Light box ideas?

[John Kasaian]

I'm thinking of getting a light box to help me better inspect my 8x10 B&W negs prior to contact printing. There are lots of choices, from home made to old x-ray viewers and plenty in between (I came across some good prices on a couple of new Gagne and Artograph models)

What do you use? Can you share any thoughs or suggestions?

 

[CBG]

They seem to come up regularly on Craigslist and here. I'd just keep my eye out.

C

 

[DannL]

I use an old x-ray viewing box, similar to those found in the dental office. It's nothing more than a single flourescent tube and an semi-opaque sheet of white plastic as a diffuser. For 4x5's and 6x I used the external light souce from a HP 7400c scanner. They are easy to rewire for use with a DC wall transformer and they also work great as generic cold cathode light soures for 4x5 enlargers such as the D3.

 

[George Collier]

When I built my darkroom, I made a "box" next to the paper cutter (sunken down into the counter top) with plate glass on the top, and small bulbs (ping pong ball size) in rows underneath a piece of frosted plexiglass under the plate glass. I even put in a couple of rows of red bulbs for safe viewing. Each set of bulbs works off of a different dimmer switch.
You have to like a project to go to this length, but it's a great thing to have in the darkroom.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I use an old x-ray viewer that I found at the local landfill. 12x16" or close to that. It was a lucky find.

If you've ever seen the movie Fur (I don't recommend it), the set of his darkroom has these wall panels, where the entire wall is a light box. It was very impressive and was probably one of highlights of the movie for me, aside from Nicole Kidman and the cameras.