Thursday, December 17, 2015

12/17/15: Litiholo Holograph Kit Review

I have a very unique gift up next in my Holiday Gift Guide.  I did not know it even existed but that is a Litiholo Hologram Kit which allows you to make your own Hologram images!  How cool is that?  We tried it out and after a few false starts we were making holograms like a pro.
First lets start with what the kit comes with.  It includes a safe, Hologram-Quality Laser Diode 2.0, "Instant Hologram" Film Plates (20 - 2"x3"), Laser-cut Holographic Plate Holder, Laser-cut Laser Mount (with 2 diode mounting pieces), LED Darkroom Light (For seeing in the dark without exposing the film), Battery Pack (batteries not included) and toy car to use as an object to make your hologram.
It is fairly easy to setup.  Ensure that you are on a stable surface and that the room you are in can be darkened enough to make it similar to a darkroom.  The laser diode has a cap on it that is unscrewed and a small spring is removed.  You will need some batteries to put in to the battery pack.  Connecting the red and black wires is also easy with alligator clips that are contained with the set.  Putting the laser diode through the small hole in the black piece was a bit of a challenge and the heat sink clip being clipped to the diode was probably the hardest thing.  I needed to do this for Evan and it took me a few tries.  I ended up removing the diode from the black piece, putting the clip on and then placing it back.
Once you are setup you want to test the laser and also let it warm up for about 5 minutes before attempting your holograph.
We started with the car that was provided.  You can use any object though.  There is an etched rectangle on the plate that shows you where to place the object.
The white card behind the glass plate allows you to see how the laser is spreading out to ensure it covers the object and the plate.  There is a groove that it goes in to so it is easy to know you have it in right.
This is where the tricks come in.  The first time we tried to create the hologram it didn't work as I placed the "Instant Hologram" Film Plate backwards.  Place the plate with the film cover outward away from the object.  The first time I had the film closest to the object and it did not work.  This is the only place I think that the instructions could have been a bit clearer.  I ended up finding it on their website.  The other things to be aware of is that it is very sensitive to vibrations so for the 5-10 minutes it is creating the holograph you should keep the area quiet and without a lot of movement.  This was our biggest struggle with kids and a dog running around.
Here is our finished work of art!
Pretty cool huh?  The kit includes enough "Instant Hologram" Film Plates to make 20 holograms.  For $64 you can purchase another 20.
 Here is the kit as packaged.  The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $99.99.  Learn more about Litiholo products here:  http://litiholo.com/
Disclosure:  I was provided with the Hologram Kit for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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