Ringflashes...

[ChrisAdval]

I got tons of questions about them...

I'm looking into the orbis ring flash - Award Winning orbis ringflash ? Create beautiful shadowless photos easily!

and just in general I would like to hear everyone's experience with a ringflash, especially with an orbis ring flash, bad, good, don't matter.

Never used a ring flash share your thoughts about using a ringflash in a portrait?

[sk66]

I wouldn't....
I don't have any experience with that thing, but it's not really well designed for what it's meant to do. I have used a RayFlash (similar gadget) and I wasn't terribly impressed.

I would get a Kacey beauty dish instead



If you want a "shoot thru" type you might consider a RoundFlash
but I have no experience with that one.

Both cost the same/less than that Orbis thing.

[zona5101]

ringflashes are pretty specialized. I do not own one. If it ever makes it to my gear list I'd buy a real ring flash instead of a fiber optic coupler. Alien Bees makes one for not much more that the orbis...
Paul C. Buff - AlienBees ABR800 Ringflash

[IABoomer]

I could see spending $25 or so on a kit like this: DIY Ring Flash DIY Lighting Kits in order to test the concept for your shooting style before dropping far more on a specialized piece of kit like the Orbis.

[Niresangwa]

Yeah I have an Orbis... I was super stoked to get it, but it has very limited use. What it does, it does well, but it's way over-hyped. I was a little disappointed but such is life.

If you want punchy, fairly close up studio portraits, and can afford to drop that much money on it, go right ahead. It's a bit of a bear to use unless you have it mounted with the L-brackets you get as an accessory.. if you're hand holding, it essentially just becomes a barely-diffused, hand-held off-camera flash.

You'll get more mileage out of a beauty dish, which is what I use for 99% of everything I do, either indoors or outdoors.

To be honest, don't buy into the hype. Knowing where you are I"d say don't bother.

[Doug Sundseth]

I don't much like them for key lights, because they're directly on-axis and the light is very flat. But they can work pretty well for a fill light to pull up the light floor without changing the character of the rest of the lights.

[ccting]

Originally Posted by IABoomer

I could see spending $25 or so on a kit like this: DIY Ring Flash DIY Lighting Kits in order to test the concept for your shooting style before dropping far more on a specialized piece of kit like the Orbis.

it is still expensive.I have build ringflash that utilize on-camera flash according to wc's design. Simple and effective.

Ya, i agree with you you are happy with D5000. The higher capacity battery of D5000 is at least 4 times cheaper than low capacity D5100 battery ...;(

A branded beauty dish is only USD 21 which is cheaper than the diy ring flash (ie USD25)

[ChrisAdval]

just thought I'd share a video youtube link about the Orbis Ring Flash - Orbis Ring Flash Kit: Product Reviews: Adorama Photography TV - YouTube

[MindyRaeL]

Have you considered something like Photojojo ring flash adapter? It's better than a cardboard DIY kit, but way more affordable than the Orbis. It might be a good alternative if you're just looking to play around with a ring flash.
I got one for Christmas, and it's a lot of fun to play with. It does eat up about about a stop of light from the flash, though.