Ring lights are always trickier to control than flash or strobe due to the shape of the light.
When a flash or strobe will give you a softer feathered light, the ring light will give you a harsher light, but because of the ring shape itself, the light will be evenly distributed on the subject eliminating all the shadows.
Unlike point light sources, a ring flash provides even illumination with few shadows visible in the resulting photographs because the origin of the light is very close to (and surrounds) the optical axis of the lens.
Bye Bye Fluorescent Tube, Hello LED!
This new version of Neewer ring light eliminates the fluorescent tube and it is replaced with LED’s. It eliminates the previous green cast of the fluorescent tube. It is dimmable and comes with white and orange covers to fix the white balance and make the light a bit softer.
Ring lights are commonly used in applications such as macro, portrait and fashion photography, vlogging and make up tutorial videos.
Although there are several ring lights available in the market, we decided to go with Neewer for two reasons: We already have reliable Neewer products and the price was extremely competitive.
Neewer ring light is great if you are starting a home studio or if you are a vlogger, make up artist or an actor. It is a cheap solution to record your youtube make up videos or your actor’s self tapes at home.
This unit is also infamous for not turning on sometimes. Most of the time it will do but 1 out of 10 it will just stays off which can be very frustrating. This issue has been fixed with the new LED model though.
Test shots.
Here are some sample portraits. The ring light is placed right in front of the model’s face. Aligning the ring light center to eye level and shooting through the ring. An extra light was added to lit up the background for artistic purposes only.
Notice the difference on the catch light for light coloured eyes and dark ones.
The Downside of the Deal.
The catch light on the eyes is extremely bright: The ring shaped catch light works ok with blue or green eyes but a little too distracting on people with darker eyes.
Although with the new model, the light output can be dimmed down a to adjust to different skin tones and eye color shades.
Balancing the White Balance.
The green cast from previous flourescent version has disappeared thanks to the use of LED. Also, the ring light comes with an orange filter to balance the white balance. This though, will not save you from having to dabble with a bit of post-editing in Lightroom or Capture One.
The Technical Stuff.
Neewer Camera Photo Video Lightning Kit: 18 inches/48 centimeters Outer 55W 5500K Dimmable LED Ring Light, Light Stand, Bluetooth Receiver for Smartphone, Youtube, Vine Self-Portrait Video Shooting
- Special LED SMD design, lightweight and portable.
- Constant current drive, low power loss.
- No ultraviolet and infrared light radiation, low heat output, safety and environmental protection.
- Two plastic color filters(Orange + White) are made of high light transmission plastic material with steady color temperature.
- Light Source: LED SMD
- LED Bulbs: 240 Pieces
- Outer Diameter: 18 inches/48 centimeters
- Total Power: 55W
- Color Temperature: 5500K
- Dimmable: YES
- Dimming range: 1%-100%
- CRI (Color Rendering Index): >83
- This light stand is constructed from aluminum alloy, giving it exceptional strength.
- It is easy and convenient to set up and carry.
- Its solid locking capabilities ensure the safety of your lighting equipment when in use.
- Folded height: 29.5"/75cm
- Maximum height: 61"/155cm
- 1 x Dimmable LED Ring Light
- 1 x 61"/155cm Light Stand
- 1 x Soft Tube
- 1 x White and Orange Color Filter Set
- 1 x Tripod Head Hot Shoe Adapter
- 1 x Smart Phone Holder
- 1 x Charger with UK Plug
- 1 x Bluetooth Receiver
- 1 x Carrying Bag
Have you used a ring light before? we would love to know your thoughts! Please leave a comments in the comments section below.
