My mother has been wanting to get a ring flash for a while now. I know just about nothing when it comes to flashes. Not exactly sure what her budget is, but lets say she's budget minded and not looking to buy the most expensive one. Especially since it won't get used often.
So I come to you almighty lighting guru's of FM. What's a good, inexpensive ring flash? Is it possible to get a decent one on the cheap, say for less than $75-$100?
Oh boy. I know the cam is an older Nikon DSLR. (bought in late 90's / early 2000's).
As for working distance, it would be close up work. If I had to guess, 2-3 feet and under. Knowing my mother, possibly some macro work as well. She uses macro "filters" as opposed to having a real macro lens if that makes any difference.
I could find out more specifics and what focal length she'd be using this with if it would help.
If she's doing primarily close up work, you might consider an Orbis or Ray Flash attachment for a speedlite. I know that there are a number of people who discount these attachments, but if it's good enough for the likes of David Hobby (Strobist), then it's certainly good enough for someone who will use it only occasionally. I have an Orbis and I like it.
Steve Wylie wrote:
If she's doing primarily close up work, you might consider an Orbis or Ray Flash attachment for a speedlite. I know that there are a number of people who discount these attachments, but if it's good enough for the likes of David Hobby (Strobist), then it's certainly good enough for someone who will use it only occasionally. I have an Orbis and I like it.
Honestly, I don't even know if she has an external flash.
If you check out www.mpex.com they have a $25 DIY ring light kit. Its made of plastic, folds together in about 15mintues, and works well. You have to be a bit careful with it, because it'll get crushed in a gear bag, but at $25 its a great tool. Slides over the top of a speedlight type flash. Its a far cry less than the cheapest ring flash attachment that I know of (at least that gets decent reviews) - the Orbis, which sells for $200.
I checked out mpex and couldn't find the DIY kit. I did see the expensive ones mentioned for around $200
I'm not sure if she has a dedicated flash already or not. I made the mistake of getting a cheap dedicated flash once, so I'm leery about some of these universal ring lights I see in the $50-$100 range.
These being Zeikos, Bower and Phoenix. Not names most of us turn to for a high quality product. I'm thinking I'll steer her towards one of these and if she finds it's something very useful, she can get a better unit (and give me the cheap one...lol).
It doesn't appear these cheap ones offer much in the way of output control, but there's other ways exposure can be controlled.
You control the output by controlling the power of your speedlight flash. It works pretty well in my limited testing so far. I was filling about a stop under my 580ex fired through an umbrella the other night. 580 on about 1/16, and the 430 on 1/8-1/4 through the ring flash, depending on how much contrast I was after.
First you need to determine if she already has a flash for her camera and what model. Then find out the budget. Most of the less expensive items like the Rayflash are attachments rather then a flash in themselves.
If she doesn't have a dedicated flash unit, then you may want to consider getting a real macro ring flash unit. On ebay, I have a Nikon SB-29S Macro ring flash for sale for $225. If you are in the SF Bay area, it is also listed on Craig's list. I also have a Sigma one that does TTL for $250.
The real macro ring flash units have a much higher build quality then the cheaper attachments.
Because of the type of work we do we have about 11 ring flashes of various flavors for both Canon and Nikon including the most expensive OEM units. If you are looking for an inexpensive but very good unit go to B&H and checkout the Phoenix dedicated units. We own 2 (one for Canon and one for Nikon) and they work just great. Not built to high end OEM standards but built well enough and come with a full complement of different size adapter rings for your lens, price wise about $80. We have used them now for over 2 years and they do a very nice job.
bbasiaga wrote:
Its a far cry less than the cheapest ring flash attachment that I know of (at least that gets decent reviews) - the Orbis, which sells for $200.
-Brian
I've got an Orbis i'd let go for considerably less than new price if you go that route...
