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hi gang,

thinking about how to get better photos of my minis, I started looking around on ebay for lightboxes and found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PHOTO-TENT-STUDIO-BOX-LIGHT-CUBE-PHOTOGRAPHY-/260963969649?_trksid=p2992.m1374&_trkparms=algo%3DPI.WATCH%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D20%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7495162482080990469#ht_3555wt_1250

anyone had any experience with a kit like this? I'm a bit fuzzy on just how well a pair of 50W lights are going to light up the scene. I know I can use slower shutter speeds, but if we're talking 60+ seconds to get a proper exposure then I'm inclined to look into other lighting solutions.

cheers,

v

I would suggest... not buying that. And make a lightbox of your own. It's pretty easy to do and it would be on par with professional light tents, provided you have lights.

I don't have the lights, hence my interest in this kit. that it comes with a lightbox is simply a bonus I'm just not clear on whether the pair of 50W lights are going to give me enough light to really work with. I'm sure I could run down to my local hardware store and pick up bigger lights for similar cost, but if these things will do the job then I'm quite tempted to go with the kit.

anyone else have any thoughts?

$25 for that setup seems to be good value for money IMO.

As for lighting, the default answer on the internet seems to be "get two 100W daylight bulbs". On the other hand, I've seen very good pictures taken with nothing but ambient light, though that requires playing around with shutter speeds, f-values and ISO numbers, along with some color correction on the computer.

While I didn't notice exact specs for the lamps in the ad, 50W halogen lights advertised as "Studio Quality High Output" are probably very bright indeed.

Tent is good, lights get very very hot & not that good.
Also if you buy check that the bulbs work.
One of mine didn't but I contacted the manufacturer & they sent out a replacement no quibble.
I bought these lights & they're ace -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PhotoSEL-LS11E22-Studio-Lighting-2x26W/dp/B002I9E8TU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1333628798&sr=8-4
yes they cost but they work really well.

You could probably DIY one for a little less with a decent sized cardboard box, some white nylon ripstock and three light fixtures. To work best, your light setup should be one light left, one light right and one light up top. The light up top will help to give you uniform lighting. Still, for $25, if you don't want to spend the time to build your own, it's not a bad deal. Just get a third light for it. I would also recommend 100W daylight bulbs.

I've got one very similar to that, probably just a different brand name. The lights are alright, they do get hot pretty quickly, but haven't had one burn yet. I prefer to use some Ott light bulbs, I don't know if it's just me (nor am I an experience photographer at all), but the lights they use in this kit are too "yellow".

Sure you could make yourself one, but the convenience with that one you're looking at is it folds up very nicely into a compact case that you can easily store out of the way. That and I've got cats that will probably tear into it if I didn't store it away

It is cheap, I think it would be worth trying