Cullmann flash problem and company's b.s.

[mukul_dube]

<p>In October a friend based in New York bought a new Cullmann SL 28 flash for me. As he was to send me other things also, to save on postal expense he sent the whole lot to my sister in Michigan, who later travelled to another city in India and eventually sent a package to me in Delhi. The important thing is that I received the flash more than 30 days after it was bought; and for that reason it cannot be returned to the seller.</p>

<p>The flash is defective. It charges and fires all right. I <em>think</em> its two auto apertures work correctly, though I have not yet seen test photos. I know that the sensor works which makes it function as a slave. However, its ready light does not work. To my mind this is a fatal flaw. However, a representative of Cullmann in Germany blithely said that if all else worked, the ready light not working was not a problem. That is, she said that a useless feature had been built into one of her company's products. I cannot think of a better example of pure b.s.</p>

<p>New Cullmann flashes are still being sold. It is relevant to say here that the same company representative told me that the SL 28 model had not been made for more than ten years.</p>

[maury_cohen]

<p>I did a google search for this model and saw a 2009 review, so I'd question the Cullman rep's claim that it hasn't been made in 10 years, but does this matter?<br>

I would tend to agree that the ready-light not working shouldn't put you off from using the flash. <br>

It's a great thing when an international company offers support to buyers who purchased in other countries, however it's almost always up to the discretion of the distributor.<br>

Because you're not in a good position to interact with the original dealer, or even the distributor in the country of purchase; I'd encourage you to use the flash as it is. You can judge fairly well, by the pitch of the recycling sound, when the flash is powered up. You may even find that with fresh batteries and a bit more use, the ready-light may start working. </p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>I for one know less about Cullmann products than the Cullmann company's representative can be assumed to know: so I shall not question her statement. The publication of a review in 2009 does not show that the product reviewed had not ceased to be produced nine or more years earlier.</p>

<p>If the SL 28 has not been made for a decade, it is entirely possible that other models -- some of which are being sold, and at reduced prices -- are also old stock. Capacitors are known to react badly to the passage of time. Maybe that happens to other components also.</p>

<p>To my knowledge the Cullmann company does not offer support to those who buy its products. I wrote to them in a last-ditch effort to solve my problem; and I have already described their absurd response.</p>

<p>Flash-guns have ready lights because ready lights serve a purpose. I know that I can work with the flash if I allow fifteen seconds each time for recharging. However, sometimes I need to take a second flash exposure as soon as possible after the first. <em>That</em> is the sort of thing for which ready lights are provided.</p>

<p>The possibility occurred to me that the ready light might be induced to begin working. To that end I charged the flash and fired it perhaps three dozen times. It may still happen, of course, perhaps after seventeen cycles, perhaps after seven hundred. It has not happened yet.</p>

[norman_valentine]

<p>I bought a second hand out of production Cullmann tripod.I emailed to ask for an instruction booklet. I received it by email in under 24 hours. I thought that was pretty good service.</p>

[luis_g]

<p>Mukul wrote: "In October a friend based in New York bought a new Cullmann SL 28 flash for me. As he was to send me other things also, to save on postal expense he sent the whole lot to my sister in Michigan, who later travelled to another city in India and eventually sent a package to me in Delhi. The important thing is that I received the flash more than 30 days after it was bought; and for that reason it cannot be returned to the seller."</p>

<p>I understand your position, but it must also be said that Cullman does provide a standard 30-day warranty. Plus we do not know if this flash was dropped in transit to you. You took a big chance to save on postage, allowing the return period to lapse -- and it backfired. While I feel for you and also see the readylight as a very useful feature in any flash (all of my 2-dozen flash units have it, even very old units), by your own admission you forfeited the return in order to save on postage. I am sorry, but I do not see this as Cullman's problem.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Luis G: "I am sorry, but I do not see this as Cullman's problem."</p>

<p>Cullmann said, in the end, that I should approach the seller of the flash. Fair enough: that is the accepted procedure. My difficulty is with their initial response, in which by implication they dismissed the ready light as superfluous.</p>

[ray_dockrey]

<p>My problem with all this is that this model flash is currently selling on Amazon from Adorama for $35 USD. To me that sounds warning bells all over the place on the quality you are getting.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>A shade under $30, Ray. A bargain.</p>

[ray_dockrey]

<p>They why gripe. Surely you know the old adage "You get what you pay for". And it sure doesn't sound like a bargain to me. It doesn't work like it should.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>I am a grouchy skin-flint, that's why. I grumble if a 50-cent refill for a ball-point pen does not work as it should. Try reading the words "A bargain" in the correct tone instead of taking them literally. I have nothing against the seller, Adorama; and I have nothing against the flash unit itself, because I know that some examples of every kind of device can turn out to be defective. My grouse is against the line that Cullmann took. Please read my earlier posts.</p>

[peter_e]

<p>Mukul: What did you expect from Cullmann when you called them? Did you expect them to send you another flash?</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>Let's see, you spent under $30 on something that was shipped twice and carried on a transcontinental flight, and you exceed the return period. One problem on this product and you throw a fit. I'd say that you need to re-think this, consider buying locally. I think the company rep was trying to save you some trouble whether they were right or wrong, since it clearly isn't worth whatever time you would spend on it at this point.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Yes, I thought that was a possibility. I have in the past dealt with all kinds of manufacturers, including responsible ones. I <em>wrote</em> to them, by the way: e-mail.</p>

<p>Jeff Spirer, I invite you to reconsider your choice of words. While you are about it, you might also like to set up a shop in India which sells Cullmann products.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Dube: "My difficulty is with [Cullmann's] initial response, in which by implication they dismissed the ready light as superfluous."<br /><br />Dube: "I have nothing against the seller, Adorama; and I have nothing against the flash unit itself, because I know that some examples of every kind of device can turn out to be defective. My grouse is against the line that Cullmann took."<br /><br />Spirer, setting out the Truth: "One problem on this product and you throw a fit."<br /><br />Spirer: "...since it clearly isn't worth...". Clear to whom? Not to me. If I spend another $10 to send the flash to Germany and in return get a fully functional unit, I shall be down $40. At this time I have thrown $30 at something which does not function properly. <em>This</em> is what is clear to me.<br /><br />I wondered why a thread should suddenly be revived which had been dead for six days. Then I understood that the purpose was to throw new light on what Cullmann said.<br /><br />Spirer says that even if Cullmann are spouting bilge, which possibility he explicits accepts, they are doing it for my benefit. I am afraid that this double talk does not wash. I have been in photography for half a century and have used flash for at least forty-five years: and I do not need a baby's soother stuffed in my mouth to keep me from seeing reality, or to make me see whatever it is that Spirer considers reality.</p>

<p>I am prepared to accept Maury Cohen's reasonable advice ("I'd encourage you to use the flash as it is...") -- but I can see bilge only as bilge.</p>