Thursday, June 11, 2015

Know when to fold 'em


This product is something brand new... a photo studio that really is portable.

It's from Foldio, appropriately enough, and I think it will be just the solution to my 'on the road' photography issue. This box holds everything, even the lights!


That was always the bugaboo with my previous "portable" suite.  The backdrop folded up, but it was heavy, and I was still left with two pretty big lamps that would get scalding hot.  This meant that I had to wait for the lights to cool down enough so that I could pack them.


Not such an issue here, as you can already see the LED light strips.

It comes with all sorts of AC adapters, so they will work in all regions of the world.


There were four backdrop colors.  I have a great deal of testing to do with these.  For instance, I am very curious to see how the black backdrop might work in this system.

Furthermore, I am quite hopeful that the Hangar 18 backdrops will work with this system.  My assumption is that the larger backdrops will be required.


As I mentioned before, it is very lightweight, and small.  It uses magnets to allow you to assemble and take it down in no time at all!


You can see the magnets pretty well in this image.


Now the box is turned right side up...


And we have the LED strips.  What's truly amazing is the concept of allowing you to control the intensity of the light!  Those round dials on each strip let you turn the light up or down as needed.


It took a few seconds to stick them onto the surface.


This is the bar that holds the backdrop in place.  It is so much better than my previous system, where the backdrop was held in place by a velcro strip that was tough to use, and didn't work with anything else besides the one or two backdrops that came with the set.


These are the four background colors.  Again, I want to see what happens with that black backdrop!


For my initial experiment, I went with the neutral grey backdrop.


Lights are plugged in, and a figure in the box!!!


Did I mention that this suite is quite large for something so portable?  That's a 40mm base, and it looks tiny.  So, this should fit those vehicles, big monsters, groups shots and even buildings!

My next post will show you all the various test results.  No matter what, it will certainly be replacing the massive, bulky setup that I must drag around with me when the show goes :on the road".

Stay tuned!!!!


16 comments:

  1. Very interesting. I 'll be interested in the results.

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    1. There are a lot of experiments to do... backdrops, additional lighting, and so on!

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  2. Replies
    1. I believe this is a second version, larger and more studry than Foldio 1

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  3. Still waiting for mine to arrive, but looks great!

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    Replies
    1. Mine just showed up yesterday, so it might be coming soon!

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  4. I recently bought something similar to this and find it very useful. This one looks a lot fancier and expensive though :-).

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    Replies
    1. It was only $35 on kickstarter. It's a little more now, but half of what I paid for my last one on clearance!

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  5. i did a few blog posts on this very same product a few months back. go take a read. as they may help you out with your experiments. i showed a lot of different shots using various backdrops and camera settings. if you wish to know my results.....youll have to go read it :)

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    Replies
    1. I think I may have run across that when I wanted to see how it all went together :-)

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  6. I picked up a Foldio a few months back. To my shame I haven't really given it much use yet. But my first few trial shots look quite promising.

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  7. Mine should be in the mail. Really excited to try it out!

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    1. I have not had a chance to really experiment with mine. I think that will happen next week :-)

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  8. Nice setup! I'm still trying to find a decent lighting setup, as I use my working desk right now (which means I have to clear everything out of the way every time I want to take pictures). This seems like a much better solution!

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    1. It is very self contained, an easily portable!

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