Matt writes in to share an LED light panel find via eBay. Normally you'd filter down to Video or Camera lighting, so you might have missed this one (I know I did). These are LED panels used as grow lights for indoor plants or aquarium accent lighting. This particular panel holds 225 LED's spaced out to cover a decent area. With 4 of these, you'd be working your way up to a 900 LED light source that is said to be rated at 5600K. Not too bad.
There's two versions that they sell, one being an 'upgraded' Ultrathin version. No specs on actual color temperature from that listing, but the ultrathin looks pretty nice. Since these aren't stamped under video or photo, they run extremely cheap. I just ordered one to test to see if it's a DIY start, but at worst case it'll be great for my Photo Cocoon lightbox or place it over my aquarium. Nice that they already come in a housing (looks like aluminum but most likely plastic). They are offered in a variety of mixed color LED's or just plain white. Make sure you check on the ones that specify 'white only' and you can find them below. [Thanks Matt]
225 LED & 450 LED Light panels
Dave Navarro
Actually, I'm more interested in hearing/seeing more about turning them into a lightbox.
Jake
If you're still interested, Indymogul did a video on these lights a while back.
Emm
Post author@andrew - Very blueish if I can remember. No dimmer, and direct beam. You can get better results with a 126 LED Video Light which has now dropped to around $30 bucks.
andrew
M, what's the deal on these, what happened when you got them?
josh
does anyone have test footage from these lights?
Paul
I got my panel today. The "white" light is pretty cool/blue temp wise, not sure its actually 5600 k, from 6 feet away it casts a diffuse circular light, I would not imagine it useful for a greenscreen or "wall of light" rather for environmental/location lighting. With some diffusion and some gels to deal with color temp issues, this is very useful for the price I think. (remember it is REALLY CHEAP). plastic frame, light as air with lots of places to attach things to support it,I would welcome any ideas with what. I think this is a keeper for sure. I also think I will get a few more since nothing else is a match color temp wise! NICE find EMM. I want to shoot some tests but right now Ive just got it on in another room and seeing how it looks leaving it on for a while. Very curious what others think and how they propose to mount these.
Emm
Post author@Luca - Probably not. But there are ways to make a 36V battery by running 3 12V in series.
Luca
According to the specs, they output at 36v. Would this mean that it wouldn't work with those small Jumper Battery Packs? Like these:
httpss://cheesycam.com/portable-jump-battery-drops-to-79/
MarkMark
I bought 4 about 6 months ago to see if they would work (lighting a green screen 8' wide) but they were too weak so they were returned.
Nitsan
these look like they could be really useful.
cant wait to see them in action.
Barrett
Color Temperature: 5600K
Serge
Doh! 🙂
Emm
Post author@Serge - thats mainly associated with fluorescent lighting. we'll see when it comes in though. It is possible in LED's with dimmers.
Serge
Hope these dont produce banding.
Mark Hensley
Hi Emm,
I bought one panel as well to try. If there is any potential here it at these prices one could create a "Wall of Light" that might give that diffused window light look. They offer a 16x package that would yield a 4x4 foot panel maybe a little larger once the optimal spacing could be determined. I would love to have a big LED panel that hugs a wall for tight shoots and provides a big soft bath of light.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that the light output is good and the color is manageable.
Mark
Paul
I wonder if you could attach a simple dimmer to them. The non-slimline version looks like a better choice as far as more surface area to figure out a way to mount these on a stand.
david
I bought some LED panels from an eBay seller in the past that were originally intended for signage. The panels require 24V and have 234 white LEDs that are 6000-6500K, according to the specs. I had used the best offer feature to order 4 in a single shot for a little less than the $30 they are listed for:
https://cgi.ebay.com/8-5-x-11-5-LED-boards-234-LEDs-24V-Input-DIY-/300511146361?pt=BI_Signage&hash=item45f7dc3179#ht_500wt_1152
Granted, the pc board itself is not white, but I have used these for illuminating still subjects.
More recently, I've bought replacement LED dome modules for car dome lights. There are several varieties, in the number of LEDs and in how they are wired. I'd bought 16 LED ones initially only to find that they had wired four sets of 4 in series and parallel, a big no-no in terms of preventing eventual failure of the LEDs. The 18-LED modules seem ideal, though, because if there are 6 resistors, that means that there are three LEDs in series per resistor, sized for operation at 12V.
https://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=41mm+18+led
These modules can potentially be modified to operate at voltages different than 12V by resizing the SMD resistors or removing them and rewiring the modules to make 9 sets of two LEDs in series, or both. Doing so would allow the use of batteries lower than 12V, depending on what is on hand.
A number of these modules can be wired together to create many different configurations of light. I removed the metal cups and soldered wires in their place, since I was using them bare.
Note that going either of these routes is not for the faint of heart: it requires some knowledge of electronics and a soldering iron.