Even if you don’t have aspirations of making it big on YouTube, ring lights also come into their own in the new world of increased home working. Indeed, pair them with the best webcams and your home setup will instantly look more professional – vital for making the best impression when on an important video conference!
They haven’t skimped on build quality either, unlike a lot of ring lights, the Razer feels very sturdy and reliable. It’s a fantastic 12-inch ring light perfect for video conferencing, vlogging or streaming and you won’t be disappointed with your purchase.
Lume Cube Wireless Light The best portable ring light packs a powerful punch Specifications Color temperature: 3200-5600K Power source: Li-Ion batteries, mains Dimensions: 18 inches TODAY’S BEST DEALS Prime View at Amazon View at Walmart View at Moment Reasons to buy + Mains or 90 minutes of wireless power + LED readout for settings + 6.5-foot light stand included Reasons to avoid – Pricier than rivals If you’re looking for a ring light to shoot flat lays or unboxing videos, we’re not convinced the plastic mounting bracket is the best but if you’re using it in a normal upright position, look no further. It’s on the smaller side for a ring light, but still a perfectly good size for self-taping, vlogging, TikToks and other quick and easy uses. It plugs in via USB, and comes with a 54-inch tripod, meaning it’s very easy to get started the instant you take the Neewer 10-inch LED Ring Light out of its box.
But the Neewer 10-inch LED Ring Light is an all-around solid choice that will suit the vast majority of users perfectly, and that’s why it nabs our top spot. ESDDI PLV-R432 18-inch Ring Light Best ring light for YouTube – big, bright and bicolor Specifications Color temperature: 3000K-6500K Power source: Mains power Dimensions: 458mm outer dia / 318mm inner dia TODAY’S BEST DEALS View at Walmart Check Amazon Reasons to buy + 18-inch diameter with 48W power + Includes light stand, case, phone clip Reasons to avoid – Requires lots of space – Phone holder isn’t great
Its sheer size makes it perfect for beauty and makeup work, too, giving you plenty of room and abundant light. Prominent dials adjust brightness and temperature, and the light can even rotate 180°, making it useful for shooting flat lays or macro work.
For example, it delivers a massive 1,840 lux at a distance of 3 feet which makes it perfect as a key or fill light for both stills and videos. Rotolight Ultimate Vlogging Kit Best ring light for streaming with a smartphone Specifications Color temperature: 6300K, 5600K, 4100K, 3200K (using filters) Power source: 3x AA batteries Dimensions: 130mm outer dia / 38mm inner dia Weight: 170g TODAY’S BEST DEALS Prime View at Amazon Low Stock View at Walmart View at BHPhoto Reasons to buy + 80W equivalent power + Ultra compact + Includes filters to adjust temp Reasons to avoid – Changing filters is fiddly Now it’s back in an all-in-one kit, which also includes a Rotolight mini tripod, stand adapter, phone clip and accessory bar – making it the perfect partner for a tabletop smartphone setup.
The Neo 2 is a bit heavy and unwieldy for the hotshoe, but this smaller model is just the right size (though this kit doesn’t include a foot for the shoe), and the hole in the middle is perfect to poke a microphone through! While it’s the largest ring light on offer here, with 44W of dimmable output from 352 LEDs, it doesn’t have quite as much power or temperature range as ESDDI’s 18-inch 48W model. Also bundled are a 6’5″ light stand, ball head adapter and vertical / horizontal phone holder, wireless remote and carry case. The ESDDI 10-inch ring light is Ideal for smartphone shooters, with a two-way grip that holds your handset both horizontally and vertically, along with a Bluetooth remote for stills and video. They’re great for taking on nights out so you can capture well-lit selfies, on holiday or even when travelling away from home so that you can Facetime loved ones no matter how much light is around you.
Smoovie Flexi Selfie Ring Light Best mount-anywhere ring light that can also hold your phone Specifications Color temperature: (Three white light settings) Power source: USB Dimensions: 6-inch TODAY’S BEST DEALS Check Amazon Reasons to buy + Flexible clip arm mounts anywhere + Second flexi arm can hold smartphone + 3 tone settings & adjustable brightness + USB powered Reasons to avoid – Less color temp control
Ring Lights are fantastic but, unless you’re sitting at a desk or table, you might struggle to find a surface or enough space to erect a tripod.
The clip also has a second flexible arm that can hold your camera phone, so this can either be used strictly as an adaptable ring light or as a dedicated smartphone setup.
The 2 Best Ring Lights 2021
If you’re a streamer, a vlogger, or someone who’s on video calls a lot for work, good lighting is essential. A ring light is a simple tool whose diffuse glow can bring you out of the dark and make you look more professional. Unlike many ring lights, which can draw power from a laptop’s USB port, this Neewer model requires an outlet to work. The stand’s flat, fold-out feet make the light easy to position behind a monitor.
Best Ring Light of 2021
Extremely bright Digital readout Battery-powered option Easily mounts DSLR + phones Stepless dimmer Fully adjustable via remote Quite large (though it’s lighter than the other large options) Batteries not included Having the ability to set your ring light to an exact brightness and temperature every time you use it allows for a level of standardization you wouldn’t otherwise have. The second useful feature this ring light offers is its two high-capacity batteries (sold separately), which allow for stress-free outdoor shooting.
The Neewer Digital is also extremely bright, feels well-made, comes with a nice carry-bag, and has various attachment points for both DSLRs and phones.
The UBeesize 10″ Table Top is a well-designed and easy-to-use ring light at an amicable price. Unlike many cheap ball joint tripods, this one actually stays put once you tighten it in place, so you don’t have to worry about it dumping your phone or expensive camera.
Its simple design and easily adjustable leg height allow for a speedy 10-second setup, while its size is conducive to tabletop photo shoots and traveling. Whenever we needed a small tripod for our DSLR, we reached for this one because it’s generally easy to use, and the stability is trustworthy. On the downside, we wish the phone mount worked a bit more seamlessly with chunky Otterbox cases.
Additionally, this smaller ring light is a fraction of the price of some of the others in our test suite and, as a result, simply does not provide the brightness that larger, more expensive options do. This is a great option if you want to be small and simple while on the move, all at an unbeatable price point. This ball joint on the UBeesize 10″ Table Top is textured and grips well when it’s tightened Credit: Richard Forbes
Extremely bright Well made Can mount a DSLR Stepless dimmer Large and bulky Requires AC plug-in This strong LED ring light is sure to brighten up any photo set to your liking and will create great catchlights in your subjects’ eyes.
The solid tripod holds a heavy (five-ish lbs) DSLR set up well, and we’re confident that it can handle more. Additionally, we like its stepless dimmer, which lets you set the exact level of brightness you want.
As a result, you’ll need to have access to an outlet, but if you’re looking to buy a larger light without all the bells and whistles, this one is a great choice. Includes a useful tripod with a level Very versatile Slightly dimmer than competitors Heaviest USB light
There’s a separate carry bag for the tripod, and it includes an easy-to-use remote trigger for your phone as well. It also features the same phone holder as the UBeesize 10″ Tabletop, which is easy to twist to whatever angle you want. Lets you choose from an almost infinite number of colors Heavier duty tripod than competitors Very lightweight Even on brightest setting, it’s slightly dimmer than similarly-sized lights Light control can be finicky until you figure it out Won’t work with a DSLR – you’ll need a separate tripod
If you like artsy color options, the Lavkow is a great choice at a fair price.
We recommend this model if you don’t have much desk/storage space or plan to travel a lot with your setup and want to keep it small and low weight. However, since ring lights are generally placed around the camera lens you’re using, the double tripod arrangement makes lining things up a bit tricky to achieve the desired effect.
Still, if a tiny and portable setup is what you need, this one is a decent choice, but keep in mind that a ring light should be larger for an optimal effect. Richard is joined by Hayley Thomas, a lover of photography since she was a child, growing up with her photographer mother.
We played with each light’s different features, timed setups and breakdowns to assess ease of use, and monitored stability by attaching our phones and cameras to each product. They provide a kind and diffused light that removes shadows and helps subjects stand out from their backgrounds.
Our expert testers subjected each product to a series of rigorous tests designed to reveal any strengths or weaknesses then sorted the results into four weighted categories. The Neewer 18″ Bi-Color Digital may be one of the most expensive ring lights we have tested, but it performed extremely well across all of our metrics.
If you are looking for something of the same caliber but don’t need or want to pay for extra features, the Neewer 18″ Kit is a solid runner-up. On the other hand, if you are looking for the bare minimum, the UBeesize 10″ Table Top is a quality option. With the significant cut in price, you forfeit features that the more expensive options offer; however, you still receive a decent quality of light, stellar stability, and good durability. To measure and compare sheer brightness between these often very similar devices, we used the LT300 Light Meter by EXTECH.
When it comes to sheer brightness, the Neewer 18″ Kit wins by a landslide, emitting a whopping 2065 lumens. The Neewer 18″ Bi-Color Digital falls behind at 1393 lumens, which is still extremely impressive compared to the rest of the products in our test suite.
Part of the reason for the out-of-this-world brightness is their size; they both have roughly 25 times the lighting surface area as the tiny Auxiwa Clip-On, which gives them quite the advantage. Big and bright, the Neewer models we tested will help you transform your media presence, from videos to photos to Zoom meetings. However, it would be disingenuous to ignore the obvious issue with a “brightness only” approach — there’s a huge range of sizes in this test, from the enormous 18″ Neewer models to the tiny Auxiwa Clip-On. This 10″ ring light offers 240 lumens and 11 dimmer steps and three different tones ranging from cool to warm. What it lacks in sheer brightness, emitting just 168 lumens, it makes up for with a unique set of light colors. If you’re looking to spice up your selfies and videos with edgy lighting, the Lavkow is a fun option. In the middle of the pack, some lights were unnecessarily fiddly: in particular, the AIXPI 10″ with Tripod took 50 seconds to set up just because the parts didn’t fit together super well. We set up each model, attached the largest camera or phone possible, and then jostled it vigorously to see whether it could stay up.
We also assessed whether each could support a phone or DSLR and whether we felt confident that our electronics were actually going to stay where we put them. Durability is a difficult metric to measure because there’s no way to figure out how long a product might last without literally using it for years. That said, we spent time setting up and breaking down each light repeatedly to identify any weak spots they might have and supplemented our own assessments by reading user reviews to see if there were any common problems. We also weren’t overly gentle with any of the lights, making sure to put them through all the paces that a busy videographer or photographer might.
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