Customer Reviews

SP200 Photo Studio In a Box

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, let me say the shipping was FAST. I had this item the NEXT day, and I didn't request expedited shipping. (The company and I are both in Southern California, and that makes a difference, but it does mean they shipped it the same business day they received the order!)

Now, to the product. This is my first time to use a light box, and I did a LOT of research before deciding on this one. I made a good choice. There are other, more expensive, light boxes out there, more powerful lights, etc., but for what I need -- the ability to shoot small products for my eBay and Amazon sales -- this is perfect. The fact that it fits into a compact carrying case is a huge plus. Not that I will necessarily be transporting it around, but the fact that it can be stored compactly and out of the way, is a big plus, and made my wife happy :)

The unit itself it well constructed, comes with a camera tripod (although I seem to prefer to hand-hold my camera), and two lights. The lights are not super bright, but I've been pleased with the photo quality. I've shot photos with both my digital camera, and the camera on my iPhone, both with excellent results. The resulting photos look very professional. So, the lesser-powered lights are not an issue for me, and I shoot in a room with a lot of good ambient light, so it all works well.

I have only two comments, both of which I've sent to the manufacturer: 1) It would be nice to have setup instructions showing the correct orientation of the box and the backdrops. I know it's not rocket science, but I'm still not sure I have it set up correctly. I have the backdrop just draped over the back, although it has velcro for attachment, but setting the box up so the backdrop can be attached via that velcro doesn't make sense to me. Yah, I'm a newbie, but this would seem to be more intuitive than it is. 2) One of the lights did not work when I first switched it on. After a couple of minutes, I figured the bulb might have come loose during shipping, and in fact it had. I unscrewed the "lens" and pushed the light back into the socket, and all is well. I suggested to the manufacturer it might be a good idea to include a notice to check for this condition if a light doesn't work, which could save them having to replace a light for a customer who thinks they got one that's DOA.

I still gave this item 5 stars, as it's everything it advertised, and I'm completely satisfied with the results it produces. In fact, I'm going to buy one of these for my daughter-in-law for Christmas, as she sells a lot of small items on eBay, and this will really help her. I highly recommend this product and seller.

**ADDENDUM: I contacted the company about a setup guide, and they directed me to a link on their site (apparently there was a sticker on the packaging that I overlooked, MY BAD) which directs you to a video on how to set up the lightbox. The video is very helpful, and YES, I did set it up incorrectly. Once I saw how it was done, it made perfect sense, and I felt a little stupid :) But all that to say, the company has been great to respond, the site fully supports their product, and they offered to swap out my light if it gives me any more trouble, which it hasn't. Happy customer here!

This is perhaps the cheapest of this kind of product that I found, and it does a pretty good job.

The folding bag opens and turns into a 16" square box with diffusers on both sides and the back. The accompanying lights are small but strong enough for the job. There is a camera stand with a ball head. It had difficulty holding a FZ30 steady. I used a tripod instead. Smaller and lighter cameras should work ok on the stand.

There are 4 color backdrops included, which is great. But the backdrops are little smaller than the available space in the box, unfortunately.

The biggest items you could shoot without any problem would probably be 10 inches.

The fact that everything folds and packs into a nice bag is a great convenience and space saver.

Look at the user uploaded photos with this product for some ideas on the photo quality.

The lights heat up fast and it may be difficult to keep the studio running for continuous operation. But it is not meant to be for long continous usage.

Overall, it is a great value for the price.

If you need to take pictures of small products or objects, it is highly recommended.

First of all I was sort of expecting a mediocre photo setup and then after I received the box (which was the most mangled box I had ever seen), I expected the worst to come out of it. But, I pulled out an unscathed and unwrinkled, little photo setup.

The whole thing (light box, lights, tripod, and backdrops), comes in a very handy little suitcase with a handle. In fact, the box is the suitcase that folds down into a suitcase and on one side is the velcro closure and the other side are three deep pockets where you put the lights and tripod, then 2 snap closures to secure them. Very clever.

You do need at least 4 ft x 3 ft workspace to have the setup, but I did my photos off an small IKEA table and had room to space for my laptop.

The 50watt lamps are ample lighting, but I find that you do need some sort of light source on the top (I use a lamp, but you could use natural sunlight).

I've only used the black backdrop so far, but the pics are super professional! Even with some lint on the backdrop, it doesn't show up on the pics if you use the right set up on your camera.

As far as sizing, it is perfect for smaller stuff and I'd say that you could go up to a size of a good size vase, but anything more will probably need a bigger box.

All in all, I am very pleased with this purchase and recommend it highly!

I like the box and the case, but the lights are... well the bulbs will not stay in contact and keep turning off. We tried to tighten them but this did not help at all.

UPDATE
What I ended up doing is I got rid of the lights - they are useless and got couple of clip-on reflectors from Ikea, 8.99 each (see the photo), plus 2 fluorescent, 60 watt (1700 lumens) day light bulbs. This made a huge difference.

Purchased this to replace my home made cardboard box / paper setup for some basic photos. It's very portable and everything fits in / is built into an easy to move around fold up bag. I am no expert on photography, so I cannot comment on how well it actually works, but it's easier to use than my home made setup and seems to work fine.

The lights do smell like they are burning though - but this may just be because they are super hot and only been used a couple of times.

The only other thing to mention is the backdrops - 4 nice colors come with it, but they do have fold marks from packaging. I'm also not sure what the best way to store these in the unit is once properly ironed. If I refold them they will probably get fold marks again, but I can't think of a better way to do it.

The photo box itself is okay and it is very simple to set up (despite the fact that it does not come with any directions). However, the lighting is absolutely awful. They SHOULD illuminate the photobox. But they don't. For example, I photographed my objects on the white backdrop. When the lights are on, they SHOULD provide sufficient light to make the white background actually appear white. Instead, you get weak, gray dullness. In order to correct this problem, I will have to go out and purchase lighting which actually does provide sufficient light.
To be clear: I was not expecting a state of the art, creme de la creme, high tech photo studio for $44. But what I did expect was a decent photo box with decent accessories which enable me to take decent pictures. The terrible lighting makes this impossible.
For anyone out there who is trying to decide whether to purchase this product: Expect to shell out extra money for lighting if you want to take decent pictures. If I had to do it all over again, I would not purchase this product.

I bought this photo studio to take pictures of our small precision parts that we manufacture because it was getting difficult controlling the shadows from our overhead lights. This booth really solved our problem because it blocks out all the light from above and brings in the light from the sides. I wish the lights were just a little brighter, but overall, I would definately recommend this product. We make parts out of aluminum that are typically smaller than a quarter and to be able to take super up-close pictures has been difficult in the past not only because of shadows but if there is too much light, the part gets too shiny; so light control is very important.

This is a pretty good starter kit if you need to take photos of rather small items. However, it's not everything you're going to need - and you'll have to design some workarounds. First of all, there are no instructions, so you'll have to play with the setup a bit to figure it out. The product photo shows a black panel on top, but I wanted some light coming in from above. There's a way to do this, but like I said, it takes some playing. Next, two lights work, but it would be better with three so you can place one above (once you figure out how to configure it that way!). It's nice that it comes with four different fabrics, but they are folded and creased in such a way that you'll need to iron them prior to use. I am disappointed that the Velcro on one of them pretty much separated from the fabric the first time I used it. I can fix it, but it's annoying. Lastly, I like the little camera mount, but it's a little difficult to adjust it quickly to a new position. I ended up keeping the knobs loose and holding the camera in place instead of relying totally on the stand.

Bottom line, like I said, it's an OK starter set, but you're eventually going to need some additional pieces as your photo needs grow.

Tent is well made. Lights are cheap and fragile. The light outer housing rings fall off all the time. May have to secure with some kind of reusable substance to hold them in place. Lights could be brighter, but can compensate with camera setting. Recommend to less fussy users.

Its a great set up, however the item came with no instructions, no user manual. I looked on their website and no manual there either. Emailed them and got zip. I finally used the picture on the box to assemble and played around with different camera positions/angles.