DIY Light Box In A Suitcase
A clever user at DIY site Instructables walks through how to transform an old suitcase into an impressive, portable light box.
The goal was to make a light box for my students to use that didn’t cost me an arm and a leg. Went to the second-hand store and found a florescent light… ($4.99 with 50% off) then noticed a suitcase/briefcase ($3.99 with 50% off). I got them both and started thinking of ways to put them together.
The result: This handy little on-the-go light box.
We’ve covered light boxes, soft boxes, and other DIY photography projects in the past, but the fold-up portability and inexpensive design of this suitcase light box makes it a gem. The author uses the light box for tracing old-school animations, but if you’re more of a digital sort, check out previously mentioned DoInk. Cheap light box [Instructables via Make]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
So that's what was in the suitcase from Pulp Fiction...
Spamwich
I always found the light box/soft box labeling a little confusing. Analog animators use a light box for tracing and animating and film photographers use them to look at negatives with a loupe, the main difference being an animator was less concerned with the warmth of the light where as a photographer was b/c of white balance. A soft box is an actual box covered in white cloth/paper to diffuse light and control lighting while photographing objects. Am I wrong on this? Are light box/soft box synonymous?
mediafood
You can get the light in the price of $5 from China, unless you want to enjoy making something your self.
anyway, CLASSIC. good job.
Greg Land will take 1,000,000!
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omgwtflolbbqbye
Kind of cool, but I think it might be a little unconfortable to use. Maybe with a deatachable top cover...
@mediafood: I wouldn't say they are synonymous. All the soft boxes I've ever used were collapsible tent-like things that attached to a strobe head. They increase the size of your light source, creating a more diffuse light, at the expense of intensity. I guess you could use a light table/box to get the same effect if you were in a pinch. You'd be forced to use longer exposures compared to a strobe/soft box combo, though, not to mention color balancing the fluorescent lights would be a pain. Hope that clears it up.
@ Spamwich. No, this was what was in the box Gaby Rodgers opened at the end of Kiss Me Deadly
HubertNardywomps
Excellent. I'm building one over the weekend!
ridgecity
@RobHayes:
Oh.
fofgddgfgg
What a stupid article. Ever heard of a flashlight?
Anyone who makes this DIY is retarded.
fofgddgfgg
@fofgddgfgg: Repeat after me:
eye
sofa king
we
todd
did
Thanks for your comment.
pullapint
@Spamwich: Haha! I have always wondered...
hackley01
This is really great. I'd remove the back hinges, which would allow you to remove the lid while using the box, but would allow you to replace the lid for stowing. Great job!
ZekeCalydon
@fofgddgfgg: so I can hold a a flashlight with one hand, use my other hand to hold a negative up to the flashlight, then use my other hand to hold a loupe, all while not blinding myself on the point source? and I guess a flashlight would work great for tracing drawings if they were only an inch wide...
VashtiClytias
Someone should write a DIY on how to make a suitcase with an intense enough light to stave off Seasonal Affective Disorder. I can see myself in January, stepping outside on a "S.A.D. break", opening my black suitcase, and basking in the summery glow.
Also, is there a fog machine in the suitcase above?
SepOntoEnt