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Photographic Accessories Discussion on other Photography related Equipment. Tripods, Luggage and suchlike.

Light tents

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  #1  
Old 02-12-06, 17:18
Leif Leif is offline  
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Default Light tents

Can anyone recommend a light tent for photographing small items? About 50cm on each side. The EZCube is rather pricey but probably well made. There are similar ones on ebay going for much much less i.e. £30 down to about £4 + P&P. But of course the concern is that they might be rubbish. I know from experience that much of the cheap Chinese made stuff on ebay is tat.
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  #2  
Old 02-12-06, 21:58
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Don Hoey Don Hoey is offline  
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Kind of depends on your requirements Leif. I seem to remember Wolfie posting a DIY job made from a collapsible mini laundry bin. It has stuck in my mind each time I've seen one.

So the starter question is really, off the shelf, or DIY.

Don
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Old 02-12-06, 22:05
Leif Leif is offline  
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Hello Don. Well I could buy a transparent plastic container, and line it with translucent material at little cost. But I'd like something that folds up. The ones I have seen are a cube and fold into a flat pack. I have a Lastolite light tent that is like a teepee when unfolded, but it's a nightmare to use. It cost £70 too. Grrrr.

Leif
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  #4  
Old 02-12-06, 22:36
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Originally Posted by Leif View Post
It cost £70 too. Grrrr.

Leif


Leif,

Plastic is not the best material. I will search for Harry's post before going further.

Don
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Old 02-12-06, 23:08
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wolfie wolfie is offline  
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No need to search Don. What I use most of the time is the wife's dirty linen basket (well it's mine now).
Actually it's not a basket, but a wooden frame that supports a canvas bag. Somehow the bag got lost.
what I do is drape a white sheet over it and hey-presto a light tent.

Recently (two weeks ago) I purchased a "Portable soft lighting studio" £13 from Maplins http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?...2m12&source=15

This folds down flat with a carrying handle. I'm highly delighted with it, although it doesn't totally replace the "Linen Basket"

This is the one and only photo, that I've taken using the "Portable soft lighting studio"
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ynextyear1.jpg
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Old 02-12-06, 23:59
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Well there you go Harry. Saved me time doing a search so I can spend it looking at another of your crackers.

Don
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  #7  
Old 03-12-06, 00:11
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wolfie wolfie is offline  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Hoey View Post
Well there you go Harry. Saved me time doing a search so I can spend it looking at another of your crackers.

Don
Thanks Don.

The only problem I see with the Maplins "studio" is the slightly larger "Grain" of the material used, which gives the effect of "noise" especially when using a very small aperture.

Just as point of interest is noise apparent on the flower shot? or is it just my imagination.

Harry
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  #8  
Old 03-12-06, 09:46
Leif Leif is offline  
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That's a very nicely lit image Wolfie. What lighting did you use? BTW I see no 'noise' in the image. There is a slight large scale variation of the background which makes it looks like you photographed against a sky.
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Old 03-12-06, 09:59
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Don Hoey Don Hoey is offline  
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Quote:
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Just as point of interest is noise apparent on the flower shot? or is it just my imagination.

Harry
Harry I do not see noise but at a close look I think the background is a bit close to coming into focus. A good example to add coarseness of material into the equation. This was something I noticed with the newer Lastolite reflectors. Mine is 20 years old and is not as fine a material as Foxys.

Not sure of Leifs application, but if you have shots where you have used different materials it may be worth a post of side by side.

Don
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  #10  
Old 03-12-06, 11:31
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wolfie wolfie is offline  
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Don.

Yes it's certainly to do with the coarseness of the material, coupled with the small f/stop, as you know I'm viewing on a 1600 x 1200 res. LCD. Maybe that's why I tend to see the grain of the fabric which then makes the image look a little noisy.

Leif.

The lighting. well actually quite a lot
My Canon twin light macro flash, with the Sigma Super and two Jessops mini-cells as slaves + 2 halogen desk lamps.

Will take a photo of the set-up to show how the lights where arranged, this I will upload a little later in the day.

The two desk lamps where placed behind the "Maplins Light Studio" The heads where angled at approx 70 deg to give a gradation from darker at the bottom to lighter at the top.

This was an attempt to give the impression that the photo was taken outside. I then selected the blue channel in levels to achieve the shade of blue that we would get on a beautiful sunny day.

Harry
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