BRIGHT 160 lumen Prodmod Video Camera Light for under $30
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Introducing the ProdMod Night Vlogger 160!
The following project is a neat way to make your own high powered video light to attach to your digital camera or camcorder. I called it the NightVlogger 160 after I read the term on this article of someone willing to use this type of light to allow him to take paparazzi style video at night. Vloggerazzi if you will. At 160 lumen it is very bright, in fact it is brighter than a 10W Halogen! It also fits in a slim AAA battery holder using only 3 AAA batteries. It projects a wide angle flood as opposed to a focused spotlight so you don’t have to zoom in to avoid the dark circle effect.
If you have followed my previous camera light projects you might have guessed this was the logical next step. I have made a 1W LED camera light before without showing you the details, but I think this latest one is a little easier to assemble and uses a very powerful yet very small Endor Rebel from luxeon to produce 160 lumens of light at 700mA. I also swapped the battery holder switch with a 3 position switch so that I can have two brightness levels, Low and High.
First take a look at this video to see what it can do and then lets discuss the How To.
1W ProdMod Camera Light with Tripod Mount and Bracket
I made some improvements to my ProdMod Camera Light a while back but never got around to writing about it. Mainly I added a 1W LED in place of the 4 standard LEDs. And I added nut coupling which allows me to use the light with a camera and tripod simultaneously, as well as use a bracket to place the light off to the side. Here are some photos to give you a taste.
How to make your LED Hoop Rechargeable
I finished writing instructions that show how you can use the Rechargeable Upgrade Kit to make your LED hoop rechargeable. Now you can enjoy 6 hours of lit hoop time and charge it in only about 1 hour.
The instructions were written to show a way to add the DC power Jack without having it interfere with anything, and to keep the modification of your hoop down to a minimum. The end result is the DC jack is recessing into the inner diameter surface of your hoop. This is a clean look. You can barely see the jack and wont be able to tell the difference from your old hoop.
LED Hula Hoops for Kids and pregnant women at Internet Week NY
So the event for “An Evening At Maker Faire” for Internet Week NY on June 5th went very well. I had a spot near the center of the room so it was easy to get everyone’s attention. Nearly everyone who passed wanted to try it out. I had two hoops both the same standard size 40 inch diameter by 1 inch thick versions but one was powered by a standard lithium battery and the other was my new rechargeable version. Everyone I asked said they couldnt tell the difference by weight and felt they were both fairly balanced. I did have one lady tell me it felt too light. But she was used to exercising with a 3 lb hoop. My hoops are only about 1.5 lbs. But for others who were just dancing/performing with it, the weight seemed ok. If you need to you can always add weight to it when you build your own.
Rechargeable LED Hula Hoop Collapsible – Test Drive it Thursday
I finally finished my prototype of a rechargeable LED Hula Hoop. The hoop can run for 6 hours continuously, two hours longer than a PSI hoop. And it only takes 4 hours or less for a full charge compared to overnight in other models. The charger has a red and green indicator light to tell you when charging is complete.
New LED Hula Hoop Videos from Maker Faire 2008
Crissy Gugler from www.theinfinitehoop.com has posted some videos on YouTube with her LED Hula Hoop that she made using the ProdMod LED Hula Hoop Kit at the Maker Faire Workshop.
Internet Week NY – Maker Faire – June 5 2008
NYC
Just a quick note that I will be exhibiting at “An Evening at Maker Faire” on June 5th at the Saatchi Gallery in NYC from 6:30 pm – 9pm as a part of Internet Week New York. Please come by and say hi. This is also a great opportunity for you to see the latest developments in the LED Camera Light and LED Hula Hoop that I have not yet posted about.
BKLYNDESIGNS show 2008
I attended this show last weekend and was able to witness a variety of great designers, some established, and some right out of Pratt Institute. Here are some of my favorites from the show…
ProdMod at the Maker Faire – May 2008
I was at the Maker Faire May 3-4 2008 to support two of my kits that are currently sold through Make Magazine’s website. The LED Camera Light and the LED Hula Hoop. I would say the LED Hula Hoop was the big hit and we got plenty of attention just after we finished our workshop. There were about 5 hoops being built and 3 ducked out early to finish it at home. The remaining 2 finished it at the workshop and couldn’t wait to try it out. Total build time was only 2 hours.
ProdMod LED Hula Hoop Workshop a Success!
Sorry for such a late post but you’ll hear all the reasons why I was so busy in the coming posts.
The ProdMod LED Hula Hoop Workshop was held on April 16 at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn. There were 7 people in this class and each person left with a working LED Hula Hoop. In fact we could say it was a solder-less LED Hula Hoop Workshop since every hoop was completed without ever using a soldering iron.
ProdMod (tm) 