Monolight malfunction?

[laurenornot]

Hey everyone -

I've been having a problem with one of my monolights. I have two Flashpoint models from Adorama; the problem is with the older of the two, a 620A (http://www.adorama.com/FP620A.html?searchinfo=Flashpoint+620A).

The issue is, midway through a shoot the flash will no longer fire regularly. At first I thought maybe the flashbulb was dying, but my experience with lightbulbs is that when they die, they're dead. This issue seems to be more related to the fact that it's having trouble recharging. After around 25-50 consistent shots, it won't fire more than once every 10 times or so. It's a huge pain. It doesn't matter if I set it to be slave or master, the issue persists. Even hitting the "test" button does not yield consistent results. It goes off maybe once a minute.

Any ideas? Suggestions? It's probably out of warranty at this point.

[Art Scott]

Sounds like the capacitor is going bad and is reacting to being hot......does it work alright after a short spell of cooling down......

probably need to be sent off to the repair center.

Who makes flashpoint and where??

[laurenornot]

Hm, thanks Art! That sounds pretty plausible. I can't seem to find any information online about where to send them for repair or how much it would cost; I suppose I'll give Adorama a call. It may well end up being a better deal to just buy a new one, they aren't terribly expensive. :dunno

[Art Scott]

Hm, thanks Art! That sounds pretty plausible. I can't seem to find any information online about where to send them for repair or how much it would cost; I suppose I'll give Adorama a call. It may well end up being a better deal to just buy a new one, they aren't terribly expensive. :dunno

if you need to replace.....I would seriously recommend one of the Paul Buff monolights.....either White Lightnings or Alien Bees (the lesser expensive but still very good monolights).......I recommend them because they are built in Nashville and have been around for 20 some years......Paul Buff has really fantastic customer service.

Good Luck.

[ziggy53]

... I can't seem to find any information online about where to send them for repair or how much it would cost; I suppose I'll give Adorama a call. It may well end up being a better deal to just buy a new one, they aren't terribly expensive. :dunno

Adorama Customer Support can be found at:

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=Contactus

You will probably have to send it in for an estimate. It could be any number of issues. Repair cost depends on the actual problem. They're great to work with so don't be shy to give them a call.

I really, really like my FlashPoint II lights and I would replace them with the same in an instant.