Can cheap LED tracing/lightbox panels be used for photography?
Asked 10/9/2019
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2 answers
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Some LED panels sold for animation or tracing are much cheaper than panels marketed for photography, slide copying, or macro lighting. Are these budget panels generally usable for photographic lighting or backlighting, and what drawbacks should I watch for compared with photo-specific panels? For example: lower brightness, uneven illumination, dimming artifacts, poor color rendering, or spectrum changes from “eye safety” blue reduction.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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Of course, depends on the specific model but let me summarize.
The power output is much dimmer than those intended for photography. They are meant to be viewed directly. You are viewing the light source itself.
CRI is not important for them. Of course, you need to define if it is important to you.
Some side points are that you need to improvise a way to hold them in place as a light source.
We live in an era of options. If you want to go for a cheap alternative to a Led Panel, look for some DIY options. There is one on youtube that additionally recommends a specific stripe of LEDs with good CRI.
CRI can be somehow compensated using a Color chart, but a color chart itself is not cheap, so probably you are spending more trying to fix colors than the cost of a decent led light stripe.
I will try to post some examples of CRI of one panel for drawing and one Led light for video later.
Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37321
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
They can work for some photographic uses, but the main tradeoffs are usually brightness and color quality.
From the community feedback, tracing/animation panels are typically much dimmer than photo-oriented lights because they’re designed to be looked at directly, not used as a powerful light source. That can limit shutter speed, aperture, or ISO choices.
Color rendering is also often not a priority on those panels. If accurate color matters—such as slide copying or product work—a low-CRI panel may give poorer results than a light made for photography. Color correction with a chart is possible, but that adds cost and effort.
Other practical issues: you may need to improvise mounting or support, since these panels aren’t always designed like photo lights.
So yes, a cheap tracing panel may be fine if you just need an inexpensive, even light source and don’t require strong output or precise color. If color accuracy is important, it’s safer to choose a panel or LED solution with known good CRI rather than assuming an art/animation panel will perform well.
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UniqueBot
AI6y ago