Jack47 Loc: Ontario

I did get a flash.....a very cheap one. Under $30. It does seem to the the job I wanted though. I have enclosed a couple pics of it on one of my cameras and a couple shots taken in the garden in low light....around dusk.
There is a description below......from Amazon.



Lightdow RF-550D 48 Pieces Macro LED Ring Flash Light with LCD Screen Display for Canon Nikon Sony Pentax Olympus Panasonic DSLR

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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Consider your exposure settings and shooting technique. Being able to add your own artificial light to static subjects, you're now better positioned to shoot at smaller apertures and / or closer to the base ISO of your camera.

Consider your final red tulip, using ISO-500 and 1/500 sec on the shutter. Why not a lower ISO, say all the way down to ISO-100? Are you working in a windy condition, where even 1/250 sec is too slow? All these examples show seemingly unnecessarily fast shutters and unnecessarily higher ISOs. All with the resulting digital grain of an unneeded higher ISO.

agillot

I have something similar , it is not a flash , it is a led ring light . It does work , but does not have the light power output of a real close up flash . What i have is a Amaran HN100 Halo . Tell me if i am wrong .A real flash will cost abt 6 time that .

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

Not sure what you mean. All I know is that it flashes when I click the shutter. The intensity can also be set. There are about 6 settings.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

For these examples in the 500ish ISO range, is this the max power output / setting for the ring light? If no, consider the stronger settings and different camera exposure settings.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've often considered getting a ring light, but I've never seen enough need, and it would spend most of its time in a camera bag. I can see how it is perfect for certain shots, though.

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

That was a mid setting. Still lots of practising to do.

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

I find it helpful in the evenings or if I’m trying to get a shot in the bushes.

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

It says ring flash right on the front. And it does flash, not light up.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

I do a lot of close ups of flowers. It is almost always windy and wind motion is a problem. Usually, 1/250 is a bit slow. I usually use natural light and a tripod so I can easily wait for fleeting moments when the wind is rather still.

Incidentally, I dislike ring lights as the light is flat similar to on camera flash shots. There are a number of setups that provide better lighting. (e.g. dual small flashes on flexible arms, Using a flash off to the side using a chord or RC and a number of diffusers that direct light from the top of the camera to a location above the lens.)

kmielen Loc: Eastern NC

According to the Amazon description, the Lightdow RF-550D has both "flash" and continuous modes. The flash mode is listed as a 1/100 sec exposure. So you probably don't want a camera shutter speed faster than that. At 1/500, I'm surprised you are not getting a few dark frames. Please keep us posted on your learnings... I've been toying with the idea of getting a ring light myself.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I looked up this ring flash and the Guide Number is given as 15. But, in reading a review, it is a lot dimmer than that. Guide Numbers are often based on ISO 100 and would be calculated as: Max Distance = Guide Number / f-stop value. For instance, if using f4, you would have 15/4 = 3.75M max distance.

But the person writing the review in Amazon said that in using his Nikkor 105mm macro lens which can focus at a min distance of 13cm, he said that he could only get good exposure at f8 at ISO 200.

So, he switched to a lens that could do f1.8 and had to go to ISO 2000 to get a correct exposure. But the distance wasn't mentioned.

Then went on to calculate a Guide Number of 0.6 at ISO 100 which is 25 times lower than the specified GN of 15.

Thus, the OP is going to need to keep the ISO up very high to get a proper exposure.

Also, there this flash only offers a high/low open for light intensity. Just 1 stop.

In using a Guide Number calculator, I cannot dial in a Guide Number of 0.6. I think the OP needs to build a chart of distance, f-stop value and ISO to have a way to show what manual settings to use for this flash. Suggest distance on the horizontal axis of distance (cm or inches - whatever comfortable with) and vertical axis of f-stop value, and to then find an ISO value that works for that distance and f-stop value by trial and error.

Then laminate this table and take it with you when you are using the flash.

augieg27 Loc: Central California

I use a ring flash in manual mode, F22, 1/200 and auto ISO, mounted on a Nikon 70/300mm, mainly during midday and get excellent photos I could not otherwise.
Bryan Peterson has some writing about it.

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

An LED ring light is fine, I have one. A real ring light with a flash is better. You can use your camera up to the sync speed on your camera.
I have both. Enjoy it.

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

Again…… I must say it’s a flash, not just a light.