Project

DIY Magic lantern

The magic lantern was the first “projector” in the history. Developed in the 17th century by Athanasius Kircher, it used the working principles of the camera obscura, projecting images from the inside of the camera to the outside.

Group Katxarraroak

DIY Magic lantern

The magic lantern was the first “projector” in history, developed in the 17th century by Athanasius Kircher. By using the operating principles of the camera obscura, (which received images from the outside making them visible inside the camera) he managed to project images from the inside of the camera to the outside.

The lanterns were used for educational or entertainment purposes by projecting translucent glass plates, with drawings or photographs. Magic lantern projections soon became public or private shows, that were accompanied by narrations and live music. Many of the plaques that were projected were painted by hand, some of them being museum pieces of great beauty that have been preserved in great conditions.

Since the lanterns worked with coal or gas lamps and the most modern ones already used an obsolete electrical circuit for current electrical installations, the glass plates can´t be projected in a practical and simple way. We therefore usually find them out of public sight in archives, museums and private collections.

In order to incorporate these images into creative projects, as well as to enjoy again their In order to be able to incorporate these images into creative projects, as well as to enjoy their beauty in different contexts, the proposal to recreate a DIY magic lantern with current technologies, in a simple and cheap way, and with components that can easily be found online, or even recycled.

Step by step

For this we´ll need:

  • A pair of telescope lenses, a concave and a convex one. Reference model: https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005001460681644.html
    Note: It is important that the diameter of the lenses is larger than the one of the images to be projected. The size of the camera we build will depend on the focal length of the lens. In our case, we use an 80mm lens with a focal length of 300mm.
  • A Fresnel lens to concentrate light rays. Reference model:
    https://es.aliexpress.com/item/32890388868.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.50d123
    1cDnVevX&aem_p4p_detail=202106090307247824103076926010000444328
  • A warm light LED lamp, powered with at least 220V and around 5W.
  • A power cord.
  • A 220V and 120mm fan and a heatsink to attach to the LED lamp and prevent overheating.
  • A 5 mm wooden box made at DM with the following design: Archivos CAD Madera.
  • A plastic tube with a ring and a thread. We´ll use this as a spotlight and we´ll put the lenses in it. We recommend fabricating it with a 3D Printer using the following model:
    3D Models.