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DIY $70 LED light panel (INSANELY bright & daylight white) - 900 LEDs
  • Ok, so if you don't mind doing a bit of DIY, this panel has a LOT to offer for people on a tight budget! Pretty relevant for quite a few people on this forum I'd imagine! Me included...

  • 11 Replies sorted by
  • Cool, just requires quite a skill, time (even to get all the parts right and assemble).

    Add to this construction that won't withstand any hard use. Voltage dimming that instead of flickering affects light spectrum (surprise, it is so for most leds). Bad light quality (worse than cheapest panels, I do not even talk about modern ones). And low light output at reasonable distances (as you used strips).

  • That said, it's $70 ;)

    If you were being scientific about it, I guess the voltage could affect the spectrum, but in practical use I've not noticed anything... it's just a pure white light, especially to the camera. You can tell in the intro how it matches the surrounding light (which was daylight), with no tint visible. It's for budget peeps though, not pros, so I guess it won't be up to pro specifications :) Still, for those of us without much money to spend on such things, it has its place.

  • @Matt

    It is not $70, as it was $70 counting parts only and only if getting same place you did.

    Whole idea has some meaning if you will use very high CRI leds and make it even bigger. Can be suitable for portraits and such.

  • this looks just great. But it really is not very durable. That one we would have to improve upon.

  • really enjoyed this, as i've dabbed in similar electronics and its nice to see some visual demonstrations

  • Aluminium frame and backing would be a good upgrade and some add on reflectors.

  • 16.000 views in 2 days for such a niche product. impressive!

  • Aluminium frame and backing would be a good upgrade and some add on reflectors.

    But will make actual time and money spend not worth it.

    16.000 views in 2 days for such a niche product. impressive!

    One thing I learned - many are interested in DIY things, but very few do it.

  • Aluminium frame and backing would be a good upgrade and some add on reflectors

    Yeah, I may make another in the near future with a goal of being lighter in weight and possibly foldable. It all depends on the quality of light emitted from some new strips I've ordered (still waiting for them to arrive). They're half the price and twice the brightness, so the second version could be quite interesting IF the 'white' of the strips is as good as the 5050 strips I used.

  • After looking (and buying) LED panels for some time, I still didn't find/get a very powerfull light with good CRI. So, why not DIY?

    But its really hard to get any high CRI LED chips/bulbs anywhere. My best search results so far are:

    http://www.ebay.de/itm/LED-MOD-6-7W-410LM-6500K-CRI-87-Part-GW5BTF65K00-/350819422623

    with different colour temperatures

    http://www.ebay.de/itm/LED-MOD-6-7W-355LM-2700K-CRI-87-Part-GW5BTF27K00-/271226751021

    Has anybody found any cheaper and/or better LEDs?

    The aim would be to mix a total of 100 LEDs with 6500K, 5000K, 3500K, 2700K to get better CRI and a really strong (600W+) light. Also makeing the colour temperature adjustable. The size of the panel would be 50 x 50 cm minimum to give enought surface for heat dissipation with active cooling (1-2 fans).

    This light would be on the level of a 3000W tungsten/HMI, but with less heat, weight and power consumption.

  • Yeah, I've found a good combination of 5630 LEDs (they're the brightest and most efficient currently) which when added together make a VERY high CRI image. I'm currently working on the video about it, and will post it here when it's done.