI is not my favorite, though. So don't sell your ProtoMachines (unless it's to me, haha!  ).

 

As you can see, I mention the UI. Those three buttons are very difficult to remember. Even if they just had a brightness control, it would help immensely. But the quality of the light? Absolutely gorgeous. In terms of light quality, this is the best RGB light I have ever seen with the possible exception of the ProtoMachines, which is four times as much money (if you can even find one). The light quality is stunning. I also love the general build quality.

 

I have the RGB Critter set up so it's pretty much ready to light paint subjects. 

 

Now, to be fair, the RGB Critter was made with flow artists/performers in mind, not for something with light painting. I have had some discussions with AOAM about this, but am proceeding with the review with those caveats in mind. 

 

By the way, AOAM are the nicest bunch of people, very responsive and friendly. They get major props just for that alone.

[LeCycliste]

Pictures in both these posts were lit with AOAM RGB Critters (two of em) and Luxli Viola 2 LED panels (again, two of em). I’ve been using both since last March, and yes, the color on the RGB Criiter is gorgeous. I much prefer the UI, controllable color and adjustability of the Luxli panels, but sometimes I want to aim a flashlight at something, not light it up with a panel’s broad beam. I’ll be trying a Luxli Fiddle with its grid spot in Death Valley / Rhyolite NV in a couple weeks. That should help.

 

https://www.markbohrerphoto.com/blog/21st-century-light-painting-in-11th-century-ruins

https://www.markbohrerphoto.com/blog/night-ruins-at-the-edges

 

And I enjoyed your book Abandoned Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I lived in California (Bay Area) for 35 years. 

 

[LeCycliste]

I was also a rock and roll keyboard player for ten years alongside Silicon Valley design jobs. How did a post about photo night lighting gear end up here?

[KenElevenShadows]

2 hours ago, LeCycliste said:

Pictures in both these posts were lit with AOAM RGB Critters (two of em) and Luxli Viola 2 LED panels (again, two of em). I’ve been using both since last March, and yes, the color on the RGB Criiter is gorgeous. I much prefer the UI, controllable color and adjustability of the Luxli panels, but sometimes I want to aim a flashlight at something, not light it up with a panel’s broad beam. I’ll be trying a Luxli Fiddle with its grid spot in Death Valley / Rhyolite NV in a couple weeks. That should help.

 

https://www.markbohrerphoto.com/blog/21st-century-light-painting-in-11th-century-ruins

https://www.markbohrerphoto.com/blog/night-ruins-at-the-edges

 

And I enjoyed your book Abandoned Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I lived in California (Bay Area) for 35 years. 

 

Nice! I also have a Luxli Viola LED panel, which works great. It's basically the LED panel equivalent of a ProtoMachines LED2. Well, that's a somewhat lazy of someewhat true comparison....

 

But agreed about the differences between a flashlight vs. an LED panel.

 

Great photos! And that location! Now that is stunning! Wow!

 

And thank you very much! So glad you enjoy the book!

[KenElevenShadows]

2 hours ago, LeCycliste said:

I was also a rock and roll keyboard player for ten years alongside Silicon Valley design jobs. How did a post about photo night lighting gear end up here?

This is a forum called "The Big Picture", so we discuss all things photography here (gear, techniques, workshops, sharing of articles, and more). And we also discuss things related to videography although that's considerably more rare.

 

So drop by any time and start threads or comment on other threads or whatever! Since I'm a night photographer, a lot of the articles I write and post and a lot of the stuff I share are night photography-related. 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

11 hours ago, LeCycliste said:

How did a post about photo night lighting gear end up here?

LOL I had the same reaction - I had previously seen Ken's photos elsewhere, and then saw them again here after finding this forum mentioned on the Piano World forum.

 

Small world, isn't it?

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

Is George not making the Protomachine any more?  If that is the case, I should probably stop using it when I work on the car.....  One bad fall to the driveway could break it.

[LeCycliste]

48 minutes ago, Lou Gehrig said:

Is George not making the Protomachine any more?  If that is the case, I should probably stop using it when I work on the car.....  One bad fall to the driveway could break it.

I last contacted Protomachines in October, and they said they still couldn’t get some of the parts they needed to build their lights. They said the same thing when I contacted them a year before that. That’s when I went looking for alternatives, and discovered AOAM’s RGB Critter and Luxli LED panels. 

[KenElevenShadows]

1 hour ago, Lou Gehrig said:

LOL I had the same reaction - I had previously seen Ken's photos elsewhere, and then saw them again here after finding this forum mentioned on the Piano World forum.

 

Small world, isn't it?

It is, although I feel like we should not be too surprised, as super-creative people usually have more than one outlet for their creativity. 

[KenElevenShadows]

54 minutes ago, LeCycliste said:

I last contacted Protomachines in October, and they said they still couldn’t get some of the parts they needed to build their lights. They said the same thing when I contacted them a year before that. That’s when I went looking for alternatives, and discovered AOAM’s RGB Critter and Luxli LED panels. 

 

It's the same situation now, unfortunately. I believe what you found are the two best alternatives out there currently.

 

@Lou Gehrig, I would definitely limit your use of that to protect it. That's one of the reasons why I got the Wurkkos FC11 LED flashlight. I can use it to light paint, find my way in the dark, light up stuff, and more without having to worry about "overuse" of the ProtoMachines, wearing out parts, or dropping it. I wish that George had commissioned Fisher Price to create the body so it would survive giant falls off cliffs and 50-foot flights of cement stairs, haha!

 

It's interesting that a thread like this, wanting to buy an obscure light like the ProtoMachines, has created so much interaction!!

[LeCycliste]

As a former analog / mixed signal integrated circuit designer for 25 years, I can tell you the only parts you’re likely to wear out are switches, potentiometers and the Li-Ion battery after a large number of charge-discharge cycles. (One of the last ICs I designed was a battery gas gauge, so I had to learn a bit about battery charge and discharge characteristics.)

 

Integrated circuits and power control semiconductors all have ESD protection (electrostatic discharge protection from static high voltage), and if they’re designed and laid out with proper design rules, they won’t be zapped or wear out / burn out. (IC layout design rules specify metal interconnect widths for a given current density to avoid metal migration / failure.) 

 

So you’re most likely to have problems from dropping the unit and cracking the housing or physically damaging the display.
 

One reason I chose Canon many years ago was the availability of Canon Professional Services and their great service. I still use Leica cameras because they’re mostly metal and very durable. (I’ve also found places to get them repaired other than Leica.)

 

Support is important.

[KenElevenShadows]

Switches, yes. That's what went out on the ProtoMachines LED2 before. And of course, batteries, but thankfully, those can be replaced. But yeah, I really do not want to drop this.

 

Glad to hear Canon has great service. I don't own a Canon but have heard they have good service. So far, knock on wood, I've had outstanding experiences with Nikon service and even had good service via Pentax. The latter is stunning because they have a super-bad reputation for service in the United States. But I'm one of those people who goes to restaurants that have horrible reviews on Yelp for service and just about always get great service, so I don't know...:D