# Light Box



## jyreene (Nov 24, 2013)

I don't know if you've ever used Kickstarter but here's something you might want to check out.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/502701513/foldio-the-1st-foldable-studio-for-smartphone

I know many in here will want to draw and quarter me for wanting to just use my smartphone for photos but I enjoy being different. 

I have not affiliation with them but I am a backer. They are already funded so this isn't about trying to get them business. Just a near idea.


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## Dan Masshardt (Nov 24, 2013)

Interesting.  The idea of a built in light is what seems interesting to me.


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## jyreene (Nov 24, 2013)

I do like that part too. I personally couldn't see the difference in the light and dark room but I know many in here could because they know way too much about photography!

The ease of set up and collapse appeals to me too.


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## Dan Masshardt (Nov 24, 2013)

Honestly, other than the light I don't see a big advantage over the pop up ones on eBay.   Little bit smaller might be an advantage or disadvantage depending on what you want to do.


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## Dan Hintz (Nov 24, 2013)

The light part seems like a given... it's the magnets for easy (dis)assembly that seem like a novel idea to me.  Pretty decent value for the money, IMO.


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## jyreene (Nov 24, 2013)

Does make it looks easier to disassemble. One of the many reasons I backed it.


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## Carl Fisher (Nov 24, 2013)

The built in LED strip is what sells it as a cool idea.  The rest is pretty basic.

Neat find.


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## jyreene (Nov 24, 2013)

Almost like it's Marine proof!


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## Culprit (Nov 24, 2013)

Ty,

I won't draw and quarter you for wanting to take pictures with a smartphone.  Check out a thread from a week or two ago about HDR iPhone photography.  It is capable of pretty decent results.


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## JCochrun (Nov 24, 2013)

I just donated to get one of their products.  Hope it is as good as they advertised.

Jim


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## farmer (Nov 26, 2013)

*Not so sure about the light box*

I have been studying this problem for a couple of years.
   The lite box spreads out the lite. and being white the light is bouncing in every direction.   That may work very nice for the little bunny rabbit, but that is not what you need to photograph pens.

Because pens are very reflective , and reflection is 100% of the light source.
Which means inside of a lite tent you cannot control reflection and you have no way of destroying polarized glare.  
Our first reaction is to soften the light and move the light father any and turn the light down or not so bright.  Right up to the point of running 3 sec shutter speeds and photo graphing in the dark.  

In order to get rid of almost all glare you need to control the angle of the light and the all of the light needs to go though a polarized linear filter before lighting up the pen.

Picture in your mind 2  desk lamps with a florescent bulb  < you need cool bulbs so you don't burn your house down................................................
The light needs to be defused just like the clouds in front of the sun. < soft lighting>  So you wrap a t shirt in front of the light making sure that all of the light is being defused.
Then all of the light needs to passes through a linear polarized film .
Then you need to us a CPL filer on the lens of you camera.
This is called cross polarization , and it is a actual technic for photographing art work or wood products with a  glassy  finish.

There is a book called Light science and magic .
Cross polarization is covered on page 62 to 65.
farmer


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## jyreene (Nov 26, 2013)

Scienced.


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## Whaler (Nov 26, 2013)

I found this post interesting and had never really played with my iphone camera so I ran an experiment.
My lighting was 3 27 watt daylight CFL bulbs in reflectors, one from each side and one down from the top of the light tent.

The iphone 5 picture was hand held and I found it very sharp and to someone that didn't know that the background was white would like the picture. Tweaking in Photoshop was auto adjust to shadows and lighting.

The shot taken with the Canon Point and Shoot was hand held set on Auto and the lighting tweaked in Photoshop.

The shot taken with the Nikon was on a tripod and exposure settings were done on manual, picture quality was set on Raw which allowed me to brighten the white background a bit in Photoshop.

My conclusion is that just about anything will give acceptable results if you have adequate lighting.


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## farmer (Nov 27, 2013)

*photography*

Very nice looking pictures Whaler.

I am learning, and fully agree lighting is everything.  

These are my first photo's using  cross polarization,  
I was using one Alien Bee's /1600 strobe with a Paul Buff 10 x 36 soft box,
I had the AB/1600 turned up to 1400watts.  
I photographed this tethered with my Canon 5d mk 2 with a TSE 17 mm 1.3 L lens. with a Fotodiox 145mm CPL .

My lens was less then 6 inches from the subject.   F22 1/325  shutter speeds. iso 160.

This is also the first pen I made.  I used a a couple of parts from old pens.
IMO the cross polarization on pens works well.



It does one hell of a job getting rid of un wanted glare or reflection






Farmer


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## jyreene (Nov 27, 2013)

I would agree. That looks great. How much would you say you invested in the lights?


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## farmer (Nov 27, 2013)

*Question*



jyreene said:


> I would agree. That looks great. How much would you say you invested in the lights?



Are you asking me or Whaler?
If you are asking me.
I have about 600.00 into lights, light stand, and a soft box, and linear polarized film. still need a boom arm for my stand. 
If you think making pens is a expensive hobby, just wait until the photo bug bites...................................................................................................


Farmer      I took up photography because I hate my money.


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## Whaler (Nov 27, 2013)

jyreene said:


> I would agree. That looks great. How much would you say you invested in the lights?



Around $60.00 for the bulbs and clamp on fixtures. Here is a shot of my set up.


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## LagniappeRob (Nov 27, 2013)

I kind of like the little box. Tam gets mad if I leave the one I have now out too long (kitchen table is about the only place it fits). I think I could setup somewhere else with that one. That would make her happy - and that's a GOOD thing.


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## Rangertrek (Dec 2, 2013)

This looks like a pretty good idea if you are challenged for space.  Great idea for those that need to take a photo booth with them somewhere.


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