LED INFLATABLE PHOTOBOOTH

[welby]

Hi all,

has anyone got any experience with the LED inflatable Photobooths?

I would be interested if you have had a good customer feedback and think the investment is or has paid off.

I currently run a home-made photobooth which works well but my thoughts are this would present a better image to the customer - I understand also you can drop a greenscreen on the backwall.

I am also considering changing from my Breeze software and HD webcam to DSLR Photobooth with a replacement DSLR camera and a new DyeSub Printer.

Any experience or constructive guidance you can offer would be most welcome.

Mark

[yourdj]

Certainly different. The question is can you use it for something else if the market collapses??
How much are they? If its a matter of £700 then thats not too bad at all.

I use Spark booth which for my uses is great. Not as customisable, but very easy to use.
Running on a mac using VM ware is also a god send.

http://yourdj.co.uk/photobooth/

[ukpartydj]

Certainly different. The question is can you use it for something else if the market collapses??
How much are they? If its a matter of £700 then thats not too bad at all.

I use Spark booth which for my uses is great. Not as customisable, but very easy to use.
Running on a mac using VM ware is also a god send.

http://yourdj.co.uk/photobooth/

Looking good Toby. Are you thinking of / got a instant printer? Our photobooth seems to only be getting bookings next year at the moment, right pain!

I've seen an inflatable photobooth, look different... Not sure I'd like one at my wedding personally as they look very modern. Also I'd worry about any damage. That being said it's lightweight and cheap compared to traditional booths

[funkymook]

I haven’t seen one in real life, but going by the videos it looks very big compared to other photo booths (can’t imagine it fitting in at some of the smaller venues I’ve worked where there’s been a traditional type of booth) and the air pump seems noisy.

[surround sounds]

We use photobooth.co.uk software and it works well with my Canon 60d Camera and HD Cam
We hire our Booths out most weeks and not had a problem

[yourdj]

Looking good Toby. Are you thinking of / got a instant printer? Our photobooth seems to only be getting bookings next year at the moment, right pain!

I've seen an inflatable photobooth, look different... Not sure I'd like one at my wedding personally as they look very modern. Also I'd worry about any damage. That being said it's lightweight and cheap compared to traditional booths

I did get a Mitsubishi printer, but with the numbers printing out enough photos was hard. The quality is also only reasonable IMO. I have only yet seen on booth that prints decent photos so being able to download them after and take them to a decent printer, or print A4 at home has been very popular. The photo books are also great from Bobs Books. I bought the printer for £200 (bargain) and sold it for about £550!! Good transaction that! :)

Getting the lighting right is a must so bear that in mins with one of these. I am still not happy with the photo quality and it can always be better. Looking at a lot of the local companies, they must be using webcams or something, or just realising their photos are crap quality? I use a 70d, with a kit lens. f5.3, ISO 400, 1/200 or there a bouts. Large D lite studio flash & speedlite, both with diffusers. Modelling umbrella light also, mainly for ambient light and looks.

What booth do you have at present?


I haven’t seen one in real life, but going by the videos it looks very big compared to other photo booths (can’t imagine it fitting in at some of the smaller venues I’ve worked where there’s been a traditional type of booth) and the air pump seems noisy.

Good points. Its like having a bouncy castle in your wedding room. With the right wedding/venue it would be awesome. :)
Could have done with one last night, not much dancing and it needed something to get everyone in party spirit.

[welby]

Hi all,

great feedback - currently I use an all in one touch-screen PC loaded with Breeze Webcam and a Logitech HD webcam together with a umbrella light and a standard studio backdrop (can switch to green-screen)

I find that the breeze software is very complex to set up and you need to do a lot of tweeking to add uploads to social media or emailing options. That said once it's set up it fine and works well.

I was thinking of opting for either the small igloo type

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or the small rectangular photobooth (comes in any colour you want)

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And upgrading the WEBCAM to a Canon DSLR and using the dslrbooth software.

I have not researched dyesub printers yet so any suggestions most welcome.

Thanks all.

ps apologies for the url over the pics but these are the best pics I could find and I have no financial interest with these people.

[ukpartydj]

I did get a Mitsubishi printer, but with the numbers printing out enough photos was hard. The quality is also only reasonable IMO. I have only yet seen on booth that prints decent photos so being able to download them after and take them to a decent printer, or print A4 at home has been very popular. The photo books are also great from Bobs Books. I bought the printer for £200 (bargain) and sold it for about £550!! Good transaction that! :)

Getting the lighting right is a must so bear that in mins with one of these. I am still not happy with the photo quality and it can always be better. Looking at a lot of the local companies, they must be using webcams or something, or just realising their photos are crap quality? I use a 70d, with a kit lens. f5.3, ISO 400, 1/200 or there a bouts. Large D lite studio flash & speedlite, both with diffusers. Modelling umbrella light also, mainly for ambient light and looks.

What booth do you have at present?


I'm not sure on the technical stuff as I'm only doing the business end of the photobooth. As it's all owned by my friend. we've got a camera which is a proper one, can't remember how much but think it was around 2 grand with lens. He has 2 led panel lights on stands, misubishi subdye printer, I'm quite impressed with it... Prints within 10 seconds and the photos look good in my opinion. Mitsubishi CPD70DW. Can't remember what software he using but it was the most expensive one he found I think because if how much you could do with it.

Real shame we aren't getting a lot more bookings as he's got a good setup for the price we're marketing it at

[welby]

I'm not sure on the technical stuff as I'm only doing the business end of the photobooth. As it's all owned by my friend. we've got a camera which is a proper one, can't remember how much but think it was around 2 grand with lens. He has 2 led panel lights on stands, misubishi subdye printer, I'm quite impressed with it... Prints within 10 seconds and the photos look good in my opinion. Mitsubishi CPD70DW. Can't remember what software he using but it was the most expensive one he found I think because if how much you could do with it.

Real shame we aren't getting a lot more bookings as he's got a good setup for the price we're marketing it at

Seems like the Mitsubishi CPD70DW is a good workhorse printer - very expensive though :(

I have being reading good reports on the SINFONIA (SHINKO) Color Stream CS2 Dyesub Printer.
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I couldn't see a link on your websites for the booth - have I overlooked it?

[yourdj]

around 2 grand with lens.

Thats a bloody expensive camera for a photobooth. That must be an L lens 24-70 and a 6/7d or something? :eek:
I use a 70d (£700) & prefer the kit lens (£50) over my more expensive ones, as they are designed for muppets and take good photos.
Better still they are usually very light (easier to adjust) and don't require any low F-stops (which is usually where the money is) - f3.5 and above is fine. I generally use f5.5

Having said that my backup 1,100d cost £100 and the lens £20 and they do a great job. You need a camera that has live view and thats about that. You don't even need autofocus as I found its better setting it with a larger depth of field.

That printer is awesome and very light: http://www.richardfrankfurt.co.uk/mitsubishi-cpd70dw-dye-sub-printer
Stick to Mitubishi as it will hold its value, especially if flight cased and looked after. Refills are about £70 i think?

I would make sure any inflatable booths have a white interior, easier to mark i know but it will make the lighting easier as you won't have much room for DLITE'S and other larger flash cannons. My guess is you could fit a speelight in there, and perhaps one or two more as slaves. Might get a bit claustrophobic in there also, so one with an in and an out might be a good bet as you can control people. The biggest problem with a booth is everyone piling in and throwing drinks/props all over the place. Its not as easy as it looks and requires good staffing & management. its also a PLI liability waiting to happen, so insurance is a must.

I am no expert but this is what i would suggest for startup:

flash: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yongnuo-YN560-III-Flash-Speedlight-Camera-Flash-for-Canon-Nikon-Pentax-Olympus-/191603610868?hash=item2c9c7714f4
Camera & lens: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EOS-600D-18-0-MP-Black-Kit-w-EF-S-18-55mm-Lens-/271965738279?hash=item3f526bd527
bigger flash/diffuser: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIXAPRO-400W-FanCool-S-Fit-Studio-Flash-Twin-Kit-Baby-Portrait-Nude-D-lite-RX-/181499197633?hash=item2a4231f8c1
Smaller slave/backup flash (OK in enclosed spaces): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZT330-GN33-Universal-Speedlite-Flashgun-With-Bounce-Diffuser-for-All-DSLR-Camera-/191626503347?hash=item2c9dd464b3

[welby]

Hi there,

all good stuff thanks!

I would be interested in how long does the Yongnuo YN560 III flash last - is one charge good enough to last all night (4 HOURS) - Or can it be left on charge all the time while its's in use. I know you can buy external battery packs but these cost more than the flash unit itself :rolleyes:

I have opted for the Canon EOS 700D as I got a brand new one with the 18-55mm lens thrown in for the price of the single body sold elsewhere - Genuine UK stock with Canon warranty.

I am testing DSLR Booth and Breeze DSLR at the moment - I like the interaface better on DSLR Booth and it's on offer at the moment for £150 compared to £110 for the breeze DSLR.

I have also looked at some of the dye sublimation printers on offer: DNP, Mitsubushi and SINFONIA

DNP DS -620 has superseded the defunct DNP DS-40 and now has a rollback fearure which should save on consumables.

These printers are not cheap. The best I can find for the DNP DS-620 is £858.63 + £12.90 (inclusive of VAT) and that's from a company in Germany - in the UK they want £950 + VAT making it about £1140 plus £12 delivery.

I guess its the cost per 4 x 6 that counts - not forgetting the quality of print of course. - Need to do some sums here I think.

I have ordered the LED Inflatable booth direct from the manufacturer saving half the cost of purchasing one here in the UK and I am having it customised to suit.

So hopefully should have it up and runing in the next few weeks.

[welby]

Certainly different. The question is can you use it for something else if the market collapses??
How much are they? If its a matter of £700 then thats not too bad at all.

I use Spark booth which for my uses is great. Not as customisable, but very easy to use.
Running on a mac using VM ware is also a god send.

http://yourdj.co.uk/photobooth/

HI there - thanks for the feedback - how do you find Sparkbooth? - the interface looks good

[yourdj]

Hi there,

all good stuff thanks!

I would be interested in how long does the Yongnuo YN560 III flash last - is one charge good enough to last all night (4 HOURS) - Or can it be left on charge all the time while its's in use. I know you can buy external battery packs but these cost more than the flash unit itself :rolleyes:

I have opted for the Canon EOS 700D as I got a brand new one with the 18-55mm lens thrown in for the price of the single body sold elsewhere - Genuine UK stock with Canon warranty.

I am testing DSLR Booth and Breeze DSLR at the moment - I like the interaface better on DSLR Booth and it's on offer at the moment for £150 compared to £110 for the breeze DSLR.

I have also looked at some of the dye sublimation printers on offer: DNP, Mitsubushi and SINFONIA

DNP DS -620 has superseded the defunct DNP DS-40 and now has a rollback fearure which should save on consumables.

These printers are not cheap. The best I can find for the DNP DS-620 is £858.63 + £12.90 (inclusive of VAT) and that's from a company in Germany - in the UK they want £950 + VAT making it about £1140 plus £12 delivery.

I guess its the cost per 4 x 6 that counts - not forgetting the quality of print of course. - Need to do some sums here I think.

I have ordered the LED Inflatable booth direct from the manufacturer saving half the cost of purchasing one here in the UK and I am having it customised to suit.

So hopefully should have it up and runing in the next few weeks.

Despite being told not to we run the camera and flash just in one set of batteries and it has not shown any signs of running out. having said that i used a non canon battery the other day and it did. spark booth is great. easy to use but heavy on CPU so get an i5 with 8 gig of ram. i use ab i5 macbook 10 gig ram (8 x 2) pro with vmware, running XP. I was also told that a Mac would not be good enough so bought a touchscreen PC and found that it was pants, so sold that at double the price I bought it for and went back to the Macbook.

i don't use a printer now all available online after and optional photo book printed for the couples honeymoon return.

[welby]

Despite being told not to we run the camera and flash just in one set of batteries and it has not shown any signs of running out. having said that i used a non canon battery the other day and it did. spark booth is great. easy to use but heavy on CPU so get an i5 with 8 gig of ram. i use ab i5 macbook 10 gig ram (8 x 2) pro with vmware, running XP. I was also told that a Mac would not be good enough so bought a touchscreen PC and found that it was pants, so sold that at double the price I bought it for and went back to the Macbook.

i don't use a printer now all available online after and optional photo book printed for the couples honeymoon return.

Hi Toby,

OK on the flash - I will just have to test the flash to see if I can get the best result based upon power and usage to cover the event - if not I amy look to purchase a small studio flash unit powered by 240 V.

I can understand not going down the printer route considering it's quite a chunk of an investment, not to mention the ongoing running costs.

I was wondering if you upsell the online pictures to the guests? Or do you let them download as they wish?

Mark

[yourdj]

Hi Toby,

OK on the flash - I will just have to test the flash to see if I can get the best result based upon power and usage to cover the event - if not I amy look to purchase a small studio flash unit powered by 240 V.

I can understand not going down the printer route considering it's quite a chunk of an investment, not to mention the ongoing running costs.

I was wondering if you upsell the online pictures to the guests? Or do you let them download as they wish?

Mark

Nope all free downloads for the guests. With the open booth we were struggling with printing enough photos for 10 guests etc. and i did not think they were worth it as the quality was iffy. I used to run a print business and I expect better quality - Every photo booth i have seen has printed really crap prints tbh, so hand out a card that diverts them to the website. If you would get an A5/A4 print of yourself then that would be fine, but i find the little photos crap. Why not download the full size and print at home or at photoshops?

Definitely get a proper studio flash and diffuser! Dlite one i have is great.
i just don't think the speed lights cut it on their own, and you will need back up anyway.
You can run the dlite with trigger from the speedlite, a cable or wireless trigger.

You can see the difference here:

This was with the DLITE & 1 speed light:

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This was with 2 speedights only:

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[surround sounds]

I use the Mitsubushi printer and its fantastic. Costs 10p a print. You will get 400 photos from a roll.
Camera I use a Canon 60D. Set on p with flash and manual focus
I also use photobooth.co.uk software and all works fine

[welby]

I use the Mitsubushi printer and its fantastic. Costs 10p a print. You will get 400 photos from a roll.
Camera I use a Canon 60D. Set on p with flash and manual focus
I also use photobooth.co.uk software and all works fine

Thanks for the heads up.

I am not sure about venturing into P mode onn the Canon 700D - but I am willing to learn :)

Yes the mitsubushi printer does look good and the print speed and quality looks great.

Do you have a link to the photobooth.co.uk software as I cannot see it on their website.

Many thnks.

Mark

[welby]

Nope all free downloads for the guests. With the open booth we were struggling with printing enough photos for 10 guests etc. and i did not think they were worth it as the quality was iffy. I used to run a print business and I expect better quality - Every photo booth i have seen has printed really crap prints tbh, so hand out a card that diverts them to the website. If you would get an A5/A4 print of yourself then that would be fine, but i find the little photos crap. Why not download the full size and print at home or at photoshops?

Definitely get a proper studio flash and diffuser! Dlite one i have is great.
i just don't think the speed lights cut it on their own, and you will need back up anyway.
You can run the dlite with trigger from the speedlite, a cable or wireless trigger.

You can see the difference here:

This was with the DLITE & 1 speed light:

17386

This was with 2 speedights only:

17387

Toby,

Pics look great. :)

I have been offered a pair of portaflash's as a starter @ £70 which wil probably get me started in conjunction with the Speedlight Flash unit + I have ordered a wireless trigger that can also run cable sync.

Thanks for you help Toby.

I am certainly learning along the way.

Mark

[yourdj]

Thanks for the heads up.

I am not sure about venturing into P mode onn the Canon 700D - but I am willing to learn :)

Yes the mitsubushi printer does look good and the print speed and quality looks great.

Do you have a link to the photobooth.co.uk software as I cannot see it on their website.

Many thnks.

Mark

I used P mode for a couple of them and the quality was too different especially if someone moved fast and their arm was blurred.
I now prefer full manual as you have more consistency over the shot. Manual focus is great - anything that lets the camera think less is also a bonus. Having a wide depth of field (they will be in focus from the camera to the back), low as poss ISO (stop noise and improve the photo) and fast shutter speed (to stop blurring) would be my goals. That combined with good software & well diffused & spread lighting should make some lovely shots.

You may have problems with the live-view compensation making it dark on the screen. On better models you can turn this off. I can't on the 1,100 for example. There are ways to trick it by using the inbuilt flash (and also P mode for some reason) or using a webcam for preview etc.

[welby]

I used P mode for a couple of them and the quality was too different especially if someone moved fast and their arm was blurred.
I now prefer full manual as you have more consistency over the shot. Manual focus is great - anything that lets the camera think less is also a bonus. Having a wide depth of field (they will be in focus from the camera to the back), low as poss ISO (stop noise and improve the photo) and fast shutter speed (to stop blurring) would be my goals. That combined with good software & well diffused & spread lighting should make some lovely shots.

You may have problems with the live-view compensation making it dark on the screen. On better models you can turn this off. I can't on the 1,100 for example. There are ways to trick it by using the inbuilt flash (and also P mode for some reason) or using a webcam for preview etc.

Toby - sounds like I need to practice and find the optimum settings for the lighting and camera/flash togther with the software. :)

I want to automate the process through the software - as I guess I won't have time to manually take shots - I have a touch-screen all in one PC that I have tested and works really well - no delays or crap pictures.

Hopefully want to pick up some late christmas trade.

Thanks for your help - appreciated.

Mark

[Andy P]

I'm setting up a selfie pod of my own creation.

It will be an "open air" booth so just a 3x2m backdrop with white black and green screens, might get one or two more but these came with the frame.
I'm using a HD webcam to start as my Nikon D3200 doesn't seem compatible with anything and I'm not fancying purchasing another DSLR just yet as the wife may behead me after £500 on lens for the Nikon.
Printing I got the latest Selphy printer which I can get ink and paper packs for at around £20 which should do an hour if I get the settings right. I want to see the quality as if it doesn't cut the mustard it will be back on ebay.
Im using spark booth as its great, simple and has the features I want - specifically the social media side. I'm hoping to push the non-printed media hire.
All the rest I have built myself in a nice housing mounted on a speaker stand (might get a scrim haters).

Will add some photos etc soon when its all running

[yourdj]

I'm setting up a selfie pod of my own creation.

It will be an "open air" booth so just a 3x2m backdrop with white black and green screens, might get one or two more but these came with the frame.
I'm using a HD webcam to start as my Nikon D3200 doesn't seem compatible with anything and I'm not fancying purchasing another DSLR just yet as the wife may behead me after £500 on lens for the Nikon.
Printing I got the latest Selphy printer which I can get ink and paper packs for at around £20 which should do an hour if I get the settings right. I want to see the quality as if it doesn't cut the mustard it will be back on ebay.
Im using spark booth as its great, simple and has the features I want - specifically the social media side. I'm hoping to push the non-printed media hire.
All the rest I have built myself in a nice housing mounted on a speaker stand (might get a scrim haters).

Will add some photos etc soon when its all running

I would go DSLR as I bought one of the best webcams for mine and the quality (especially low light) was rubbish in comparison.
You can get a 1,100d canon for £100, with the lens on Ebay. I am fussy with the photos as i think they should be as good as possible especially when printing on site. Other members on my software forum that use it say its amazing, but looking at their websites, they have clearly not got an eye for photography, which should be no 1 consideration if owning a photobooth. Its like a DJ with all the best gear and no interest or knowledge of music. :)