Tag Archives: DIY LED panel

DIY Wireless Million Color LED Video Lights • 27 Comments

Emm • June 4, 2013

A simple tip to making a boring background interesting is to add a bit of color. Instead of using colored gels, i'm actually using color changing LED lights. You can see an example of how I've added a blue wash on the background with my FREE Manfrotto Monopod Give Away video (below). The best part is that with a simple swipe on my iPhone, I can literally change my background to a million different colors. So how is this all done?

Well, i'm going to show you a fun and easy way to create a DIY Wireless LED Light that can achieve millions of colors, and can all be controlled wirelessly through your iPod Touch, Tablet, or Smart Phone. The color wheel in the App allows you to blend the RGB LED lights to a variety of creative colors, control brightness, and even control the speed of sweeping (color changing) effects.

The LED Lights i'm using (found here Amazon) for this DIY Light Panel are originally designed for Car under lighting. The lighting tubes (not the brain) should be pretty durable and even weatherproof. The lights come with clips which make them easy to mount, and can be powered by a simple 12V battery to make the entire unit extremely portable. Hmm...could be interesting to use under my bed frame...

The only downfall to this kit is the long cables, but there are smaller units available for interior lighting. These kits can be purchased in small 2, 4, or even up to 10 LED bars. Lots of fun, easy to setup, and with your imagination i'm sure you can figure out some very creative ways to use these. I would love to hear what type of ideas you guys come up with (comment below).

Check them out via Amazon and eBay (below).

Wireless Bluetooth DIY LED Light Bluetooth Wireless LED Light Cheesycam iPhone iOS Android
Wireless Bluetooth LED Light Kit - via eBay

LED Video Light Bluetooth Wireless Cheesycam
Wireless Bluetooth LED Lighting Kit - via Amazon

If you're not afraid to dabble in DIY another really great option are these RGB Color Changing LED Light Strips can be purchased for dirt cheap in a variety of lengths (or rolls). Wondering what to do with LED Strip lights? Here's a DIY LED light video using a common reflector from YouTube member Taylordfilms that will give you guys an idea on how to use LED strip lights.

Some of these LED Strips will come bundled with the remote controller to switch to dozens of colors (found here).

DIY RGB Million Color LED Light Strip Controller RGB Color Changing LED Light Strip
DIY RGB LED Light Strip with Color Changing Remote

If you don't believe how cheap these things are, here's a link to an Amazon product where you can get a 16ft strip of 300 RGB Color Changing LEDs + power adapter + remote for under $27 bucks
16ft Color RGB LED Strip Light Controller
300 RGB Color Changing LED + Power Adapter + Remote Controller

If you really want the Wifi feature there are options for special RGB LED Wifi Controllers. Some appear to use a full Wifi SSID (not bluetooth) for extended range. Check out some of the other Wifi LED Remote options to DIY your own million color backdrop (found here).

RGB Color Changing Wifi LED Controller WiFi RGB LED Strip Controller Wirless Color Changing Wifi RGB Color Change Lighting
RGB Color Changing LED WiFi Controller

DIY Flexible LED Strip Lighting • 9 Comments

Emm • February 10, 2012

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Duane assembles a 1200 LED Light panel made from the super cheap flexible LED strips found in an earlier article (here). This is the first build out of two he'll be using to throw some light onto the backdrop, and he mentions he's pretty happy with his build and results. 4 different switches in the assembly allow for different light output settings by turning a portion of the light on or off. He's added a 12V converter, but the LED lights themselves only require 12V, so it's possible to modify a setup like this and go mobile.

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If you're looking to assembling your own LED light using these LED strips, you can find a bit more information (here). A few more details about the items used in Duane's DIY LED light build used below. [Thanks Duane]

- x4 5m Led strips (1200 leds)
- x4 switches that allows me to switch 25% of the lights on at a time.
- x1 100 watt 12v power supply
- x1 florescent light housing from Lowe's (gutted)
- x1 light stand (already had)
- x2 conduit brackets to brace into the stand
All for under $100 bucks (just under)

DIY LED Light Panel from Flexible LED Strips • 21 Comments

Emm • September 29, 2011

YouTube member DTapeProductions writes in and shares their DIY LED Light panel using LED light strips. Of course you can't exact daylight temperature, and who knows if it can be properly color corrected with filters. Outside of that, it's actually quite ingenious if you think of the price + possibilities. As mentioned in the video, these uber cheap super bright LED lights can be used for accents, instead of the use of colored gels. It would be interesting to see them finish that 1200 LED panel. [Thanks Ross]

Flexible with adhesive backing, these strips are also found in waterproof versions. They are available in a variety of colors from Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, White, and Warm White. Often found as the colorful under lighting of cars since they run at 12V. It will run you about $3-4 dollars / 1M (3ft = 60 LED count) found below.

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Flexible LED lighting Strips 12V

If you're looking to make those 12V LED lights dimmable, this 12V PWM designed for LED lighting should work.

LED-light-dimmer
PWM Dimming Controller For LED Lights or Ribbon, 12 Volt 8 Amp, 3301

[Update] Chris drops a comment and mentions that if you're not the strong silent soldering type of guy, then there are a variety of connectors available for Flexible LED strips. Check out some of the options available below that will allow you to bend the strips, or join them directly for longer runs. All found on eBay below (click here).

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LED-connect-3 led-connector-2
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Flexible LED Strip Connectors