Making a ring light with LED's...some advice at DVinfo.net

David Delaney · January 13th, 2007, 05:47 PM

I want to make a ring light for the front of my HC1 camera. I have a bunch of LED lights from the electronic's store and I want to fashion them in a series with a battery pack (maybe 2 AAA's) for the off/on. Is there anything I need to know about setting these up in series? Is a plain soldering job with copper wire going to do?

Thanks in advance.

Greg Boston · January 13th, 2007, 06:23 PM

You don't wire them in series, you wire them in parallel. Check the data sheet for the LEDs that you have. They usually require an inline resistor on the anode side for current limiting.

-gb-

David Delaney · January 13th, 2007, 09:24 PM

They didn't come with any data sheet. Just the little lites. I have wired them in parallel with a battery casing with 2 AA batteries. They seem to light up well, but I think they aren't quite as bright as they should be. I am probably doing something wrong....

Rush Hamden · January 14th, 2007, 08:18 AM

Generally, LED circuits require a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) driver circuit to modulate the voltage and keep it at a steady frequency. That way they don't flicker with changing voltage from the batteries, until the batteries are almost dead. That's the little IC board you see in all the LED flashlights.

Connecting the LED's in parallel is necessary so that you can use a simple AA battery pack at 3V, and draw more amperage from it than voltage. Otherwise, in series, you would have to keep adding 1.5V battery per LED light.

One more piece of advice: make sure the LED's are 5000K white with a high CRI, otherwise people's skintones will look awful and purple.

David Delaney · January 14th, 2007, 10:30 AM

The store owner told me they come in micro candles instead of wattage I believe./..

Also just went and bought a slew of dollar store LED key chain lights because the electronic store is closed. They are cheap and pretty bright. Going to see how they turn out...

January 13th, 2007, 05:47 PM	#1
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Making a ring light with LED's...some advice I want to make a ring light for the front of my HC1 camera. I have a bunch of LED lights from the electronic's store and I want to fashion them in a series with a battery pack (maybe 2 AAA's) for the off/on. Is there anything I need to know about setting these up in series? Is a plain soldering job with copper wire going to do? Thanks in advance.

January 14th, 2007, 08:18 AM	#4
Rush Hamden Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Burbank, California Posts: 122	Generally, LED circuits require a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) driver circuit to modulate the voltage and keep it at a steady frequency. That way they don't flicker with changing voltage from the batteries, until the batteries are almost dead. That's the little IC board you see in all the LED flashlights. Connecting the LED's in parallel is necessary so that you can use a simple AA battery pack at 3V, and draw more amperage from it than voltage. Otherwise, in series, you would have to keep adding 1.5V battery per LED light. One more piece of advice: make sure the LED's are 5000K white with a high CRI, otherwise people's skintones will look awful and purple. __________________ Want to get more from your hard-earned gear? Digital Cinema Filmmaking Course 24 hours of educational video on 16 DVDs, focused on filmmaking savvy, examples, demonstrations, and tips. Learn Scriptwriting, Formatting, Editing, Camera Operation, Lighting, Exposure, Audio, and Directing.

January 14th, 2007, 10:30 AM	#5
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	The store owner told me they come in micro candles instead of wattage I believe./.. Also just went and bought a slew of dollar store LED key chain lights because the electronic store is closed. They are cheap and pretty bright. Going to see how they turn out... Last edited by David Delaney; January 14th, 2007 at 01:17 PM.

January 13th, 2007, 06:23 PM	#2
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	You don't wire them in series, you wire them in parallel. Check the data sheet for the LEDs that you have. They usually require an inline resistor on the anode side for current limiting. -gb-

January 13th, 2007, 09:24 PM	#3
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	They didn't come with any data sheet. Just the little lites. I have wired them in parallel with a battery casing with 2 AA batteries. They seem to light up well, but I think they aren't quite as bright as they should be. I am probably doing something wrong....