Light tent kit

[pregcurious]

I'm trying to find a way to get good pictures of gems/jewelery, and was wondering if this light tent kit (tent, lights, tripod) is any good:

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Studio-Lighting-Light-Tent/dp/B002PME6JM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323630398&sr=8-2

If not, does anyone have suggestions on where I can buy this kind of thing, either as a kit or separately, and exactly which lights/tripods/tent work best?

 

[kenny]

It's a good combo for the price but if you can afford better . . . I'd recommend not buying it.
It kind of depends on what camera equipment you have (and will eventually buy) and how into all this you want to get.
The sky's the limit when it comes to cost but this system has a few faults IMHO:

Tripod - the heavier the better.
Mine weighs a ton, a Gitzo series 3.
If you shop for a tripod avoid carbon fiber.
It is lighter than aluminum so they charge more for it, but for Macro work you WANT the heaviest tripod.
In fact people even hang bags of sand from tripods to make them more stable.

Macro work requires a stable tripod to minimize vibrations which can blur the pic at high enlargements.
The "tripod" offered with this kit looks very wimpy.
It may not even be solid enough to safely hold a DSLR with a lens, rather it may be intended for point and shoot cameras.

The reflectors on those light units could be (actually should be) larger .
Larger is better becuase a larger light source is often what you want, even when using a light tent.
A larger light source is more diffuse and directionless.
I bought these: http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/shtwoliset.html
This site also sells light tents.

I have found that the cheapo CFLs at Home Depot are fine rather than the very expensive ones from photography outlets.
I buy the ones with a color temperature of 5500K (the least yellowish-looking one).

 

[Karl_K]

save your money and build this:
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent

I would use these instead of the florescent lights:
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=320779-337-PQS2504IN1UT&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3182631&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

Just make sure you don't burn your box... turn them on shoot then shut them off.

A lot of people use these but you have to be even more carefull:
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=320778-337-PQS45UT&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3182629&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks Kenny and Karl_K! I like that light, and I can use it for other stuff. I may still buy a cheapo light tent b/c I don't have any space to store that box.

 

[Karl_K]

if you need it to fold up...
http://www.instructables.com/id/A-2020min-Professional-Quality-Soft-Light-Box/

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks, Karl. This is an adventure.

 

[kenny]

FWIW, these fold up flat too.

http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/ezlite.html

But I really like Karl's link and may make one of those!

I have a couple of the light tents I linked to and I do not like how the bottom is not rigid and flat.
Sometimes that's a problem.