Customer Reviews

MyStudioŽ MS20 Professional Tabletop Photo Studio Kit w/ 5000K Continuous Lighting for Product Photography, 20x20x12 inches

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been selling on Ebay since 1998 and have tried just about every photo tent, light cube, paper background and everything in between to help me take great photos of my products, and I have ALWAYS been disappointed. I was a bit skeptical at first with MyStudio because the price seemed a bit high, but out of desperation I bit the bullet and bought one and I am so glad I did! I can honestly say that my MyStudio is possibly the single most important piece of photo equipment I own. It doesn't seem to matter which camera I use (I have an old Canon Powershot and also a Nikon D50), the photos I get are clean and crisp and really make my items pop.

It really can be used by just about anyone and if you sell anything on Ebay or anywhere else online and take your own photos, you would be insane not to have a MyStudio. I have literally bought things on Ebay that I could tell were good products but had bad photos (as most items on Ebay do). Then when I got the product home I took new photos in the MyStudio and relisted it and got nearly twice as much than what I bought it for. I have done this several times now. This works especially well with collectibles, coins, watches and jewelry where good photos can make a significant difference. Needless to say I have paid for it many times over since I bought it a few months ago.

Final verdict: A GREAT product and a must have for anyone who sells online.

I just got this kit and am VERY impressed by the quality of the product itself and the quality of the images I am able to produce with it! The kit comes packed very nicely and setup is a breeze. They have included everything but the camera in this kit to produce professional quality images. The two cardboard light reflectors seemed cheesy at first, but are actually quite effective. You'll realize the importance of them when you shoot a reflective object that you don't want to see yourself in! :)

The first shoot I did was with my Fuji point-and-shoot camera. I wanted to see how well a true novice would do with this kit. The images looked good, but the background wasn't pure white. I played around with the white balance and shutter speed settings, but wasn't able to produce an image with a pure white background. However, anyone with basic Photoshop skills can easily achieve their desired results (as I did)in a matter of minutes. Even given this "extra" step, I would strongly recommend this kit to anyone who is wanting to shoot their own images for web and other purposes. This kit will pay for itself over and over again!

I will update this review after I get a chance to shoot with my DSLR. I'm sure my experience will be even better...

REVIEWER BACKGROUND: I've never used any studio equipment before, and am really just starting to get into product photography since I plan to host a garage sale online soon. I used a DSLR with the built-in flash.

PACKAGING/ASSEMBLY:

The product comes disassembled and took me about 20 minutes to put together with a Philips head screwdriver. The instructions are barely sufficient. The photos are (ironically) are not very clear, since they appear to be grainy B&W photocopies. I found the glossy product ad that came with the instructions to be very helpful in understanding how the assembled product was supposed to look, and what the names of each of the pieces were.

Here's a video review that includes assembly: http://www.slashgear.com/pro-cyc-mystudio-20-tabletop-photo-studio-review-0843301/

USE:

Once set up, I followed some of the camera setting tips (1/30, wb at 5000K, no flash) from the instructions and took a few photos. Overall, I was pleased with the output. The whole setup was effective in distributing the light evenly around the focal area. Since I'd never used a studio before, I'd never really noticed how small 20" really is. My mom asked me to photograph a flower arrangement she did, and I was disappointed that it easily cleared the walls of the background...rendering a full shot of the arrangement impossible.

The entire unit is lightweight, and probably could be easily disassembled but doesn't appear to be designed for mobile or infrequent use. I don't shoot that frequently, so I am not looking forward to figuring out how to store the studio. Also, the overall kit machinery was flimsy, so I suppose the selling major point is that this is an all in one package.

FINAL SAY:

If you have a bounce flash for your SLR, I think you could put together your own studio for a lot less. If you have a built-in flash with your camera, and need to quickly and frequently photograph small objects then this is for you.

This is a great product and a must have if you sell anything on eBay or even craigslist. It came nicely packaged and set up easily. Once I saw my photos, I wondered why I didn't try it sooner. My items came out looking great. I love that it comes with it's own lighting and there's no backdrop to distract. I used to dread the time it would take to get a photo that I was happy with, now it happens in no time and I love the way they turn out. I have a Nikon D-50 but I've also used a simpler point-and-shoot and both have given great photos on this background.

While playing around with the myStudio, I noticed a few things that helped make my photos look their best. First be sure to position the bounce cards to reflect the light back onto your item. Then turn off any extra lighting in the room. It also helps to have your camera on a tripod to keep your camera still. Play around with shooting your item straight on or from above. With taller items, shooting from above helps to fit the entire item on the background. It's really amazing what you can do with this personal sized studio. I'm glad I have it.

Bottom Line: It is easy to use and gives great looking photos. It'll set your items apart.

Before I say anything, make sure you read the description and understand the dimensions, This item isn't designed to be portable, and it isn't tiny.

That said, because it's not designed to be portable, you can get consistently good photos without doing much (if any) post processing. This alone is a huge time saver.

Assembling everything was relatively easy, and the instructions were well written. One minor contention I have is that the description seems to suggest that you don't need to know anything about photography to use this. Personally, I disagree. While it is incredibly easy to get great results, you'd still do well to understand some photography basics. It isn't "shadow-free", and understanding how to properly use different flash techniques can still be helpful with this product.

The other contention I had, is that this is fairly difficult to store. Not so much because of its size, but because dust and debris aren't impervious to cardboard boxes. It would have been nice if some sort of cover had been included.

If you're serious about selling items online (even eBay), and you have items that change often, you'll get your money's worth from this product quickly. But for casual use, you might want to consider other options.

suggested stance for this project: put on a favorite music CD and sit in the middle of the floor, cross-legged... :)

Inside the MyStudioŽ MS20 Professional Tabletop Photo Studio Kit w/ 5000K Continuous Lighting for Product Photography, 20x20x12 inches box I found an itemized list of parts -- devoid of pictures, (except for the stand hardware) -- which should be checked against the included hardware before attempting to assemble. A phillips screwdriver with an average sized head will be needed -- as I saw no such tool in the box.

There is a trick to assembling the legs...put the straight bar on the "outside" of the leg flange and then screw in the thumbscrews. I don't know why they are called thumbscrews, as I had to use a screwdriver. :)

Done!

Crossbar attachment could use more detailed photos, i.e. Fig. 4 -- but, if you drop down to the photo Fig. 9 and stare at it long enough, the crossbar assembly becomes a bit clearer.

Reflector and fluorescent light placement -- try laying the assembly on the floor to attach the reflector and fluorescent light fixture to the crossbar -- I found it a lot easier to connect the three, this way. Don't forget the wing-nuts! :)

If you have never installed a fluorescent light bulb into a fluorescent fixture, you will need to read the instructions -- as, this happened to me -- it, too is a bit tricky and requires a final twist forward.

I found MyStudioŽ MS20 Professional Tabletop Photo Studio Kit w/ 5000K Continuous Lighting for Product Photography, 20x20x12 inches to be compact, adjustable, easy to clean and use, product being photographed to be sufficiently lighted when using the Reflectors and Fluorescent light in conjunction with a simple camera flash. I tested MyStudioŽ MS20 Professional Tabletop Photo Studio Kit w/ 5000K Continuous Lighting for Product Photography, 20x20x12 inches using two different point-and-shoot cameras and a high dollar DSLR mounted on a tripod and found MyStudioŽ MS20 Professional Tabletop Photo Studio Kit w/ 5000K Continuous Lighting for Product Photography, 20x20x12 inches perfect for product and macro photography. --Katharena Eiermann, 2009

I just received this as a gift on Mother's Day from my wonderful husband to help with my ebay business (more of a hobby actually). I just read some of the other reviews and I can definitely echo those that say how much Mystudio has helped them take great photos! I don't know what "J. Bills" is complaining about - sounds more like a lack of knowledge than a problem with the product. You didn't know you needed a tripod to take product photos?? I don't know much but I do know that.

My husband gave me the MyStudio 20 and after assembling it in about 10 minutes I was taking "good" photos within about 2 minutes. After some tweaking with the settings (mainly slowing down my shutter speed) I was taking GREAT photos with a beautiful white background and great detail within about 5 minutes. I can't tell you what a relief it is to be able to take photos of my products (mostly pottery and clay sculptures) without trying to create a "perfect" background on my bed or floor! Not having to use the flash also really helps the detail stand out. I am using a Nikon D50 and what worked best for me was shooting in Aperture Priority (Av) at about F5.6 and a shutter speed of either 1/20th or 1/30th of a second depending on the object. I also boosted the Exposure by +2/3 on some shots which worked great when the background wasn't quite white enough. I just leave the white balance on Auto (AWB) and I am very happy with how the photos turn out, but maybe a custom white balance would work even better...I will have to learn how to do that. One other nice feature is that if you get any marks on the surface it is plastic so it washes off very easily with a sponge or rag.

I am very happy with my MyStudio 20 and would recommend it if you need an easy solution to take photos. The only downside is the size of the MyStudio 20 limits me a bit with my larger pots so I am thinking of saving up and getting the larger 32 model at a later date. But for now the 20 is seeing plenty of use!

Fairly new to digital single lens reflex photography (I traded in my Viet Nam era Nikon film equipment for a new Nikon D90) I wanted to do table top photography of model cars, planes, coins, etc. I investigated several fabric "light boxes" and found them to be flimsy and difficult to work with. Some of the offerings that used tungsten bulbs (HOT!!!) appeared to be fire hazards and downright dangerous. I have used this product for several weeks and continue to be impressed with the ease of taking closeup photos without glare, shadows, etc. I opted for the MyStudio 32 rather than the 20 and absolutely made the right choice. One note; however, the 32 is BIG and takes a fairly large table to set up. It is probably not as portable as the 20 if that would be a consideration for you. The price from Amazon was $200 less than direct from the factory. Amazon rules!

I received the MyStudio MS20DEL 20x40x12 studio system with a part missing. One phone call to Pro Cyc's service department had the problem resolved in less than five minutes. I received the missing part 48 hours later. I'm now using the system to create great looking photos for a set of instruction manuals I'm writing for a small manufacturing company. Excellent customer service for an excellent product.

I have been reviewing Amazon products for many years now, and oftentimes I like to add one of my own pictures to helps potential buyers get a better idea of what the product may actually look like. I have taken most of those pictures with my Canon XSi DSLR camera, and have additionally improved the images in Photoshop, but despite all of these efforts images would still look very unremarkable. Even with neutral backgrounds that I could get at my home, most of the objects in pictures would not stand out all that much. This has all changed after I started using MyStudioŽ MS20 Professional Tabletop Photo Studio Kit.

The product does not come preassembled, and putting it all together can be a bit tricky. There are a few stages where it is crucial that parts should be put together in a right order, so following the instructions that come with this kit is essential. Some of the parts seemed at first glance to be rather cheaply made, but once all of it was put together they all looked right at home with this kit. The whole kit is a bit smaller than I had originally thought based on pictures, and it comfortably fits even on a smallish table.

When I assembled everything I took a couple of test shots with my iPhone 3GS, and even with a 3MP phone camera the difference as compared to the regular object shots was quite noticeable. So far I've gotten the best results with my Canon DSLR camera, used without flash, and a telephoto lens. The telephoto lens helps convey the whole infinite-depth effect very well.

My only complaint is that it would have been useful if this kit came with a stand that would be used for propping up flattish objects. Right now I have to improvise with all sorts of random objects from around my house. This is not too much of a hassle, so the overall impression with this kit is very favorable.

If you are someone who is posting images of objects online on a regular basis, this would be an invaluable photographic tool to have.