Portable Mini Studio-in-a-box

I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I've heard it's a great help in photographing small object. I'm a jewelry maker and intend to photograph my pieces for a website.
Thanks

Very compact, nice and portable, easy to store.

Yes, the lights are a little weak. But for the price they are fine. The reviewer that said 70% of the light reflects off the outside of the box is correct.

That is called "light diffusion." Different fabric that lets more light through will cause the light to concentrate at the source, giving you shadows you don't want. Isn't that why you bought the box?

So you should be encouraged that the product works the way it should. I use my wife's very long sewing/quilting table for this--best advantage is that she has this nifty Ott-Lite natural color light that is quite bright and adds just enough light to the tent to let me speed up the shot and get some depth and very natural color and texture.

I recommend, if you have an Ott-Lite for some other hobby, finding a way to use its light to supplement the diffuse light from the supplied lights in the package.

I do not use the mini-tripod included in the kit. I use my own tripod, either in mini or tall configuation depending on the shot I'm going for.

So since I'm using some of my previously-owned gear, you could say I got this product just for the tent. I like the translucence of the lightbox fabric. It's very good at what it's intended to do--give you shots without shadows you didn't want. You'll be surprised at the detail you are able to capture that you couldn't before.

Highly recommended over similar competing products.

Great item for taking web site photos. Reduces glare and presents a pleasant background. I placed a lace table cloth over the blue background and had a lovely pottery presentation!

I like the basic box and the way it collapses into a convenient carrying case. With only a minor amount of creativity one can easily and inexpensively add other background fabrics from one's local fabric supply store. However, that is as far as my happiness with this product goes.

The supplied tripod is nearly useless. Even with just my Rebel XTi and a 60mm macro lens the tripod sags to the side. It would also be very easy to tip it over, possibly damaging my camera.

Likewise, the two lights supplied are way too weak. With an ASA 200 setting I found myself shooting at 1/4 to 1/10 second at f/2.8.

By the time I replace the tripod and lights with real equipment and add some other fabrics, I have to ask myself why I bought this item in the first place. Still, I do like the box so maybe it wasn't a total loss.

This is a great photo box for so many things. My wife and I have been taking pictures of her glass collection which is so much larger than I had thought. We have been doing a room at the time. It took, at three hours a day, a week to do the living room. Over 450 pictures. They have turned out very good and I would recommend this box for anyone to use. I did find on some of the pictures I needed additional light where I used my old photo blue bulbs in my old reflectors. Over all I have been very pleased.