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Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 07 Aug 20, 23:18
by James
Sold under different names but they generally look like this
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Ordered one last week since i realised you could get one for just under 7 GBP off eBay delivered and ive been getting fed up of emptying this fancy grey shoe box that's full of bases and bits everytime you want to picture a mini.
So for 7 quid you can get a fold up plastic frame box with led usb strip, 2 felt inserts for the back drop, a little bag to keep it in. So far so good. Cant complain for the price in terms of the feel of it and stuff.
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Bit of a pain to gently unfold it the first time but then it goes up pretty easily as expected.
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The leds are ok. Not super bright so i used them in conjuction with my hobby light and here are some of the results.
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So overall pretty good. And i wasnt trying too hard just wanted some quick pics.

Conclusion. I think for the price its great and unless you have a good solution already then this is definitely worth it and its fold away ability means its not going to take up room etc. Also two inserts is nice so you can different backgrounds. Led seem decent too.
Negatives for me is id like it to be a little taller and wider in an ideal world. Think it would struggle to house the crawler ive done for instance. And you can see in the bladeguard guys there's not enough space. Also the sides tend to fold abit so i might try to think of a solution to make them stand abit straighter. You can sorta see this in the pic of the LEDs that the sides are bending in a little.

Id give it 4/5 when considering the price!
And i think I'm going to redo the pics of the contemptor in the lightbox before the next competition at the end of the month cos they do look pretty good.

Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 08 Aug 20, 19:35
by pawl
For the price that actually looks pretty good! The difference in picture quality is noticable, too.
I would imagine that with a little research into proper picture taking (camera angles, ideal lighting etc) that it would be perfectly serviceable for individual models at least. Whether you could get it to work for squad-sized photos is something you would have to experiment with.

What's the other insert, white to blue?

Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 08 Aug 20, 22:13
by James
You think those contemptor pics look better than the others? I might redo them all for the competition at the end of themonth.

The other insert is just white! Looks good but prefer black backshots

Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 08 Aug 20, 22:54
by pawl
I would say so, yeah. The contrasting background helps to show off the colours, I think. Compare the barrels in the black and white photos in particular.

The guides I've read (at least those that were written in the last few years) all seem to prefer black, but I assume that it's dependant on the colours used. Too late (and too lazy) to start googling now though!

Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 09 Aug 20, 22:21
by James
Cool. I will retake them all properly at some point cba now. Seem to have no hobby time at all now since gyms and work has reopened 😑😑
Really want to get started on the drone.. bad weather inbound so maybe painting will be bearable again.

I think it depends on what it is too. Black makes things look more grimdark whereas i think aos and elves and stuff look better with white!

Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 12 Aug 20, 09:34
by James
Solution to the sagging!
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chopsticks 😂

And here are some the pics i just got
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Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 12 Aug 20, 12:49
by pawl
It ain't stupid if it works! 😂

Also, compare:
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An improvement, I feel!

Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 12 Aug 20, 14:17
by James
Yes definitelt right. @Lovecraft0110 is going to put it in his community showcase 😀 ill be famous lol.
But he suggested poses from below and he's right looks very cool
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Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 12 Aug 20, 14:20
by pawl
Happy days! Gotta show the students some love 😂

Do a little Googling, see if you can find any tutorials for mini photographing. A little change makes a big difference!

Re: Cheapo eBay light box

Posted: 12 Aug 20, 23:03
by James
I will do!! Ill post any findings. Already thinking a bigger box lol