Photography Portable Light Box - have you used one? are they worth buying?

[beefcake]

You can also get them fairly cheap on aliexpress. I just bought a $10 one. I'll give a rundown of it when it arrives.

[beefcake]

Here are the results of my first go using this lighting box. It has its own LED's which plug into a USB (I have a USB powerbank which is perfect for this)
A fairly good picture.
No shadows (a little at the back but that is because the column is too close to the back)



I still need to finish some painting on these so the dirt still looks rather monotone.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Dear Beefcake

The picture looks good but rather dark.
I think you should try over exposing the image because it is a dark object on a white background.  
I got nice results on dark figures with +2 stops exposure.

Regards
Mick

[beefcake]

Yep. I'm no photographer but this is a darn sight better than my usual stuff. Better look at my camera settings.
The thing I bought came with a black background too.

[Malebolgia]

FWIW, I'm a professional product photographer and I would recommend that you not get a light box unless you know exactly why you're getting one instead of using another lighting solution.

Light boxes are optimized for putting light on the top and sides of a subject and reducing reflections on shiny objects. For subjects like computer mice and jewelry, they work really well. But for miniatures, they tend to put light in the wrong places and reflections are usually not a major problem.

To solve the most typical sorts of problems with miniatures photography, use a medium gray background (to get a consistently correct exposure) and use two table lamps (with identical bulbs) or similar positioned level with the subject and at 45 degrees to either side of the line between camera and subject. Further, move the lights in as close to the mini as you can without putting them in the frame to soften the shadows. (Yes, that sounds wrong to most people. It's not wrong.)

Top post and couldn't agree more

[Hammers]

I built my own out of a cardboard box. It was not the most durable object in my home but diffusion effect, which was it's purpose, is quite easy to achieve with basic materials.