First off, I’d like to state that I paid for this mini portable light box with my own money. I’m not receiving any form of compensation for this review.

I rarely have to do product photography so there was no point in buying a full sized light box. A full sized light box is pretty pricey and pretty big. I just didn’t see a need to buy one myself. Luckily my friend has one so I would just borrow it on the rare occasion I need to do product photography. Even then, that got annoying so I wanted to get myself a mini portable light box for those time I do need one. I found some on Amazon, prices range from $20-$50 CAD. They’re pretty much all the same as long as you find one with two LED strips.

Pros:

  • Cheap
  • Small and portable
  • Folds up for easy storage
  • Doesn’t produce much heat
  • Easy to use
  • Comes with a few different backdrops in different colors
  • Quick to assemble and disassemble

Cons:

  • Light output isn’t that strong
  • Light isn’t diffused so might be harsh
  • Each LED light strip requires its own plug
  • Small size means you’ll be photoshopping out the edges for your final image

Mini Portable Light box lighting

LED light strips on mini portable light box

Some models come with only one LED light strip. They’re cheaper but I had a feeling that those single strip models wouldn’t put out enough light to make the background completely high key. That’s why I opted for a model with 2 light strips. Only problem is they made it in such a way that each light strip has it’s own USB cord to power each LED light strip. Don’t ask me why they did it that way, but for the price point I’ll just learn to deal with it. I paid $30 so I can’t expect it to have all the bells and whistles.

sekonic light meter measuring light from mini portable light box

 

With ISO 100 and my shutter speed set to 1/100, my light meter told me I had to set my F stop to 3.2. That’s not a very high light output, especially since the widest my Sigma 105 macro goes to is F4. I ended up setting the ISO to 400, upping my shutter speed to 1/200 to get an F stop of F5. I used 1/200 at first because I was too lazy to get my tripod and I wanted a fast enough shutter speed to minimize blur. The problem with macro lenses is if you’re subject is close to the front element then F5 isn’t going to give you a great depth of field. Again, I’m too lazy to set up the tripod and focus stack since it’s just a quick test. Unfortunately the mini portable light box doesn’t put out enough light to blow out the backdrop.

How Mini is a Mini Portable Light Box?

mini portable light box beside ketchup bottle

As you can see, it’s not that big. It’s not the most scientific method to determine size but I included a bottle of ketchup to compare. Fully assembled, the light box should be big enough for most small things you would want to photograph for product photography purposes. Be aware though that the larger your subject, the seams will show in your photo and need to be photoshopped out.

mini portable light box folded

The best part is the light box folds up for easy storage. Some models use magnets to hold the shape, some use velcro. My model uses snap buttons which I assume is more sturdy than the magnet version. It all folds up into a neat package that slips into a dust bag that can be stored pretty much anywhere. That’s the problem my friend has with the large professional light box, it takes up a lot of room assembled and when he packs it up it still has a large footprint.

Results

Tron bike lego set

 

Like I said earlier, the mini portable light box doesn’t produce a lot of light. It’s usable but It doesn’t get the background a high key white like I was hoping to achieve. It’s not great but it’s not bad either. The backdrops they come with the kit are textured and since the light isn’t powerful enough to blow the background out, you’ll still see the texture. Have a look around the Lego base plate where it sits on the backdrop and you can see the texture in some spots.

Tron Lego minifigure

The backdrop texture is noticeable around the feet of my Lego minifigure.

Final Thoughts and Possible Improvements

For $30 CAD I wasn’t expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve pissed away more than that on useless stuff before, so the fact that it’s actually usable is a win in my books.

The light output is still bugging me. I’m planning on removing the 2 LED light strips and replacing them with 4 light strips, wired together so I only have to use 1 plug to power all of the lights. Most power supplies for LEDs have an off and on switch as well so I don’t have to keep the lights on all the time. That should solve the main issues I have with this mini portable light box and vastly improve it.

Overall I would give this light box a 6/10. I would also be willing to recommend it to people who only need to photograph small items as long as they can get it for under $30.