If you are looking for some really great video lights on a budget that I have the video for you. This is a DIY project that I have used myself, though I admit that I made some modifications to fit my own needs making my version slightly more expensive than the advertised $86 price tag. Checkout the original video below, and then read about my modifications.
The modification I made was to spray paint the outside of the white dish pan black, so prevent the while glow that you see in his video. I feel like this also help keep even more of the light reflected forwards rather than through the white pan. The other modification I made was to add two more switches so that I can control the light output by turning on/off each bank of lights individually.
When used with an umbrella the light from these lights is nice and soft. I also like that you can go out and buy different color temp bulbs to match your environment. I think my favorite things about these light though has got to be the fact that I built them myself (I have built three of them), and since I wired them all myself I can fix them myself because I know exactly what is going on inside of the unit. So If you are in the market for some video lights, but don’t want to spend a ton of money I highly suggest you check this out. Here are a few shots of my latest(now several months old) version of this light.
What do you guys think about this DIY project? Are you going to try it out?
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Can you expand on your modifications a bit? I was curious, where did you get the metal section that houses the switches and wiring?
No I won’t personally but I will pass it along to some of my friends & post it on my school page for the video students to see in case they want to make some. They are ALL about inexpensive equipment that serves their purpose! I mostly shoot stills so I don’t think this will work for me. I need more light & the ability to freeze motion. But thanks for the info!
Did you paint the inside silver? or is that just the shadow angle?
I think on this particular one I painted the inside silver yeah. I ended up not liking it as much as the original white though so I don’t recommend it.