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After failing to find a reasonably priced LED ring light which does what I want, I have decided to build one myself. My electronics knowledge was never particularly good at school, so it should be fun!

My basic requirements are that it:

1. Illuminates small (~5mm) to medium  (~2cm) sized insects without casting too many shadows
2. Fits on different microscopes
3. Is powered by a (rechargeable) battery

Additional requirements are:

• The option to power it from the mains
• The ability to dim the LEDs
• Switch groups of LEDs on/off

I shall start with a basic prototype consisting of 8 white LEDs, potentially adding more and making the circuit more complex. It shouldn’t be too hard but I haven’t used a soldering iron for years!

At work (and soon at home) I will be taking many depth stacked insect images from both a microscope and using a macro lens. Whilst I have a ring flash for the camera, I need a constant light source for the microscope, so I’ve started thinking and searching for a cheap LED ring light. My target price is under £50.

I remember seeing some fluorescent and white LED ring lights at an entomological fair and thinking they were rather expensive. The cheapest ring lights were the fluorescent ones, costing about £30 each. The LED rings were more, costing over £50. A quick Google search brings up a ring light for a Marumi compact camera ring light for £40 (RRP £77.62!) which still seems expensive and I don’t know how it attaches or if it would fit a microscope. Further searching turns up some in-car lights which could be adapted and an  LED microscope light which does exactly what I want (AC power, adjustable lighting and thumb screws) but costs a mere £500 and is not for sale in the UK.

DIY Ring Light © fdecomite

I am beginning to think I’ll need to build one… Any ideas?