Turn your Mac into a Light Table

[Ken Lee]

"Light (http://www.imagectrl.com/english/light/#/light-table/) instantly converts your Mac into a light table / light box allowing photographers, film makers, and even doctors to quickly backlight film for viewing."

It costs $ 11.95 and they give you a free 7-day evaluation trial download. I tried it, it works nicely.

[Tony Flora]

Why not just open up photoshop and put a white background up?

[jetcode]

Why not just open up photoshop and put a white background up?

or Paint for that matter ...

[Anupam]

What I have found with the white background trick is that while it is okay for viewing negs by holding them a little bit away, you can't really put 'em on the table and go at them with a loupe as the little RGB diodes that make up the computer screen image start to become visible. I can't imagine how this program would get around that problem.

[Daniel_Buck]

you have to pay for a white screen? haha!

I've done that on my monitors quite a few times, doesn't work to bad. They get warm though, not sure how good for the film that is (probably doesn't matter though?). Agree with Anupam, works fine for just looking at the film, but not so much with a loupe.

[Ash]

Wow I can't believe how long it's taken for someone to try and sell what is essentially free.

I've always loaded a Firefox window and used that. Nice and white. No problem.

[Gordon Moat]

You could just use Windows . . . oh wait, that's a blue screen.
:D

[Lenny Eiger]

Why not just open up photoshop and put a white background up?

of go into systems prefs, to desktop and change the desktop to white....

Lenny

[Bob Salomon]

What I have found with the white background trick is that while it is okay for viewing negs by holding them a little bit away, you can't really put 'em on the table and go at them with a loupe as the little RGB diodes that make up the computer screen image start to become visible. I can't imagine how this program would get around that problem.

Are you using a focusing loupe that has been focused for the emulsion of the film?

[Capocheny]

Ken,

Wouldn't it be easier to just flick the on-off switch on a light table? :)

Cheers

[Michael Alpert]

Ken,

Thank you for the post. I see that there is more to this program than its white-screen function. I appreciate your willingness to share information. Thanks again.

[butterflydream]

This reminds me a nice free application called "ScreenCleaner Pro".

http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/freebies/

The application cleans up old darkened monitor back to bright.
A freeware, though it's off-season. :D


Regarding the Light Table, it seems that it can control the color temperature and that's why it's not free.

[Ken Lee]

Everyone's points are well taken.

I am not wildly enthusiastic about the program: I am merely sharing what I found. n fact, I have not yet purchased a copy myself.

If you want to see the greatest thing since sliced bread (http://www.kenleegallery.com/html/tech/tech.html#Monocular), then get an Infra Red viewing device.

One nice feature: Light can set the entire screen to white, or whatever color you like - not just a region within a window, or a frame inside a window, or event the desktop background (which will often display icons, the menu bar, or the Dock).

Since my Mac is a laptop with a fairly small screen, it's helpful to turn the whole screen into light source at the press of a button.

[John Cahill]

I got to my word processing program and open up a blank document. What could be simpler?

[Joanna Carter]

One nice feature: Light can set the entire screen to white... Since my Mac is a laptop with a fairly small screen, it's helpful to turn the whole screen into light source at the press of a button.
Then you might like to try using Keynote, if you have it. Simply create a dummy presentation, present the first slide, and then press the "W" key; presto! a totally white screen.

[ronald moravec]

Buy a white page. I guess anything can be sold.

[Ken Lee]

OK OK - I give up !

I thought that if the people who wrote the program, would give me a penny for each copy I sell, I could retire, as a billionaire...

http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/forum/retire.jpg

But now, thanks to all you smarty-pants LF computer geeks, I will have to abandon my cunning plan, and go back to my day job....

http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/forum/chaingang.jpg

[ifer]

i use safari (blank page) to view my trans sometimes.
but i can't use a lupe as i will be distracted by the RGB diodes

[buze]

I always use a TextEdit blank window in the bottom right corner of the screen, I put my 4x5 tranny over it and I can color-correct the scan in the 'real' window with the real 'proof' alongside.

[walter23]

or Paint for that matter ...

Or your web browser to 'about:blank'.

I used that to "scan" my first large format negatives - firefox, "about:blank", and then my digital SLR on a tripod.

Of course the problem was picking up the detail in the display, so then I mounted the negatives a few inches above the laptop with a glass support. Worked well.

[Hollis]

I use a lighter behind my film, makes it fun trying not to catch my negs on fire.

Then, I can smoke crack with the burning film. Makes about as much sense as this app.