The Lightblock Project

What's the biggest transparency size that is available in colour sheet film?!
 
Really liking how this has evolved Steve it's really becoming a very nice product. I'm still not sure how much I'd want to pay because basically I'm a cheapskate :D how simple will it be to swap positives? Would it be possible to create a 6x6 triple frame? I do have a liking for triptychs. Also it would mean I wouldn't have to cut my negs if the gap was the the same as the film.
 
Thanks Nick. I realised after my post the other day that I wouldn't know/want to say how much if pay for an unknown product either so I wasn't expecting any responses!

With the current frame, the maximum size of the display is just over 15.5cm x 10cm so you couldn't fit 3 6x6 slides in line but using the LED lightbox design, I could make larger frame to accommodate it. I've built this one as a 6x4 with desk/bedside use in mind as well as wall mounting but a larger frame would look good on the wall.
 
I forgot to say, there are 4 screws holding the lightbox unit onto the back of the frame. If these are removed, the lightbox comes away and the mount/slides drop out from behind the glass. You could then either replace the slides in the mount (I have them mounted using masking tape) or just swap the mount out with another one.
 
Are you planning on selling each frame with a selection of mounts? Playing on Nick's triptych idea, three 6x4.5 frames in portrait orientation could look good. Would it be possible to use some kind of clip rather than screws to make changing them easier for people?
 
I haven't got a set model regarding mounts. My initial use is for my own portrait clients as part of a package (I've already provisionally sold 2!) so I would be assembling the frame for them. There's no reason why a selection of mounts couldn't be included (or custom mounts supplied on request).

With regards to the lightbox fitting, I've been playing with a magnetic system instead of the screws which makes it more seemless to swap the mounts.
 
stevelmx5 said:
I haven't got a set model regarding mounts. My initial use is for my own portrait clients as part of a package (I've already provisionally sold 2!) so I would be assembling the frame for them. There's no reason why a selection of mounts couldn't be included (or custom mounts supplied on request).

With regards to the lightbox fitting, I've been playing with a magnetic system instead of the screws which makes it more seemless to swap the mounts.
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The magnetic mounting idea sounds great.
 
Oh Boy. A 5x4...now that's exciting.

Probably a limited market though, but hey...worldwide...

Good luck Steve.

BTW can it be set up in portrait and landscape ?
 
trevorbray said:
Oh Boy. A 5x4...now that's exciting.

Probably a limited market though, but hey...worldwide...

Good luck Steve.

BTW can it be set up in portrait and landscape ?
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Yeah, I reckon a 5x4 would look pretty impressive!

The frame can be placed in any orientation (depending on the mount in place)

Thanks Trevor
 
stevelmx5 said:
Yeah, I reckon a 5x4 would look pretty impressive!

The frame can be placed in any orientation (depending on the mount in place)

Thanks Trevor
Click to expand...

My knees are going week...imagine offering your client the original, add a scanned copy so they can make their own distribution. Surely some people would pay a significant premium for that..
Tomorrow Rodney....
 
Ok, next favour I need to ask...does anyone have a 5x4 slide they could send to me (I'll pay the postage) to test the frame with a larger image?

I'm obviously happy to post it back after I've taken some product shots.

Thanks
Steve
 
stevelmx5 said:
Ok, next favour I need to ask...does anyone have a 5x4 slide they could send to me (I'll pay the postage) to test the frame with a larger image?

I'm obviously happy to post it back after I've taken some product shots.

Thanks
Steve
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I'm sure I've got one I can send you. I'll check tomorrow when I get home.
 
Ok, time to resurrect this thread and my idea :0)

I've been looking at the components I'll need to power the leds using small lightweight LiPo cells and the associated charge function. I've now got a decision to make with regards to the actual function of the Lightbox frame.

If I run it as a combined lightbox and mobile phone charger, I can either use a higher capacity internal LiPo/charge circuit or an external and removable power source (such as a Powerbank). My first plan was the removable powerbank which means it can removed from the frame and used elsewhere when required. However, I'm now thinking that it would look more messy having a mount on the rear of the frame where the powerbank would be slotted. So, if anyone has the time to reply, I'd appreciate your 'vote' for the relevant option below (if my explanation above doesn't make sense, let me know!);

Option 1 - Removable usb powerbank held in a slot on the rear of the frame and offers two USB ports although one would be used to power the lightbox. Second port would be 2.1 amps so could power a tablet or a phone.

Option 2 - Internal lipo charge circuit and 3.7v 1000mah battery to power lightbox. This would be a much neater solution with only a micro USB (to charge the lipo) and single USB output. The output using this option would only be 500mah so could only charge a phone and the only way to have 'portable' power for external devices is to take the frame with you.

Cheers
Steve
 
Tbh Steve, I'd drop the combined phone charger idea and focus on just the lightbox. To me it seems a bit unwieldy? It doesn't seem logical to me to charge my phone at a photo frame and it may be more hassle for you than it's worth.

I'm sorry that this probably isn't what you want to hear but I'm just throwing my 2p into the ring.

Feel free to PM me if you want any clarification, product design and implementation is an interest of mine and I'd love to hear about your thought processes.
 
No problem at all Rob, in fact that's probably what I needed to hear about focussing entirely on the lightbox instead of adding functionality that may not be required.

If I'm just powering the lightbox, I can use a much smaller lipo/charge PCB which keeps the weight down. Thanks for the offer of help too, il drop you a PM with a couple more questions.

Thanks
Steve
 
Thanks Trevor. As a follow up then, I'm looking at different options regarding the power for just the lightbox with a view to having the frame desk or wall mounted. These are the two options I'm considering;

1 - Internal fixed lipo battery which would need to be charged from a USB source (e.g. any mobile phone/tablet charger or a PC). This would be charged using a basic USB>mini USB cable.

2 - AA battery power without any internal charge function. Basically, you would fit disposable or rechargeable batteries and when they are flat they would need to be removed to charge or replace.

Personally, I like the clean lines of an internal lipo battery but would appreciate everybody's thoughts.

Cheers
Steve
 
I like the idea of the internal rechargeable battery, the sleeker the better for me.
 
Lipo would be neater but having played with RC planes for a few years, they scare the hell out of me!
 
steveo_mcg said:
Lipo would be neater but having played with RC planes for a few years, they scare the hell out of me!
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Why's that? I know nothing of lipo batteries do they explode?
 
RaglanSurf said:
Why's that? I know nothing of lipo batteries do they explode?
Click to expand...

Early ones had a habit of failing catastrophically, this was in pretty high performance environments, RC planes can pull 50-100 amps from a battery at full throttle, so if sets of cells became unbalanced the current would favour one cell over the rest damaging the soup, when you came to charge them, KABOOM! Steve's probably got this covered but much the same reason as people distrust hydrogen after a minor zeplin incident, I worry about lithium batteries.

Having said that, there is an enormous one on my desk (Laptop) and one in my pocket...
 
srichards said:
What's the biggest transparency size that is available in colour sheet film?!
Click to expand...

Last time I saw 11x14 Provia 100f offered for sale was by Badger Graphics in 2009. Now all that is practically available is Provia 100f in 10x8 although annoyingly Velvia 100 seems to be available in the States and Japan.

But for years you have been able to get display transparencies in pretty much any size you like
 
steveo_mcg said:
Early ones had a habit of failing catastrophically, this was in pretty high performance environments, RC planes can pull 50-100 amps from a battery at full throttle, so if sets of cells became unbalanced the current would favour one cell over the rest damaging the soup, when you came to charge them, KABOOM! Steve's probably got this covered but much the same reason as people distrust hydrogen after a minor zeplin incident, I worry about lithium batteries.

Having said that, there is an enormous one on my desk (Laptop) and one in my pocket...
Click to expand...

think lithium ion is different from lithium polyimer. honestly theres little reason to use lipo, i think there key abilities are to handle high current draw, and weight ? i dont know how well they retain charge, but they are *significantly* more volatile than normal batteries, and if you run them till flat they get damaged and lose ability too.

you could just buy some AA's from poundland or get some rechargeable nimhs from 7dayshop, those would be better options
 
Ask Sony how stable li-ion is, or the royal mail for that, better than lipo but it's still a minor fire risk.

Your right though lipo can discharge like nothing else and weighs little.

A charge controller should stop it being damaged during discharge but a lithium ion would be a better compromise though a couple of AAA would probably be fine.
 
The main benefit I see of lipo's are their size/weight compared to their output. I'd be needing at least 3 1.5v AAs plus a DC-DC booster to get the 5v output needed to run the LED strip for any useful length of time. In comparison, a 3.7v 1000maH lipo plus charge/booster will take half of the weight/size.

Also, when the lipo runs flat, it will shut off before reaching 3v preventing damage at which point the lightbox could be powered from a USB cable whilst charging the lipo at the same time.

I agree that a basic 3 or 4 AA battery holder is the much simpler option, I'm trying to make the frame look and perform more seamlessly and I don't think having to swap out AAs does that.

Thanks for everyone's feedback though, it's really helping me with the build. I'll put some updated pictures up once I've added the battery unit.

Cheers
Steve
 
Lipo power!

View attachment 22383

This is the internal circuitry from a usb powerbank and provides the 5v output plus regulated charger and lipo cell that I need. I've just test fitted it inside the lightbox to see what, if any effect, it has on the light output and it's not bad. The actual cell/circuit I'm looking to use is much smaller and there will be no large usb plug fitted.

View attachment 22384

I'm actually pretty excited with the results being better than I expected with the circuitry internal.

Cheers
Steve
 
hmm
4x 2150mah would give you 8600mah and 4.8v? cant remmber if rechargeable, and you might be able to utlize one of those portable battery packs for phones that takes AA's?
 
The circuit/lipo cell I used is from an external usb power bank. Whilst 4xAA's would give higher maH, I've left this 2000maH lipo powering the LEDs today and it lasted for 5 hours before reaching the point where it was flickering so I reckon they should be enough.

Also, this lipo is about the size of 2 AAs so takes up less internal space.

Thanks for the suggestion though. I'm currently attaching neodymium disc magnets to the lightbox so it can be attached to the frame without any screws. I'm also spec'ing up a magnetic charge cable...I should work for Apple ;0)
 
oh for wireless charging? There's been a few hack projects for that for phones n things, did it for my mums galaxy s3 too
aliexpress has lots of that stuff

apple still don't do wireless charging I think, my old hp touchpad has it tho ;-)
 
Sorry, should have clarified. I'm looking at implementing a magnetic charge cable like the Sony Xperia Z2 or Macbooks rather than wireless charging itself. I have looked at the Qi induction charging units and whilst it would be relatively simple to utilise, I thought it would be simpler to have a standard USB cable for charging.

However, I'm also looking at the options for switching the lightbox frame on/off and am down to two opposite methods;

1) Simple mini latching push button which would be hidden from view behind the frame but easily reached. Simply press once to turn the frame on and again to switch it off.

2) Capacitive sensor so you would simply wave in front of the frame or touch the glass/part of the frame to switch the lightbox on/off as well as a dimmer function by leaving your finger on the frame or glass to make the light brighter/dimmer.

Whilst I'm a sucker for a gadget/feature, adding the capacitive sensor would increase the cost by around £15 to account for it so I'd be interested to know if a feature like this would be desirable versus the additional purchase cost?

Cheers
Steve
 
stevelmx5 said:
Sorry, should have clarified. I'm looking at implementing a magnetic charge cable like the Sony Xperia Z2 or Macbooks rather than wireless charging itself. I have looked at the Qi induction charging units and whilst it would be relatively simple to utilise, I thought it would be simpler to have a standard USB cable for charging.

However, I'm also looking at the options for switching the lightbox frame on/off and am down to two opposite methods;

1) Simple mini latching push button which would be hidden from view behind the frame but easily reached. Simply press once to turn the frame on and again to switch it off.

2) Capacitive sensor so you would simply wave in front of the frame or touch the glass/part of the frame to switch the lightbox on/off as well as a dimmer function by leaving your finger on the frame or glass to make the light brighter/dimmer.

Whilst I'm a sucker for a gadget/feature, adding the capacitive sensor would increase the cost by around £15 to account for it so I'd be interested to know if a feature like this would be desirable versus the additional purchase cost?

Cheers
Steve
Click to expand...
Now I don't want it to seem like I want the moon on a stick but I'd like one that is sound activated, turned off and on by a click of the fingers.
 
Capacitive touch would be cool. I used it a couple of times in my PC modding days, QT10 or something like that. However its probably unnecessary cost.
 
I'm edging towards the "cool but worth it" side at the moment although I keep bringing myself back to the idea of actually manufacturing/selling these rather than just building my own so costs are an important factor. I was talking to a manufacturer last night about their capacitive touch PCB which is fully contained on a board the size of an SD card so that could be housed inside the lightbox allowing for just a wave in front of the glass to switch it on.

My intention is to build the Lightbox unit as a fully self-contained item that could be purchased individually then fitted to any frame yourself as we all like different styles/colours for frames. As well as individuality, it means you can simply move the lightbox into a different frame to suit different slides etc. By using various mounts, the number and layout of slides can be changed according to taste as well from anywhere between a single 35mm slide to multiple 6x9s all the way up to 5x4 so it will be very flexible as we all shoot different frames at different times. If I build the lightbox as a separate unit I won't need to factor in the cost of a frame which brings the cost down.

I also modified the lightbox to attach to the frame using neodymium magnets sunk flush into the wood so frames can now be changed without any screws :0)
 
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