light tent

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Roy I just bought the same thing at Wal-mart for a couple bucks cheaper on clearance. The lights are not near bright enough only 20 watts.
 
I just bought this one:
http://www.handhelditems.com/studio-mini-digital-studio-lighting-p-12162.html

Somehow it had another $10 off so it was $38 coarse than the shipping was $10 so back where I started from. Anyway I think the lights are going to be the weak link also, but I'm not looking for professional, just better than nothing. This one does have a little better tripod to it. It came today, haven't opened it yet.
 
I saw that link last week and found this thing on their site which looked like it might be nice, http://www.handhelditems.com/xpro-studio-black-light-tent-p-4997.html I got it on Monday and after fooling with it for several hours, came to the determination that it's junk. I use 26 or 27w, can't remember exactly now, CFL bulbs and never got anything except totally burned out specular highlights on the metal parts with the pen material properly exposed. I tried all four of the background colors and none produced an acceptable pen photo. The white material is too thin to adequately diffuse the light. Maybe it would work if I got something like 20w bulbs, but I'm not sure I'm interested in buying another set of bulbs to see if it will work. You get what you pay for. I was really hoping it would work as advertised, but I will stick with my translucent white plexiglass cube.
 
I purchased an item from B&H Photo called "First Studio". A little pricey but it works very well I think. It comes with a light tent, 2- 250w lights with adjustable stands. It was like $250 I think but I was tired of screwing around with make-shift junk.
 
I unpacked the light tent I talked about above. I'm thinking it is going to work great for me. Sets up real nice on a card table. Packs away in a nice little case. Like I said before, the lights might be a little weak. I haven't been able to play at taking pictures yet, because my wife left on a trip and took my camera!
 
I bought a similar kit from WalMart. The 25 watt lights were way too weak. I replaced them with Tungsten bulbs from HD. I got 2 50 watt bulbs and they work much better. I also have a 60 watt 5500 kelvin CFL that I put in an old adjustable desk lamp and point it from on top.
Good luck.
 
Originally posted by Jrob

I purchased an item from B&H Photo called "First Studio". A little pricey but it works very well I think. It comes with a light tent, 2- 250w lights with adjustable stands. It was like $250 I think but I was tired of screwing around with make-shift junk.
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At that price, does it take the photos for you????
 
Originally posted by wdcav1952

Originally posted by Jrob

I purchased an item from B&H Photo called "First Studio". A little pricey but it works very well I think. It comes with a light tent, 2- 250w lights with adjustable stands. It was like $250 I think but I was tired of screwing around with make-shift junk.
Click to expand...

At that price, does it take the photos for you????
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Well I have learned over the years that I love gadgets but when I get ready to do something, half the fun is buying the toys that go with it. Sometimes you spend a little money for toys that aren't junk. I like the tent and light setup but now I am fighting an older camera that will not take the same picture twice with the exact same setup. I am going through all the steps from the article on pen photo (great article by the way and thanks for that) but I don't get the same results twice. I think it may be time for another new toy. A camera! Any ideas from anyone?
 
Originally posted by gerryr

What kind of camera do you currently have?
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It is a Sony CD500 Mavica. It has all the available settings but the disc access is painfully slow. Everytime you want to see your work you have to wait on the disc to finalize. When I bought this thing it was the "wave of the future". From the looks of it, the wave crashed! I have been reading some today and some of the Canon's look good without spending a great deal of money. I don't mind the money so much as getting what I really need for product photography. What ever I get will stay on the tripod more then likely for just this purpose. Thanks for any help you can give.
 
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