Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
B&H has the new Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM lens in stock and now shipping. This is the new macro lens with a built-in macro LED ring light at the end of the lens barrel. It has a maximum 1:1 magnification with a 5.1″ minimum focus distance. Check it out here at B&H Photo.
B&H has the Bolt VM-160 LED Macro Ring Light for $59 (reg. $109) as its Deal Zone deal for today only.
Check it out while it lasts here at B&H Photo.
ExpoImaging has released the Ray Flash 2 ring light for speedlights. The Ray Flash 2 offers a more compact design and comes in 2 sizes for taller and shorter DSLR bodies. The larger sized Ray Flash fits cameras like the Canon 60D, 7D 5D Mark III, Nikon D7000, D800, D4 and such, while the smaller Ray Flash 2 model fits Canon Rebel and Nikon D3200 sized cameras. There’s a more complete list on ExpoImaging’s website.
The new ring light adapter is made with a universal speedlight mount and features adjustable height. The center column of the Ray Flash 2 slides up and down to accommodate variations in camera and speedlight heights.
The Ray Flash 2 retails for $139.95 and is available here at B&H Photo.
Adorama has announced a new Flashpoint 14″ dimmable ring light for $99.95. It features an 80-watt circular fluorescent bulb and is daylight balanced at a temperature of 5600K.
Thanks to the higher lumens-per-watt produced by fluorescent bulbs, the 80-watt ring light offers roughly the equivalent light output that you would get from a 320-watt tungsten fixture.
More details here at Adorama.
ExpoImaging recently dropped the price of its $300 Ray Flash to $200. It’s a pretty cool device if you haven’t seen it before (although I have yet to get my hands on one). Basically, it attaches to your on-camera flash and allows to you keep both hands on your camera and lens while you get the benefit of a lightweight ring flash. The Ray Flash is supposed to be pretty efficient with the light from your on-camera flash, so you don’t lose as much light as I do with my DIY Ring Flash.
David Hobby over at Strobist is pretty impressed with it, and so is Scott Kelby. Although, it’s gotten some mixed reviews among purchasers over at B&H Photo.
Check out the press release below for further details. [Read more…]
The DIY Ringflash (as opposed to the $910 Bowens Ringflash) is really creating a stir on the internet nowadays. I’m officially on the band wagon now. I invested about $5.00 on a trip to Wal-Mart the other night for a disposable casserole pan, 1 yard of white fabric and a plastic measuring cup. After about an hour or so of tinkering around while my wife watched Flip That House, I had a pretty effective little ringflash. It was inspired by Tanya Shields’ cheap DIY ringflash that I read about on Strobist last week.
If you’ll click on the photos, you can see my notes that I placed on them via Flickr.
I can’t say that there’s really anything unique about my setup; however, here’s the details:
Steps
If you’re into this kind of stuff, consider these other DIY rightlight resources: