Searching for an A4 lightbox

[Matus]

Ok - I am in the market for a new lightbox with area of A4 (about 10x12") or a bit smaller.

I have had a small model from Kaiser in the past and it did not last long, so I am not too keen on buying their product (though I should say that it was a low-end model)

I am located in Germany and would prefer to buy locally online (easier to return the product if I do not like it)


I had a look at what is out there and found few products, but as these are mostly marketed for graphic purposes (slide viewing is 'out') I am not sure about the color reproduction:

- Soligor SV-300 Pro (area is only 20x15 cm)

- Artograph LightPad A930 (LED, A4)

- Copic Comic Master Tracer (LED, A4)

And that would be about it. I like the idea of LED lightbox as it would probabluy last longer and produce less heat, but what about the spectrum?

Please do feel free to propose a model if you have good experience. I would like to fit under €200 probably though.

thanks

 

[Matus]

And I just ordered a used Rodenstock aspherical 6x loupe for a good price so a nice light box is now a must.

So - any advice on which light box to get (or not to get)?

 

[RichW]

I would like to know also 🙂

R

 

[sevo]

I use these: http://www.just-normlicht.de/de/articlelist.html?id=Dia-Betrachtung

Not exactly cheap, but what would be the point of an uncalibrated light...

 

[Matus]

I use these: http://www.just-normlicht.de/de/articlelist.html?id=Dia-Betrachtung

Not exactly cheap, but what would be the point of an uncalibrated light...

Their smallest model (38x35 cm area) is about 700 € - that is simply too much for my applications.

But thanks for a tip anyhow.

 

[sevo]

Their smallest model (38x35 cm area) is about 700 €

That would be the smallest of their very fancy dimmable ones. Nice to have, in particular to match the brightness of a monitor used in parallel, but only mandatory if you do advanced pre-press work.

The plain constant light ones further down the page start at 178€, for the same size.

 

[Matus]

That would be the smallest of their very fancy dimmable ones. Nice to have, in particular to match the brightness of a monitor used in parallel, but only mandatory if you do advanced pre-press work.

The plain constant light ones further down the page start at 178€, for the same size.

Thank you - I did not scroll the page down 🙄. Indeed - that is reasonable price. I will have a closer look.

 

[Jerevan]

The Kaiser Slimlite (20x30) from Fotoimpex at 143 euro maybe?

 

[Matus]

The Kaiser Slimlite (20x30) from Fotoimpex at 143 euro maybe?

I have seen that one, but the lightbox I have was from Kaiser and I was not too impressed by the built-quality (though my model was smaller and cheaper, but this one looks similar).

 

[Jerevan]

Aha - okay. It looked nice, though. But reality is what counts! 🙂

The other one I know of is Microlight, but I've no idea if you can find it in Germany.

 

[Matus]

Aha - okay. It looked nice, though. But reality is what counts! 🙂

The other one I know of is Microlight, but I've no idea if you can find it in Germany.

As a matter of fact I managed to find it in Germany. And the price of 118 € is on the lower end. Do you have any experience with it? How is the illumination and built quality? On the sale-webpage is stated that it should deliver 5000 K +/- 300.

 

[Matus]

One small update from my side. I just found the information about the light temperature on the LED light-box Copic (Comic master) - and it it 9.000 Kelvin. So - concerning the rest of the LED light-boxes without specifications on light temperature I guess they are too around that value.

The bottom line for me is - LED light-boxes are most probably (unless explicitly stated) way too cold lin light temperature to be comfortably used for slides.

I will most probably get one of the simpler (cheaper) models from Normlicht as those look solid.

 

[majid]

In a pinch, you can use an iPad with a white image as a light table.