What do you guys think of this Harbor Freight setup?
 

Was browsing Harbor Freight and came across this photo setup for $30, any opinions??

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=65797

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...5799/65797.gif

this is very similar to what I use. I love it! Go for it!

Looks great!

But back to the photo box , does it break down to flatten out and store?
I like the lights.

I think I'm going to pick it up and give it a try. HF has a pretty good return policy so I shouldn't have any problems if it isn't good. I believe it says in the description that it does fold up into a carrying case. I will post some better pictures of it when I get it.

I first purchased a set that came with a 24" cube and it was way too big, but loved the lights. So I purchased a 12" cube separately and it's great. I think a 16" will still be a good size!

Got a chance to go buy it today. My initial impressions are overall positive (although I have never owned/seen a more expensive setup). I set it up but didn't get a chance to take any pictures. It all folds up into a carrying case with pockets for the lights and tripod which I thought was really cool. Without taking any pictures yet, I think the lights are a little on the dim/yellow side (they are halogen I believe). I guess I can supplement it with another light and compensate for color with my white balance. Will post some test pictures and pics of the whole setup tomorrow.

I have seen people comment in the past that the lights weren't any good, so I would expect you will need alternative lighting.

Great Price!! Paula

Have you taken any pictures with it yet??? We want to see the pictures please.

Ok now back to the photo box again,....
I bought one off Ebay for $14.00, collapsable and is soft sided, works fine and I found that a large pizza box holds it fine for packing away (eat pizza first)

Oh, if anyone needs help emptying those boxes, I will sacrifice my time and energy to take care of that for you:grin:

On a lighter (hummm) note, that lighting set up will set me back less than one sushi dinner; I'm going for it!

I have this one:

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

I use $5 clamp lights from Home Depot with daylight bulbs and my photos come out really nice:

It looks like a great set up to me. It is not much different than the one I bought at Wal-mart a while back. I can't remember the price it was though.
I would really like to try the 12 inch cube. Mine came with a nice carry case but I would really like something smaller myself.

Ok - back to the subject at hand. That is the photo setup I use and love it. I don't shoot with the lights through the side of the box - I hold the lights in front of the bead, right on top of (or beside) my camera. They give beautiful color. It's sort of like using a flash, but totally different.

Good luck!!

Actually - On a closer check the one I have is not EXACTLY like this one, but looks very similar.

Shawnette-- where do you clamp the lights on the cube you have? Any specific lightbulbs you use? Your pictures look great!

Thanks!

I set the cube up on a tray table and clamp the lights either to the side of the table or onto the top of ratchet clamps (which are clamped to the table), depending on the particular angle of lighting I want. I use 100 watt daylight bulbs. GE Reveal bulbs are good, but there are others out there. Just make sure that they are daylight, not soft white.

This is a ratchet clamp.