Pro Grade LED Studio Lights and Camera Mount From Scratch - 98 CRI

Since I have started posting videos on my YouTube channel and recording everything I do, I have been constantly improving my recording equipment. But as I have a limited budget since my YouTube channel is basically a micro sized by the YouTube standards and I can't afford professional studio lights.

So I did the only logical thing - I made my own studio recording light and camera system.

The main features of my system are:

- holds 2 led lights and has a built-in camera mount

- high quality LEDs with 98 CRI rating (ColorRendering Index - more explanation on this later)

- flexible and adjustable mount so the camera can be pointed into any direction

- using some recycled and repurposed parts - one reflector is built into the enclosure of an old car audio amplifier, I made the light diffuser by recycling parts from an old LCD TV and for the mount I repurposed a computer monitor stand

- can be used for desk recording, behaving the desk vlogging or as a work light in a workshop

- custom designed LED driver PCB with adjustable brightness

Follow this Instructable to see how it was made, but first check the two videos that will give you overview on how I made this light.

This project is not meant for complete beginners as it requires a bit of prior knowledge about electronics, SMD components and soldering PCBs. But here you will find all the necessary data for making the PCB yourself

But if you are a beginner, keep reading this Instructable and you will learn something about electronics and handy-work.

Tools:

- basic metalworking tools (Drill, hand tools, threading tools..)

- soldering iron for 0603 sized SMD components

- hot air station is highly recommended for soldering the integrated circuit as it has a thermal cooling pad underneath the IC:

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_99anSL (affiliate link)

I chose the high quality LEDs with 98 CRI rating.

The CRI is a Color Rendering Index. It tells you how simillar the LED light color output is to that of the sun.

The LEDs I used have 98 CRI rating. That means that their light color spectrum is 98% similar to that of the sun.

For comparison - the standard LEDs are in the 70 - 80 CRI range and lack colors - everything looks a bit faded and lifeless.

If you saw the PART 2 video you could see at the end how rich the colors are when I recorded my hands. The colors were not edited in video post production.

I chose to use the Cree CMA1303 series LEDs. The part number of my leds is CMA1303-0000-000C0Z0AL5A which is the highest CRI rating LED I could get in that series.

These LEDs have a forward voltage of 9V (yes, nine volts) and can tolerate a maximum of 1.4A of current. They exist also in 18V and 36V forward voltage if a different configuration is desired.

But you can use normal 3V high power LEDs and put them more in series and get the same voltage.

I couldn't find an appropriate LED driver online, so I did the only logical thing and designed my own :) Oh, why am I like that... Spending so many evenings designing stuff from scratch.. :D

I used TPS92690 driver IC from Texas Instruments.

I slightly modified one of their examples and made a schematic for boost converter that converts the 48V from the power supply to the 85V which is the sum of 8 LEDs in series for the big LED light.

This converter can do up to 3x multiplication of the input voltage reliably for dimming. At higher rates, some brightness levels become a bit unstable. This is why I decided to use 48V power supply which is pretty common to get. The input components need to tolerate at least 50V and the transistor and output capacitors need to tolerate 100V at least.

For the small light I wired two LEDs in series, which gives the output of 18V and I used 12V power supply for that one. Another modification for the smaller light is replacing the R5 resistor with a larger one - 1.5k for limiting the open circuit voltage to lower levels so the converter remains stable if no LEDs are connected because of the lower input voltage.

The circuit accepts 25k potentiometer for analog dimming of the brightness. If dimming is not desired or needed, you can solder a fixed 24k resistor instead of the potentiometer.

The circuit has also a PWM dimming circuit input which you can use for PWMsignal input (short to ground for turn OFF and leave open for ON) if you have something that could generate PWM dimming. I didn't use that feature.

I designed a simple 2 layer PCB. The smallest components are 0603 sized. But more on assembly in the next step.

The gerber files can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/172VUEQqBnpWqbhhYC...

You can send these files to a PCB manufacturer to have your board made.
I used JLCPCB which was kind enough to even sponsor my YouTube video by providing me with free PCBs.

The cost of this board is only 2$ for 5pcs (plus shipping) which is a bargain!

Sign up through this link to get $18 new user coupons: https://jlcpcb.com/IAT

You can also use coupon code "JLCPCBcom" at checkout for a small discount.

I have been using JLCPCB for over two years now and the boards were always top notch. So I am not just promoting their service because they sponsored me, I promote them because they have really good service which I was using before for over two years without any sponsorship. I would never take sponsorship just for money, for products I would never use without sponsorship.

Here you have the PDF with board assembly files that will help you solder your PCB.

In the bill of materials at the end of a PDF, you will see that I used metric component footprint markings.

Here are translations for the standard imperial ones, so it will be easier for you to order the components:

1608X80N - 0603

2012X125N - 0805

3225X250, 3225X190 - 1210

6332X70N - 2512

One good tip: If you plan to do more SMD projects, instead of buying the resistors and capacitors each time, get yourself a cheap Chinese SMD assortment books for resistors and capacitors like this one (affiliate link)
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_99XYDE

The most tricky component to solder is the driver IC which needs hot air gun, otherwise it will not cool properly due to no contact of the thermal pad to the PCB underneath the IC. I added a link to a cheap one in the Step 3.

On the photo you will see an additional resistor soldered. That is a slight modification I made later, but in the documentation I provided this resistor is already included. I also rotated the screw terminals inwards for the small light in order for it to fit in the 3D printed enclosure.

These LEDs produce almost 10W of heat each and need to be cooled down sufficiently. The better the cooling, the better the lifespan of the light.

For the big light heatsink I used an old car audio amplifier enclosure. I got it for free 10+ years ago and I kept it since you never know when it will come in handy :D Now it has finally got its new job!
These enclosures are perfect for making a LED light.. They are solid, and massive, free and they have a slot in the front, perfect for sliding in the diffuser sheet.

I cut M3 threads for mounting the LEDs and M4 threads for mounting the enclosure on the stand (more about the stand later)

The small light uses Wakefield solutions 641K heatsink

http://www.wakefield-vette.com/Portals/0/resources...

You can get it on Mouser, Farnell or Digikey. It is nothing special, you can use any heatsink you want, but in the following steps you will find 3D printed parts and diffuser holder which fits on this particular heatsink.

I have designed a small enclosure for the small light PCB that fits in the middle of the small heatsink or if you will want to use the driver as a stand-alone unit.

It has a hole for potentiometer and the power jack. In the video I did not use a power jack. Instead I mounted a toggle switch there and routed the power cable through a small hole I drilled. That was my last minute decision.

And I have also designed a 3D model for a simple light diffuser holder which screws on the heatsink. The diffuser holder has a slot for sliding in the diffuser sheet.

You can find all the 3D files for this project here:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4823208

I used a diffuser sheet from an old LCD TV I have dismantled some time ago. If you don't have the TV nearby, you can use a milky plexiglass or similar acrylic sheet.

Although, I suggest you finding a broken LCD TV and dismantle it. Some TVs also have a Fresnel lens sheet inside. If you put that Fresnel sheet in your LED light as well, the light would appear to be coming for much further back. The light rays will be more parallel and it will feel even more like an actual sun. My TV sadly did not have that lens as it was quite an old model.

Also, these TVs have all sorts of cool stuff inside :)

I also designed a 3D printed and very simple VESA 100 adapter that allows the small light to be mounted to the PC monitor stand.

The bracket can also hold the camera if you use this adapter from Aliexpress: (affiliate links)

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Ankh3N

For the monitor stand, I have used gas spring dual monitor stand:
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A4p2Rm

This stand is great for this application because it allows a lot of movement adjustments and you can point the camera anywhere you want.

For more details on how this part is assembled, please watch the second YouTube video where I have shown how everything gets assembled. Sadly, I did not take enough pictures at this step.

I used 48V, 120W power supply adapter for the big light and 12V 2A for the small one.

The power supply output voltage should be below the voltage needed for the LEDs since my circuit is a boost converter. But the voltage shall be no more than three times lower than the LED voltage.

Each LED I used has an output voltage of approximately 9V. The small light has two LEDs in series - 18V, so 12V was a very common and it was easy to get voltage adapter for the power supply.

The big light has 8 LEDs in series - 72V total. I used 48V power supply, which is a common voltage. 24V was too much on the low side.

Now you can start making videos for your YouTube channel in the perfect lightning!

I hope you liked this Instructable!
Don't forget to watch the you tube videos on the top of the Instructable, where you will see me going through everything described here.

I do a lot of Instructables and DIY themed YouTube videos.

If you want to stay in touch on what I am currently working on:

You can subscribe to my YouTube channel(click the bell icon to get notified, since I only post approximately once a month):

http://www.youtube.com/c/JTMakesIt

and

https://www.facebook.com/JTMakesIt

and

https://www.instagram.com/jt_makes_it

for spoilers on what I am currently working on, behind the scenes and other extras!

And don't forget to follow me on Instructables and vote for this Instructable in the "Trash to Treasure" contest :) Cheers!

JT