Long used by professional portrait and macro photographers as well as makeup artists, and perfect for selfies, streaming, vlogging and most photo and video tasks, they have become favorites of social media influencers and content creators of all kinds. But you don’t have to be a top Twitch streamer or overnight TikTok sensation to appreciate being cast in a better light on Zoom calls — they’re also the perfect addition to work-from-home office setups. The convenient clip mounting fits on your phone or laptop, and won’t scratch your screen. It brings it all together at an affordable price point, making it a clear winner among the ring lights we tested.
This flexibility gave the EMart major bonus points, as it was the only ring light we tested that peeked above laptop height even at its lowest setting. But what, er, shone brightest during our tests was the flattering light cast by the EMart, which came across as natural sunlight in both portraits and selfies.
In photos taken during both day and night, the lighting gave us high-quality images, highlighting everything it was supposed to without producing distracting shadows. One of them is quite handy, clipping onto the thinnest part of the tripod stand with a small metal clasp that wraps around the pole; it can hold your phone vertically or horizontally.
This isn’t a deal breaker since the other phone holder gives you plenty of options, but it is annoying nonetheless.
Whether you’re using this light for a professional appearance in virtual meetings or for fun and creative content making, this is a great option.
The Whellen Selfie Ring Light is extremely lightweight and small, so it easily fits in pockets, purses, backpacks — you name it. We stuffed it in a purse while grocery shopping, and even with keys, a phone, a wallet and some spare change around it, the light didn’t so much as get scratched.
The Whellen’s clip has rubber padding on the reverse side to prevent it from scratching your screen. Once the light is at its dimmest, you can click and hold the top button again for it to come back to brighter levels until you reach the brightest setting.
While on par with the entire field (almost all averaged the same life span), the included USB charging cable is only 10 inches long.
We then established parameters to test, looking in particular at brightness, color options and results in photos and videos.
Portable lights were carried in purses while running errands and checked for scratches or cracks. This is a bright LED light that has a cold shoe mount for a camera, a tripod mount and a magnetic back to attach to other surfaces, but it isn’t easily usable with a phone, and you’ll have to supply a small tripod to use it with a laptop.
The photos we took with this light seemed to have a white film over them that made them look unnatural or poorly edited. Fotodiox Selfie Starlite Vlog Pro Ring Light and Tabletop Set ($99.95; amazon.com)
This is a good desktop option if you’re looking for a ring light to use while applying makeup, while filming videos or during virtual meetings. The tripod included is very short, so it sits at a good height on a desk but doesn’t adjust tall enough for use with a laptop’s built-in camera. The light looked great in photos and worked really well for video calls, but overall was overly bright and distracting during use.
Emart 18-inch Ring Light with Stand, Big Adjustable 3200-5500K LED Lights Ring with Ultra-wide Lighting Area for Camera Photography, YouTube Videos, Makeup (Kit: Phone Holder, Remote, Soft Tube, etc.)
【Kit Included and Warranty】1 x 18 inch LED Ring Light, 1 x Ring Light Stand, 1 x Soft Tube, 1 x Ball Head, 1 x Cell Phone Clip Holder, 1 x Bluetooth Shutter Remote, 1 x IR Remote Control, 1 x Power Adapter / 12 Months warranty for manufacturing defects.
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