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lmorganc
2006-08-10, 7:33am
Okay, beady peeps! Tell me what you think. Which is better, and why: the Cloud Dome or the Table Top Cube? Can you only take front-on pictures with the Cube? Can you only take pictures from the top with the Cloud Dome? Opinions wanted! Advice needed!
Thx!
Leda:love:

Alaina
2006-08-10, 7:38am
I have the Cloud Dome, and I've only had minimal success with it.

BUT, let me say that that's mainly because of:

1. My camera (a Kodak EasyShare is NOT the best equipment for good quality digital photos, and it doesn't work well WITH the Cloud Dome, they have a list of recommended cameras)

2. I have PhotoShop but have neglected to actually load it and learn how to use it to improve my pics (which would counteract the effects of not having the "perfect" digital camera)

You can get Cloud Dome angled collars that allow you to take pics from an angle, but it's still pretty much an (above your work) kind of shot. I've not seen any attachments for Cloud Dome that permit you to take side-frontal (?) shots of your work.

For what it's worth, the Cloud Dome people have wonderful customer service and are very knowledgeable about digital cameras and photography and the art/science of photographing jewelry (and they teach classes occasionally).

I'm almost at the point of sending my work OUT to be professionally photographed, but I haven't given up completely yet! LOL!!!

I've not tried the Table Top Cube.

e. mort
2006-08-10, 8:16am
My friend has the cloud dome so I got to use it for free. I didn't like it at all as not enough light penetrates the plastic dome in my opinion. Plus, for the price, you could buy 5 photo cubes, plus good lights, and a tripod. I just feel it is really overpriced or was so the last time I checked. Now if it was about $50-60 for the setup I would probably be more in favor of it.

I got my cube through eBay. It works pretty good, and including shipping was less than $40.

Just my 2 cents....

Eric

lmorganc
2006-08-10, 8:18am
Great info! Keep it coming!

Alaina
2006-08-10, 8:19am
Eric,

You are correct, it IS expensive (I got suckered into buying it at a show).

If I cannot get it to work without expending more money for attachments and whatnot, it's getting donated to a local bead society and I'm going with something else.

Frank De Santis did a photo workshop with our bead society a few months ago, and he has a box that he built from scratch. You can get the instructions for free from him by emailing him (which I have yet to do).

That may be my next step. Get the 20 pages of instructions and pay someone to build it for me. His demonstration of it makes it seem fairly simple to use.

But again, none of this stuff works well if you have a crappy camera.

wnbresn
2006-08-11, 4:40am
I myself recently picked up the Bead Photography Kit from Tabletop studios
http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/ for 275.00 This kit includes 12" and 20" EZCubes. 2 photo lights 2 different color risers and backgrounds and some prop wax for posing. I use it with a 3 year old Olympus C4000Z camera on a small tripod and I love it. I can shoot from the top or sides and get great reflective shots from the shiny black riser and background. I was going to get the Cloud Dome but when I saw what you got for the price and looked into how its used, I decided to go the the EZCubes. Now I'm glad I did.

lmorganc
2006-08-11, 9:49am
Hi Wnbrsn!

Thx so much for the info on the Table Top Cube. It is sounding more and more like the way to go for beads!
Leda=D>

born2snooze
2006-08-11, 2:33pm
I had cloud dome before I use cubes, I dont recommend Cloud Dome because its a hassle to have to lift the dome all the time to move your item in a good position. And the result usually a bit yellowy. Me no likey. :D

.

shawnette
2006-08-11, 2:33pm
I have this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/16-Photo-Light-Studio-Tent-Cube-FAST-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ300014484669QQihZ020QQcategoryZ7 9010QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


That link no longer works, but it's this seller:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/dk_murray

I have the 16" tent and I paid around $15. I recently ordered the $12 one and received it very quickly. (I had to replace the 1st one I bought because I got it all nasty.)

LoriGreenberg
2006-08-15, 8:13pm
I found the cloud dome is very limiting in it's 2 angle possibilities. It also took too much of the glare away so things looked matte and flat, not like glass.

I got a 'boom' for my big tripod and I can extend my camera into the light tent to get over the pieces, if need be.

GypsyRose
2006-08-16, 2:32am
I've got this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/12-PHOTO-TENT-LIGHT-SOFTBOX-CUBE-Pop-up-KIT-D23-30CM_W0QQitemZ280018572481QQihZ018QQcategoryZ30088 QQcmdZViewItem

Excellent service from seller & very happy with it!:grin:

Rose

Kaleidoglass
2006-08-16, 11:06am
Yup, I pretty much agree with everyone. I have a cloud dome, and the only way I've had success with it is by taking it outside and shooting in natural outdoor light. If I do it outside with my Nikon Coolpix 4300 camera, I do get great photos, however, it's a pain in the butt.

swanseafarm
2006-08-16, 11:13am
I use a 28 dollar ez cube I bought on ebay and think it works pretty good.

BonnieR
www.swanseafarm.com

lldesigns
2006-08-19, 12:50pm
I just saw this in another thread.

I found this at our local IKEA. It's called "Komplement", item # 101.067.94 and you get three boxes for $19.99. Each box is 11 3/4 inches by 13 3/4 inches. Here it is collapsed:
36773
You zip the back to set up:
36774
You lift the bottom into place:
36775
You place your light source into place and take pictures. I'm showing my Ott light on top, but I've found it works best with a light on either side of the box:
36776

JanMD
2006-08-22, 5:16am
Tabletop cube comes with very good lights -- this alone makes it head and shoulders better than the Cloud Dome. Additional pluses for the tabletop kit: it's lighter, it's more portable, it's more flexible/adaptable (vertical or horizontal shooting and 2 cube sizes), it comes with other cool stuff, like graduated backgrounds, two plexi stands (one black, one white) and this extremely nifty flat panel light pad which is a gas to play around with.

Here's the kit I got and I am very sorry I wasted my time on the Cloud Dome and various home-made jury-rigged setups: http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/bephkit.html

Two essential additional pieces of the puzzle, in my opinion:
1. a tripod
2. Photoshop skills

(This is a very nice how-to info page: http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/glassbead_photography.htm)

JanMD

Kevan
2006-09-22, 1:47am
I have the cube, but you know, I have found taking the pictures outside on an overcast day works pretty damn good.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e36/oobeads/Lapisgoddess.jpg

Kalera
2006-09-22, 3:29am
IMO "outdoors on an overcast day" IS the ideal and everything else is just trying to replicate those conditions! It's just that, no matter how much I practice, I haven't been able to consistently control the weather. ;)

I agree that the setup from Tabletop Studio is the way to go (until you get the weather thing down). It's high-quality, the right stuff, not a bunch of crap you don't need. "If I knew then what I know now"... I would have just bought my lights from them right away instead of dinking around with various never-quite-ideal setups. I like my homemade dome, but if I didn't have it I'd get my dome from them too.

Teague
2006-10-30, 10:26am
You know, it's just like us Northwesterners to insist that we take our photos on an overcast day. Me too.

Teague

sislonski
2006-11-08, 10:49am
I recently attended a photography class where it turned out the guy was only promoting his little table top tent, or box.

I was told by the owner of the photography store that the product that I use was actually better.

I use a cocoon system. I was told that the filtered walls are actually better than that of the table top cube or whatever you call it.

I've posted pics of what I use below. This product allows you to remove any panels from the site, top or bottom. The holes for the camera keeps you from having reflection of dark spots or yourself in the item you are taking a photo of. I really like it.

Emily
2006-11-08, 12:29pm
For a second, I thought that was a litter box cover. Tells you where my mind is. Hey, it's the right shape.

Kara
2006-11-08, 8:52pm
I got this awesome tabletop set up from a guy on ebay, shipped complete for like $50-60.. I now have everything I need to take awesome photos! It works GREAT!!

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZdk_murrayQQhtZ-1

I didn't see him listing any of the set-ups at the moment but the one I bought had:

• the "Cube"
• useful and complete instructions with color picture diagrams
• white and black nylon backgrounds (sweeps) with Velcro fasteners
• two special daylight compact flourescent 10,000 hr. rated 5000k color 30w (2000 lumens) bulbs
• two (2) polished aluminum 8 1/2" clamp on light fixtures with 15' electrical cords and on/off switches

Emily
2006-11-09, 12:47pm
He's listing a couple of the setups now, plus a taxidermied mallard. Maybe if you bought both, he'd combine shipping -- and you could use your photo cube to take lovely pictures of your stuffed duck.

(I shouldn't be rude. This is actually the guy I bought my cube from, and it's fine, and I'm sure there are plenty of nice people who would love to have a taxidermied mallard. I'm sure my cats would love to have a taxidermied mallard . . . wouldn't be good for the mallard, though.)

beadworkstudio
2007-01-10, 3:32pm
LOL Emily!

I wish I would have done the math before I built my POS PVC "tent"! That dumb thing cost me $35 to make, and I rarely use it because it's too bulky to keep it set up. That $50 kit looks really nice.

My son got some kitty "forts" that look exactly like the light cubes, except they aren't white, and they were $10 for two. Makes you wonder about the price of the cubes made for photography.

sislonski
2008-01-12, 10:56am
I have to admit, although i was told by the camera shop that my dome is a better product, as far as filtering light goes. I think I would prefer the tabletop tent.

I find the dome very hard to get in and out of as far as putting stuff in, taking it out, set up etc. Especially if I have to really open it up. It's a real pain.:rolleyes:

Wendyki
2008-01-12, 12:31pm
I love the 5 dollar bowl trick its easy to use and works great

Afterdark
2008-02-01, 9:20am
bump

Vena
2008-12-23, 1:15pm
Walmart has a great photo tent. It comes with several different color backdrops and 2 lights to add sparkle both with built in tripods. The whole thing is $50.00. It is located in the Camera department. They are a little hard to find so you might have to ask for them. It is well worth every penny if you are wanting a well made photo tent.

az_nativeart
2008-12-23, 4:46pm
The one I have can be purchased here: http://alzodigital.com/online_store/light_tent.htm
I have the 14" size. It is really nice because it folds up into a little round flat bag about the size of a saucer. It comes with a couple of backgrounds although I rarely use them. It has some clips with velcro that you can use to clip up whatever you like for a background inside it. If you want to take photos from the top you can just turn it so the opening is up. It has a front panel that velcro's on and has a zipper so you can zip it up around your camera regardless of what sort you have. Overall I thought it was an excellent buy. Very versatile, inexpensive ($22.15) and it works very well. Plus it is easy to put away and get out. You can get them in kits with lights but I just use a couple of ott lights and they work just fine.

yoginigirl
2009-01-06, 3:13pm
I have not had much success with the cloud dome. I bought ott lights and that didn't help all that much. I've tried 2 different cameras and neither of them fit well in the top of the cloud dome. I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with the cloud dome.
Cindi

teachertracey
2009-01-07, 4:58pm
This looks pretty complete...not a bad price...

http://www.thelashop.com/product.php?productid=30&cat=17&page=1

Flaming Glass
2009-01-18, 4:23pm
Hi there. I got some great info at tabletopstudio.com. They don't compare the 2 different products but they show the cube. They sell everything, but honestly I bought a cube on Ebay for $20. Good luck.

beadygirl
2009-01-19, 10:18am
They have basically the same light set up at Harbor Frieght for $10 less...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65797

Tesorobeads
2009-01-19, 11:26am
Thanks for the info. Tera as I was planning on heading out to Harbor Freight.

Debbie

oldschooltofu
2009-01-20, 8:17am
i have a cloud dome and like it.

tip: use some short 2x4s to raise the dome up off the table and you get enough light in to have a little glare so your glass doesnt look matte.

volkanokaren
2009-04-03, 10:49am
Looking for the same or equivelent quality light tent set up in Canada.Shipping ect from the the states is killer,anybodys help is appreciated.

Karen
Volkano Exotik

shawnette
2009-04-03, 5:20pm
Looking for the same or equivelent quality light tent set up in Canada.Shipping ect from the the states is killer,anybodys help is appreciated.

Karen
Volkano Exotik

Which set-up? The cube or the cloud dome? The $12 cube I have is only $3 shipping to Canada. It's just the cube with no lights, though. (I use $5 clamp lights with daylight bulbs.)

volkanokaren
2009-04-03, 10:39pm
#-o:-DSorry..to clarify it's the table top studio mentioned near the beginning of the thread,It's pretty sweet .It is a gift for my B.Day[spoiled]...I'd really like to do the whole shebang at one time and like this set up but was wondering if there is one like it sold in Canada,other wise this looks like the one .

Karen
Volkano Exotik

Kevan
2009-04-03, 11:21pm
I use neither. I sold my cube. I don't find it necessary.

Moth
2009-08-24, 7:06am
LOL, I use a plastic grocery sack.

Donna T.
2009-08-25, 3:18pm
Mary I'd like to see how you use the grocery sack. Do you drape it over something?

menty666
2009-08-25, 7:59pm
Do any of you actually use the nylon colored backgrounds the cubes come with? I find they have so many wrinkles they're not worth the bother. It's easier to just get some cardboard from the scrapbooking section of the craft store.

TheMaster
2009-10-09, 12:28am
Well I do not know about the two and difference between the two, but I have voted in favor of Table Top Cube. Any one who knows about it please elaborate it.

moushka
2009-10-29, 4:31am
Shawnette (or anyone),

what do you use for lighting? I have two ott lamps would that work?

MardiGrasGlass
2009-12-18, 6:52am
I myself recently picked up the Bead Photography Kit from Tabletop studios
http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/ for 275.00



RIP OFF!!!!!

scootrgrl
2010-01-05, 6:23pm
This looks pretty complete...not a bad price...

http://www.thelashop.com/product.php?productid=30&cat=17&page=1

I was just going to order that until I found out the shipping to Canada is $68.00.....I had to email the company and tell them they made a big mistake on the shipping....it's more than the cost of the item! I'm not ordering a friggen refrigerator....LOL!

Janet

GoldSmithy
2010-01-18, 7:02am
Got here late, but here is my $.02 worth. The Cloud dome can produce very good pictures AFTER you master the learning curve. I was never able to master the learning curve.

With that in mind, if anyone would like a Cloud dome set up, I will be happy to send you mine for the cost of packing and shipping. I will take it to FedX and have them pack it and ship it. You would be responsible for what they charge me for this service.

If anyone wants it, it goes to the first person that pm's me...Smithy

Mike Jordan
2010-01-18, 4:29pm
Do any of you actually use the nylon colored backgrounds the cubes come with? I find they have so many wrinkles they're not worth the bother. It's easier to just get some cardboard from the scrapbooking section of the craft store.

I use them sometimes. I also buy a nylon that is closer to what comes on umbrellas, softboxes and light tents, Sport Nylon. It's a bit thicker than rip-stop nylon and doesn't have all those little zig-zag stiches that you can see in rip-stop. I buyit in different colors although white and black are what I use the most. It's also good for making light panels using PVC tubes.

To get the wrinkles and creases out, I get it wet (it doesn't really get wet since it doesn't absorb water) and throw it into the dryer for about 5 minutes or so. When I take it out I give it a good shake and as long as I don't wad or fold it up, there aren't any wrinkles. You can buy Sport Nylon at JoAnn's (it's by the rip-stop nylon) or buy it from a place like Seattle Frabric's. I made 2 6'x4' light panels out of it and PVC pipe and used that for a long time rather than a light tent. I paid $35 for all the materials I used, but I could have bought less and still had stuff left over like I did.

Mike

menty666
2010-01-19, 9:17pm
oooh, I like the dryer idea, thanks! I was going to try ironing it in a wet towel, but your idea's less hassle :)

Lizzydee
2011-05-01, 7:20pm
I bought a white sheet ($3)... made panels and pinned (.59) them in place on one of my pantry closet shelves. I bought two $8 work light from menards. Had a piece of mirror (free) and it all works just fine for less than $20.

beadygirl
2011-05-01, 9:45pm
We'd like to see a picture, Donna! :-)

Baywinger
2011-05-25, 11:54pm
I use the cloud dome since nothing else was working when shooting my wife's cloisonne enamel work, the combination of glass and polished silver was to much glare, none of the tent things helped, it did take me a bit to learn how to best use it, we did find it needs a lot of light source and given my preferences I will just shoot outside when lighting permits.
I do also use a digital SLR that fits the holding bracket and a high quality macro lens.

shawnette
2013-04-18, 9:16am
I have one of the cheap photo cubes and it works great but recently I made a much bigger one with PVC and a white sheet. It's a ghetto rig, but it works great and everything fits inside!!

(and it cost less than $10!)

shawnette
2013-04-18, 9:30am
The set up:

http://lampworketc.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=211&pictureid=6739

Example pics:
http://lampworketc.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=211&pictureid=6737
http://lampworketc.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=211&pictureid=6662
https://img3.etsystatic.com/010/0/7649520/il_570xN.435266467_o4vy.jpg

Baywinger
2013-04-18, 1:13pm
so I want to amend my original vote, they both suck lol
I have both and got ok results from them, but after taking Doug Baldwins class at the Gathering last year and picking up a pair of the lights he makes I no longer use either my cube or my cloud dome.
I highly recommended taking one of his classes if you can.
here are pics I took using what I learned and the lights, other than cropping and a quick white balance adjustment there is no Photoshop manipulation in the first two.
The last one one using Photoshop and what I learned in the class on how to make a reflection

285382
283183
285443

julieann1674
2013-06-20, 5:44am
Very pretty Morgan! (Wish I was going to the gathering to take his class!)

so I want to amend my original vote, they both suck lol
I have both and got ok results from them, but after taking Doug Baldwins class at the Gathering last year and picking up a pair of the lights he makes I no longer use either my cube or my cloud dome.
I highly recommended taking one of his classes if you can.
here are pics I took using what I learned and the lights, other than cropping and a quick white balance adjustment there is no Photoshop manipulation in the first two.
The last one one using Photoshop and what I learned in the class on how to make a reflection

285382
283183
285443

Doug Baldwin
2013-06-21, 9:38pm
Hello Julieann1674,
I'd love to have you join my photo class at the Gathering on July 23 & 24 in Rochester. There are seats still available. Morgan was a student in my class at last year's Gathering. It's a 2-day class. The first day we go through the 10 parameters that make a good photo, adjusting the camera's settings and menus for the highest quality photos possible, how to light your art for professional results and then the students spend about 4-5 hours shooting their own jewelry, beads and glass art using lights I bring to class. The second day we spend on Photoshop. There is a description and photos about the upcoming class in the Classes section of this LE website. Hope you'll join us.
Doug
dougbaldwinphoto.com

286966

Angie09
2013-06-21, 10:25pm
I just had a 4 hour private lesson with Doug in Prescott, AZ. Worth every penny!! He has the solutions to taking photos of beads and jewelry. I can't wait to get back home and try out what he taught me and play with my new lights. I HIGHLY recommend taking any class you can with Doug!!!