Impact Small Digital Lighthouse Kit Review

Impact Digital Lighthouse Kit Review: Hey guys! It’s Christmas Eve and here I am typing away with pouring rain pounding on my roof like mad. No snow this year, just a flood 🙂 Being indoors has given me a chance to play with a new toy I bought last week and write this mini review of it as well! Not only is it affordable, it will help out my product shots for the reviews on this website! So instead of seeing my hand holding a camera or lens in my hand and being all generic you will see it presented in a much nicer, brighter ,and more detailed way. I bought an “Impact Digital Lighthouse” kit from B&H Photo and have been thrilled with the results. The whole kit with floodlights, light stands, bulbs, lighthouse, and black and white backdrops comes in at only $135. If you want to shoot images for your e-bay items, or all of those cameras and lenses you buy and sell, then this kit is easily recommended! I am not sure what took me so long to buy one of these as I could have been using it all along for not only this site, but for items I have sold in the past!!!

Here are some photos of the setup in my spare room (ignore the nasty 1980’s wallpaper and red carpet, this is why we do not use the room, ha ha)

So for under $135 you get everything you need. I thought this was a great price for the stands, the lights, the bulbs, the backgrounds, the box, etc. It even comes with a carrying case for the lighthouse itself.

Here is what the listing at B&H says about this kit:

This is a B&H Exclusive Kit, built around the Impact 500 watt floodlights and the Photek digital Lighthouse small 15 x 15 x 23″ shooting tent. It is a 2 light, 500 watt total kit.

The Digital Lighthouse can be lit from the sides, top, back, front or can be placed on a shooting table for bottom illumination. It also includes a removable black sweep that aids in preventing shadows on the background and provides complete separation from the item being photographed. It contains a removable plastic base, forming a rigid base for ease of product placement.

Although this kit is supplied for use with 120 AC voltage, it can function with 220-240 voltage, with the appropriate optional bulb, and adapter plug, available separately.

• Quick and easy set up.

• Position the lights where they are needed around the Lighthouse, for soft, even, or intense lighting.

• Full zipper front and zipper on top panel for digital camera lens positioning.

• For web advertising photos, small product photography, copying art work and recording sculptures for future reference.

• This kit includes 4800° “daylight” balanced bulbs. Other bulbs are available.

• Use the included light stands to support the light heads as you adjust their position and height.

Basically you just set up your lights on the side or top of the box, place the item you want to shoot inside and have at it! Below is a Leica Noctilux lens I shot inside of the box:

This was really my first attempt with this kit, and the pictures of the lens looks so much better than if I just held them up with my hand like I used to do. I know many of you probably have a kit like this already, but if not it is something that is very easy to set up and use. I was up within 10 minutes of opening the boxes. Basically you just remove the light stands and extend them. You then attach the domes and light bulbs. Then just unfold and set up your light box on a table, or something that will elevate it up off of the ground. Then just attach your background and set down the plastic piece as this will give off that shiny reflection like you see in the image of the lens above. Very pro results in minutes! I now have mine  setup in a spare bedroom we never use. When I need an image of a product I can snap one off within a minute!

So for all of you who have been looking for an inexpensive way to get a light box kit with lights, this set is highly recommended! BUT, if you want to shoot large items you would have to buy a larger kit. This small set works OK for cameras and lenses but if I wanted to shoot something larger, like a laptop computer for example, then I would need a bigger box. I may buy a larger light box because I have found that when trying to shoot two cameras side by side, this box is a little small. The cool thing is that I can just buy a new box as I already have the lights. I saw one kit that was large enough for a person to fit in! Check this one out! There are some pretty cool kits out there but this basic small setup is perfect for what I do.

Also, if you have lighting already you could also make your own light box (I did this a few years ago) but I have found you do not get the same nice results as the light is usually reflected instead of filtered and softened. This makes the items look a bit less natural and “hard”. To check out the exact kit I am using you can click here to check it out at B&H, which is where I bought mine. It really is a pretty cool setup for not much money!

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Here are a few more shots I took while testing out this lightbox kit (images shot with an Olympus E-P2 and kit zoom lens):