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03-21-2015, 03:45 PM - 4 Likes   #1
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Homemade Fiber Optic Ringlight

So, I have seen things like this and had to see if I could make it simpler yet effective. I bought an inexpensive metal hood, 10 ft. of solid core fiber optic cable, a knock-off diffuser for my Metz flash and some matte black paint & crazy glue - overall about $30 in parts and about 2 hours of creative labor - and while crude, I am pleased with the results!

The process was as follows:
* Screw the hood on the lens and mark the top with a sharpie, then unmount it from the lens. Helps when deciding on lengths of cable later.
* Drill Eight 1/4" holes in the hood - best to do a pilot hole first, but pretty straightforward.
* Drill Eight 1/4" holes in the front of the diffuser, then paint it black inside and out. I did this to eliminate stray light - I wanted all the light coming from the fiber optic cables.
* Cut the cable in lengths to allow them to be mounted around the perimeter of the hood. I also cut the end near the hood at an angle to allow it so the light was focused away from the lens itself.
* Mount the cables to the hood with crazy glue, then mount it into the diffuser the same way. I used some cable-ties to group the cables into two bundles.

Then you screw the hood onto the lens and put the diffuser on the flash!

The good: It works! For mine I need to have the flash level maxed out, so I know there is still some work to do, but doing that has made this much more useful than a cheap ringlight (e.g. Poloroid, etc.).

The changes: I know I will be building another one soon. This one works fine, but what I will change is that I will use stranded instead of solid core. I still want to use jacketed cable since it is easier to use, but the stranded has more flexibility which makes it easier overall and more compact. Also, I have found a vented hood where the vent holes are on the rear of the hood and slightly angled in front of the lens. This will allow the cables to come in from the rear of the hood rather than the top, so when you set the camera down it is not pushing on the bottom cable.

But if you enjoy macro but are hesitant to spend the money on a Pentax or Metz ringlight, this is really worth playing with! And it gives you some nice satisfaction to see results you didn't expect.

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03-21-2015, 03:51 PM   #2
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OMG I love it! Very creative.
03-21-2015, 03:59 PM   #3
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A thumbs up to all DIY efforts - thank you for helping us the keep the costs at bay, so we can still indulge in some LBA off and on.
03-21-2015, 04:12 PM   #4
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Very creative!

03-21-2015, 04:49 PM   #5
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I do believe that necessity is the mother of all inventions. Excellent one!
03-21-2015, 06:09 PM   #6
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What a scary looking apparatus!

But kudos for doing it, and it seems to work fine.
03-21-2015, 07:07 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by rawr Quote
What a scary looking apparatus!
Makes me think of the Martian fighting machines from Wells "War of the Worlds".

03-21-2015, 07:41 PM - 1 Like   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Not a Number Quote
Makes me think of the Martian fighting machines from Wells "War of the Worlds".
I immediately thought "Dr. Octupus"
03-21-2015, 08:20 PM   #9
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Hmmm . that's very interesting ... Creative , and certainly a different perspective taken ..

To be honest , it looks to be inefficient , and some what cumbersome .
Though a little innovation , some trial and error , it could very possibly be a commercially viable product .
Its nothing short of a brilliant idea in its early stages of development .
I guess this could be called proof of concept ..
Now all thats needed is a company to turn it into a commercial product and possibly a gold mine ?
03-21-2015, 08:42 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by old4570 Quote
Hmmm . that's very interesting ... Creative , and certainly a different perspective taken ..

To be honest , it looks to be inefficient , and some what cumbersome .
Though a little innovation , some trial and error , it could very possibly be a commercially viable product .
Its nothing short of a brilliant idea in its early stages of development .
I guess this could be called proof of concept ..
Now all thats needed is a company to turn it into a commercial product and possibly a gold mine ?
To be fair, it is not a new idea. Google "diy ring flash fiber" and you'll find dozens of different designs. Making one of these has been on my list of things to do for a while now...
03-21-2015, 08:46 PM   #11
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Awesome sci-fi look
03-21-2015, 09:32 PM   #12
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Hmmmm , PetaPixel - Photography and Camera News, Reviews, and Inspiration

I like this one ,
Still havent seen anything that could be developed into a commercial product .. I think yours shows the most potential from what I saw on google ..
03-23-2015, 09:40 AM   #13
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I am starting to work on my own DIY ring light. It won't be a flash but I figure it will work just fine. I am getting some cheap led headlamps (50 lumens each), modifying one of the adjustable straps to fit around a lens, then putting several of the headlamps on the strap at different positions. I will start out with just three but more could be added. The headlamps adjust to different angles for different working distances.
03-23-2015, 03:42 PM   #14
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Looks like something from a sci-fi movie. What did you use for cutting the plastic cored "fiber". The smoother the cut, the less light loss.

Last edited by Ex Finn.; 03-23-2015 at 03:43 PM. Reason: spelling...
03-23-2015, 05:58 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ex Finn. Quote
Looks like something from a sci-fi movie. What did you use for cutting the plastic cored "fiber". The smoother the cut, the less light loss.
Yes, having a clean cut is important, but it seems that a new blade in a razor knife worked fine. It may be more of an issue when I make the stranded unit, though with the jacket holding the strands in a tight bundle I hope I don't need to use something like a teflon blade.

BTW, here is my latest from earlier today - an orb weaver. Only 3/8" across, but this provides enough light for pretty good detail.

---------- Post added 03-23-15 at 08:07 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Zephos Quote
I am starting to work on my own DIY ring light. It won't be a flash but I figure it will work just fine. I am getting some cheap led headlamps (50 lumens each), modifying one of the adjustable straps to fit around a lens, then putting several of the headlamps on the strap at different positions. I will start out with just three but more could be added. The headlamps adjust to different angles for different working distances.
Zephos, one of the things that I forgot to mention that I liked about my strange design is that by having the fiber optics 'linked' to my Metz flash is that the PTTL mode works. So where your concept should work fine, I was trying to figure a way to not lose TTL or HSS capabilities.
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