cowasaki
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Cotswold photography:
Hobo Lighting Small Still Life Shooting Table
Hobo Lighting Small Still Life Shooting Table
Well having had a play with various options in relation to product photograph I felt the the best option for me would be a product photography table. I looked on Ebay and various reviews before deciding that I did not need a particularly expensive one and found this one for sale on Ebay although you can contact Cotswold Photography directly. (0)1386 841698 (normally on answerphone!)
or email @ ebay@cotswoldphoto.co.uk.
The option I bought here is £56.99 including postage and Cotswold Photography are VAT registered.
Delivery etc
I placed the order early in the morning and the item arrived next day so no problems there
What do you get in the box
![_D7H3848.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cowasaki.co.uk%2FTPimages%2F_D7H3848.jpg&hash=3669c2e2bfb0f576ff32e51671381f3b)
Well the table comes in lots of parts and is assembled in much the same way as a tent. You get a carry case, the poles, 8 clips to hold the perspex, 2 lighting clamps and an instruction sheet written in either Chinese or Japenese but with a diagram.
![_D7H3849.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cowasaki.co.uk%2FTPimages%2F_D7H3849.jpg&hash=19108a80fa7ef3505f20583aa158d390)
Assembly
The assembly was not difficult but a number of the poles look the same so you need to make sure that you use the right ones which for some of the parts becomes trial and error. Also it needs to be assembled so that all the clips etc point inside the table or downwards avoiding being in the way of the perspex.
![_D7H3851.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cowasaki.co.uk%2FTPimages%2F_D7H3851.jpg&hash=912b9f85af6162ee55fc78b87ad7f1d2)
Here we have the light table assembled but in my haste the adjustable hinges were the wrong way round so had to be swapped over.
![_D7H3852.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cowasaki.co.uk%2FTPimages%2F_D7H3852.jpg&hash=faff6a17f211dd3f139c143aefc7355c)
Now we get to the fun part of fitting the perspex. The perspex it quite stiff which is what you need once the table is together or the weight of items on it would pull down on the perspex are cause a dent. Fitting the perspex to the top and rolling it down I found was made easier if you use several of the clips or better still fit the two lighting clamps at the top. Once attached at the top roll the perspex down and clip it in place along the sides using four of the clips supplied until you get something looking like this:
![_D7H3854.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cowasaki.co.uk%2FTPimages%2F_D7H3854.jpg&hash=973249b44a8ef27912c54a4ce76973a1)
Now the bottom part. If you try and bend the perspex round the tight bend to attach it at the front it wants to fold in two but after messing about with it for a few minutes I realised that the best way to sort it out was to stick a metal pole under the perspex near the bottom and bend the perspex over that then clip it in place with the four remaining clips (It should be two but we used the clamps in place of the top clips)
![_D7H3855.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cowasaki.co.uk%2FTPimages%2F_D7H3855.jpg&hash=05295f3014ab9f5fc207f43daa0334f0)
And here we have the item fully assembled.
First impressions
Well my first impressions are good. This review contains instructions which are considerably better than the ones supplied which are in all reality atrocious but once it is together most people will keep it that way or at least learn how to put it together so that is now a deal breaker.
The item is clearly a budget priced item but everything was as described and was fit for the purpose. The price is very low for such an accessory with Manfrotto's equivalent costing around 8-10 times the amount. If you are not going to be doing vast amounts of product photography or you are on a tight budget then this is a perfectly viable alternative to the lighting tents that you see everywhere. As an alternative to a lighting tent it has its advantages and disadvantages and I for one will probably end up buying both with certain things lending themselves to one technique over the over.
Pros
- Quick Delivery.
- Low price.
- Adequate for the job.
- Portable
- Light weight.
Cons
- Absolutely awful instructions.
- Not as strong as some of the competition (although many times cheaper).
IF you buy anything after seeing one of my reviews then please post on here as I can then use this to get leverage towards maybe later having things lent to me to do reviews on!
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