Macro Photo Studio

[torquayadam]

hi everyone. my first post on this website so please bare with me.

I have a dslr and a macro lens which isn't the top end spec you will get but gets me by. i am only a amateur, i don't do any photos for anyone or money. purely for my own enjoyment so i don't chase after all the high end lenses etc. as for me the cost outweighs what i get out of them.

Anyway, i have been looking at the macro studio/portable studio 'things' for a while now thinking that they might be the next step for me improving the consistency of my macro photos and obviously the lighting in my photos. At the moment i rely on daylight only which, at this time of year in the UK limits the time i can get to practice.

The only trouble i have is i see many 'cheap' ones for sale on amazon and ebay ranging from £15 up to the sky is the limit! They all seem the same or very similar yet some get good reviews and some bad?

I know that the quality of these ones will be low compared to true professional ones but i don't want to spend a fortune as i'm only taking pictures for fun.

Has anyone had any dealings with the cheaper ones as a 'starting point' for their own macro work? Can you recommend any particular manufacturers etc? or maybe some alternative ideas to the small photo-box/studio?

Thanks for reading and any comments/suggestions you have

 

[simonbarker]

I haven't had any experience of the cheapest units but if I understand correctly they're cheap because they're either weak LEDs or they're manual flashes (meaning your camera won't automatically tell the flash how much power to use).

 

[vRSG60]

I bought a light tent and a set of these lights
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0091PE42A/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They work for me.

 

[Phil V]

It's more about the light than the tent. The continuous lighting options are ok for products, but if you're shooting living things you're probably better off with flash.

Don't worry about only having manual control, once you've worked out your exposure, there'll be little tinkering required. Unfortunately not the cheapest of the options, but you'll be able to utilise them outside too, to increase your options enhancing / overpowering the ambient.