# $20 photo tent today only 5/19



## Manny

Just saw this deal. I have one. It works much better than not having one.

Manny

http://www.1saleaday.com/


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## Buzzzz4

Thanks! I've been looking for one and that will work!


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## dennisg

I ordered it also. Manny posted before I though of sharing.


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## EBorraga

Well I was going to make one this weekend, but for that price I ordered it as well. Now maybe I can take some better pics.


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## NewLondon88

I got one, one of the lamps was no good. The replacement lamp
cost more than the kit is worth. (it isn't worth $19.99 IMO )
The lamps are so dim that you have to hold them up close to the
diffuser material (defeating the purpose of having diffuser material)
so you get hot spots, the tripod isn't strong enough to hold more than
the lightest point-n-shoot camera, the box is pretty small, making it
difficult to shoot and you really won't like the lights or stands.

You can do far better with a piece of shower curtain and some clothes
pins, a couple of lamp sockets from the dollar store and some bulbs.

Hate to sound negative, but this is one of those products where "Free"
wouldn't even be a good deal unless they also gave you free shipping.
It is worse than having nothing, because it gets your hopes up and
doesn't deliver.


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## Manny

here is a link to some comments the last time this tent was on sale.
Price is different on this offer. Book did not come with it. 
(this is the sale when I bought mine)

Manny
Just for research purposes
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51458&highlight=photo+tent


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## seamus7227

damnit i just bought one too, I hope it works, or they will be getting alot of IAP members doing a mass return on that ass!


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## MarkHix

ordered one....we will see!


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## patsikes

Awesome!  I have a big one but it is too big to haul out for a couple pens plus it takes tons of lights to get the lighting right... So I just bought one of these...


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## PaulDoug

I have had one for some time and ya, it's not the best, but good enough for what I do.  I'm not a photographer, just shoot pictures of thing I make now and than.  It is good enough for that.  Sometimes I add an extra light but , I get by and it is easy to store.


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## toddlajoie

NewLondon88 said:


> I got one, one of the lamps was no good. The replacement lamp
> cost more than the kit is worth. (it isn't worth $19.99 IMO )
> The lamps are so dim that you have to hold them up close to the
> diffuser material (defeating the purpose of having diffuser material)
> so you get hot spots, the tripod isn't strong enough to hold more than
> the lightest point-n-shoot camera, the box is pretty small, making it
> difficult to shoot and you really won't like the lights or stands.
> 
> You can do far better with a piece of shower curtain and some clothes
> pins, a couple of lamp sockets from the dollar store and some bulbs.
> 
> Hate to sound negative, but this is one of those products where "Free"
> wouldn't even be a good deal unless they also gave you free shipping.
> It is worse than having nothing, because it gets your hopes up and
> doesn't deliver.



You beat me to it. We were playing with one of these over the weekend, and I almost couldn't tell the lights were on. It was remarkable how much brighter a simple 100W bulb in a clamp light is, but there's the key, it is a tent, and for $5-10 you can upgrade the lights and get it a LOT brighter. However, I do think this looks like the smaller of the 2 we were playing with, and if that is the case, it is barely large enough to FIT a medium size pen like a Jr Gent. and when something barely fits, it will not be lit well... The larger one we played with had some promise, enough room to light well, the possibility of setting up props in the back, etc. IIRC, the big one was in the 18 to 20 inch cube range, while the small one was in the 10-12 inch range. Like Charlie said, you can do better with stuff you probably would throw out...Not to say it's useless, just very limited and in serious need of a lighting upgrade. I liked the idea of using the clamp light with compact florescents and a fish tank strip light with these tents... cheap, readily available, and a huge improvement....


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## jbmauser

I agree with NewLondon.  I bought one as well, the tent is to small and the lights are weak.   I think it would be good for shooting rings.  It is to small for a pen on a prop. JB


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## Mark

Thx for the timely reviews. I appreciate it...

Maybe stick with my homemade box for now.


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## kenlicciardello

I agree that it isn't worth it.  Very small and dim lights.  Also that sight has a no return policy unless defective.  Cost with shipping is $25 but for a few dollars more, you can get a 20x20 with lights much brighter on ebay.  You can get much more "bang for the buck" in my opinion.


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## EBorraga

Well I ordered one of these and was a little worried with all the negative feedback on it. I actually received it within 3 business days. Pretty fast service. Also the size is perfect for what I want to do, which is take pics of pens. The lights are a little dim but worked great for me. If I want brighter I'll get brighter bulbs for it. Overall I am very satisfied with the purchase. Also here's a few pics with it. The pictures have not been photo shopped, they are straight off the camera.


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## shagnasty

I bought one of those photo tent set ups, and its not bad. I think if I had a better camera it would be pretty nice. The best thing about it is that everything fits in a small case. For $20 bucks I can't complain. Heres some quick pics I snapped trying it out.


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## seamus7227

I got mine today, I too, took pics, but one of my lamps bulb was burnt out, so i guess i need to see if they will send me a new one.


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## EBorraga

I agree on the case. Pretty nice on how small and portable it is. Almost like a small laptop briefcase.


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## MarkHix

mine showed up today...long day so I will try it out tomorrow.....it was sitting on the porch...evidently it rained on my block today....the box was open and I just knew that everything would be soaked.  it was in a plastic bag inside the box and everything was there and worked.


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## MarkHix

*finally got to test....*

My $20 photo set up came the other day and I finally got to test it.....for thos of you that have seen my other photos, this is a real step up.  I took about 25 photos with different positions for the lights, culled out the bad ones and cropped this one.  Maybe a little brighter lights would be better but so far, I am satisfied with the improvement.  Practiced will help I am sure.


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## Buzzzz4

I got one as well and played with it. Here's my result. I like the little tripod. Lights are quite cheap, but can be upgraded. This is with natural outdoor light (sun)


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## NewLondon88

Glad that worked out for you, Eric.

Out of curiosity, how did you upgrade the lights? I couldn't find replacement
lamps (brighter) with that socket configuration that weren't more expensive
than getting better lights to begin with.. at least nothing local.

You might have lucked out on the tripod, mine won't hold a camera!

Nice pics, though :biggrin:


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## Buzzzz4

Thanks! I haven't upgraded lights yet, but the tripod works great for my Olympus 570. I figured I would just buy new lights all together.


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## PaulDoug

Darn, I tipped over one of my lights and the bulb blew (this was some time ago). The only place I could find a replacement was via Internet. I ordered but not knowing what I was doing I got the wrong kind. The ones I ordered were not as bright as the originals! I can't remember where I ordered them from, but they are on the Internet. And not very expensive. I still get pictures good enough for me with the help of the free version of Photoscape.


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