Portable Light Boxes?

[speedgraflex]

Just seeing this now, John. Apologies. I was at work late, got home about an hour ago. Again, apologies. I would say go with your instincts about what feels best for you. That said, I thought two footer rolls of seamless were cheaper. I bought mine two years ago - the three foot version - for 39 bucks including shipping from B&H. I dunno - I wish there was a better starter set for product photography out there. I will have a look online to see if one exists. Have a great night.

[jkim]

Instead of cobbling together a custom set-up, I pulled the trigger on the light box. 24" cube, foldable, shown in the first pic of the thread. Retailing for about $85, it went unavailable yesterday. Today, a used one showed up available from Amazon Warehouse for $64 so I grabbed it. I'll post up a report when it arrives next week. Thanks for all of the input guys!

[KSaarni]

Well done John!

And please, would be great if you could write a report of the "cube" !
Might be I would also "pull the trigger"

- Kari

[jkim]

Will do Kari!

[jkim]

As promised... a hot off the grill look at the new photo light box that I received today. It is the Amzdeal 24"x24" Foldable Light Box. At under 3 feet square, I didn't expect such a big box!


Huh... that's strange. Since it was a used purchase through Amazon Warehouse, I guess the big box was the only way to package it since they considered the original box to be damaged?



Inside the Amzdeal box, the four provided background sheets were gently folded over the collapsed light box.


It's meant to be portable, which isn't a big deal for me since I'll be stationing it in my modeling garage. The box was easily assembled, the walls being attached by its edges by velcro. The two side walls and the ceiling of the box is covered by a shiny reflective material. There are a couple of ways you can use this... through the front opening or through the hole in the top.


The ceiling holds four strips of LED lights... 120 in all. It's quite bright when the switch is turned on.


I took a few snaps of the Me 262 with my Canon point-n-shoot. With a full 1/32 aircraft, it would challenging to get full body views with a seamless background... it's a challenge to avoid the corners of the box.



The main intention of this purchase was to use for in-progress photography so I wanted to check out shooting from the top opening to shoot a sprue. I changed the background to blue and shot a sprue from a 1/32 Special Hobby Tempest V kit that I have in my stash.


From the front opening, I can get an oblique view of the wing. One thing I notice is the reflection of the square LED array on the ceiling of the light box.


Zooming in closer, you can get an idea of what kind of in-progress shots I can get of smaller assemblies and parts. The reflection of the overhead lights is still distracting. The light box comes with a diffusion cloth that can be draped under the lights. I'll play with that next to see if that makes a noticeable difference.


I'm happy with the initial test and I think I can get better results with a little tweaking.

[jkim]

I installed the diffusion cloth and shot a few more tests.

The CMK Resin Engine for the Hawker Tempest V kit shot using a Canon S100



Shot with a Canon 5D Mk IV and EF 24-105 f/4L IS



Barracuda Resin Wheels for Me262 using a Canon S100


Canon 5D Mk IV


There is some issue with not enough illumination from the side as evidenced by these photos. Color reproduction is better with the 5D but with the controlled lighting, I can probably get by with the S100. A blue background may not be ideal for the dark painted tires.

[speedgraflex]

Gorgeous! Have you tried black backgrounds yet, John? Edit—I finished polishing the fuselage halves on Black 13, so I cranked up the desktop Cinema Displays to peer at your snapshots, John. What a high quality sampling! Fantastic photography. Tons of detail. The photo box really works well with both sensors—so your assessment of using the S100 is correct. There's really no need for the big guns all the time with results like these. Be well!

[LyleW]

Okay. Those are a tremendous improvement, I think. Wow. The details really jump out.

[jkim]

Thanks guys! Yes, I consider this an improvement from my previous setup which was just desk lamps over a messy desk. Some minor issues to figure out but overall I'm satisfied, especially given the cost of the purchase.

I have not used the black background yet but that will be tested soon too!

[speedgraflex]

I think you are already knocking out beautiful images! This is gonna be wonderful for your approach. Also have you tried the latest Dora within those white walls. I imagine a 1:32 scale pilot jumping inside and strafing an opening large enough to escape with that particular project. So realistic! What will happen now that you have this incredible resolution...?