Very long time without posting - Need help fast

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Leon
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Hi All, its been years since I last posted. I have some urgent help needed.
I need a decent product studio kit - something that can be portable (ish), ideally a single kit that I can buy that uses continuous lighting rather than flash.
Any help for a decent kit would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
 
im talking low end, very small stuff (never larger than 1ft tall, more often than not only about 6 inchs tall. for the sake of this purpose only, most of the photos would be using the smartphone hence the continuous lighting option. theses plenty of 'kits' on ebay but im looking for something that actually works if that makes sense. most bang for my buck.
Had a good read through and nothing seems to really answer that.

Still need more info, sorry. Can you like to an example of the sort of thing you're photographing & the kind of results you're after?
 
Whatever you are doing, whatever you are shooting and whatever you are buying: You are still going to need time to learn how to use it all to be able to take anything even remotely decent. It doesn't just come out the box and setup, done.

Its not going to be fast, and it doesn't really sound like you know what you are doing.
 
With all respect in the world Riddell, I think you’re being quite rude. I have the high end gear, I’ve been doing this for years (see age of account), I’ve just never delved into the realm of pop up small product studio photography. The forum I used to know wouldn’t slate someone who asked for advice.

Well, I'm still wondering why you are forced to use a smart phone? any why you are in such as desperate hurry? Also my first comment about learning all the skills and how to control lighting is very valid.

To give you accurate advice, and not be rude, I shoot huge amounts of products and have shot absolutely hundreds of ornaments, ceramics, glass, wood, small items, trinkets etc.

I know from experience why I wouldn't shoot with a low end camera / lens / lighting. A few specialist exceptions aside product photographers generally use studio flashes.
 
My take on this is that either the Godox 60 or 100 is probably your best choice - if you really are limited to continuous lighting - not good enough in my view because of the CRI limitation but at least you can fit lighting modifiers to it.

I don't wish to be rude, and don't see that anyone else is being rude either, but I too can't help wondering why you feel the need to use a smartphone, and I don't see how the length of your forum membership can be relevant.

Nearly all experienced photographers use a DSLR (at least) and studio flash, for good reason.
 
I purchased 2 packs of these Neewer CN-160 for lighting for my other half to use for photographing Guinea Pigs using her phone & DSLR. Excellent results, I have used them and can see how they lack compared to more expensive alternative but sounds like they would do the job. All you would need extra is a white soft box/cube to put the items in.

Neewer CN-160 LED Digital Camera Video Lighting Kit- Dimmable LED Video Light, Foldable Diffuser, Rechargeable Battery with Micro USB for Canon Nikon and Others DSLR Cameras and Camcorders https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0741497ZL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_P7-FCb59MSXYQ
 
Hi All, its been years since I last posted. I have some urgent help needed.
I need a decent product studio kit - something that can be portable (ish), ideally a single kit that I can buy that uses continuous lighting rather than flash.
Any help for a decent kit would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
The new canon robo-flash is really cool.
That said, if you don't have a canon camera then that's a fairly useless suggestion.
 
Well, I'm still wondering why you are forced to use a smart phone? any why you are in such as desperate hurry? Also my first comment about learning all the skills and how to control lighting is very valid.

To give you accurate advice, and not be rude, I shoot huge amounts of products and have shot absolutely hundreds of ornaments, ceramics, glass, wood, small items, trinkets etc.

I know from experience why I wouldn't shoot with a low end camera / lens / lighting. A few specialist exceptions aside product photographers generally use studio flashes.
"A few specialist exceptions aside product photographers generally use studio flashes" we must be specialists exceptions.
 
As Garry said the Godox SL-60 is a nice piece of kit and very bright, the 100 would be mega bright ! (CRI is up there with the best as well :) ) we use one or two :)

Edit: I must make it clear that Garry did not say the sl60 was a nice piece of kit, he merely stated that this was the best choice for the OP, I missed out a full stop after said.
 

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A one lighting setup, that suits all, does not exist.
Glass, ceramic, metallic, plastic, matt, textured and fabric surfaces all need different considerations.
It is unreasonable to expect anyone to sell a self contained boxed kit that will handle everything.

I do not believe that there is any circumstance for which a mobile phone camera is the only choice, or even the best choice.

You seem to be unaware that control of Lighting and viewpoint are fundamental to photography.
A camera phone has a very restricted ability to change viewpoint and still achieve a reasonable sized image.
And a basic lighting set up will only suit certain types of object.

A chef is not the sum of the tools he has available, His knowledge and skill set are far more important.
The same applies to Photographers.

No skilled photographer would feel the need to ask your question.
some one who does need to ask it, will not have the necessary skills to apply the answers.
 
As Garry said the Godox SL-60 is a nice piece of kit and very bright, the 100 would be mega bright ! (CRI is up there with the best as well :) ) we use one or two :)
That isn't what I said at all
 
And your comment is helping how? You see the irony?

Well I'm not trying to start an argument so that's a little more helpful and also not irony.

How is it helpful to start to judge someone skill set after they ask for advice on kit.

They weren't being judged, they were told that knowledge of how to use it is more useful than whichever thing happens to be producing the light, which seems a fairly valid point for any of us.

Perhaps as you seem to be the biggest cheerleader here for continuous you could do something helpful like try to answer the op?
 
...perhaps Imgculley/Leon isn't going to be taking the photos himself, just enabling good lighting for a series of phone-weilding clients to take pictures of their niknaks in a tiny space ...

Anyway, I'm itching to find out the whys of all this.
 
Well I'm not trying to start an argument so that's a little more helpful and also not irony.



They weren't being judged, they were told that knowledge of how to use it is more useful than whichever thing happens to be producing the light, which seems a fairly valid point for any of us.

Perhaps as you seem to be the biggest cheerleader here for continuous you could do something helpful like try to answer the op?
I did answer the OP its comment 16, not sure your input has helped so,far though, maybe you should stop looking at the cheerleader?
 
try a high end smartphone job done
or try using the high end gear you have !!
 
Why is it relevant?

Its totally relevent, as I'm interested to know what you are shooting, as I said there are specialist applications for using continuous,. I for example very occasionally rent huge Arris for shooting very specific products, though I usually splash some flash in for accents as well.

I'm also interested to know where the images are being used. I.e are they destined for a high end catalogue or website, or just going on ebay?
 
I bought an item from an Ebay power seller recently, with a feedback.score in the tens of thousands (I'd guess they make a good living). I thought the item had been well lit, i.e. evenly distributed across faces. Out of curiosity I looked at the details for the photo. It transpires they used a Kodak point'n'shoot camera, circa 2004 - yours for 30 quid. The image wasn't large and had it been, the camera's pedigree or lack of it would've been evident - but the moral of the story stands.
 
I bought an item from an Ebay power seller recently, with a feedback.score in the tens of thousands (I'd guess they make a good living). I thought the item had been well lit, i.e. evenly distributed across faces. Out of curiosity I looked at the details for the photo. It transpires they used a Kodak point'n'shoot camera, circa 2004 - yours for 30 quid. The image wasn't large and had it been, the camera's pedigree or lack of it would've been evident - but the moral of the story stands.
Your common sense approach to this will fall on a few deaf ears, it is apparent that some people think that you need high end gear to produce decent images, which of course is total tosh. :). But keeps it all lively :exit:
 
Your common sense approach to this will fall on a few deaf ears, it is apparent that some people think that you need high end gear to produce decent images, which of course is total tosh. :). But keeps it all lively :exit:

Your own studios tailored approach to fashion photography Clearly works very well. and is based around the limited needs of web reproduction.
Were your main interest be in another speciality like ceramics, furniture or silverware you would most likely have settled upon a rather different kit choice.

This is our problem in answering the OP. We have no idea what he is needing to photograph, or the requirements for his output, we have no examples of either.
It is fairly clear from what he has said so far, that it is not fashion. So your own solution might not be the best one for him.
We are all aware that even a three or four megapixel camera can produce excellent results when seen on a computer screen However a camera phone is not ideal in a studio situation, and it is certainly not what you choose to use your self.
I suggest that we are not getting enough feedback from the OP to be very helpful.
 
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it is apparent that some people think that you need high end gear to produce decent images, which of course is total tosh.

This is a common misunderstanding, which I think a lot of people misunderstand, because they are desperate to believe its true.

NO, you do not need high end gear to produce a decent image. There are countless examples of this.

But just because a cheap camera took a good picture in one set of circumstances and looked good when viewed somewhere, does not mean its always going to do that. (and ebay is hardly a mark of quality)

I have a fairly high end camera phone, its capable of taking very good pictures, but at the same time it lets me down in loads of situations. I'm also aware of loads of limitations it has.

In order to be able to take a great image each and every time and in any scenario thrown at you, you not only need lots of high end equipment, but lots of skill and experience too.
 
"In order to be able to take a great image each and every time and in any scenario thrown at you, you not only need lots of high end equipment, but lots of skill and experience too. "

Whats high end?
 
This is a common misunderstanding, which I think a lot of people misunderstand, because they are desperate to believe its true.

NO, you do not need high end gear to produce a decent image. There are countless examples of this.

But just because a cheap camera took a good picture in one set of circumstances and looked good when viewed somewhere, does not mean its always going to do that. (and ebay is hardly a mark of quality)

I have a fairly high end camera phone, its capable of taking very good pictures, but at the same time it lets me down in loads of situations. I'm also aware of loads of limitations it has.

In order to be able to take a great image each and every time and in any scenario thrown at you, you not only need lots of high end equipment, but lots of skill and experience too.

Have you thought about a career as a comedian ? :)
 
To me High end means among the best of its kind.

Of course there as many kinds of cameras and equipment as there are kinds of Needs.
Part of the skill of a photographer is knowing what kind of equipment he needs for each kind of Job.
And having the knowledge and skill to get the best out of it.

Another strategy for buying kit is to spend just sufficient to produce the output quality required.
this can be highly cost effective and productive,
but it requires considerable effort and knowledge and perhaps trial and error to arrive at the correct balance.
However it is unlikely to offer the capability of producing the "best possible" quality, in the most efficient way.

For most of us, we simply buy the best and most suitable kit that we can afford, to do what we want to do, and to the quality we require.
This can well be a compromise between quality, features and price.

However all these compromised strategies can lead to swapping and changing kit far more often than is reasonable
and at a greater cost than buying the "Best" in the first place.
 
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