Light Table
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A light table is a viewing device that is used to review
photographic film Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin photographic emulsion, emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the ...
or artwork placed on top of it. The horizontal form of a self-standing lightbox provides even illumination of the subject from below, or through a translucent cover placed in front of a
fluorescent light A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, to produce ultraviolet and make a phosphor ...
, which emits a small amount of heat. Some light tables may appear as large light boxes which stand horizontally against some type of support, allowing the user to lay sheets of paper— or
film stock Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent pl ...
— on their work surface to easily view them while seated in a chair. Light tables can also be big and complicated affairs, with stereoscopes integrated as a self-supporting unit. This type of light table is used by Tomcat TARPS squadrons for interpreting aerial photographs. Light tables are mainly used in the trade of
graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of the data, as in design and manufa ...
to trace designs, especially in the world of
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...
or
comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
. Another use case for light tables is to review
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
negatives, photoliths, or any kind of artwork which can be placed on top of it. In general, light boxes can be used for professional tracing,
animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
, cartoons, and design. Outside of animation, a light box may be utilized for education, architecture,
interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...
, fashion, and in hospitals for viewing radiographs (
X-rays An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
,
MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...
, etc.).


Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System

Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System The Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) was a large and sophisticated camera pod carried by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. It contains three camera bays with different type cameras which are pointed down at passing terrain. It was or ...
squadrons were staffed with Navy photographers mates which maintained the cameras and worked with the carrier to process the imagery. TARPS squadrons also included an extra Intelligence officer and Intelligence Specialists to help plan TARPS missions, exploiting the imagery afterwards. The TARPS shop maintained the cameras, and replaced the pods when necessary. Wet
film processing Photographic processing or photographic development is the chemical means by which photographic film or paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image. Photographic processing transforms the latent image int ...
would be conducted in a processing room connected to the ship's Intelligence Center (CVIC), where the Intelligence Specialist had a dedicated space with a ''light table'' for analyzing hundreds of feet of film.


See also

* Mimeoscope * Exposure unit


References


External links


Making a lightbox

table-of-light-with-a-old-monitor
Optical devices {{tech-stub