All the bits required for this build are available in kit form here: amzn.to/2yS307Y You'll still need the LED strips, which are linked to in the video's description.
DIY Perks I got a tough challenge for you that will help a lot of people if you are successful. Can you make an SAD light panel? It should give off a minimum of 10,000 lux of light 1 metre away and the light should be diffuse, more so than this light panel. It should be large in size for the light to hit more areas of the retina. This would help a lot of people with depression if you were able to do it. I would personally build it if I had instructions as nothing available commercially would match it if you were able to do it in the way I outlined. I am a long term sufferer of SAD.
These lights produce a lot of heat. Keeping this on for even 30 minutes makes them hot to the touch. Any recommendations for heat dissipation in a future iteration?
As a video editor myself, I have mad respect for your work with tracking the dimensions of the pieces. It makes the instructions all the more clear, and makes the video, overall, more professional.
I have to praise how generous you are in sharing your knowledge. I also would like to say how good your videos are. I love how you explain in detail the projects you do and the clever editing you put in. I want to do this but I would like to do a smaller version. I have no experience in electronics whatsoever but I'm eager to have a go. Thanks again and can't wait for your future content.
There must be a group of viewers whose sole purpose in life is to leave negative ratings on great videos!! THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO, purposeful and will developed content! Thank you!
WOW. I may wind up making this my summer project! It really doesn't look very complicated, and the style of video instructions are really rather straightforward. THANKS!
I love the project! I made a panel inspired by this, but i used arduino and PWM dimming. It's interesting, the PWM is visible when dimmed, but if one uses the full output the PWM wont be visible on film. The only perk being that the one I made does not require a fan. The downside obviously being that you can't dim it on film. Thanks for the inspiration, your vids are invaluable when I need some creative stimulation :)
I rather enjoy your how to video's. Your footage is always relevant, camera angles and zoom levels are spot on, you don't waste time gabbing and your voice is suited to this kind of video. Nice work!
I went ahead and built my own following these instructions. As someone who knows nothing about electronics I needed the help of two others to break down some of the stuff left out here, but the result is a very bright LED panel for not a lot of money. Somethings I noticed: It truely is bright.... like hurt your eyes bright. I recommend picking up some sort of light diffusion sheet, or have a plan to use this indirectly. This thing gets HOT. I was testing the limits of this panel, and after 30 minutes the LED's start the seperate from the glue and wood. After an hour the leds are quite hot to the touch. I really have no idea how to go about fixing that in version 2, maybe aluminum panel as a heatsink? Be sure to glue these down with wood glue or something similar, otherwise they are going to come off most likely during prologed use. Also the part where he explains using resistors with the 5v fan, dont bother with this approach. I attempted this and the resistors get insanely hot, no matter how you configure them. I purchased a BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit), frequently used in RC cars/planes. This is far more efficient, and does not create any additional heat. Well worth the small cost. Overall I recommend trying this if your thinking about it. Great project, thank you for the tutorial!
I really like your input about the use of BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit). But my question is, Does the BEC replace the voltage regulator used in this circuit? And how do you connect it to a potentiometer to make it dimmable? I would really like to know because I've been buying materials to assemble it. If you don't mind you can show a photo of the same. Thanks
Well I wasn't really expecting to get much outta this vid but I was very pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the build and the net effect. Well done, really good.
It's... BEAUTIFUL!!! This would have made filming in the woods so much easier! We had to run several long stingers from my house. This is definitely on my to make list Cheers!
you are killing it! motion tracking text...building amazing ring lights, and dim-able LED's... You are like a budget film maker's dream come true. your content is the best I have ever seen. I just found you today, and you have already helped me so much. brilliant job!!!
Insanely. Good. Video. Thank you. Please do some more projects. I just started your videos and I can't stop doing that! Very professional from the first till last second.
A couple of comments if I may... 1. Excellent video, well presented. 2. The LEDs will get too hot - you've not used anything to dissipate the heat - this will shorten their lives - so as before but aluminium back!! Trust me - I've shortened the lives of many a LED. 3. Finally just a thought... you mentioned colour filters for studio work - RGB (12v) LEDS and you could get any colour you want at the cost of a SLIGHT loss of precision and a slight increase in cost.
Hello, I have even no patience to watch this video till the end, - hope, it's the best solution! I'm now working at the similar project, but, most probably, you have already made the universal solution both for indoor and outdoor usage. Great!!!
+Anthony Starfield Or maybe, instead of assuming this shit, you can take into account that just MAYBE this kind of diy stuff isn't something she is interested in but considers something like this useful. Quit being a keyboard warrior and watch the video.
Wow, As an engineer, this looks very simple and easy. Really appreciate the effort you went through to make this tutorial! Ill be building one this week, as well as your Ring light! Keep up the good work !
One of the best "How To" video's I've seen. And not only in the content... your videography is also stunningly good. Look forward to watching more. Hats off to you!
DIY Perks Sounds great. You should look into distrobution. I could sell these in Turkey. Of course DIY is a bit sketchy when it comes to warranties. NOnetheless sir you've got talent!
DIY Perks if / when you do plan on selling these, it would be awesome if you made an announcement video or some way to let us know these are available. I'm sure you'll get a lot of customers!
This is a remarkable light box! It could be used for many different applications! It would be a great addition in a workshop, a garage or a reloading room! The amount of light that it gives off is super. If you needed it to work on a vehicle at night! it is perfect!! GREAT JOB and GREAT VIDEO!!! THANKS!!
This has to be the best presentation I've seen yet on RUclips (that includes little details such as including US prices as well as British)! Great job!
Hey Matt, I was reading through the comments and I saw you comment that you have a new metal 5630smd panel video in the works! It would be great if you could share that video in the next weeks, or at least share some insights on what metal to buy, etc. I have ordered the leds and the converter from your links, but I would like to mount them on a metal plate instead of MDF, and would greatly appreciate your help! You are an inspiration to DIY-ers! :D Cheers and Thank you!
DIY Perks This would be awesome. Another thing I havent figured out is the CRI of these things. Do you know of a way to calculate this or is it possible to get an estimate from your vendor?
I noticed the LED display on your drill battery, I deduced that you made it do the same thing that the battery in the later video does, and I am impressed.
Just finished my v1 of this. Really bright - even though I started off with just 1 LED strip. I'm gonna be using it as a sort of virtual window to light up my living room while the sun is on the wrong side of the building. Really cool. Thanks for the tutorial! I've never done any electrical work and this was a great way to try my hands. Thanks again!
For anyone attempting to make this, it is way easier to order the LEDs in "Non-Waterproof" style (without the clear rubberized coating on the strips). It is a pain to remove the end coating to expose the two copper electrical contact "dots". I am currently building this with a slight modification, using white coroplast with an 1/8 inch thick 12'x24" board for support behind it. i have bent the coroplast into a similar shape as KinoFlo 4' 4 tube panels. I'm using Neitrik power connectors to a remote power supply so the lighthead is as light as possible. As I use C-stands in my studio, I ordered 2 Avenger F805 Baby plates to mount directly to the grips.
The non-waterproof strips have a warmer colour temperature unfortunately though, bordering on being warm white. The waterproofing material actually cools down the colour temperature because of the way light transmits through it (rather than it blocking warmer wavelengths). Still perfectly usable of course, but it's just something to keep in mind and is ultimately the very reason I recommended the waterproof strips for this build.
+DIY Perks www.ebay.com/itm/181089020410?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Even though they list these as 6000-6500 K my Sekonic color meter says they are 5480. I have set up the strips into 4 banks that have individual power control. At 1/2 power (all 4 channels powered, I am getting 5120 K readings.
Sounds great. The coroplast would be lighter than the MDF I imagine. Are there any pictures or videos of the lamp you made? (I don't understand when you say you bent the coroplast)
+altar7 I used thin coroplast 3/16" (I believe) from home depot just to build they prototypes. They are ridged enough for occasional use, but I would get thicker black coroplast ( check local sign company) if you plan to travel with these lights. One great thing about the KinoFlo design, is you can order the end plates and flex spring inserts separately if you want a really nice design. I did run into a heat and strength issue with only using thin coroplast., so be sure to add strength with the 1/8" melamine board. email me for pics. kinoflo.com/Products%20Button/Fixtures%20Remote/Select_DMX_4Bank/4Bank_DMX.html
Great tutorial and I'm looking forward to building one. What kind of power supply is recommended. I heard in the video that an old laptop power supply can be used?
You have to consider that LEDs use direct current (DC), and wall current is AC. You could construct an adapter based on a 120-24 transformer, coupled with a diode bridge for the AC DC conversion (there a few more steps, but this is the basic principle). Keep in mind that the diodes need to be able to support those high currents.
Juan Escalante nobody is going to "construct an adapter". you just take an old laptor charger or somethign that already outputs DC. the people who construct adapters are not the ones asking these questions.
Nicely made video, but I'm concerned. Those LEDs are going to get very hot, putting so many in a small space with absolutely no allowance for cooling is asking for short life. Maybe Mk2 should use an aluminium plate bonded to vertical "U" sections of aluminium to create a bit if a heatsink.
+Bo Riedel-Petzold I work with a lot of types of LEDs at work, and these 5050s get a little bit warm at best. But it's fine because the sheet of MDF is most likely fireproofed.
There's no issue when it comes to the risk of fire, they don't get that hot. BUT, the LEDs themselves really need to be applied to a metal surface for cooling. The LEDs will degrade because they heat up too much (especially at full brightness). Especially cheap Chinese LED-tape will show dead sections quickly if you don't do this.
Excellent DIY video. There's some really good ideas here. My only problem that I can see is the overall weight of the light. I would like to build it so that a standard portable light stand could support it. First, is the plexiglass really necessary? The LED's are virtually physically indestructible, particularly the one's used here as they are waterproof and there's no significant heat or high voltage to hurt the unsuspecting user. I would use 3mm ply for the base and sides, the back handle rods would give the ply some extra stiffening. The handle rods definitely made out of dowel to keep the weight down. Maybe separate the power supply from the base (or make it clip on/off somehow). As the wire runs are fairly short you could probably get away with using some cheap split twin core cable instead of the 12awg. It's rated at 7.5 amps but 10 amps won't worry it in this situation, it might get a bit warm but it's not going to go up in smoke. Any voltage drop would be negligible but if if it was it could be easily compensated for by reading the voltage at the light (turned on) and while setting the maximum voltage at the regulator. I'll give it a go. It's good to see a DIY video that shows the final device and how it's used at the beginning of the video and not at the end as so many do. Most of these DIY videos start off telling how wonderful the device is then immediately lurch off to show you how to build it. The viewer has no idea what the device looks at till the end of the video.... End of rant.
120 LEDS for 95-97 CRI in the web he buys, which is Yuhi, they are very cheap. "store.yujiintl.com/collections/high-cri-led-strips-ribbon/products/bc-series-ribbon-120led-2835?variant=3100847937" *YOU HAVE 120 LEDS PER METER, EVERY LED 0,125 WATTS, SO 15WATTS PER METER. $89 FOR 5 METERS AND YOU CAN CUT THE ROLL EVERY 3 LEDS (12V) OR EVERY 6 (24V)*
I have some bad news. You just used a PWM voltage regulator (but one of this high frequency PWM so normal speed cameras cant record that blinking, slo-mo still can do this.)
popraw a It works internally with PWM, yes, but the output is filtered so you don't get any flicker. It's flat DC, more or less (there'll be a tiny amount of 'noise' in there, but not enough to cause any issues).
Is very good - high efficiency and high power (but not that high as clean PWM output) and is flat (but not that flat as linear and reference) but its still a PWM - you just say something else in this tutorial (if that is no PWM this must be a linear - you take 12V 10A and this takes 14V 10A and give you extra 20W of heat, not suitable for battery powered device and you need big radiator or loud fan :)
If you have a nice filter on output of regulator normal cameras cant record blinking of LEDs. If you want make some good slow motion footage you should use halogen lamps (light bulbs from projectors have deep white colours, market ones have bit too much of yellow but almost every camera can compensate that)
Awesome job. Best DYI video I've ever seen, with detailed instructions, and good camera work. You can really use this to step through your own construction. Bravo!
Protip: Most 12V LED strip is designed to run continuously up to 15VDC, for the sake of use in car applications (most alternators put out 13.8-14.4V). As such, all 12V strip will handle a minimum of 14V to allow compatibility with lead acid applications, like vehicle and solar setups. You have headroom! Overclock!
Hello, I try to make your LED panel, but I couldn't find all of parts (I leave in Ukraine). So, I found Led Strips as yours (but 5000k); STEP-DOWN VOLTAGE REGULATOR DC-DC Output current: 10A Max(rated 8A) 5-30V to 1.25-30V Working frequency: 150KHz; And POTENTIOMETER 25k 16mm Type-b. Will it work together like your ones?
Hello! I Love your videos, all of them. I built an exact replica of this one and it is SUPERB! I do alot of low-light photography and this thing is AMAZING to light up any close by object (such as a boat in a harbour or a tree in a forest or a car in the night sky). THANK you for this!
I would like to correct something, this is still uses PWM to dim the light. Since the voltage converter is using PWM and not linear regular. However, the PWM frequency here is fast (more than 100kHz) and that makes it hard to see when using regular cameras. However, a very high frame rate or very fast shutter speed will still suffer from flicker. In general this is great DIY for most people. Good work 👍🏻
Oh man!! Absolutely taken by this video! Amazing job! You just won a Fan, and follower! Thank you for the marvelous ideas and for sharing your knowledge!
I stumbled across the video and subscribed right away - this is nicely explained and You went some extra Miles to make it look nice, Tracking, Compositing - well done !
Thanks so much for the video. I just finished the build of my first lamp and I ordered the parts for the second one. I changed one thing. I used only 5m of LED stripes. The stripes I bought, draw 14,5W/m which is almost 75W. (I measured the current and the voltage and the stripe really draws the 70W!) When I use 5m, the 100W voltage reulator doesn't get too hot. I use a 12V/6A power supply. So everything fits nicely together. The dimming works just fine. I did some test footage with my camera and I found out, that for indoor use, one LED stripe is bright enough. But I want to have more lights in order to get a three point lighting. My next project is to build your DIY camera slider. Looking forward to it.
WoW, very nice presentation, maybe one of the best I have seen for a long time. it's one thing to make a you tube video bu it's another to make a great video tutorial like this one. great job. can't wait to watch the rest of your work.
Great project! You make that MDF look so pro! I'd love to see you do a bi-color version with two sets of alternating LED strips, and a pot to control color temperature.
Great job just built one after watching your video. Works great very clean and bright, almost shadowless light. I used an 18v 3.8amp laptop power supply. But at full power the voltage only reads 10v. I think a slightly more powerful supply will work better. I shall be building another one next week for lighting a green screen up. Great vid
Sooo beautifully explained, such an elegant construction. We will definitely build one of these for our future music videos!! I love the idea of using strips to distribute the LEDs and get a soft light source. For some reason I hadn't thought of that... thank you!!
Superb video, both for content and production. The build price is probably above US$70 at this point. The LEDs alone are $60; perhaps this video prompted some demand! The rest of the parts aren't that expensive but they add up. With a power source, the total is probably north of $90 or £60. Still a great deal, naturally.
All the bits required for this build are available in kit form here: amzn.to/2yS307Y You'll still need the LED strips, which are linked to in the video's description.
What about the LEDs?
DIY Perks I got a tough challenge for you that will help a lot of people if you are successful. Can you make an SAD light panel? It should give off a minimum of 10,000 lux of light 1 metre away and the light should be diffuse, more so than this light panel. It should be large in size for the light to hit more areas of the retina. This would help a lot of people with depression if you were able to do it. I would personally build it if I had instructions as nothing available commercially would match it if you were able to do it in the way I outlined. I am a long term sufferer of SAD.
These lights produce a lot of heat. Keeping this on for even 30 minutes makes them hot to the touch. Any recommendations for heat dissipation in a future iteration?
Can you add links to the parts in the UK?
Can I add a link for the whole parts in the UK?
As a video editor myself, I have mad respect for your work with tracking the dimensions of the pieces. It makes the instructions all the more clear, and makes the video, overall, more professional.
I have to praise how generous you are in sharing your knowledge. I also would like to say how good your videos are. I love how you explain in detail the projects you do and the clever editing you put in.
I want to do this but I would like to do a smaller version. I have no experience in electronics whatsoever but I'm eager to have a go.
Thanks again and can't wait for your future content.
Looks like Ryan connoly mentioning this video on fb and twitter has made it quite popular. Finally your videos get the attention they deserve!
vidm96 I noticed you tweeted him about it. Thanks for that! :)
Glad he did, might not have seen this, now on a mission to build something similar.
There must be a group of viewers whose sole purpose in life is to leave negative ratings on great videos!! THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO, purposeful and will developed content! Thank you!
i love the way his voice sound... it make me feel like everything is fine and relax, easy. lol
WOW. I may wind up making this my summer project! It really doesn't look very complicated, and the style of video instructions are really rather straightforward. THANKS!
I watch your videos just for fun even though im not going to build them, they are just awesome
I do the same XD Its brilliant seeing what you come up with! This is a great Idea although out of my skill set entirely :S
***** same here XD
This is without doubt the best instructional video I've ever seen.
I love the project! I made a panel inspired by this, but i used arduino and PWM dimming. It's interesting, the PWM is visible when dimmed, but if one uses the full output the PWM wont be visible on film. The only perk being that the one I made does not require a fan. The downside obviously being that you can't dim it on film. Thanks for the inspiration, your vids are invaluable when I need some creative stimulation :)
I think the voltage regulator used is a step down buck converter which should be quite efficient too, right?
Dude... this is awesome for people who live up north and lack sun light for whole monts.
I rather enjoy your how to video's. Your footage is always relevant, camera angles and zoom levels are spot on, you don't waste time gabbing and your voice is suited to this kind of video. Nice work!
I went ahead and built my own following these instructions. As someone who knows nothing about electronics I needed the help of two others to break down some of the stuff left out here, but the result is a very bright LED panel for not a lot of money.
Somethings I noticed:
It truely is bright.... like hurt your eyes bright. I recommend picking up some sort of light diffusion sheet, or have a plan to use this indirectly.
This thing gets HOT. I was testing the limits of this panel, and after 30 minutes the LED's start the seperate from the glue and wood. After an hour the leds are quite hot to the touch. I really have no idea how to go about fixing that in version 2, maybe aluminum panel as a heatsink? Be sure to glue these down with wood glue or something similar, otherwise they are going to come off most likely during prologed use.
Also the part where he explains using resistors with the 5v fan, dont bother with this approach. I attempted this and the resistors get insanely hot, no matter how you configure them. I purchased a BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit), frequently used in RC cars/planes. This is far more efficient, and does not create any additional heat. Well worth the small cost.
Overall I recommend trying this if your thinking about it. Great project, thank you for the tutorial!
I really like your input about the use of BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit). But my question is, Does the BEC replace the voltage regulator used in this circuit? And how do you connect it to a potentiometer to make it dimmable? I would really like to know because I've been buying materials to assemble it. If you don't mind you can show a photo of the same. Thanks
Well I wasn't really expecting to get much outta this vid but I was very pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the build and the net effect. Well done, really good.
It's... BEAUTIFUL!!!
This would have made filming in the woods so much easier! We had to run several long stingers from my house.
This is definitely on my to make list
Cheers!
you are killing it! motion tracking text...building amazing ring lights, and dim-able LED's... You are like a budget film maker's dream come true. your content is the best I have ever seen. I just found you today, and you have already helped me so much. brilliant job!!!
Insanely. Good. Video. Thank you. Please do some more projects. I just started your videos and I can't stop doing that! Very professional from the first till last second.
Im impressed/ its clean and still leaves enough exposed so you can see the inner workings. I like it.
A couple of comments if I may...
1. Excellent video, well presented.
2. The LEDs will get too hot - you've not used anything to dissipate the heat - this will shorten their lives - so as before but aluminium back!! Trust me - I've shortened the lives of many a LED.
3. Finally just a thought... you mentioned colour filters for studio work - RGB (12v) LEDS and you could get any colour you want at the cost of a SLIGHT loss of precision and a slight increase in cost.
RGB turns orange to red.
Plenty of lighting vids on it.
Love your video man. After 10 years still shining like star ❤❤❤
How you put that circles or info in the video staying in that point of the objects? (3:42 or 5:30)
Wow, encontré a una leyenda en los comentarios.
After affects
You make me smile with the simple elegance in your design (except for the fan :) ) Keep designing and publishing - thank you!
Just made my own mini Light Panel, thank you for this video, amazing work as per usual.
Hello, I have even no patience to watch this video till the end, - hope, it's the best solution! I'm now working at the similar project, but, most probably, you have already made the universal solution both for indoor and outdoor usage. Great!!!
Thank for the tutorial. It looks a little complicated, but I'll ask my husband to try to make it :)
***** :)
hahahaha :)
Avanti, thank you for being honest. When dealing with anyting techie, a woman asks a man to step up to the plate.
Another stereotype reinforced.
+Anthony Starfield Or maybe, instead of assuming this shit, you can take into account that just MAYBE this kind of diy stuff isn't something she is interested in but considers something like this useful. Quit being a keyboard warrior and watch the video.
BTW I'm pretty good doing things by myself, but my husband has more experience with electricity.
Wow,
As an engineer, this looks very simple and easy. Really appreciate the effort you went through to make this tutorial! Ill be building one this week, as well as your Ring light! Keep up the good work !
This is perfect for book reading at Starbucks.
I'd buy that for a dollar!
One of the best "How To" video's I've seen. And not only in the content... your videography is also stunningly good. Look forward to watching more. Hats off to you!
can you please upload a ''DIY Pay Someone Else To Make This for 100 bucks''
boogiecakes I'll be making a few to sell in a few months if you're interested.
DIY Perks Sounds great. You should look into distrobution. I could sell these in Turkey. Of course DIY is a bit sketchy when it comes to warranties. NOnetheless sir you've got talent!
DIY Perks This is pretty interesting! How can i look to get one off you ?
DIY Perks if / when you do plan on selling these, it would be awesome if you made an announcement video or some way to let us know these are available. I'm sure you'll get a lot of customers!
DIY Perks yeah, make an announcement video :)
This is a remarkable light box! It could be used for many different applications! It would be a great addition in a workshop, a garage or a reloading room! The amount of light that it gives off is super. If you needed it to work on a vehicle at night! it is perfect!! GREAT JOB and GREAT VIDEO!!! THANKS!!
Is it just me or is this the most charming guy ever. And I'm a guy lol.
youre not the only one. he is. something with his voice that makes you keep watching haha
Yes. That is what I thought. It would be best diy panel. Best overall panel. Such panels are expensive as hell. Looking forward to next video.
Awesome project. You really thought all of this through. Great job!
This has to be the best presentation I've seen yet on RUclips (that includes little details such as including US prices as well as British)!
Great job!
Hey Matt, I was reading through the comments and I saw you comment that you have a new metal 5630smd panel video in the works! It would be great if you could share that video in the next weeks, or at least share some insights on what metal to buy, etc. I have ordered the leds and the converter from your links, but I would like to mount them on a metal plate instead of MDF, and would greatly appreciate your help! You are an inspiration to DIY-ers! :D Cheers and Thank you!
***** I'm still waiting for some parts to arrive from China, but I expect that I'll be doing a video about it sometime in February.
DIY Perks Ok Matt, I will try to wait until February altough I am extremely hyped! Can hardly wait! :D
DIY Perks
This would be awesome. Another thing I havent figured out is the CRI of these things. Do you know of a way to calculate this or is it possible to get an estimate from your vendor?
I noticed the LED display on your drill battery, I deduced that you made it do the same thing that the battery in the later video does, and I am impressed.
I hope he builds his own editing computer next !
Just finished my v1 of this. Really bright - even though I started off with just 1 LED strip. I'm gonna be using it as a sort of virtual window to light up my living room while the sun is on the wrong side of the building. Really cool. Thanks for the tutorial! I've never done any electrical work and this was a great way to try my hands. Thanks again!
Just wondering: the LEDs in your links are only rated to 4500K . Shouldn't they be 5500K for true daylight temperature?
this is a really nice build with a novel way of dimming the leds and dodging the usual flickering, good on you for the share mate :-)
For anyone attempting to make this, it is way easier to order the LEDs in "Non-Waterproof" style (without the clear rubberized coating on the strips). It is a pain to remove the end coating to expose the two copper electrical contact "dots".
I am currently building this with a slight modification, using white coroplast with an 1/8 inch thick 12'x24" board for support behind it. i have bent the coroplast into a similar shape as KinoFlo 4' 4 tube panels. I'm using Neitrik power connectors to a remote power supply so the lighthead is as light as possible. As I use C-stands in my studio, I ordered 2 Avenger F805 Baby plates to mount directly to the grips.
The non-waterproof strips have a warmer colour temperature unfortunately though, bordering on being warm white. The waterproofing material actually cools down the colour temperature because of the way light transmits through it (rather than it blocking warmer wavelengths). Still perfectly usable of course, but it's just something to keep in mind and is ultimately the very reason I recommended the waterproof strips for this build.
+DIY Perks www.ebay.com/itm/181089020410?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Even though they list these as 6000-6500 K my Sekonic color meter says they are 5480.
I have set up the strips into 4 banks that have individual power control. At 1/2 power (all 4 channels powered, I am getting 5120 K readings.
Sounds great. The coroplast would be lighter than the MDF I imagine.
Are there any pictures or videos of the lamp you made? (I don't understand when you say you bent the coroplast)
+altar7 I used thin coroplast 3/16" (I believe) from home depot just to build they prototypes. They are ridged enough for occasional use, but I would get thicker black coroplast ( check local sign company) if you plan to travel with these lights. One great thing about the KinoFlo design, is you can order the end plates and flex spring inserts separately if you want a really nice design. I did run into a heat and strength issue with only using thin coroplast., so be sure to add strength with the 1/8" melamine board. email me for pics.
kinoflo.com/Products%20Button/Fixtures%20Remote/Select_DMX_4Bank/4Bank_DMX.html
I'm halfway done with mine yet. Waiting on the voltage regulator from China. This is a great project! Thanks for this build vid!
Great tutorial and I'm looking forward to building one. What kind of power supply is recommended. I heard in the video that an old laptop power supply can be used?
Any 12-24v power supply that can provide 100w or so will be suitable.
@brandon the battery is just one ontion you can use, you dont have to use it, just use any >100w DC power supply of 15v or more
You have to consider that LEDs use direct current (DC), and wall current is AC. You could construct an adapter based on a 120-24 transformer, coupled with a diode bridge for the AC DC conversion (there a few more steps, but this is the basic principle).
Keep in mind that the diodes need to be able to support those high currents.
Juan Escalante nobody is going to "construct an adapter". you just take an old laptor charger or somethign that already outputs DC. the people who construct adapters are not the ones asking these questions.
Jose Guerrero fnm :-/ m xvi ih bbñjp
Almost every videos of yours are very detailed. Thats attracted me instantly.
Nicely made video, but I'm concerned. Those LEDs are going to get very hot, putting so many in a small space with absolutely no allowance for cooling is asking for short life.
Maybe Mk2 should use an aluminium plate bonded to vertical "U" sections of aluminium to create a bit if a heatsink.
Do somebody have experience with heat issue? I read that especially those IP65 LEDs should NOT be mounted to a woody surface...?
+Bo Riedel-Petzold I work with a lot of types of LEDs at work, and these 5050s get a little bit warm at best.
But it's fine because the sheet of MDF is most likely fireproofed.
There's no issue when it comes to the risk of fire, they don't get that hot. BUT, the LEDs themselves really need to be applied to a metal surface for cooling. The LEDs will degrade because they heat up too much (especially at full brightness). Especially cheap Chinese LED-tape will show dead sections quickly if you don't do this.
Excellent DIY video.
There's some really good ideas here. My only problem that I can see is the overall weight of the light. I would like to build it so that a standard portable light stand could support it.
First, is the plexiglass really necessary? The LED's are virtually physically indestructible, particularly the one's used here as they are waterproof and there's no significant heat or high voltage to hurt the unsuspecting user.
I would use 3mm ply for the base and sides, the back handle rods would give the ply some extra stiffening. The handle rods definitely made out of dowel to keep the weight down.
Maybe separate the power supply from the base (or make it clip on/off somehow).
As the wire runs are fairly short you could probably get away with using some cheap split twin core cable instead of the 12awg. It's rated at 7.5 amps but 10 amps won't worry it in this situation, it might get a bit warm but it's not going to go up in smoke. Any voltage drop would be negligible but if if it was it could be easily compensated for by reading the voltage at the light (turned on) and while setting the maximum voltage at the regulator.
I'll give it a go.
It's good to see a DIY video that shows the final device and how it's used at the beginning of the video and not at the end as so many do.
Most of these DIY videos start off telling how wonderful the device is then immediately lurch off to show you how to build it. The viewer has no idea what the device looks at till the end of the video.... End of rant.
Can you post a link to purchasing a power supply? Thank You
Your projects and the explanations are so admirable. I mean gosh, top marks for everything...
Ey remember when you built a sun?
Thank god for my daddy lol I showed him this video and he made one for me!!! You saved me tons of money thank you so much!!
Do you know what CRI these LEDs are rated at?
70-80 according to the manufacturer. They answered a question on amazon
120 LEDS for 95-97 CRI in the web he buys, which is Yuhi, they are very cheap. "store.yujiintl.com/collections/high-cri-led-strips-ribbon/products/bc-series-ribbon-120led-2835?variant=3100847937" *YOU HAVE 120 LEDS PER METER, EVERY LED 0,125 WATTS, SO 15WATTS PER METER. $89 FOR 5 METERS AND YOU CAN CUT THE ROLL EVERY 3 LEDS (12V) OR EVERY 6 (24V)*
Very well and clearly explained....An example of what a DIY video should be like !
I have some bad news. You just used a PWM voltage regulator (but one of this high frequency PWM so normal speed cameras cant record that blinking, slo-mo still can do this.)
popraw a It works internally with PWM, yes, but the output is filtered so you don't get any flicker. It's flat DC, more or less (there'll be a tiny amount of 'noise' in there, but not enough to cause any issues).
Is very good - high efficiency and high power (but not that high as clean PWM output) and is flat (but not that flat as linear and reference) but its still a PWM - you just say something else in this tutorial (if that is no PWM this must be a linear - you take 12V 10A and this takes 14V 10A and give you extra 20W of heat, not suitable for battery powered device and you need big radiator or loud fan :)
popraw a What do you recommend to use instead?
If you have a nice filter on output of regulator normal cameras cant record blinking of LEDs. If you want make some good slow motion footage you should use halogen lamps (light bulbs from projectors have deep white colours, market ones have bit too much of yellow but almost every camera can compensate that)
popraw a awesome, thank you! I'll put a filter on and just accept the limitation
Awesome job. Best DYI video I've ever seen, with detailed instructions, and good camera work. You can really use this to step through your own construction. Bravo!
Protip: Most 12V LED strip is designed to run continuously up to 15VDC, for the sake of use in car applications (most alternators put out 13.8-14.4V).
As such, all 12V strip will handle a minimum of 14V to allow compatibility with lead acid applications, like vehicle and solar setups.
You have headroom! Overclock!
Absolutely wonderfully edited video! I love your project design, your editing, your filming and your directions! Really well made video
Hello, I try to make your LED panel, but I couldn't find all of parts (I leave in Ukraine).
So, I found Led Strips as yours (but 5000k);
STEP-DOWN VOLTAGE REGULATOR DC-DC Output current: 10A Max(rated 8A) 5-30V to 1.25-30V Working frequency: 150KHz;
And POTENTIOMETER 25k 16mm Type-b.
Will it work together like your ones?
+Timo Piano Buy led strips in Poland, and send to Ukraine - it will work!
WELL DONE! Love your production values, too. Really adds a lot of the motivation I need to build! Thanks!
How can I modify this project to allow for a wall adapter instead of using the battery?
Hello! I Love your videos, all of them. I built an exact replica of this one and it is SUPERB! I do alot of low-light photography and this thing is AMAZING to light up any close by object (such as a boat in a harbour or a tree in a forest or a car in the night sky). THANK you for this!
willegard2 sex
Brilliant.
...See what I did there?
+Mark Fixes Stuff - Retro Console and Computer Repairs, Reviews and MORE! iLLUMINATING
+rdecredico Groan...
You made a complicated build very clear and easy.
Nice work.
boodget
It's not nice to make fun of the way people talk, but that killed me.
Its called an accent. We all have one, and sometimes hearing a different one can be quite jarring to the ears.
Smart Dude😭 Thank you so much for this , now I understand why studying electric circuits in physics is actually helpful.
70 euros ni mierdas. 130 euros por panel
Si te lo haces tú. Es muy bien precio. Yo diseño este tipo de luces según mis necesidades y son muy útiles.
I would like to correct something, this is still uses PWM to dim the light. Since the voltage converter is using PWM and not linear regular. However, the PWM frequency here is fast (more than 100kHz) and that makes it hard to see when using regular cameras. However, a very high frame rate or very fast shutter speed will still suffer from flicker. In general this is great DIY for most people. Good work 👍🏻
Oh man!! Absolutely taken by this video! Amazing job! You just won a Fan, and follower! Thank you for the marvelous ideas and for sharing your knowledge!
I stumbled across the video and subscribed right away - this is nicely explained and You went some extra Miles to make it look nice, Tracking, Compositing - well done !
Excellent video with nice no nonsense step by step guides. I've subscribed to see what you do next. Very creative!
Thanks so much for the video. I just finished the build of my first lamp and I ordered the parts for the second one. I changed one thing. I used only 5m of LED stripes. The stripes I bought, draw 14,5W/m which is almost 75W. (I measured the current and the voltage and the stripe really draws the 70W!)
When I use 5m, the 100W voltage reulator doesn't get too hot. I use a 12V/6A power supply.
So everything fits nicely together. The dimming works just fine. I did some test footage with my camera and I found out, that for indoor use, one LED stripe is bright enough.
But I want to have more lights in order to get a three point lighting.
My next project is to build your DIY camera slider. Looking forward to it.
That was great fun. Your commentary is easy to listen to. Thanks. Glad I found you.
Very nice project and walk through. I appreciate the clear explanations for each step. Thank you.
WoW, very nice presentation, maybe one of the best I have seen for a long time. it's one thing to make a you tube video bu it's another to make a great video tutorial like this one. great job. can't wait to watch the rest of your work.
Great project! You make that MDF look so pro!
I'd love to see you do a bi-color version with two sets of alternating LED strips, and a pot to control color temperature.
Great job just built one after watching your video. Works great very clean and bright, almost shadowless light. I used an 18v 3.8amp laptop power supply. But at full power the voltage only reads 10v. I think a slightly more powerful supply will work better. I shall be building another one next week for lighting a green screen up. Great vid
JUst orderd some more equipment to build a seccond one. I am using copper tape this time to connect all of the LEDs together.
fantastic tutorial. Thanks for sharing and for putting thought into showing the materials, and steps to achieve the final production of the LED panel.
Matt fails turns into the fascinating decorative piece.
Mad props. Best DIY on RUclips!
Great video, clear and easy to understand, might try and make a spot light version for my workshop, keep up the good work !!
J'adore tes vidéos car à chaque fois je découvre des trucs qui me sont utile pour d'autre projet, Electronique , beton etc ... Gros MERCI !!
Honestly mate u r the biggest LEGEND ever
Sooo beautifully explained, such an elegant construction. We will definitely build one of these for our future music videos!!
I love the idea of using strips to distribute the LEDs and get a soft light source. For some reason I hadn't thought of that... thank you!!
I liked the video instantly when you said it costs £40 to build. I’m excited now.
Superb video, both for content and production.
The build price is probably above US$70 at this point. The LEDs alone are $60; perhaps this video prompted some demand! The rest of the parts aren't that expensive but they add up. With a power source, the total is probably north of $90 or £60.
Still a great deal, naturally.
Love you channel man!
A great inspirational source for DIY projects.
Thanks so much for sharing. Got to build this for sure. Thumbs up from Spain mate!
I cant help but think he is Theon Greyjoy's Brother. Great video.
Awesome DIY build. Clear, concise instruction. Shame I can only like the video once. SUBBED.
Your presentation is outstanding!!!
Have an old LCD monitor that still works great, you can possibly use this to upgrade that old lcd monitor to a led monitor, pretty cool dude
super clean video.
i mark this one if i should ever do a tutorial myself
Very best video project I have seen! It reminds me of a great movie/director. Thanks.
Insanely helpful video and articulated perfectly. Thank you X 9000!!!
Awesome job. Simply the Best DYI video i have ever seen Thanks
Excellent quality production my friend.
I cannot WAIT to do this. So awesome.
Loved this tutorial. I have used your ideas on a light for my workbench. Thanks
Very nice and I'm gonna use the concept to make a few of those for garage and workshop lighting.
You are truly an awesome DIY superhero!!
Nice! Great presentation and production. Thanks for sharing!