| | American Recorder SIB-101CS Classic Photo Studio-in-a-Box |  | Brand: American Recorder Technologies
Category: Photography
List Price: $109.95
Buy New: $54.94
You Save: $55.01 (50%)
New (15) from $54.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Media: Electronics
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5.3
Dimensions (in): 18 x 18 x 9
MPN: SIB-101CS
Model: SIB-101CS
UPC: 646057119915
EAN: 0646057119915
ASIN: B000QPDK2Y
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 | | NEXT » |
 Photo Studio July 10, 2008
If it were not for the legs of the lights I would say it is a fairly nice product. Now, after much thought, I have come to the conclusion that someone must have paid a lot of money to an engineer to come up with an extremely poor design. The legs on one of my lamps failed to work the first time out. The second one the third time. I am in the process of undesigning the engineers design and make it work, but truthfully, it shouldn't be like that. This product was probably made in China.
 adaquate for small items May 6, 2008
..the lights supplied should be of a higher wattage and the legs were impossible to open....I had to resort to pliers. Seam lines were visable unless taped together from the back. I got what I paid for..nothing more.
 I've yet to get a good photo out of it. March 16, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I'm an eBay PowerSeller who received the Studio-in-a-Box as a gift from a family member. The only thing I've gained from it is horrible guilt - I didn't realize the studio was a piece of junk until it was too late for my family member to obtain a refund. I've gotten better results with several sheets of folded paper and a table lamp.
First, you need an inordinate amount of space to set up all the components - about 8 feet (by 3 or 4 feet) of completely clear table space. You'll also need to move a good 6 to 8 feet back to get an in-focus shot, where you'll need another level surface to set up the tripod. In other words, you need a large dining room table (that's not in use - and, no, your kitchen counter isn't wide enough). If you live in an apartment or a small house, you simply won't have the space needed to use the studio.
The lights present their own problems. They rest on tripod feet that are, in some alternate universe where American Recorder makes quality products, retractable. In this universe, however, there is no way - NO WAY - to extract the feet from their storage positions inside the lights. You're left with no choice but to balance the lights on their spindly stalks, readjusting them after they topple over every couple minutes. The lights also become inordinately hot after only seconds of use - they're too dangerous to use around small children and represent a burn and fire hazard for even a cautious user. Even more, they're so bright that they overlight your items without a gigantic space allowance between the box and the lights. (Every time I use the studio, I discover I've only a useless series of overlit blobs to show for my efforts.)
Cobalt blue is a poor choice for a supposedly neutral background - it's distracting and makes the white areas of an item look utterly washed out. Despite the billing, the background is not seamless. Furthermore, its rough woven texture is all too apparent in photos, particularly those of smaller items, making everything - the photo, your item - seem cheap. Why make the backdrop so shoddy and garish? Oh, right - so they can sell you the $20 black/white add-on backdrop that should've been included in the first place.
No, I'm not a master photographer - but I've gotten hundreds of decent photographs for my business with supposedly cruder material and lighting. It's not me. This studio rips off both your time and money and is not worth a second glance.
fine for short takes March 3, 2008
Overall, a great deal. I deal in a small way in 18th-19th C. swords, and this setup makes it easy to produce the kind of close-to-professional closeups that mean everything when one sells antiques via eBay. The only weak link is the lights, which are fine at lower shutter speeds but start to overheat at about 15 minutes - though they cool off nicely in another 5. So,if you're not taking hundreds of shots on a busy schedule,this isn't a real problem - if you are, I don't see anything in this price range that will work any better.
 Jewelry Artisan January 20, 2008
Because I take pictures of my work for my website, I can count on the lighting being consistent.
|
|
|
Copyright
©
2006 Adminpal LLC | |
