Azuth
TPF Noob!
I've had an old flash unit kicking around for ages that I keep thinking "Surely I could put that to better use." Well, yesterday I tried. Taking about $30.00 (AUS) worth of parts, plus a generic flash unit (which could probably be picked up for another $30 on ebay) I decided to try to build a ring flash.
I visited this site on the net to see it had been done before and that it could offer reasonable results. http://www.dennisonbertram.com/hackmaster/2005/02/build-your-own-ring-flash.htm I just thought it was ugly and a little impractical.
Whilst not a true ring flash, technically more of a ring reflector, I'm eager to see what kind of results I can get.
How I made it:
1: Pulled apart my flash unit and essentially broke it in half, taking out the flash bulb and reflector, the capacitor and leaving the control and power pack.
2: I cut a hole in the center of a 100mm PVC pipe cap ($3.00) and fitted it with the screw on 52mm ring from an after market lens hood. ($15.00)
3: Using some epoxy I mounted another piece of PVC pipe ($2.00) in the middle so I now had a basic lens mountable ring.
4: I cut a hole in the outside edge of the ring and mounted the flashbulb and its reflector pointing in (remembering in a moment of genius to figure out where the top of the ring would be when mounted). I mounted the capacitor next to it inside a small plastic bottle I had kicking around.
5: Using some stiff foil ($3.00) I covered the inside of the ring, both sides and back.
6: Reconnected the wires, tidied up with some heat shrink and gave it a quick coat of paint (unfortunately I used gloss as it's what I had) I'll take it back to a matte finish.
The results
Well, I'm yet to see how it performs, but it looks like it may do the job.
Just finished
Mounted on my 300D - 50mm 1.8 lens
Pointing at a mirror
I know it will be more powerful at the top, but since others have achieved reasonable results in a similar fashion I'm still hopeful it will work as intended. I'll post some pics when I put it to use.
I visited this site on the net to see it had been done before and that it could offer reasonable results. http://www.dennisonbertram.com/hackmaster/2005/02/build-your-own-ring-flash.htm I just thought it was ugly and a little impractical.
Whilst not a true ring flash, technically more of a ring reflector, I'm eager to see what kind of results I can get.
How I made it:
1: Pulled apart my flash unit and essentially broke it in half, taking out the flash bulb and reflector, the capacitor and leaving the control and power pack.
2: I cut a hole in the center of a 100mm PVC pipe cap ($3.00) and fitted it with the screw on 52mm ring from an after market lens hood. ($15.00)
3: Using some epoxy I mounted another piece of PVC pipe ($2.00) in the middle so I now had a basic lens mountable ring.
4: I cut a hole in the outside edge of the ring and mounted the flashbulb and its reflector pointing in (remembering in a moment of genius to figure out where the top of the ring would be when mounted). I mounted the capacitor next to it inside a small plastic bottle I had kicking around.
5: Using some stiff foil ($3.00) I covered the inside of the ring, both sides and back.
6: Reconnected the wires, tidied up with some heat shrink and gave it a quick coat of paint (unfortunately I used gloss as it's what I had) I'll take it back to a matte finish.
The results
Well, I'm yet to see how it performs, but it looks like it may do the job.
Just finished
Mounted on my 300D - 50mm 1.8 lens
Pointing at a mirror
I know it will be more powerful at the top, but since others have achieved reasonable results in a similar fashion I'm still hopeful it will work as intended. I'll post some pics when I put it to use.
