How to Buy a Ring Light

Ring lights look simple, which makes them easy to buy badly. The differences that matter are size, colour temperature range, dimming, power, and mounting, and each one maps to a real shooting situation rather than to a marketing claim.

Size decides the working distance. A small ring suits a phone on a desk at arm's length. A medium ring suits a laptop call. An 18 inch ring, like the flower-shaped model on this site, suits a seated presenter at a comfortable distance and lights face and shoulders evenly. A ring that is too small for its distance produces a hard centre spot and dark edges.

Colour temperature range decides flexibility. A ring that only gives daylight is fine in a daylight room and wrong in a warm room. A ring that adjusts from warm white to daylight, such as the 3000K to 6000K range of the flower-shaped model, can match the room instead of fighting it, and can serve morning and evening shoots with one lamp.

Dimming should be stepless, not stepped. Stepped dimming jumps between levels and often lands either too bright or too dim. Stepless dimming lets the level be set exactly against the camera's needs, which matters when the ring is also the fill light for a second lamp.

Power decides where the ring can work. A mains-powered ring suits a fixed desk. A battery-powered ring, like the flower-shaped model with its four 18650 batteries, suits outdoor shoots and rooms with few outlets, at the cost of a run time that must be planned: more than two hours for that model, so long sessions need charging breaks.

Mounting is the last check. A ring needs a stand or clamp that holds it steady at the right height, and a phone or camera mount in the middle if the camera is to look through the ring. Ask about the mount in an inquiry if it is not described on the detail page.