Shaving stuff studio set-up

[ChiefBroom]

I was in a computer superstore yesterday and ran across an RPS Studio DeskTop Studio In A Bag priced at $54.95. It's offered on amazon.com, but there are no reviews of it there. For about $30 more I could get what looks to be a bigger boy version. Descriptions of both products are linked below. Thought I'd check here to see if anyone might give an opinion about whether these should work well for B&B related purposes. Or would I do better to look some more. I've jacked around with improvising with stuff around the house, but not with satisfying results.

http://www.uniquephoto.com/product/rps-studio-desktop-studio-in-a-bag-rs-sib

http://www.uniquephoto.com/Lighting-Accessories/rps-pro-style-desktop-studio-in-a-bag-rs-4300/

 

[Alacrity59]

There are enough of these kits out there that the prices are pretty reasonable given the time it would take to put things together yourself from desk lamps and tissue or paper towel etc. I guess the online auction sites drive the popularity of these things. I've never tried to sell anything but I think the pics of things I've given away are fine with a wood background, or towel, or bed sheets.

 

[ChiefBroom]

There are enough of these kits out there that the prices are pretty reasonable given the time it would take to put things together yourself from desk lamps and tissue or paper towel etc. I guess the online auction sites drive the popularity of these things. I've never tried to sell anything but I think the pics of things I've given away are fine with a wood background, or towel, or bed sheets.

Thanks for the reply, Mike. My pics are good enough. But I see a lot around here that seem to be a whole lot better. Lighting isn't consistent, and I struggle with reflections in some cases. So I thought maybe I'd try to take it up a notch.

Are you Max Headroom now?

 

[alpster]

There are some pretty nice soft boxes on the bay.....pretty cheap also. I am tempted to get one also.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/48-X-Large-...328?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d375e098

 

[MaxP]

For me, THE issue is adequate lighting. I've found that my cardboard-parchment paper light box is fine. Getting enough light and being able to position it is the challenge.

I don't think I'd buy a kit unless the lighting were up to snuff. If the price was fair for the lighting, I might buy the kit with the thought that the light tent was a tag-a-long item.

I'm getting by with clamp-on floodlights and 50 watt daylight CF lamps.

What really made the difference for me was switching from a Nikon PnS camera to a Canon. Its still a Point n Shoot, but is doing better for me than the Nikons.

 

[shm]

My set-up is easy to use and cheap.

Getting daylight from one side and reflecting it with a mirror on the other.
If needed during winter time, I have a couple of work-lights with either halogen or energy-saving lamps I can set up. I like the continuous light, so I can see the shadows immediately.

The background is just sheets of plain cardboard and I can easily replace with another colour if I want to.

 

[fast14riot]

Not much is needed to get decent results.

Here is a bare bones set up I tried and posted on another forum just to prove that throwing money at the problem isn't always the best solution.

Cardboard, printer paper, tape and a cell phone camera.

The results...

If I'm shooting items bigger I will tape more paper hanging off the soft box to surround the subject and reflect th light back into the scene. Also, for smaller items scrap booking paper makes great backgrounds.


-Xander

 

[ChiefBroom]

Thanks for all the replies. They're much appreciated.

I bought the $54 version to try out. It's OK, but I'm sure I can do better rigging up something myself, so it's going back today.