Q Re: Elinchrom 600RX Modeling Lamp Changeout

Hermes wrote in post #6276065
Whether it's as big a deal as people make out or not is open to debate - the fact is that the qualified technicians at my local Elinchrom dealer (The Flash Centre, London) and the qualified electrician who rewired my studio both told me that handling halogen bulbs with bare skin can reduce the lifespan of the bulb. I'm not one to second-guess professionals for the sake of saving the 20 seconds spent getting a cloth every few months when a modelling lamp needs to be changed.

Oddly enough, Hermes, you and Rudi are both right. The modeling light bulb that Rudi has in his new 600RX's as well as the modeling light bulbs in my Genesis 200's are frosted versions of this (wattages vary):

Mine is only the inner bulb in a bayonet mount...not threaded and no outer glass.

tetrode wrote in post #6276171
Oddly enough, Hermes, you and Rudi are both right.

That's hardly surprising, Dave, since I'm always right! To be fair, from what I've seen of Hermes around here, so is he!

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #6276250
Mine is only the inner bulb in a bayonet mount...not threaded and no outer glass.

Same here and not frosted as I recall. BTW, I found that needlenose work well to get the old remains out. The trick is not touching the flash bulb.

tetrode wrote in post #6276171
Oddly enough, Hermes, you and Rudi are both right. The modeling light bulb that Rudi has in his new 600RX's as well as the modeling light bulbs in my Genesis 200's are frosted versions of this (wattages vary):

As you can see, the finger-oil-sensitive halogen bulb is actually protected by an outer glass envelope. For illustrative purposes, I'm showing a bulb with a clear outer envelope. Modeling light bulbs are frosted.

Now I'm not endorsing handling any of these bulbs with bare fingers but, just between you, me, and everyone else reading this thread, I've done it many, many times when in a rush to absolutely no ill effect. However, I would *never* touch a flashtube or bare halogen bulb (that is, one without an outer glass envelope) without gloves or a rag.

Dave F.

Dave, it depends on the strobe and the bulb option. The 110v version of the 600RX (which for some reason I thought Rudi was using) has a different model of halogen bulb, and the 240v version of the 1200RX has a 300w halogen bulb, neither of which are encased in the same way as the halostars which come with the 240v 600RXs and some other, less powerful Elinchrom strobes. The latter are quite similar to standard incandescents but in many other cases you are dealing with more fragile halogen bulbs. Either way, being told by the guys who spend all day repairing and refitting Elinchrom strobes that touching the bulb is unwise, is enough to put me off it.

When I changed the modelling lamp on one of my RX's I did not touch them with my fingers. I was always told not to touch halogen or quartz bulbs because the oils in your skin can cause them to break. It wasn't any more difficult not to handle them directly.