Ray Flash: The Ring Flash Adapter
If you are getting into flash photography and are having a hard time trying to get that nice light that smooths harsh shadow and makes for a nice portrait, and you do not have a spare small fortune to spend on studio style lights, check out the RAY RINGFLASH adapter from EXPOIMAGING.
What they say : The Expoimaging Ring Flash Adapter (U.S. and international patents pending) is a unique adapter for your hot-shoe flash unit designed to replicate the lighting effect produced by traditional, expensive, and heavy powered studio ring light units.
The Ray Flash is portable and lightweight, and has been designed to take advantage of a camera’s TTL metering capabilities. Because the Ray Flash relies on the hot-shoe flash to generate its light, it contains no electronics, no flash tubes and requires no cumbersome cables. The light distribution is accomplished through a sophisticated system of internal light-shapers designed to distribute and project the light evenly around the lens.
The Ray Flash creates the distinctive ring light effect: a three-dimensional shadow-wrapped look around the subject. Because ring flash light originates from a circle around the lens, it produces a virtually shadowless look on the front of your subject, while producing a soft even shadow around the edges. The versatile Ray Flash is ideally suited for fashion, wedding, portrait, journalist and macro photography as either a main or fill light.
What I concluded…
It’s a real challenge for someone like me to take a nice portrait of someone, I am generally fairly nervous and usually pretty critical of my photos, so when a product comes along that I can use to help me light a photo and make it look better, then I’m always happy to give it a try! The RAY FLASH is, comparatively, an inexpensive ring light that can be used with your existing flash unit* I tested the Ray Flash with the Canon 580 EX II with some fairly cool results…
In this photo you see Nathan as photographed with the Canon 580EXII without Ray Flash attached.. (I think there may be something wrong with his eyebrow?!)
No Ray Flash used here
…and In this photo, the Ray Flash is attached to the front of my Flash unit, producing a nice even wrap around style of light with less of the harsh shadowy effect than that in the image above. (and his eyebrow has been fixed!)
And, with the Ray Flash attached...
I can get good results from a regular flash gun, depending upon what I’m after, but if I want something a little softer with some nice catch lights, I think that the Ray Flash is the way forward (So much so that I now have my own!) The light is called a “Ring light” because it is just that, you can see in the image below how it circles the lens which is how it produces the nice even light across the subjects face, whereas the standard strobe is coming from just one direction and can produce a lot of shadow if used badly.
On the left is the 580EX II flash on its own, on the right you can see the same flash, but with the Ray Flash attached.
It’s an easy to use device in that it slides right over the end of your flash and attaches in place with the simple turn of one fastener on the top of the unit, the *Ray Flash comes in sizes to suite two different flash models, the Canon 580EX (I & II) and the Nikon SB800 (and 900)
Ray Flash retails for$199.95 on Amazon or can be purchased locally through various retail outlets.
I only had one minor flaw with the Ray Flash and that was that if I am shooting in darker conditions and relying upon the 580EXII for autofocus, the Ray Flash blocks the beam coming from the flash used to focus, I only ran into this problem once or twice and I guess it made me stop being lazy and manually focus anyway… I give the Ray Flash 4 / 5 stars.
Get the Expoimaging Ring Flash Adapter at Amazon.
Sime
Tags: Ray Flash
42 Responses to “Ray Flash: The Ring Flash Adapter” - Add Yours
March 18th, 2009 at 12:44 am
There’s some cheaper versions out there, for the more budget minded people :) I don’t want to post here like spam, but if anyone is interested in hearing about them, contact me.
March 18th, 2009 at 12:48 am
Susie… Why don’t you email me your list of cheaper ones….
simon@digital-photography-shcool.com
Thanks,
Sime
March 18th, 2009 at 1:31 am
I like the effect if gives and the catch light in the eyes. Would this work with a Sigma flash too?
March 18th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Hi Tyler,
It’s only available for the Canon and the Nikon flash units at the moment – I will try to find out when it will be available for others and get back to you.
Sime
March 18th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Good post Sime!
I’m looking into getting a ring flash this summer…. your review helped me along in my choice process. :)
March 18th, 2009 at 1:53 am
Not sure I understand the advantage of the Ray Flash over a fairly decent ring flash. If it’s money you’re concerned about, Phoenix makes some nice TTL ring flashes in the sub-$150 range. They certainly aren’t professional quality, but they are quite impressive. I have not used the Ray Flash, but I can’t imagine the quality of light would be much better.
March 18th, 2009 at 1:58 am
And if you want a super cheap ring flash you can always use this DIY from lifehacker.
http://lifehacker.com/5148948/diy-fiber-optic-ring-flash
March 18th, 2009 at 2:33 am
Hey D Travis,
I think the main advantage I see is that it’s not an actual flash unit. It’s just an adapter, so there’s no risk of frying your hot shoe, like there is with some lower end flash units. I’m not saying Phoenix is one of those brands, but without much info, that I see, I can see why amateur photographers would be apprehensive about buying those types of flashes. Just my honest opinion. But I have to say, those Phoenix flashes look pretty good to me. :)
March 18th, 2009 at 3:35 am
Just by way of reply to a couple of you guys…. (Yes, more research) please note that ExpoImaging are just the Distributor in the US, not the Manufacturer…
1. Regarding the less expensive Phoenix type ring flash products on the market. They typically produce much less light than what is generated by your average flashgun, and their size restricts them for use with relatively small lenses. Both of these factors make them better suited for macro photography than for any portrait work. In other words, they are less powerful and less versatile than the Ray Flash.
2. If the first comment from Susie is referring to the Chinese knock-offs, then I think David Hobby of Strobist said it best. The inventor (Dalibor) is from the Czech Republic, and he has filed for patents internationally, including the EU and the U.S. But then this is always a very difficult issue for manufacturers to address.
3. The Ray Flash actually fits many other manufacturer’s brand flash guns, including Sony, Metz, Olympus, etc. We haven’t tested them all, but we do supply a small, black rubber wedge that can be used to help secure the Ray Flash over a smaller flash head.
I hope this helps guys… please do fire any questions you have right on at me
Sime
March 18th, 2009 at 3:35 am
You could have a got a better looking model surely?!
March 18th, 2009 at 3:37 am
@bigcrustyape *Yes, Nathan, you!*
“There ain’t nobody better!”
Thanks, Model….
Sime
March 18th, 2009 at 3:51 am
ok, so now I’m thinking i might go with the ray flash adapter after all. Lol :) I don’t like cheap knock offs.
March 18th, 2009 at 5:00 am
The ray flash is good – but I found the Orbis to be better as far as a more even lighting of the subject and allowing the flash unit to still focus. Plus it’s about $40 cheaper.
March 18th, 2009 at 5:21 am
Love the idea of this. Does it do anything to inhibit the sb-800s control over off camera flashes? For example, I use an sb-800 on my 200, that controls 3 sb-600s.
March 18th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Also watch the amount of light lost. According to what I have seen, the Ray product was about a stop better than the cheaper one.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
W.Rackley – I don’t use Nikon so I’m not sure, but I would almost bet that the answer is “No, it doesn’t fault the use of Nikon CLS”
from another website “Perhaps the biggest advantage to the Ray Flash is the fact that it works full TTL with your flash. The flash did all of its normal TTL calculations and was still able to work as a Nikon CLS commander”
March 18th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Just did my research on the Orbis and the Phoenix and one of the main differences I saw was that you have to hold the Orbis with your other hand! The Rayflash attaches to your flash and sits around your lens with no hand holding. I like that idea much better. Although I suppose if you are auto focusing in low light constantly then the Orbis will allow you to easily perform that operation (and let the focus light find its mark) while moving the flash in and out of the way.
However, if you don’t already have a hotshoe extension cord you will need to get one for the Orbis so that makes the price difference a touch closer.
The Phoenix is really for macro photography, is much cheaper and according to many of the reviews I have read about what you would expect for the price.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Wouldn’t the same effect be achieved with a piece of tissue paper like Kleenex if you want to go really cheap or a piece of tracing paper over the flash head?
That should diffuse the light thereby getting rid of the ugly shadows…
Not being a professional photographer or owning a DSLR, but having used a standard SLR earlier, I think that should work. It used to for SLRs…
March 19th, 2009 at 5:59 am
I have one of the cheeper one’s, to be honest thay dont just make them for nikon/canon, all you have to know is the distance between the center of the flash and the center of the lens.
On my gx10 and sigma dg530 super it was 170cm.. so i orderd the one that fits that description. I got mine from an eBay Shop called “Max-dcxcess store” and very happy with the transaction.
The cheeper one has around 1 stop less light than the origonal but at 1/4 of the price.. and with me not having lots of cash… it was easy to see why i got it. If i oneday make lots of cash from photography ill by the origonal just to say thanks to the designer :)
A photo i took of my parrot with it..
http://file046a.bebo.com/15/large/2009/02/23/09/4660781011a10175157658l.jpg
March 19th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Hey Paul, that’s a sweet pic! :) thanks for sharing that.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
no problem :), was testing the ringflash and my da* 50-135 :D. Shes my goto model haha :D
March 20th, 2009 at 3:20 am
Has anyone tried this gizmo with macro photography? The Canon option (Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX) is about $750! And their dual light is even more!
March 20th, 2009 at 4:55 am
@ Paul Monaghan : “A photo i took of my parrot with it..”
How many crackers did your parrot demand for that shoot?
Btw, making a beauty dish in lieu of a ringflash which gets just as nice of an effect but at *much* less cost.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:03 am
Also worth mentioning (why wasn’t this mentioned in the original article?) is the Orbis ring flash, which is a direct competitor to the Ray Flash. Though their site says it’s $199, i read recently they were able to get a better deal with one of their suppliers and will be selling it at a cheaper price… not sure why their old price is still up but… check out the samples on their site… impressive! http://www.orbisflash.com/
Still $200 is a bit much for a ringflash when you can get actual ringflashes for a little bit more on ebay or if you have about $200 more, get a monster ringflash from Alien Bee.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:22 am
Hey there Norton Orton…. The reason it wasn’t mentioned is because I’m reviewing it next.
:-)
Sime
March 20th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Is the Bilora TTL ring flash D 140 any good???
I have seen a few on eBay and they are well priced at 116 GBP or thereabouts.
Cheers,
Ant
March 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Norton Orton i was gonna make my own, but when i could get one from ebay for £50 i figured if be best just to do that. Its quite slim and slides down the side of my makeshift camera bag atm (its an old camcorder bag.. has a little compartment at the bottom i can use to hold my kit lens n primes to!)
March 20th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Was just thinking… I’d love to see some shots taken with all the different ones you guys have – post some links here!
Sime
March 20th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Sime, mine just looks like yours.. but with a diff lable on the top end (its a copy basicly). One thing that buggs me tho is there is light loss around were the lable is (it lights up when u flash) i might mod mine and fit a mirror in there (its at the angle) wich could make it slighty better :D.
Anyway as for macro.. these things would be great as you still have FULL ttl metering (p-ttl in my case). While i havent tryed mine yet in this setting i could only imagen good things given that it will give you a nice even light spread around your subject.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
anthony f – I’ve not had the pleasure of using that one!…
March 21st, 2009 at 6:19 am
http://ryusen.smugmug.com/photos/494582065_CGafN-M.jpg
is a pic i took with the rayflash on a 580 slave about 1 foot from the model’s face
the AF blocking limitation really sucks for me because i have bad vision and manual focus is almost impossible. Other than that (and that they dropped the price by $100 since i bought it), i love the unit.
March 21st, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Paul Monaghan wrote: “I have one of the cheeper one’s, to be honest thay dont just make them for nikon/canon, all you have to know is the distance between the center of the flash and the center of the lens.”
Not quite. Some flashes have an odd shape. For example, the Canon 580EX II head is shaped differently from the 580EX, so there are separate models of the RayFlash. However, according to the distributor, the RayFlash should come with shims that will help fit it to a particular flash head. If any of those involve putting velcro on the flash, I won’t be getting one. The various devices that use velcro often require that it be in different places and what one puts on for one device can seriously interfere with using another (e.g., the 1. Better Beamer).
Re: Cheap Ringflashs:
1. These are low output devices. Most have a Guide Number of 46-49 ft at ISO 100. Compare that to a Canon 580EX II, for example, which can have a GN of 190 ft (at 105mm zoom; at 50mm, it’s about 138 ft). The Rayflash suppposedly loses 1.5-2 EV (stops), so the GN would be 69-82 ft, i.e, up to 1-2/3 stops higher.
2. They are designed to fit on the filter threads of a lens (mostly macro lenses). You would need adapters for each size lens you use. Few can be used on lenses with filter sizes larger than 67mm. Some brands have two models, one for smaller lenses, another for larger filter sizes. The adapters may be extra cost. They can put considerable stress on the filter threads, though most of the weight of the better ones is in the part that attaches to the hot shoe.
3. Some do provide TTL functions, though there’s no guarantee of how well they work. You might be better off sticking with at least a Sigma EM-140 ($314), if not the Canon or Nikon flash. The Rayflash retains all TTL functions.
4. The cheap models typically do NOT have these features that the Sigma EM-140 and at least the Canon MR-14E have:
- Modeling light
- “Vari-Power” (manual power settings)
- Wireless connection to compatible TTL flashes.
The Rayflash would have the first, but may not have the last, as it blocks the IR light/sensor on the flash.
March 21st, 2009 at 6:14 pm
One more thing: the Rayflash may not be all that great for macro photography. It looks like it would be well behind the front of the lens. Thus, it might not be able to illuminate an object close to the lens.
March 21st, 2009 at 8:43 pm
In the second sample portrait posted there is severe vignetting — is this due to light falloff from the ringflashflash or is it lens or creative vignetting?
Also, how is the guide number affected by the ring-flash add-on — how many stops are lost by using the ringflash compared to the naked flash?
I own one of the low-priced dedicated ringflashes and it’s really underpowered for anything other than macro — portraits or fashion are out of the question!
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:35 am
http://3gpy4a.bay.livefilestore.com/y1psMoyiVFr6vk-gS-Ug2eQ01cnbHviia3lQoMHPLVmozrKXXHsm4-SbpMURk1Ue6TULEI9WMmXG5Q/SG105741.jpg
a quick photo i took using my rayflash copy (just says ringflash on it).. there was a worklight to the right to light up the merchendise as it was quite dim there.
The copy has a diff mounting system than the real rayflash (the real one wont fit on a pentax flash). It slides over and uses a velcro strap to tighten it onto the flash (you dont put veclro on the flash). So it will fit more flash’s.
Havent tryed it for macro yet as i dont have a dedictaed lens but a raynox adaptor wich works nice on my 50-200mm). as for how far behind the lens it would be.. well it seems a nice fit on my combo but even if it wasnt i could just hand hold it and use my sigma 530 dg super in wireless mode (i still keep p-ttl) this also opens up new ways to light things with the ringflash to :D
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:30 pm
George… Indeed, with the Canon 100mm macro, it’s well behind the front, but if you were using the 60mm ef-s it’d be just fine – I use the canon example as that’s what I know.
Graeme – Sorry! It’s “creative vignetting” I know I shouldn’t have, but I needed to do something to detract the viewer from just how tired Nathan was! Apologies.
Paul – thanks for sharing!
Sime
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 am
I have a few sites I go to, but the quality is always the best here!
April 7th, 2009 at 12:18 am
http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?p=459302#post459302
2 shots i took with my ringflash (rayflash copy), used OFF camera… just wanted to share :)
May 6th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
this is sweet….i love reading about products that assist with flash photography especially when the flash is still on the cam , i cant afford off camera flash just yet ….
May 29th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Hey….does the Ray Flash fit on the SB600 at all?
May 29th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Can the Ray Flash be “adapted” to fit on the SB600?
May 29th, 2009 at 3:48 am
tara: Check the Ray Flash FAQ. I’ve found it useful to check a manufacturer’s site for specific information. They also usually have support email addresses if you can’t find the information on the site.
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