Need an affordable light table...

hoakin1981 · Apr 29, 2014

...to check my 6x45 MF slides. I have a V600 to scan them but I need to first check the overall exposure etc. on a light table first since we all know how scanners tend to mess up things.

Best/budget solution I found Is this:

http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mN-JVj2mMaurLzaK5Jy7kew.jpg

It is supposed to be wide enough for MF but I have 2 worries by the looks of it:

Looks it is made for square format
There is a recess in which to fit the slide mount but my slides are not mounted (nor will be)

Better alternative would be this:

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Medalight-LP...LJ/$T2eC16RHJF8FFp5OB1LnBRhVLJKOEg~~60_35.JPG

But it is much more expensive.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

jp80874 · Apr 29, 2014

No surprise, the entire printing industry has converted from analog to digital. There are companies that buy all kinds of printing equipment including simple and exotic light boxes and tables, scrap them and send the scrap metal to India to build ships, etc. Since everything is done on computers now, there is little need for light tables and light boxes. I bought a German 29 inch x 40 inch adjustable steel table with four light tubes, that probably sold new for $2000. It cost me $35.

Obviously this is much larger than you need, but for 7x17 inch negatives it is wonderful. Perhaps you can find a smaller one just right for MF.

I am guessing that a large city like Athens has companies that gather obsolete equipment and sell it for scrap. You just have to find that company.

John Powers

mgb74 · Apr 29, 2014

Both of those appear to be optimized for portability. I don't know how big a factor that is for you. I'm guessing they use LEDs; the evenness of the lighting will be a factor of how densely they are packs and the level of diffusion in the plastic.

If they don't use LEDs, then I'm make sure that replacement bulbs are commonly available.

I use an older version of a Porta-trace; it's seems to work well enough.

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 29, 2014

You might have one already. If you have an Ipad or Android tablet, you might be able to use a flashlight app. An Ipad mini or a smaller Android tablet is very energy efficient with LED backlighting.

jp498 · Apr 29, 2014

That Porta Trace is the type of thing you want. The little portable viewers are meant (at least in days of old) for previewing slides as they go into a projector carosel or tray. The old little viewers had no good color temperature or even lighting. You want something that you can see a bunch of slides once (like a page worth), so you can compare side by side, sort, etc... Great for viewing pages of negatives as well. Look for retired xray viewers too.

MattKing · Apr 29, 2014

Check your local Craigslist - remember to look under the crafts section as well.

jp80874 · Apr 29, 2014

MattKing said:
Check your local Craigslist - remember to look under the crafts section as well.

Is there a Craig's list in Athens, Greece?

John

MDR · Apr 29, 2014

Get some frosted glass two fixtures for fluorescent tubes and a box and build your own.
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Build_a_Light_Table

Alternatively this seems like a super cheap solution http://www.parentphd.org/2011/09/make-your-own-light-table-and-add-some-reggio-emilia-to-your-life/

frobozz · Apr 29, 2014

Another item being cast off in droves, at least around here, are x-ray viewers... those might work nicely as a light table.

Duncan

Rolf Eilert · Apr 30, 2014

There are these square fluorescent lamps for staircases etc. with an opaque cover. I know these were more in use in earlier times and mostly were changed into glass-like and other covers. But I managed to acquire such a cover which had just a small hole at the edge. Combined with a fluorescent lamp, this is a fine lighttable of about 50 x 50 cm. If I imagine you took a whole lamp, you would even save the extra tubes.

Rolf

Rich Ullsmith · May 1, 2014

Many dental offices, if not most, have gone over to digital imaging. They generally hung onto their portable light boxes to reference past films, but now those records are old enough they are no longer referenced. I bet there's plenty of portable boxes headed for the dumpster.

With a little ohm's law math, minor carpentry and a wall-wart from your local goodwill, you can make an LED box simple enough, and it will give better color than the tubes.

Photographica · May 1, 2014

Your local hardware store will have several light fixtures (round, square, rectangle) with the appropriate size white translucent cover. I got mine from a big-box chain for about $19. A couple of wire connectors and a salvaged power cord put me in business.

Mainecoonmaniac · May 1, 2014

How about this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GEPE-LED-6x...iewer-NEW-/370935793678?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

paul ron · May 1, 2014

I found an x-ray viewer a doctors office was throwing out.

Need an affordable light table...

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