Ring Lights?

I am thinking of adding a flash ring unit, but not sure which ones are good.
Would be nice if anyone here has any ideas.

Obviously the R1C1 Nikon system seems to be the best & it is the most expensive too.

If this lens would be purely for macro/product photography, would it make sense to just get a regular flash unit like the SB910 or a ring flash would do better?

Any thoughts welcome

Ring lights aer nice for what you are wanting to do but limited in other uses. A Sb-700 or SB-910 can be used for other things too. With your 7000 you can shoot it off camera and bounce or have a light tent and get very pleasing results. Sometimes a little bit of a nice shadow can be a good thing. Shows detail better.

I like the catch lights in the subjects eyes when using ring lights. I was trying to find the one I was looking at a while back but cant find it now. It just snapped on over a speedlight and you can use it on camera or off camera. Also can be used for macro.

Tracsoft - Don Kuykendall said:

Ring lights aer nice for what you are wanting to do but limited in other uses. A Sb-700 or SB-910 can be used for other things too. With your 7000 you can shoot it off camera and bounce or have a light tent and get very pleasing results. Sometimes a little bit of a nice shadow can be a good thing. Shows detail better.

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Thanks Don.
For sure a SB700/910 is required & i would probably pick that up at a later stage unless of course it would make sense to get that rather than the R1C1 or something similar...

Ring flashes do come in handy for macro work. They provide near shadowless light in most situations. I use my 35 year old Vivitar upon occasion. It will only work out to about 3 feet on automatic, but that is more than enough.

Below is an image I took with it for my macro article. It is intended primarily just as an image for illustration purposes. This image is the center of a decorative cherry tree blossom at about 1.5x magnification on the sensor. I used my D700, PB-6 bellows and 50mm f/1.4 AI Nikkor (reversed) along with a Nikon BR-3 adapter which mounts in the bayonet of the reversed lens and provides some 52mm filter threads so I could screw the ring flash into it. I used the unit in manual as I had to calculate "effective aperture" based on the bellows extension. Notice there are essentially no shadows.

Krs_2007 said:

I like the catch lights in the subjects eyes when using ring lights. I was trying to find the one I was looking at a while back but cant find it now. It just snapped on over a speedlight and you can use it on camera or off camera. Also can be used for macro.

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Is this what you talking about Kevin?
Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1 ringflash

More like this one, but it was from an non-US company and my brain just isnt working. But I actually like the price of this one better.

Orbis Orbis Ring Flash Diffusing Attachment ENLORB1A B&H Photo

There are so many options, but I like this idea of this and its referred to as a light modifier and not really a flash.

I think any ring light could achieve the look, just depends on how much you want to spend.

the metz mecablitz ms-1 is not a true ring flash. it is a compact dual flash unit for macro. being self contained it has it own internal power supply and probably works just as well as the r1c1 system without the extra bulk.
i have one for use with the d7000 and found it to be a good performer. well worth the asking price.
​if you shop around you could get the metz and a sb700 together for the price of the r1c1.

WhiteLight said:

If this lens would be purely for macro/product photography, would it make sense to just get a regular flash unit like the SB910 or a ring flash would do better?

Any thoughts welcome

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[wince]

Ring lights may have advantages, but pleasing lighting is not one of them. They are merely a convenient way to get on-the-lens-axis very even light over the scene (i.e., abysmally flat lighting). Dull, uninteresting.

This could be good in some scientific uses, where the sole purpose is to show everything clinically and well, but proper photographic lighting needs a few shadows. Not harsh dark shadows, but soft gradient tones are extremely pleasant, and these gradient shading tones show the shape of the subjects curves, etc. Shadows are created by off-camera lighting angles, and soft lighting is caused by large lights. Like umbrellas for a studio portrait, etc. This is the basis of "lighting". Pleasant lighting.

You could use that studio umbrella for macro, at least in a fixed situation. It still offers the same advantages. Here is an example: Four Flash Photography Basics we must know - Soft Light

But... macro work is very close, and close makes large. It is relative, so a 2 inch flash head at 6 inches is as "large" as a 2 foot light at 6 feet. It is easy to make it larger than 2 inches though.

So for a regular speedlight on the hot shoe, just aim it sideways into a small white reflector board (a foot or two size, and close, maybe a foot or so from the flash), which reflects soft off-camera light onto the little macro subject (try to prevent direct flash from hitting the subject - watch the shadows). A fixed setting could use a close reflector on both sides, with the flash aimed at one of them (and the other is fill).
Or put a white paper sack or cloth over the flash head so the light is effectively several inches larger (and camera close). A speedlight is probably six inches above the lens (off-camera above, esp to a six inch subject distance). Inefficient of flash power, most light may miss the subject, but at macro distances, it is of no importance. What does get there is plenty.

Anyway, the subject is lighting, and a ring light is NOT a universal answer.

Just one opinion.

And of course, the speedlight can be used for very many other uses too.

Appreciate the info Wayne.
And a very interesting website! Thanks for that.. i am still taking baby steps about 'lighting' in general..
so will be poring over your write ups in your blog!

One of these might be good if your handy, Then you only have one to buy...

DIY DSLR Ring-Flash part 1 of 2 - YouTube

I was a Yashica Dealer for many years. We sold a camera called the Yashica Dental-Eye camera. The ring light was built into the lens and the batteries were in what looks like the motor drive. Odd little camera but was fun to play with,

Tracsoft - Don Kuykendall said:

I was a Yashica Dealer for many years. We sold a camera called the Yashica Dental-Eye camera. The ring light was built into the lens and the batteries were in what looks like the motor drive. Odd little camera but was fun to play with,

View attachment 42468

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Is that a flash or led Don ?
Usually dental and similar flashes are leds which means a constant light supply and not necessary flash?

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WhiteLight said:

Is that a flash or led Don ?
Usually dental and similar flashes are leds which means a constant light supply and not necessary flash?

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk 2

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There were no LEDs when this was around. All flash with a constant light for focus. We are talking over 20 years ago.

http://theanalogphotographer.blogspot.com/2012/09/cameras-of-yesteryear-yashica-dental-eye.html

WayneF said:

[wince]

Ring lights may have advantages, but pleasing lighting is not one of them. They are merely a convenient way to get on-the-lens-axis very even light over the scene (i.e., abysmally flat lighting). Dull, uninteresting.

Click to expand...

I agree which is why I like the Nikon R1/R1C1. The R1/R1C1 is not a ring flash; it's a macro lighting kit that includes 2 small flashes that can be placed on a ring mounted on the front of the lens. The 2 flashes can be positioned anywhere you want and can also vary in power for ratio control which results in more pleasing lighting than a typical ring light. The R1C1 includes the SU-800 Commander while the R1 kit does not. You do not need the SU-800 if your camera supports Commander mode.

I agree which is why I like the Nikon R1/R1C1. The R1/R1C1 is not a ring flash; it's a macro lighting kit that includes 2 small flashes that can be placed on a ring mounted on the front of the lens. The 2 flashes can be positioned anywhere you want and can also vary in power for ratio control which results in more pleasing lighting than a typical ring light. The R1C1 includes the SU-800 Commander while the R1 kit does not. You do not need the SU-800 if your camera supports Commander mode.

​

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Do you have the R1C1 kit jwstl?
would be great to know how it performs

WhiteLight said:

Do you have the R1C1 kit jwstl?
would be great to know how it performs

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I recently found a "used" R1 at the local camera shop for a decent price. I didn't need the SU-800 because I can use the popup flash in Commander mode on my D7000 and D800. I say used because most of the attachments were still in the wrapping. And so far I love it. It's a little bulky with 2 small flashes sticking out of the lens but having the ability to set ratios and position the flashes where I want is invaluable. It also comes with a number of attachments as well as a rings for various filter sizes. It's an outstanding kit.

jwstl said:

I recently found a "used" R1 at the local camera shop for a decent price. I didn't need the SU-800 because I can use the popup flash in Commander mode on my D7000 and D800. I say used because most of the attachments were still in the wrapping. And so far I love it. It's a little bulky with 2 small flashes sticking out of the lens but having the ability to set ratios and position the flashes where I want is invaluable. It also comes with a number of attachments as well as a rings for various filter sizes. It's an outstanding kit.

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So the only difference is the su 800 right? All other accessories provided are the same am guessing including flash gels and stuff

On camera commander can only control 2 flashes where as the r1c1 allows you to control more slaves?

Am thinking if it would make sense to get the r1c1 and be future proof..
Not sure if that's the right way forward

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WhiteLight said:

So the only difference is the su 800 right? All other accessories provided are the same am guessing including flash gels and stuff

On camera commander can only control 2 flashes where as the r1c1 allows you to control more slaves?

Am thinking if it would make sense to get the r1c1 and be future proof..
Not sure if that's the right way forward

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk 2

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Yes, the only difference is the SU-800.

Did you read that somewhere? Commander can control 2 groups and each group can have multiple flashes. I think more than 2 per group.

The only difference I'm aware of is the SU-800 uses infrared instead of flash to trigger the remote flashes. I'm sure there are other differences but I don't know what they are.


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Whitelight...check this out. Might be what you're looking for.

Macro & Ring Lights | Camera Flashes | Flash & Accessories | Camera Accessories | Linkdelight.com