tell me about ring flash

J

joescrivens

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I see there are two types, one that comes with a unit that connects to the hot shoe and one that connects onto a flash unit. But which is better? There's only one way to find out. FIGHT!

I have a 430 Ex II and a 100mm 2.8L IS lens. Are the adapters which use the 430 ex II as good, since they are cheaper. Which make is worth a look at?
 
You will undoubtedly use a lot of power through one of the adapter types.
I have the MR14, which has two flash tubes and they can be adjusted for ratio.
The macrolite 67 adapter is had to find at the moment, so instead I bought the adapter for the non-IS lens and a step-up ring.
Warehouse express is expensive for both the MR14 and the MT24.
The price from Kerso is much better, and I wish I had known that before I bought the MR14 from WHE as I could have afforded the MT24 from kerso instead!

It's worth experimenting without the ring flash too, since you have IS, you can hold the camera in one hand and a speedlight with off-camera cord in the other :)
 
ok, thanks. i can use the flash without a cord as i have the wireless flash option with the 7d. what kind of flash would work best? direct or bounce?
 
MT24's are for Macro work, if you're looking to do anything bigger (Portraits) then you need something bigger.

There was a thread in Talk Lighting recently.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=209847

I use and Orbis Ringflash adaptor (loses about a stop) so I can switch between different bodies. I also have the bracket to bolt it to the camera. Can use TTL via cable, or just fire it in manual with a Radio trigger or Sync Cable.

Turns out Damien Lovegrove uses one too

http://www.prophotonut.com/2010/03/25/shooting-weddings-workshop-3200-iso-orbis-and-full-exif
 
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Scarecrow said:
Sorry, I saw the thread title and thought it was about the aftermath of hot curries. :bonk:
Click to expand...

The so-called 'flag of Japan' effect?
 
You have 3 decent options.
1) dedicated ring flash - full control of lighting ratios, but v. expensive and relatively low powered. Get one if you are primarily doing macro work.
2) Flash adapters - same ringflash effect and very cheap (both original and ebay versions). You lose some light, but 430EX has more than plenty power for closeups. That's what I use and can't complain.
3) Lightstand, external 430EX and softbox / umbrealla setup. This gives perhaps the most control, but is the most time consuming and cumbersome.

Handholding flash won't get you very far I am afraid. I've tried it with somewhat limited success.
 
daugirdas said:
You have 3 decent options.
1) dedicated ring flash - full control of lighting ratios, but v. expensive and relatively low powered. Get one if you are primarily doing macro work.
2) Flash adapters - same ringflash effect and very cheap (both original and ebay versions). You lose some light, but 430EX has more than plenty power for closeups. That's what I use and can't complain.
3) Lightstand, external 430EX and softbox / umbrealla setup. This gives perhaps the most control, but is the most time consuming and cumbersome.

Handholding flash won't get you very far I am afraid. I've tried it with somewhat limited success.
Click to expand...

:thumbs: I gaffer tape the top part of mine to even-up the lighting...
 
Tractor Boy said:
I was looking at these the other night for my D300. It appears that they are a number of LED's and don't flsah but give a constant light source. I don't know if they are any good or not but will watch with interest :thumbs:
Click to expand...

I made my own:

P6079705.jpg


P6079707.jpg


It was made from the base of a CDR stack holder, a flash bracket, gaffer tape and 27 10mm 140mcd LEDs....

Works okay...
 
Tractor Boy said:
I was looking at these the other night for my D300. It appears that they are a number of LED's and don't flsah but give a constant light source. I don't know if they are any good or not but will watch with interest :thumbs:
Click to expand...
i believe they do flash as well as give adjustable light for creating shadows too
 
ive just bought a CoCo (rayflashalike) and a Marumi Macro ringflash, i will review both ...
 
AndyElliott said:
I made my own:

P6079705.jpg


P6079707.jpg


It was made from the base of a CDR stack holder, a flash bracket, gaffer tape and 27 10mm 140mcd LEDs....

Works okay...
Click to expand...

That looks fab :thumbs: Where do you get the LED's from :shrug:
 
I bought a large bag off ebay - 50 LEDs for a tenner!

They are quite bluish white, but they give quite a wide spectrum. I improved matters with a circle of straw-coloured acetate to warm it up - the result is pretty good. I notice since I made it, you can now buy 'warm' white LEDs. I would be tempted to make a ring with alternate regular and warm white LEDs to give a wide spectrum and reasonable white balance.

Andy
 
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