Introducing DIY Lighting Kits: Great Light – Light On Your Wallet
Wouldn't it be nice if your DIY Ring Flash was perfect. I mean, really perfect - almost pro like.
What If it had superb even light, looked slick and was made from top notch materials? It would be nice wouldn't it? What if that Ring Flash only cost as much as a large pizza at Dominos?
What if for even less you could easily mount two (or four) strobes on one light stand and have full on axis light?
Well, I got some exiting news for you!
Introducing DIY Lighting Kits
The idea behind the DIY Lighting brand is simple:
- We design great kits that can be sold for affordable prices
- Never compromise on quality
- Assembly is done by you
- You take great pictures
The DIY Ring Flash
DIYPhotography has just released a new kit - the DIY Ring Flash Kit. Here is what you get:
- A super-cool Ring Flash that you will assemble yourself
- Great for even and shadowless light
- Great as fill light
- Light quality is even and excellent
- Has a slick black finish
- Detailed instructions
- Comes in a flat box
- Optionalmounting bracket
Sample Pictures
Assembly
The Double Flash Bracket
Our second kit is a Double Flash Bracket.
- Mount two strobes on one lighting stand.
- Used a long spigot (not included) to mount four strobes. (
- Double your flash output or
- Cut your recycle time in half
- Totally flat
The Video And The Givaway
This was just too good not to to do a video with. We made it so there are plenty of things you can count: Characters, Models, Ring Lights, Strobes, Pyramids and a bunch of other things.
See if you could count this stuff and leave them in the comments or tweet somthing like: "Oh my Godthe video on DIY Lighting Kits has 5 pyramidss http://bit.ly/diylightingkits" or " I can't belive that the DIY lighting vidoe has 20 pizzas in it http://bit.ly/diylightingkits".
In three days, I will select one of the tweets and award them with a full set of kits: the ring, the bracket and the dboule flash bracket.
Update: Winning tweet by @Number1CanJump : The DIY Lighting Kit Video, 8 still frames with 15 'covered' eyes! http://bit.ly/diylightingkits Why the odd number? Watch!
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Comments
Large pizzas at Dominos are
Large pizzas at Dominos are going for $12... discount?
Just kidding, these look fantastic. Once I've got myself a cable release I'll be ordering your ring flash!
Nice work!
re: Pizzas
you should check the 16 incher with some toppings :)
the ring flash probably won't
the ring flash probably won't fit on an nissin di622, right? (although it's quite similar to the 580ex)
re: 580ex
The ring flash work well with the 580EX, just need to make an adjustment on the bottom of the ring. There is a step for that in the instructions.
thanks for your reply. just
thanks for your reply.
just too bad that I don´t have the 580EX, I own a Nissin Di622. Ever tried it?
re: Nissin Di622
Neer tried the Nissin Di622, but is the size is similar to the one of 580EX, it should work just fine.
Yep - it works with a Di622 -
Yep - it works with a Di622 - have one myself. You just need to make 4 small slits in the bottom to allow the larger head. Still nice and snug!
Glad To See These Launched!
Udi:
Your DIY Ring Flash and Double Flash-Bracket are such awesome products, and it's been a pleasure (and an honor) Beta-testing them out these past few weeks. Both of your cool new tools work great. They're easy on the wallet. And -- as an added benefit -- the Ring Flash is a great conversation starter when working with non-professional (or even professional) talent.
Dude, your stuff rocks.
Matt
P.S.: Love the video.
re: kits
Hi Matt,
thanks man, Love the fact that you digg the video :) and thanks for all the useful comments on the way.
Double flash bracket and PWs
Is there a way to hook both flashes to one Pocket Wizard? I'm thinking of those LumoPros i bought some time back from MidWest....
re: two strobes
hmmm.... I wonder if a headphone splitter will do the work. I think it may work for two strobes, not sure about more.
I've been testing with a ton of umbrellas, softlighter II, EZ boxes and even bare, and ususally the burst of light from the first strobe was picked up by the slave on the second one, so there was no need for a second PW.
with both flashes pointing in
with both flashes pointing in same direction, probably can't get one to fire the other. i have a couple of extra cables from FlashZebra (male PC to Pocket Wizard) and the LumoPro flashes take either end, so one cable joins the flashes in sync and another connects the PW. Actually, i think i could daisy chain flash after flash since there is always an available connection (on the LumpPros, that is; my 580Ex ain't so well endowed)
splitters
Headphone splitters will work, do it all the time.
Awesome!
Toooooooo great!
Heads in a box
I count 1 head in a box. ;) Great stuff!
One mint green umbrella.
One mint green umbrella. Nice.
double flashes and PW update
turns out i had a cable to handle hooking two flashes to one Pocket Wizard, and then i found i had an aftermarket stand that lets me mount both flashes and install them on a light stand.
So...thanks for kicking my butt to consider twice the light or half the recycling time, because this arrangement will come in handy next hockey season. But no sale, sorry.
Marvelous mustaches
Two! Just two splendid examples of upper-lip furniture? Beautifully lit, but for shame!
Coming to the UK?
Can't wait until these hit the UK
Do you have any stockists lined up yet?
re :the UK
we deliver to the UK. A choise of retaileres will be available next month, no one in the UK yet, though.
Thanks - keep me posted
Thanks - Keep me posted, as delivery from a UK source is likely to be cheaper than a one off order. Any postage rates to London yet?
sure will
postage to the UK is 8.5 for the first item and .5-3 more depending on what you add.
Pictures of the ring flash in action?
I'm really excited about the ring flash. However, I'd like to see a few picures of it in action. From what I've seen so far, it would appear I need to use my sync cable (or radio trigger) and some kind of bracket to mount it to the camera body instead of a tripod.
I'm hoping a DIY beauty dish is next up.
re: in action
Hi Dan,
Here is one picture of the ring flash used. (a snap from a video). It can be mounetd to a flash with gaffers tape, or with the optinal bracket.
Thanks for posting the pic. I
Thanks for posting the pic. I do think I'll need to make some kind of bracket to mount the flash to the camera body. I want to be able to move the camera without holding on to the modifier or flash.
It ought to be pretty easy to make a simple L bracket than mount to the bottom of the camera and a flash bracket on the orther end.
re: bracket
there is a bracket. it is indeed an L bracket :) on the second half of the ringflash page.
Perfection!
..and the videos were great too! And me with a new Westcott Apollo to use, that bracket is super cool!
Yay for 7 different eye
Yay for 7 different eye coverings in the video!
NICE!!!
DIY Ring Flash is great!!! I see that it was tested with a SB800, what about with a SB600?
Great Job Udi!
Fantastic looking kits Udi, you will have a great sucess on your hands for sure! :)
The ringflash looks tempting
The ringflash looks tempting but you've shot yourself in the foot with the prices of the ringflash and braket, it's just over the import duty level for the UK, so I'd end up paying an extra £12+ to the delivery company for paying the £2.50 tax. Get a UK stockist sorted ASAP dude.
re: the UK
Thanks for the info mike. what is the import duty levels?
udi
Import duty threshold
The import duty theshold is currently £18, or around $29.50. The ringflash and bracket together come to $33, so just over the limit, which is annoying! I'm tempted by this but as stated above, it pushes the cost up - and more importantly, dealing with UK customs can be a real pain. I suppose I could order the two parts in separate shipments... :)
Anything under £18 (not
Anything under £18 (not including postage) doesn't get taxed, so if you charged less for the overseas prices and more for the overseas postage that would mean no import tax, the way most people get round it is to say it's a gift so that the alowable price before being taxed is doubled.
It's not much tax at all, it's the admin fee the delivery companies charge thats annoying, last one I piad was £12 admin fee for an £8 tax fee.
Ordered
Just bought the ring flash and bracket. It's great with the Australian dollar being so high against the US$.Also, I needed a pick-me-up.
Thanks.
Does the ringflash sit on
Does the ringflash sit on your camera similarly to the Rayflash, or is it more for off-camera with a sync cord?
re: usage
The flash does not connect to the hot shoe directly. so you would ned a way to sync it like TTL cord or a radio remote
I can understand where you
I can understand where you are going, and why, and I honestly wish you best of luck with your venture, but this is about as DIY as an Ikea shelf. Thanks for the last few years, but I'm afraid this is my stop.
Really?
Quality, free, diy content delivered for free - oh did I say that already - several times a week and because he posts about his new product that is clearly extremely relevant to his audience you are taking off? That doesn't really make sense. What are you the DIY definition police?
Great way to say thanks for all the hard work, money you've saved me, and entertainment I've gotten.
Maybe you should start your own DIY blog since you'll have so much free time now that you won't be visiting this one.
I think these products are a
I think these products are a great compliment to the site. I don't know about anyone else, but I make the DIY stuff so I can get pro results on a tight budget. My passion is making images not light modifiers, so anything that get me the results I want faster and cheaper is welcome.
Frogs
I counted 2 or 3 appearances of the frog.
It's actually 2, but the first one has it appear in 2 scenese right next too each other, that may be counted as seperate appearances by some, thus the 3.
And even if I win this, I see myself buying another set or 2 of the ring flash (great cheap gifts!)
thx
Thanks a lot for this tutorial!
I like them...
one ups box, a frog and some whisky, please!
Very cool :)
Very cool :)
I like it!
In terms of value for money this may be the best thing out there on the market.
More photos of the rig please
Hi Udi,
I'm really interested in the ring flash kit, but would like to see more photos of the ringflash kit with the optional bracket on a camera to see how big the entire setup is.
Thanks!
You nailed it this time!!!
Hey Udi!
I'm very proud of you!!! You got realy helpfull to the photographers comunity!
It it faunny, but I still remember your diy small softbox on d-spot.co.il...
Very good!!!
This kind of stuff makes people think out of the box, not just bloging (web and text) but doing!!!
One pair of tongs in two
One pair of tongs in two shots. How many people would ever think to capture the sun with tongs?
Both products look neat, but
Both products look neat, but they also look overpriced, given the materials that they are made of. The Double Flash Bracket is just a flat piece of plastic, right? A flat piece of $20 plastic. ...and the Ring Flash looks like it could easily be crushed. I like the idea behind both of these products, but I wonder how long they'll hold up?
I've tried a DIY Ring kit in
I've tried a DIY Ring kit in the past, and was quite surprised by the high quality result! This kit looks very easy to assemble, good job !
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double flash bracket
Simple geneious on the flash bracket.. and easy to use with the tt5 too... with 'proper' brakets i find all stacks up a bit too high...
Flash Bracket
I purchased the optional flash bracket for this kit. I tried to follow the instructions, but unfortunately, the bracket does not line up properly with the drawing in the instructions. Also, there is no marking in the instructions for my camera (Canon 7D).
re: bracket
Hi Alpharon,
Thanks for letting me know about the mismatch, we changed it and for the next run, the print will align with the bracket.
Till then, align the top part (the one that looks like a long hole) with the top of the drawing. The canon 7D is similar in size to the d300 so you can use the D300 mark. The bracket has lots of margins, so it hard to entirely miss.
DIY ring flash construction issue
I bought one of the DIY Ring Flash kits (I ordered it Sunday night and it arrived Wednesday morning!) It's not ENTIRELY clear from the instructions whether the preferred configuration is for the inner reflector ring to be inside the face or outside. Most of the pictures I have seen of people using it have the ring poking out. I managed to get it inside. I think it looks better that way and reduces the chance it will snag on things. Also, it seems like it would maximize output and minimize secondary refraction. On the other hand, it does make the face bow outward slightly. Comments?
re: location of ring
Hi Mark,
It was designed to be a little bit out as in the pictures. This is both mostly for structural strength. Would love to see how yours came out.
Review
Well, I was too lazy to take a picture of it, but here's a little review I wrote.
http://marcwphoto.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-of-diy-ring-flash-from-diy...
M
re: review
Hi Marc,
Thanks for taking the time to write this. much appreciated!
Just tested it - I like it!
Just tested it - I like it! For Macro shots though it takes away quite a bit flash ouput, so a minimum aperture does not always work.
It's everywhere even in copenhagen!
I went yesterday to the http://photomeetup.dk/ in copenhagen, and there I saw somebody using it! (unfortunately I have no idea who it was...) It is spreading everywhere! On the other hand it can be so popular in Scandinavia, because IKEA comes from Sweden! :)
Anyway good job it looks like a great piece of equipment!
Love it!
I just have to say that this is my new favorite camera accessory!
I've got some sample photos
I've got some sample photos taken with this ring flash in my latest blog post: http://alpharon.posterous.com/
Got mine today!
Well, I got mine today and I love it.
It's cheap, it works well and it was really easy to put together as well.
The only gripe I can have is that it feels just a little bit flimsy, in my case I dealt with that problem by adding duct tape in various locations to make it a bit more rigid. Works great with my off-brand (Dörr DAF34) strobe.
Ring Flash
Will the ring flash one work with a Canon 430 EX II?
re: 430 EX II
sure does!
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