Posted on

A DSLR Scanning Table for Raleno Lights

Recently I had a nice conversation with a very satisfied customer who purchased my 6×12 scanning table. They mentioned they were using it with the Raleno PLV-S116 video light. I knew of this before as it is an economical, and seemingly high CRI, light panel folks have been using for DSLR scanning already. The customer mentioned the scanning table fit almost perfectly on the light table.

I thought it might be worth checking out to compare to my Kaiser so I picked one up. Right off the bat, it’s MUCH brighter, has a matte surface (less chance of scratching), and has white balance control. Great! Only trouble was, it wouldn’t sit flat on a table with the offset knobs. So I thought, “why not build a holder for the Raleno and then make a scanning table fit on top of that?”

A day and a half later, here’s the first printed prototype!

Raleno stand with the 4×5 base and top, showing one of my Ektar negatives from our trip to Alaska last summer

First, yes, it’s pink. For prototypes I tend to use spare filament and happened to have a lot of shinky pink filament leftover from printing a bunch of Kirby figurines one day. At any rate, the point is the design works really well and a final version will, of course, be printed in opaque black. I’ve already designed a 35mm prototype which I plan on printing tomorrow with 120 to follow shortly after.

I’m not yet sure if this will be a full product yet but the answer is very probably! The Raleno does mean the whole setup is bigger than my 35mm scanning tables, which are meant to be small and compact. So it might not be for everyone but for those that want an fully enclosed solution, it could work really well I think!

If that’s something you’re interested in, certainly reach out! I might be looking for some beta testers!