LED Ring Light for Macro Lens

thingiverse

I designed an LED Ring Light for macro photography that fits perfectly onto the Olympus 30mm Macro Micro4/3 lens with a press-fit attachment. This ingenious accessory adds crucial light to close-up photos where a flash won't reach, allowing you to take stunning images at night or in low-light conditions like the beautiful flower pictured above. Using this innovative lighting solution enables you to capture crystal-clear images with reduced noise by lowering the ISO setting, raise your shutter speed for hand-held shots in challenging light, or stop down the aperture to achieve greater focus. The ring light also helps minimize unsightly shadows that can detract from your photos. The LED Ring Light features an inner diameter of 55.2mm, precisely large enough to fit snugly onto the metal ring at the end of the lens. A small case securely holds the battery in place on top of the camera using the hotshoe flash mount. This remarkable accessory is powered by 12 white LEDs, each measuring 5mm in diameter. The legs are carefully designed to be just long enough for soldering them together in parallel, allowing you to take full advantage of their length. You can also position the positive legs to point away from the center of the ring for enhanced performance. To ensure optimal performance, I used a 10ohm resistor to match the LEDs to the 3.7v Lithium battery, which may differ depending on your specific setup. Additionally, I added a tiny switch and hot-glued it securely to the ring for easy on/off control. A rechargeable 3.7v 1000mah lithium battery with JST 1.25mm 2 Pin Micro connectors powers this brilliant accessory. To make the cables more durable, I wrapped them in shrink wrap. The hotshoe battery box is a snug fit and may require enlargement if you plan to use a different battery, with inner dimensions measuring 26x45.5x10mm. When using the LED Ring Light, it's essential to either shoot in RAW or adjust your camera's white balance settings to compensate for the cooler or warmer color temperature produced by the LEDs. At longer distances, you may notice a vignette effect due to the LEDs being pointed straight forward and not set to any focal depth. **Update 2/22/2019:** I've added a custom case for the LED Ring Light and battery holder, leaving some extra space in the box for wires and additional batteries.