mini studio thingies £17 - bargain?

[da_ging]

looks like a good deal, seem to remember a similar 1 at maplins that was a bargain so im assuming this is aswell

Hama Mini Photo Studio (Large Size) 40x40x40cm
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/prod...2d107e34e6c8fb



they also have a larger 1 at £25

[Bob Crabtree]

looks like a good deal, seem to remember a similar 1 at maplins that was a bargain so im assuming this is aswell


they also have a larger 1 at £25

Maplin has a similar product and when I bought one a good few months ago (the 400mm product), the in-store price was about £14.

The product is still listed on Maplin's web site here, at £19.99 and called the Portable Soft Lighting Studio but may still be being sold in store for less.

I'm not sure that Maplin has really got the hang of this online retailing lark!

The one I bought works well but knowing what I now know about the practicalities of using the product, if I were to buy again, I'd buy a large one (if such were available - and the bigger one is/was NOT offered by Maplin), so would recommend anyone considering such a device to look out for something large - and, as you point out, SevenDayStore does offer such a product, a 600mm square model.

Although this costs £25.99, it's what I'd suggest people consider - assuming that, like me, they need to shoot items bigger than 400mm wide.

All this said, I still need to find suitable affordable lighting to use with my Portable Soft Lighting Studio.

I bought two Ikea fluorescent table lamps and replaced the tubes with "daylight" tubes but these really aren't powerful enough (they're 11W).

So, any recommendations about low-cost, low-heat, daylight lamps to use for product photography with the Portable Soft Lighting Studio would be most gratefully received.

[Flibb]

Hmm have been thinking of getting something similar for a while, mainly for playing with macro. Lighting wise have you got any old flash guns laying around? Or could you get any cheap? A lightbox should difuse them nicely, just use a remote flash trigger to fire the guns.

[noah]

you can use any lamps, just shoot in raw and sort out the white balance after not perfect, but cheap

[Bob Crabtree]

you can use any lamps, just shoot in raw and sort out the white balance after not perfect, but cheap

But doing this stuff in post is not cheap because it involves someone's time.



Having lamps that are reasonably close to daylight can speed up the whole business and are worth paying out for - though I'd prefer to pay less than more.

I'd also like lamps that are close to cold-running - for safety and to keep down the heat.

[Bob Crabtree]

Hmm have been thinking of getting something similar for a while, mainly for playing with macro. Lighting wise have you got any old flash guns laying around? Or could you get any cheap? A lightbox should difuse them nicely, just use a remote flash trigger to fire the guns.

Using "always-on" lamps, rather than flash, makes it rather easier to get predictable results.

[Flibb]

Shoot raw then batch process for WB, think the free and good raw shooter essential does that. You can also calibrate against a white card, then correct for the first pic and then batch proces the rest. Also most apps import your settings (WB, sharpening,etc) with the raw file, just set them to "as shot", thats how its done in PS. Have just started using nikon capture, very pleased with it so far, for macro its brilliant.

[noah]

But doing this stuff in post is not cheap because it involves someone's time.

a very good point, i was thinking personally reather than for a business. in that case i think jessops do reasonably priced good performing entry level studio lightilng packages for under £200

[Bob Crabtree]

a very good point, i was thinking personally reather than for a business. in that case i think jessops do reasonably priced good performing entry level studio lightilng packages for under £200

Trouble is most of the photography that HEXUS carries out is done by individual reviewers, not centrally, so we'd be talking about eight or more sets of £200 lights!

And that, of course, was why I was hoping (in vain I think) for an effective cheapo solution, so specific recommendations would still be welcome.

[Rys]

I'm about to build my own photo box for my own product reviews, since that Maplin one is, frankly, rubbish. It's far too small for one, never mind being incredibly flimsy.

I was planning on some cut 10mm MDF to make the box (three sides + base fixed, hinged top), matt 'brilliant' white paint for the interior and some top-edge mounted bright (30W each) flourescent light tubes (like the kind you see in bathroom above-mirror lighting, but bare without the smoked plastic cover) for static lighting. Total cost is about 30 quid or so, hoping it works out well.

[DR]

I am thinking something like this one here

Would be better....

[noah]

i gotta a gree with david, paint will give you odd reflections if you ever do have to use flash even if it's matte. also the fact that that one is seemless could be a real benefit, might have to get one myself, i think maplin sell that one too.

edit: can't find it on their site, looks like they've stopped it.

[Rys]

I need another tube on the left, and maybe another on the back edge (will test with two first), but the box itself is painted and done.



Might make another bigger one at some point, using hinges and ultrabright white LEDs so I can collapse it and take it with me anywhere (LEDs can be battery powered decently enough), but that one's big enough for almost anything I have to review for the site.

[DR]

I need another tube on the left, and maybe another on the back edge (will test with two first), but the box itself is painted and done.



Might make another bigger one at some point, using hinges and ultrabright white LEDs so I can collapse it and take it with me anywhere (LEDs can be battery powered decently enough), but that one's big enough for almost anything I have to review for the site.

Wow - can you build me one?

[Bob Crabtree]

Rys,

You need to build an even bigger box in which to put the original, so you can get a good pic of it.

Joking aside, though, what sort of results are you getting?

[noah]

You need to build an even bigger box in which to put the original, so you can get a good pic of it.

lol.

great mini studio there rys, i am suitably impressed