Customer Reviews

Two Prism 10x20' 100% Cotton Muslin Backdrops and The Ravelli Full Size 10x12' Background Stand Set

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought the 3 muslin version of this kit and thought the review would be help full here as well.

This is a good overall kit and I have paid a lot more for similar equipment in the past.

The Stand:
The stand is sturdy and there is not much sag even with all three backdrops on it at once. You can use the crossbar with 2, 3 or 4 sections giving you widths of 6', 9' or 12'. The pieces of the crossbar have a "male" piece at one end and a "female" opening at the other end. You connect them by inserting the male end and twisting. The are tight enough that they hold together firmly but not so tight that they are difficult to pull back apart. At the top of the tripod stands is a "reversible" piece with two different size screw threads. It looks like a fairly expensive molded piece of metal, but I will probably never really use it since I basically will be using the stand only and not the tripods separately for lighting or other uses. But it is there if you need it. As advertised, the stands do have "air shocks". It appears to me that this is simply some fitting inside the stand poles with a small opening for airflow. But it does the job and keeps the stands from collapsing too quickly. The bag for the stand is actually fairly impressive. It is truly a thick material and a real metal zipper. The metal zipper is a little "sticky" and may smooth out with some use, but I still prefer this to cheap breakable plastic zippers that soo many things seem to come with these days. One other nice thing. My kit came with two clamps to hold the muslins to the crossbar. They are pretty decent clamps and I did not remember reading about them in the product description and so they were pleasant surprise.

The Backdrops:
The backdrops are decent and a little on the thicker side compared to many I have bought. They are not a high threadcount type of product, but in my past experience, high thread count actually makes the backdrop thinner not thicker and more like a bedsheet. The details of the description at Amazon state that the actual dimensions of the backdrops are about 10% less than what is stated in the title and this was true for the backdrops I got. Most sellers seem to advertise this way, but if you really need 10' of width rather than 9', your actual product here is going to be 9'. 9' is more than enough for me so no worries. The sides of the backdrops are stitched but it is not real tight stitching. I think it is sufficient unless you were to wash your backdrops a lot, but for me, my backdrops seem to wear out for other reasons first anyway. My backdrops are not ready for the first wash yet, but I tested the green one anyway. The color held just fine but I did wash on cold and separately. The bags for the backdrops are not as impressive as those for the stand. The are a thinner nylon type bag similar to those that some grocery stores now use as "reusable" bags. I often just need something to put a muslin in while switching from one color to the next to avoid it picking up stains from the floor or wherever I might set the muslins and these bags are fine for that use. But if you are really going to be traveling a lot with this kit, you may want to get a separate duffle type bag to put all your muslins in. The backdrops come folded up in a size about 1.5'x1.5'x3". When you unfold them they are wrinkled as basically any cotton muslins are. The official seller recommendation is to use a steamer to steam out any wrinkles, but my low budget technique is to simply spray them with a water bottle and then either hang them or throw them in the dryer and this worked just fine.

Shipping:
My kit came in two packages, one for the stand and one for the backdrops. The stand was double boxed and the three backdrops were each individually boxed and then taped together. It was the individually boxed backdrops that took some damage while shipping and I would have preferred that everything came in one package. I did contact the seller and they told me that the stand was Ravelli and the backdrops were Prism and that these manufacturers were working on a new co-branded single package that would be available in the near future.

The product shipped super fast and arrived packed perfectly! The stand goes up in a sinch and is super easy to use!! The bag is super sturdy and also good quality! Great deal for the price! The muslin was perfect as well. I was able to put everything up and take it down in 30 minutes, by my self! Amazing! Even came with an instruction book, which a lot of equipment I have purchased on here hasn't. Super pleased with the whole purchase!

Only issue I see possibly in the future is that the stands are kind of lightweight, great for carrying, but might tip easy. I bought ankle weights to wrap around the base of the stands and that made them even more sturdy.

Item shipped in less then 12 hours of purchase and I had tracking numbers for both packages emailed to me from the UPS site, not just Amazon.

Overall, super pleased!! Great deal!!

I have to say that I was more than a little impressed when I received this set. My expectation was about in line with what any reasonable person would expect from a photography-related item priced in the low $100 range. That is to say, cheap and unreliable.

Well, I can't tell you how happy I am to be wrong in this case.

My first thought was that the muslin would end up being some cheap cotton bedsheet material to save on cost. This isn't true -- both of them are quality items, just as good as the other two muslin backdrops that I purchased separately. They also each come in their own protective bag with a velcro clasp, good for keeping them clean during transport.

The stands are thick and sturdy, and the legs are braced against the center pole when extended, ensuring that a) they won't collapse, and b) at any given point of extension, the legs are all equidistant from center. So the stands will always be level assuming a level ground. The feet are rubber to protect the floor and help to keep the stand from moving around.

The carrying bag is nice too. It's a sturdy nylon on the outside, and soft on the inside for protection. Each of the four crossbar pieces get their own elastic holder loops which keep them from getting banged around inside the bag. The two stands each get their own deep pockets as well. Really impressive all around.

You really can't go wrong with this item, considering the low price. If you're looking to get started with some basic studio equipment, or you need something portable like I do, this is an excellent bang-for-the-buck option.

This was better quality than what I figured it would be. Especially at this price range. Fast shipping! I have noticed some light reflections with the black muslin but was an easy fix by putting the white one behind it. It's a good value!

Easy to set up and comes with a very nice carry bag. Was well packaged for shipping. I like that you can change the size by adding or taking out some of the poles. This is my first background stand so I don't have anything to compare it with but it seems to be fairly sturdy (but if I had small children running around I'd weight the bottom. The included muslins are fine (can't complain as the price was right for the set) and good for beginner setup.

I purchased this and two muslin backdrops. The stand is sturdy and yet still easy to store when in it's case. Simple to put together. The muslin backdrops could have been a little thicker to prevent light but still great for the price.

Very nice entry level kit and very adequate for family needs. Reasonable price. Muslin is a not quite as thick as hoped but very workable (set up against a wall with no windows or other light behind). Will likely need to invest in other color backgrounds over time, but black and white gets things rolling nicely. Stands seem sturdy enough. Like the carry bag too. No regrets.

Just got mine yesterday and set up today so I really don't have a great review of use out of the studio. But I have used other brands like Manfrotto backdrops from friends and yes if you feel like spending 290 and up for smaller back drop stand be my guest. But for what I do for weddings and on site studio picks this will work great. After setting up the center rod goes together great and for one person it was a breeze setting up(I had it set up in under 10min with out the back drop on). One thing that it doesn't come with is clamps to hold the backdrop cloth but not a big deal cause you can grab some from you local hardware store(not the end of the world). The cloth that comes with is pretty decent quality, cant complain. Just be sure that if you out and about doing a shoot to bring a portable steamer cause this stuff like too wrinkle(yes photo-shop can get all of them out but just by spending a small amount of time steaming you have less time on the computer). Pros: Two 20'x 10' backdrops for the money you cant go wrong, the center rods are very sturdy and a little bow but 12.5' of course you will get a little bow, I like that you can remove one of the rods in the middle to make it a bit narrower so its only about 9' wide, on the stands the handles are not cheep feeling. Cons: Zipper is a bit of a pain on the bag, wish the stands were a bit more heavy. Over all I don't have very many cons yet so from just the little that I have played with it I love it and glad that my wallet isn't crying over a backdrop that is going to come in real handy on shoots.

The stands are air cushioned and quite sturdy. I love them. The crossbar comes in sections that fit together, and sadly is not adjustable where the width is concerned. The fitted connections for the crossbar are strong and setup easily; it is just like putting together aluminum tubing with preset lengths. It would be hard to find a better bargain where you get 2 air cushioned stands, crossbars, and 2 muslin backdrops. That being said I am quite happy with my value per dollar.

The muslins are ok. The stitching on the seams are horrible. There are many hanging threads. Up close, you can see white threads here and there on the black muslin. I did use one of the reviewer's suggestion to use a spray bottle with water and sprayed the muslin. Majority of the wrinkles went away. Worked pretty well. The two clamps are pretty solid. The muslin came in a long rectangular bag, not the squared one seen in the product photo. Folding the muslin back down to size would be easier if you had enough room to lay the whole thing out. I didn't have such room and was able to get it down to a decent size. However, when trying to put the muslin back in, the bag ripped. Honestly, the muslin bags are a poor excuse of a bag. I guess I'd go with my plans to carry the muslin in something more durable. The muslin works though not perfect. I don't really care for the muslin bags. I'd give the muslin 3.5 stars. 1 star for the muslin bags.

The stands are pretty sturdy. I set it up to about 8 feet high and the stands were very stable. The plastic knobs does give some concerns of longevity. I had to tighten one of the knobs quite a bit to keep the bar from sliding. I also had an issue while trying to set the crossbar to 6 feet. I was able to insert the male end of the crossbar into the female end of the opposite crossbar. However, it would not let me turn to "lock" it. After a few mins and contemplation of returning the entire kit, I was able to twist it into place. I then set it to 9 feet and it worked out fine. I didn't bother with 12 feet as I did not have the room for it. Everything held up fine. One thing I didn't like was how sticky the stand was when trying to spread the legs apart. It did not smoothly move into place. I'd give the stands/bars 3.5 stars.

The kit carrying case is pretty decent. It is slightly padded to protect the stands. There are elastic bands to slip the crossbars into. Basically, it works for carrying everything but the carrying bag doesn't scream "quality made." I'd give it a 3.5 stars.

I can see this kit being a good permanent backdrop to have up. The stands are stable, the crossbars are strong, and the muslin are good enough. However, I do have some concerns about its longevity if it's being used as a portable kit. Overall, it worked well enough and does what I need it to do. I definitely do not agree with the overall 4.5 stars it has. Maybe a 3.5 overall. But I am content enough to keep it and give it a try. I'd report back later.