Anesti » DIY http://anesti.org Revitalized and Risen Wed, 26 May 2010 05:14:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 DIY Ringflash on the Cheap http://anesti.org/2009/03/diy-ringflash-on-the-cheap/ http://anesti.org/2009/03/diy-ringflash-on-the-cheap/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:29:09 +0000 Sawyer http://anesti.org/?p=184 Flash Light Density
Upon seeing several photos on Flickr taken with the Ray Flash (link), I thought I could build my own ringflash for less than the $200 Ray Flash. Seeing numerous instructions on how to build a ringflash on Strobist (link), I began searching for parts. I found a salad bowl ($1 from Dollar Tree) and a toilet brush bowl holder ($1 from Dollar Tree), and some other components from Home Depot. At Home Depot, I picked up some reflective duct tape for use on the inside of the bowl.

Step 1: Measure the holes to be cut from the salad bowl for the flash and brush holder.

Step 2: Cut holes in both pieces of plastic (I used a Dremel Tool) and sand the edges with the same tool.

Step 3: Apply the reflective tape in stripes from the bottom of the bowl to the top for the salad bowl, doing the same for the brush holder.

Step 4: Put the pieces together, the brush holder inside the bowl from the bottom.

Step 5: Drop in your flash and test!

Check out the rest after the break!

The bowl setup for the ringflash, prior to cutting anything. The bowls viewed from above, marked to cut. Make sure the hole in the bottom is big enough for your largest lens. Trace your flash to make the correct template size. This will likely need to be sanded slightly bigger due to the curvature of the bowl. I had to cut the brush holder twice, in order for my Quantaray 55-200mm lens to fit through it. Cutting the template out of the salad bowl with a Dremel tool. The finished plastic cut and aligned. Note that the setup is slightly different here. I changed my mind on which way the brush holder should sit. Half of the bit bowl covered in the reflective tape. Shiny tape covering the inside bowl. Lauren holding the semi-finished product. I'm still thinking about adding a bracket mount from the tripod mount on my camera. Note that the light density is a bit off. The reason for this is that my flash is pushed too far into the ring itself. I'll adjust for this later when building the mount.

There are a few more things I’d like to do to improve this. Firstly, I’d like to add a diffuser, with a sight increase in thickness where the flash is. Secondly, a variable length mount from the tripod screw mount on my D50 is in the works.

I’m still waiting for some hotshoe flash triggers, and looking for a cheap hotshoe sync cable. I’ll post an update or a newer post when I find the other necessary parts.

Update: If you want to see further construction/modification I do with this ringflash, check out my set on Flickr where I’m detailing the changes I’ve made.

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