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Say I need a light box to emulate natural light. I have 9 white sources of light and few colored ones. The sources are LED panels 4x10cm so its not a point light (there are no individual LEDs - the whole panel is luminescent).

I would like to experiment with colors, but I need a diffuser which can mix all sources into one as evenly as possible.

If I to do it from scratch I would probably start with a saw toothed plexiglass - see the "illustration" :) (The light panels are on the left. The white ones are vertical and a colored one is on the top at angle)

I don't know if this is viable at all. Looking at how much technology has changed photography in past decades I have a hope that you someone can point me to the right solution.

Also - is there a simple guide on types of diffusers?

an idea

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  • \$\begingroup\$ "and few colored ones" What does that mean? There are many colors. What does "mix all sources into one as evenly as possible" mean exactly? \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Nov 5, 2020 at 19:38
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    \$\begingroup\$ This seems a bit of an XY problem. A CTB gel could solve color. An umbrella diffusion. And then the LEDs don’t need to be the source...though they could. To put it another way, plexiglass is probably one of the least efficient purchase if the goal is diffuse cool light. \$\endgroup\$
    – Bob Macaroni McStevens
    Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 1:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ @benrudgers While reading the question, I was thinking, "They're called gels." \$\endgroup\$
    – xiota
    Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 1:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ from what i see the gels have "fixed" colours.. they must be in fact filters not diffusers. they must be reducing luminosity also.. not what i was thinking of.. \$\endgroup\$
    – Boppity Bop
    Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 13:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ A gel addresses color temp. An umbrella addresses diffusion. Now your light source is flexible but can still be the LED’s. \$\endgroup\$
    – Bob Macaroni McStevens
    Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 19:18

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After couple hours of research I found that exact thing exists. its called light guide plate and it looks very much the same as my "illustration" and (surprise!) is made almost always of plexiglass.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I am not understanding how a light guide plate is the solution to mixing colored light into "one" Perhaps you can provide more details on how it works and why. Add that info to your answer to make it useful to others. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Nov 8, 2020 at 2:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ if you shine one colour from one side and another from the opposite they will mix together on output (that is if you have LGP with etched lines not dots). makes sense? \$\endgroup\$
    – Boppity Bop
    Commented Nov 8, 2020 at 12:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ No it does not make sense, at least to me, because we do not have any details about your colors or the product you mentioned. You should write a detailed description of you equipment, the product and how it used with your equipment. This info should be added to the answer and not in the comments. The point is; the answer says you have solved your problem but you have not told anybody How exactly. If you want others to find your answer useful then make it useful, I.E. Informative. ( "LGP with etched lines not dots" ?) \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Nov 8, 2020 at 18:16

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