Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi all,

I'm looking to purchase a backdrop with support stands. I prefer durability and stability (steel construction) over lightweight (aluminum construction). Where do you suggest I purchase this package?

I found studio-98 from Kitchener sell this type of package on Ebay. Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/HEAVY-PHOTO-B-W-BACK ... 2ea92a92de

What is your budget? What sort of space do you have(height/width of room)? Manfrotto autopoles are really nice an heavy duty but are pricey. Then the manfrotto telescoping background support pole is great. I don't have enough space for the autopoles in my studio but I purchased basic light stands as supports with the manfrotto pole and it works great.

Cost me 140 total for the stands and pole at Vistek.

My budget is around 200 to 250 before taxes. Need the backdrop to accommodate 9 feet by 10 feet of space.

I saw the Manfrotto ones, and yes they are a bit pricy but if they are heavy duty it's probably worth the price.

Is there a good store that you guys usually shop for this item?

The Ebay one looks pretty solid. Makes a huge diff with a solid stand. I've got to upgrade my background stands eventually myself.

I bought a strip light from those guys before. Good quick turn around.

For stands and supports i find going in to stores is the best way to get exactly what you want as you can test the durability right then and there. Vistek is my store of choice for this stuff. The downtown location on queen street is the one I frequent. Their third floor is the professional equipment ad they have some good sales staff to help you up there.

+1 on that. I learned my lesson the hard way. That's how I ended up with a wobbly support stands. The ebay description said "heavy duty"... ehhh, not so much. At least the one poopooegg posted is all steel with cast iron parts. Guess you pay for what you get.

I agree with opinion on heavy duty ebay/amvona, have them and will have to replace them. I would strongly suggest buying brand and model that has been proven to work, this way you may pay more now but will not have to replace them. Some stands may look very solid when you look at them, but after using them you may realize that the craftsmanship just doesn't cut it, hence the suggestion of proven brand/model.

If you don't mind me asking which ones did you pick up?

Some previous discussion on background supports:

http://tpmg.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10632&highlight=

I used to own the Manfrotto set from Vistek, the premium you pay over the other brands is for the easy of set up and take down. Very easy and quick. I usually can get my studio set up within 30 minutes if I move everything and do everything myself solo.

If you have two people, the background stand sets up within 1 minute. Construction is great. And as Vistek sales will tell you, spare parts are easy to buy if something breaks or gets lost.

I used to own the Manfrotto set from Vistek, the premium you pay over the other brands is for the easy of set up and take down. Very easy and quick. I usually can get my studio set up within 30 minutes if I move everything and do everything myself solo.

If you have two people, the background stand sets up within 1 minute. Construction is great. And as Vistek sales will tell you, spare parts are easy to buy if something breaks or gets lost.

thanks everyone for your inputs, it looks like either the manfrotto set or the one on ebay now.

Just so everyone knows what i got:
2x - http://www.vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoLigh ... -10ft.aspx

plus

1x - http://www.vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoLigh ... tions.aspx

this set is the exact same as buying the all manfrotto one but at half the cost. i also talked them down in price as i bought a set of D-lites... and im good at bargaining

recomendation of sales associate at toronto queen street vistek is Henry in the pro area. always gives me the best deal.

That stand only has a max support weight of 6.6lbs. Don't you find it a bit unstable when you load it up with a roll of 9' seamless? I have a couple Impact stands from BH that are rated for about 4kg and when I load up a monolight with a large softbox/beautydish etc I find it kind of flimsy. They're fine with a light load like a speedlight and an umbrella rig. They're also air cushioned so you don't accidentally pinch yourself when closing them down.

I'm looking for a couple inexpensive heavy duty stands to replace my background stands and one additional stand for a monolight. Hence the reason I'm curious about the ones from ebay.

they are fine with a 9 ft background on them as they generally are nicely tightened up. the manfrotto support pole distribute the weight nicely.

if you really want the best set up you can get the: http://www.vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoLigh ... ft9in.aspx

these will give you more then enough strength and stability but are a bit bigger and harder to assemble/disassemble and pack away.

Thanks. I may pop into Vistek and give them a look over.

Great stands for a great price.

I have those ebay stands. They are quite good. The backdrops are good too. The only issue is they are cotton and can get wrinkly.

What backgrounds do you folks typically buy? I know there is 5' and 9' variations in a multitude of colours. Which specific ones have you picked up?

I have one of the 32.99 Vistek stands and I like it for strobes and lighter stuff - they are not air cushioned though. I know someone with the heavier duty Vistek 13' stands (69.99) and it looks to be very sturdy.

For portraits, the 5' ones are great. For full body, I use the 9' ones. I've got white, black and graphite gray. Gray is the most versatile colour. You can colour it with gels, distance yourself and lighting and it becomes black etc.

How does manfrotto 272 crossbar attach to light stand?
272 is on sale at Henry's now.. and I already have 2 light stands..
just wondering what other hardware do I need attach stand and crossbar together? any close up pics?

thanks.

Not sure how the 272 attaches to a lightstand but if it's got slotted holes on either end, then they sit on the spigots at the end of your lightstands. If your spigots are too short to extend right through the hole of the crossbar, then you will need to buy spigot extensions.

Hi All,

I just picked up this one from Henry's....

http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ItemsDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&departmentId=11051&categoryId=11003&itemID=82150

they seem very sturdy.

does anyone have any experience with this set?

Carlton, you are correct - the 272B horizontal bar sits on the spigots and screws tight onto them. It is a three section micro adjustable extention pole that goes from roughly 3' to 10'.

A couple of months ago I picked up this:

http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... emID=82152

From a fellow TPMG member. Based off the product image the stands look the same, although that says 3 section and the one I have is 4 section. They've been great for me.

Sorry to revive an old thread but I am currently looking into this myself and I am wondering if anyone has seen any good deals of late in backgrounds sets. I'm setting up my own little home studio, lighting is all set really although I mistakenly got a giant softbox rather than a medium sized one As such I'm in the market for a background set next and would appreciate the advice. Thanks!

I have a Manfrotto bkgnd kit which is a bit pricey but there are numerous inexpensive eBay options too. You could always consider the 5x7' collapsible backgrounds that they sell at B&H - they come in grey, white, black, etc... They are highly versatile and quicker than the full on background kits, although a bkgnd kit can do larger areas.

What kind of space and budget do you have?

Space wise I've got a size able living room I've been using with the lights along with my basement man cave downstairs which I occasionally utilize (5m *7m). In terms of budget I can spend up to about $300.