Is it true 600RX break easily ?

I was looking to buy some new strobes and looked an Elinchroms.
The thing that stopped me from buying them is complains about cheap plastic housing:
http://photo.net …t-techniques-forum/00MsCq
It is true ?

Nope. Not true. Look at all the Elinchrom users in this forum and all that issues and topics discussed and not one person have ever had a problem with the plastic housing. Like many products these days the housing is made of high impact plastic rather than metal to keep the weight down. Take a look at Profoto Compact's or Hensel Integra's and feel the difference in weight. It's drastic.

If you go looking for problems or someone to complain about something you can usually find it on the internet but I guarantee you that you won't come up with that complaint more than a few times as compared to the thousands of Elinchrom owners that never mentioned it or had a reason for concern.

If you like Elinchrom strobes and the selection of modifiers available then I wouldn't let one post in one forum deter you.

Is what true ? That all style RX600 is cheaply made and by just touching the handle it will shatter into powder and be no more ?

So let me get this straight you where all set to buy Elinchrom lights (style RX600), and then you found one[ link claiming the housing is of cheap plastic ?

Correct ?

MR do little wrote in post #8355286
Is what true ? That all style RX600 is cheaply made and by just touching the handle it will shatter into powder and be no more ?

So let me get this straight you where all set to buy Elinchrom lights (style RX600), and then you found [I]one[/I] link claiming the housing is of cheap plastic ?

Correct ?

That is the first thing that comes in google for "Elinchrom 600RX review" and three users in that post report problems. Looking at the handle shape itself I cannot help the feeling that they are right. But without access to it I have no means to confirm it, that is why I asked on this forum.
However I cannot say I enjoy reading your posts, with a screaming tone in them. Maybe in your part of the world it is a norm but here I rather add you to the ignore list.

So what conclusion did you come to after your google session ?

You really think that they are that fragile ? You wouldnt think that Elinchrom would have gotten just about every single 600RX in for repairs if the experience of the 3 guys where the norm ?

But to answer your question (wich is kind of vauge), no they dont break easily i toss my RX/FX compacts in a sports bag and have done so for a few years without any problems.

As for you not "enjoying" my posts, i cant say thats something ill lose any sleep over.

The housing is plastic - not as tough as metal but any impact that will break the plastic would easily damage the flashtube and the insides of the strobe anyway through shock damage so it's not a practical issue. It also keeps the heads light.

The handles work fine and I've never seen one break.

the plastic does feel cheap to be honest, that's the first thing I noticed when I unpacked my rx. On the plus side that make's the light.... well light, which is important if you plan to use it with a boom. Meatal case can easily add another 2-3lbs.

Check out the profoto D1 if you can. I read they are made of plastic too, but of much better quality than elinchrom. The problem with those lights, though, is the prices of their modifiers.

The plastic housing for the RX's were changed at least a year ago from the translucent plastic to a black plastic (although most sites still show the translucent housings). I don't know if the plastic is any different other than color, but I routinely pick up my RX600's by the handle and carry them to a different location with no problems.

abdul10000 wrote in post #8356204
the plastic does feel cheap to be honest, that's the first thing I noticed when I unpacked my rx. On the plus side that make's the light.... well light, which is important if you plan to use it with a boom. Meatal case can easily add another 2-3lbs.

Check out the profoto D1 if you can. I read they are made of plastic too, but of much better quality than elinchrom. The problem with those lights, though, is the prices of their modifiers.

I miss the feel of metal lights but that doesn't change the fact that they don't offer any more real protection. I have seen plenty of light stands with various brands of metal-cased strobes tip over in my time, and 4/5 times, the metal case got dented, the flashtube shattered and the insides broke loose and started rattling.

When the strobe is comprised of such delicate glass and electronics, there's very little a case can do to protect it against impact. I wouldn't be surprised if the slight flexibility of plastic proved to be more effective at protecting lights than rigid metal (a la car bumpers).

I have four RX600s and haven't had any problems or concerns. But then, I don't use them regularly and I'm very careful with my equipment. So I can't speak from personal experience, but I can comment from the several people I know with Elinchrom lights (several of which are RX600s) and I'm not aware of any issues with the housing. I was never a fan of the translucent purple housing. It looked cheap.

I always pick up the strobes by the handles and I don't baby the gear. I use it as it was intended to be used and it's rugged.

Once again, other than the few posts you may have found on photo.net, you're not going to see compaints or problems. So you found 3 people in one thread on one forum. So what?

There's no reason to try and put Elinchrom in a negative light. Look at Profoto.. they finally came out with new strobes that are made of high impact plastic and pros and semi-pro's are eating them up. They're killer strobes and far from the heavy, solid feel of the Compact's.

If any of us wanted to, we could search out any brand or any product and find the one dissatisfied owner. Look at Amazon or B&H reviews. Ever notice that there are products that get 4 or 4.5 stars and it seems everyone absolutely loves the product and then there's some lone disgruntled owner that thinks the product sucks? You have to look at things objectively whenever you get information or read reviews on the Internet, but you also have to look at what the majority of people are saying.

Just because 3 people in photo. net pile on and want to put the handle or housing in a bad light (no pun intended) means nothing, in my opinion.

I've got 4 600RX's and I use them on location all the time and I have ZERO issues with their build quality. I owned metal hensel's before...and while the metal casing was nice, as Hermes said, I doubt it would truly offer any better protection in the case of a fall. I carry the lights with modifiers mounted by the handle often, and they're just fine.

On a sidenote, I gotta admit that I find it a bit tacky when you tell someone you don't enjoy their posts when they are posting in a thread where you are seeking help. MR do little may be a bit firm at times...but that's okay. Being rude to someone seems a bit different. No need to have a big discussion on this, but I just wanted to point out that internet ettiquete goes both ways.

I have 2x 1200's and 2x 600's. The clear purplish housings. No problems here. Handles are fine. I did have a 9ft lightstand fall over(with a 600 & 53" Octo), the light fell on it's back. A small chip broke off the edge where the case meets. Stood the light up and it worked fine. I plan to get a new housing one day as I am very anal about my equipment but it works fine and the chip is about 1/4"

I too have four of the 600RX's, use them on an almost daily basis, and have never heard of, nor had a problem of any sort with them. In fact, a lot of the time, I grab the handle and rotate the light without loosening the handle on the pivot-point. I doubt this is a recommended practice, but hey, so far nary a problem one.
I believe as Hermes does that the plastic housing will actually absorb some of the energy in the event of a fall and is therefore a benefit.
As an aside, I bought a brand new Corvette once and the passenger-side visor mount was busted. I had it repaired.
Chris