The "Outside the Box" Lightbox (and a new camera)

[SavaTheAggie]

Awhile ago a link was posted to the forum with the details to make your own lightbox. In that thread I talked about making a rig to make the lightbox more useful for my purposes.

Well, I went out and did it.



I made three of these, which I can position anywhere around my build table, and the lamps can be positioned anywhere along the shaft of the stand.

You see, a lightbox does indeed allow you to get even lighting over your subject. But my subjects, like Ulmaris Castle, are far too big to be placed in a lightbox.

So I went out and made the lightbox without the box. I bought some lamps with pre-fitted guards around the hood, along with some cheap pillow cases. The pillow cases are held on by rubber bands around the hood, and the pre-fitted guards keep the fabric away from the bulb.

I also bought flourescent 'daylight' bulbs, which don't produce the same yellow light normal bulbs do, and because their flourescent, and not incandescent, they don't heat up, so there really isn't any risk for fire.

I then went out and bought three 10' lengths of 3/4" PVC pipe, 9 'T' joints, and 3 sets of 4 rubber furniture feet. I cut each pipe into one length of 6 foot tubing and 6 lengths of 8 inches (2/3rds foot). I assembled, but did not glue, the pipe as you can see in the picture.

The whole thing cost somewhere around $60, the most expensive items being the lamps, at about $8 each. The bulbs were only about $3, and each stand cost $5 in materials. I also had to buy a PVC pipe cutting tool, as well as glue I didn't use, which added to the overall cost.

The effect is really great. The stands allow me to position the lamps anywhere, and the fabric over them really diffuse the light and remove all the really harsh reflections.

And for my new camera? Check it out...

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=750

--Anthony

[Troy]

I like my setup better:

http://www.tcphoto.net/photos/2005/05/22/IMG_5220.jpg

Of course, it was significantly more expensive!

Troy

[Recluce]

Show off!

Here's how a friend does it, I have since emulated his design

[Drucifer]

Glad to see you were able to make use of the lightbox link Anthony. I'm gathering up the parts to put together a lightbox. I was wondering what bulbs you ended up using, and where you got them? I've found a couple 6500K flourescent bulbs, but not any of the 5000K bulbs mentioned in the guide.

[Moroder]

Recluce, your friend's design is ok, but I would suggest using a larger sheet of white paper laid agaisnt a wall like this:

It would help with any editing process.

[Shadow]

Hmm... I remember a post about a lightbox a few months ago. This looks great Tony! I expect some great Ikros chapters with this

[Bricksidge]

I like my setup better:

http://www.tcphoto.net/photos/2005/05/22/IMG_5220.jpg

Of course, it was significantly more expensive!

Yet when was the last time you used it to take pictures of something you build!?!

Teehee

[Dunechaser]

I just finished up researching the best way to take LEGO pictures without having to rely on sunlight (something you just can't do here in Seattle). My conclusion is that fairly inexpensive fluorescent desk lamps can do the trick. There's a nice one on sale at Bartell Drugs for $20 through tomorrow.

If you're interested in my research methodology and more detailed results, check out my blog post:

http://dunechaser.blogspot.com/2006/01/ ... raphy.html

(I even referenced your insanely large setup, Troy. )

[SavaTheAggie]

Glad to see you were able to make use of the lightbox link Anthony. I'm gathering up the parts to put together a lightbox. I was wondering what bulbs you ended up using, and where you got them? I've found a couple 6500K flourescent bulbs, but not any of the 5000K bulbs mentioned in the guide.

Just to follow up - the bulbs I originally bought were, indeed, 6500K bulbs.

However, two weeks ago I was able to find 5000K bulbs at the Home Depot, but it took alot of looking. They have a large assortment of 'daylight' flourescent bulbs, but all the small ones are 6500K. The larger ones are 5000K (no idea why), but you can only tell by actually reading the text printed on the bulb's base.

--Anthony

[Drucifer]

Thanks for the hint. I'll be sure to check the bases next time I go looking for bulbs.

When you say larger bulbs, do you mean like floodlight size bulbs? If you could post a picture of the bulb that would be great.