DIY Dimmer

ckchan · 26th November 2008

Been looking around to buy dimmers for tungsten lights but they are really hard to find so I made them myself. They are great for product & video shoots. Bought all the materials from Sungei Road lighting shop for about $35. The max wattage is 1000Watt. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jugenst...n/photostream/

JacePhoto · 26th November 2008

wow, you are gd with DIY work.

sherchoo · 26th November 2008

They have 'off-the-shelf' dimmers available but 2-core type which can be used for most application but wattage wise the highest it may go ia 100-150W. The one you built is better but I'd be concern when during on-off as at 1000W, the current can be quite high.

Anyway, a job well done on the DIY dimmer and a pretty nice product shot of it too..

catchlights · 26th November 2008

just to let you know the color temperature will change when the light bulb is at difference brightness, it may be not an issue if the shoot is not critical.

that's why no one use dimmer in the industry, only ND gel.

ckchan · 28th November 2008

Its true that the color temp will change but its not obvious on video unless u dim by more than 50%. Dedo lights comes with dimmers too & they are very popular. I use them all the time but its only 150W. As a rule of thumb, I will not dim more than 50% for the high wattage lights. I'll just use a smaller light instead. I do use ND filters & cutters as well, but the dimmers are just so much easier to control, esp on lights that are mounted high or hard to reach places & in occasions when color temp is not crucial

ckchan · 28th November 2008

Although its rated at 1000W, I will not max it out. The biggest light I will use with it is a Red head, rated at 800W.

The only time I had trouble with lights is in places like Indonesia where most outlets don't have earth. I get shocked pretty bad. The only place in Singapore with no earth is the Kampong at Lor Buangkok. My assistant got shocked crazy. Nothing to do with dimmers btw..

26th November 2008	#1
ckchan New Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 31	DIY Dimmer Been looking around to buy dimmers for tungsten lights but they are really hard to find so I made them myself. They are great for product & video shoots. Bought all the materials from Sungei Road lighting shop for about $35. The max wattage is 1000Watt. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jugenst...n/photostream/ Last edited by ckchan; 26th November 2008 at 12:51 PM.

26th November 2008	#2
JacePhoto Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 2,783	Re: DIY Dimmer wow, you are gd with DIY work. __________________ free2shoot www.1000words.com.sg

26th November 2008	#3
sherchoo Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bukit Panjang Posts: 502	Re: DIY Dimmer They have 'off-the-shelf' dimmers available but 2-core type which can be used for most application but wattage wise the highest it may go ia 100-150W. The one you built is better but I'd be concern when during on-off as at 1000W, the current can be quite high. Anyway, a job well done on the DIY dimmer and a pretty nice product shot of it too.. __________________ \|SonyA700\|T180mmf3.5\|M50mmf1.7\|M70-210mmf4\|S17-35mmf2.8-4\|S30mmf1.4\|T17-50mmf2.8\|T90mmf2.8\|M5600hsd\|

26th November 2008	#4
catchlights Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Punggol Posts: 10,799	Re: DIY Dimmer just to let you know the color temperature will change when the light bulb is at difference brightness, it may be not an issue if the shoot is not critical. that's why no one use dimmer in the industry, only ND gel. __________________ Shoot to Live, Live to Shoot www.foto-u.com \| www.benjaminloo.com \| email

28th November 2008	#5
ckchan New Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 31	Re: DIY Dimmer Its true that the color temp will change but its not obvious on video unless u dim by more than 50%. Dedo lights comes with dimmers too & they are very popular. I use them all the time but its only 150W. As a rule of thumb, I will not dim more than 50% for the high wattage lights. I'll just use a smaller light instead. I do use ND filters & cutters as well, but the dimmers are just so much easier to control, esp on lights that are mounted high or hard to reach places & in occasions when color temp is not crucial

28th November 2008	#6
ckchan New Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 31	Re: DIY Dimmer Although its rated at 1000W, I will not max it out. The biggest light I will use with it is a Red head, rated at 800W. The only time I had trouble with lights is in places like Indonesia where most outlets don't have earth. I get shocked pretty bad. The only place in Singapore with no earth is the Kampong at Lor Buangkok. My assistant got shocked crazy. Nothing to do with dimmers btw..