My pathetic attempt to make a lightbox. Learn from my mistakes!!!

Hyperion

My advice ? dont bother with one. take a natural light and diffuse it a bit, and just shoot.

I found instructions for a lightbox on the net (of course) and decided to do a bit of experimenting. nice foam board to create nice reflective surfaces and bounce "natural" lights off the roof and unto my coins ! Reality ?? Glare and washing out of almost all detail. no amount of color balancing could correct for my wonderful overexposures. Im taking a few pics just so you can see my waste of about $20 of materials (at least I can still use the clamps, and extension cord), tried powerful lights, and weak lights and no matter what I did, using the reflective surfaces caused the washout. Ok, for posterity (because it's going out to the curb tonight) : here we go:

My original photo:



I hated the glare, hence the light box idea.


The beast.




Black background with a single 60 bulb



My nice morgan with defective planchet.




With no light at all !



I guess I could always rent it out as a tanning booth, or as a searchlight for car openings.

Anyway, I didn't see how this would help, but I didn't believe it til I built it. What a profound waste of time.

Anyone ever have good results with a LB ?

DNADave

ha ha.


I too have four extra desk lamps now and a bunch of reveal bulbs that didn't help at all. I need a manual 35mm camera or a digital camera that acts like one to have any success.

Hyperion

it makes me feel better that someone knows exactly how aggravated I am.

Pentimento

I don't understand the first picture. There are two lightsources, one yellow, one blue, right? So what bulbs were in those 4 clamplights?

bigtime36

I hear that, ive tried every possible way to get good lighting and trying to eliminate glare and shadows its like and endless struggle.

Hyperion

<< <i>I don't understand the first picture. There are two lightsources, one yellow, one blue, right? So what bulbs were in those 4 clamplights? >>



the pic of the buff was freehand with a normal light.

the beast had 4 clamplights with 40, 60, 100 watt reveals in each.

MikeInFL

Using a light box is only beneficial for proof coins, but can be accomplished easier using a white lampshade, a white trash can, or simply a paper tube.

Diffused lights, either using fluroescent tubes that are naturally more diffused, or using a paper over a halogen or incandescent light, work better with coins such as your nickel.

Hope this helps, and all IMHO...Mike

WoodenJefferson

The pic of the light box you designed was the best out of all of the pictures, go figure, right?

Trial and error is part of discovery...keep at it.

RWB

Just cut the top and bottom off a gallon plastic milk container....

ABC123

Try a Cloud Dome, found on eBay !

mgoodm3

Heavily diffused lights (indirect lighting) works well for things like jewelry, but coins you really want to see the details and the luster which you really can't get well with a light box. I prefer direct lighting for most all coins. If the light is too harsh, I either add more lights or difuse it.