Light Source

For black and white film only: You will only care about even and strong light, everything else we say about light 'quality' and CRI and color is unimportant if you only scan BW.

Color
Scanning color is a bit more complex, and different light sources have different build-ups of wavelengths. Essentially a bad light source can have a big ‘gap’ in a colour, so that, for example, the blue in your image is rendered very dull, if as blue at all, and not some other color.
You will see a lot of talk about 'CRI' - this stands for Color Rendering Index, and is an attempt at making a scale that represents the accuracy of a light. Click here to read more about color rendering. CRI above 90 is good, anything below is unsuited for color scanning.

General Points

  • You want a bright light to give your scan a short shutter speed to minimize vibrations
  • For color scanning you want a CRI above 90
  • Your light has to evenly light up the film area
  • The light needs to sit flat on the table

Light Source Recommendations

Note: That the categories you will find below are are ordered in order of price range, not in quality - generally the three last categories can provide similarly good results.

Use What You Have

Free if you own a suitable device

 

Most modern screens actually produce very accurate color when used as a light source. To use them, download an app that lets you fill the screen with white - there are many of these, but searching 'screen flashlight' will land you results for what you want - alternatively you could try searching 'color light'.  

A phone will be too small to use for medium format and could be too small when scanning 35mm with the film advancer. If you have a tablet or iPad, those are great options too!

Note: If you are scanning without the Advancer, your film will sit very close to the surface of your light. This can lead to the pixel grid in your screen showing up - we recommend buying our Valoi Diffuser, or upgrading to the Advancer. 

Pros
• Great color accuracy
• Cheap or free
• Quite easy to set up

Cons
• Quite long shutter speeds - you will have to be very careful about vibrations
• Phones are often too small
• If you don't have the Advancer or Diffuser, you might get the pixel grid show up in your scans

 

Fine for BW

10-30€

 

Using a 'tracing pad' or 'drawing light' can be a very cheap way of doing BW scanning. However, because of the poor colors most of them produce this is not a good option for scanning color slide or color negative.

Note: Some of these will not have event enough lighting. We recommend using our Valoi Diffuser attachment and/or the Valoi Advancer for extra diffusion and separation from the light. 

Pros
• Cheap
• OK Quality for Black and white
• Often come in about A5 size (about half of US letter size

Cons
• Quite long shutter speeds - you will have to be very careful about vibrations
• Not suitable for color scanning
• Often larger than a Valoi holder leading to light spilling over the edge - mask that off in case of reflections

 

Video Light: Raleno

40-50€ for light, 119€ for whole package.


We currently officially support one light, the Raleno PLV-S104, with our own product, the Adapter 104. This is a metal box that holds the light source, making it sit flat on the bottom to sit properly on the table, giving it leveling feet and making it possible to screw the Advancer straight into it, making for one solid unit. Note that you will need the Diffuser to use this solution if you don't own the Advancer.

If you want to use the same light but save money at the cost of a much less stable setup, you can use the box it comes in to make it sit flat on the table. Click Read More to see how.

Pros
• High CRI - Good colors
• High power - short shutter speeds
• Affordable compared to other similarly specced alternatives
• Will be supported by our Valoi Adapter 104 when that becomes available (2021)

Cons
• Not flat on the bottom - will require a simple DIY using the box that it comes in
• Slightly too small for 4x5 - buy the PLV-116S for that (though this will not fit in our future adapter)
• Cannot be on all the time (heat and battery constrained)


Light Panel: Kaiser Slimlite Plano

100-150€

 

The Kaiser Slimlite Plano is a popular light source for scanning and is quite easy to find. However, it comes with a few drawbacks and a high price-tag.

Pros
• Good color accuracy
• Brighter than a phone/tablet
• Easy to use and set up
• Slim design

Cons
• Not as bright as a video light - you will have to be careful about vibrations
• Expensive
• Some models are larger than a Valoi holder leading to light spilling over the edge - mask that off in case of reflections