I used to worry mainly about camera bodies and lenses. In recent years, my equipment spreadsheet has filled up with things for the studio around them. After enough lens changes, I realized how much depends on lighting. Without control over the light on a subject, a good result relies too heavily on luck.
Part 3 follows the changes that helped me produce more consistent work. Professor Kang Jung-won describes the “Everyone’s Retrospective” project as connecting past and future through the present to build something sustainable. That seems an apt way to look at this small studio: each earlier frustration helped me decide what to improve next.
At the end of gear acquisition syndrome, a focus on perspective. A 20-year retrospective of cameras, lenses, and the studio.
📖 Related: 20 Years of Cameras: From Point-and-Shoot to Studio
📖 Related: From 1600mm to 1mm: A Lens Retrospective
Part 3. From Strobe Dreams to Studio Mastery: A Camera Studio Retrospective for Creators
HorusBennu FC100 Ring Flash (2012)
I bought this to fit around the lens and avoid the shadows the lens cast during macro shots. It was a basic light without TTL sync, but it made me pay serious attention to the direction of light and the shadows on a subject.
007 LED Studio Box LPB-III(S) (2012)
I chose this small tent for minimal product photographs back when even bounce lighting was unfamiliar to me. Surrounding the subject with white cloth removed the distracting objects that would otherwise appear in the background. What it didn’t really do was solve the quality of the light. Looking back, I was mostly erasing the surroundings in white rather than creating softer, more considered illumination. The result answered one simple problem, but its role stayed fairly one-dimensional. That limitation became clearer as I learned to pay attention to the light itself.
HorusBennu Tripod 747T + Ball Head LX-1T (2012)
My first tripod, commonly known as the “people’s tripod,” supported the cameras reliably. It introduced me to long-exposure night shots and the advantage of fixing a frame so I could concentrate on composition. I kept using it for more than a decade.
Slik SPRINT PRO 47 (2013)
I chose this ultralight tripod for portability and design after tiring of heavy gear. Its bright color made it more enjoyable to use, and it was easy to carry on a backpack. It was a little too light for a full-frame body, but it was another step toward reducing the load.
AP Traveler Tripod TMK-194 (2013)
This folding travel tripod replaced the bulk of my earlier “people’s tripod.” Its legs fold back 180 degrees, letting it fit neatly in a backpack. Despite its low weight, it supported my full-frame 6D steadily and made night photography and long exposures easier to include on trips.
Benro Monopod A48TD (2014)
A three-footed base made this monopod useful where there wasn’t room to spread a tripod. Looking back, I tried quite a few approaches. The limited ability to stand on its own and the quick angle changes helped when moments were fleeting.
Mountration Mago Speedlite (2014)
This was the external flash I’d wanted since my earliest blogging days: a guide number of 65 for 100,000 KRW. Bouncing its light off ceilings and walls finally taught me how to replace harsh shadows with softer, more diffused illumination.
DPL-0402 Continuous Light + Bulb (2015)
I added this incandescent continuous light to get away from one of my frustrations with flash: not knowing exactly what the illumination would look like until it fired. A light that stayed on let me see the scene directly. I could move the subject this way and that and watch the relationship between the object and its light as I worked. That made it a good fit for learning the slower, more deliberate rhythm of studio photography. It gave me another way to study the setup before taking the picture.
Godox MS300 + AD-R6 + Xpro (2023)
This 300Ws strobe let me control output much more precisely. Wireless triggering and repeatable settings became a dependable foundation for consistent brightness, regardless of the weather. It remains my favorite light.
Godox SL-100D (2025)
The 100W continuous light keeps illumination steady while I film tech videos. Its daylight-like color helps maintain white balance, and it now serves as the main light in my studio.
Daehan Gemball Softbox (2025)
This diffuser softens direct light and spreads it around the desk. In front of the light, it reduces glare on metal gadgets and gives the working area even illumination without hard contrasts. It’s become an essential part of my setup.
K&F CONCEPT 087V4 Tripod (2026)
The center column can be turned horizontally, allowing the camera to look straight down over the desk. That makes the tripod particularly useful for the overhead compositions I want in gadget work. Once the frame is fixed, I can leave the camera in place and make small changes to the position of a light or the object below it. The value is partly practical and partly the confidence that the viewpoint won’t move while I attend to something else. It gives me room to concentrate on the subject and lighting one adjustment at a time.
Rode VideoMic GO II (2026)
This shotgun mic added clear audio to reviews that had previously depended on the pictures. By reducing background noise, it helps viewers follow my voice and keyboard sounds, making those videos more useful.
Ulanzi VL-120Bi 120W Light (2026)
I added a bi-color light to bring out the surface texture of aluminum keyboards. Placing it opposite the main light at a different color temperature defines the edges more clearly and helps give the objects a sense of warmth.
Rode VideoMicro (2026)
This tiny, battery-free microphone is easy to move around the desk. Recording from different positions adds depth to the audio, and plugging it straight into the camera makes it convenient for quick video work.
Godox BD-04 Barndoor Kit (2026)
The barndoors keep light away from places I don’t want it and direct it toward the subject. Darkening a background or lighting only part of an object adds a little drama to an otherwise ordinary picture.
AMBITFUL PS30 softbox & grid (2026)
A honeycomb grid on this cylindrical softbox limits sideways spill and directs the light forward. I use it to define an object’s edges rather than light the entire desk. It completed an important part of the lighting arrangement.
Part 1’s camera bodies broadened my view, and Part 2’s lenses helped me explore framing and depth. Part 3 brings that progression at the controlled setting of this desk studio. The equipment here records more than a succession of purchases. Each stage grew out of a limit I wanted to overcome, from unwanted shadows to an unstable viewpoint or lighting that changed with outside conditions. Controlling the direction of the light and keeping the camera steady lets me represent the subject more consistently. That is the purpose tying the collection together, and the reason this part of the story has become about the space around the camera as much as the camera itself.
The camera, lenses, and the means to control the light are now all in place. The remaining job is to use that small stage well: photographing the desk gadgets that currently receive most of my attention and affection. That desk is where the long progression through equipment has brought my eye.
📖 Related: 20 Years of Cameras: From Point-and-Shoot to Studio
📖 Related: From 1600mm to 1mm: A Lens Retrospective
#EveryonesRetrospective
