distill Loc: Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire UK

Just wondering if anyone has used one of these or similar like O flash
How did you find them to work with, are they to clumsy
Cheers

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

We got an inexpensive Neewer unit last week. Only taken a few shots so far, but it seems to give accurate exposure, has preview lights, and can flash one side at a time to give some definition and shadow depth. I had one many years ago for my Pentax/Rollei system and they seemed a bit of a pain to work with.

Cons: This unit has a pretty large power unit to mount on the hot shoe - it's about the same weight as the Neewer 750II. The plastic rings to fit to a threaded lens seem a bit cheesily made. I can imagine breaking one.

Pros: In addition to being full TTL for accurate metering, it provides a lot of light to work with - a guide number of 46 (feet) at ISO 100 is pretty powerful. And the adaptor rings, although kind of lightweight, fit lenses with threads from 52 to 72 mm, so it's adaptable to literally all of our APS format lenses except the ultrawide zoom. And at about 65 bucks, it's cheap enough to fit into most any budget. There are better built ones out there, but they generally cost 2 to 3 times the price.


Once we've had more experience with it, I'll post some shots and a review, but for now, it's a can't go wrong item (especially with the added warranty coverage).

Here's the Amazon link for more information:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L32GZW6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Andy

jcboy3

I have used several of these. The Ray Flash (and O-flash or Coco Flash) have one main defect; they are designed for specific flash/camera combinations. This is because they mount to the flash on the hot shoe, and the ring flash has to fit around the lens, so the height from lens to flash head is a design parameter. So I don't have any of these. Note also that the transmissivity of the clone ring flash adapters can be pretty poor.

I still have and use the Orbis Ring Flash adapter. It has been discontinued, but if you can find one used at a reasonable price, I can recommend it. But you need to get the mounting bracket, or DIY one. I have done both. The key issue with this adapter is the single point of contact mount (same as with the Ray Flash), but it's even more of an issue with this one. I placed a mount on the ring flash body, so I can attach the mounting bracket to the bottom of the flash and the flash adapter...two points makes a very solid attachment.

jcboy3

Here are some pics. One with the Orbis bracket that also mounts the camera, the other with a DIY bracket that can mount on a light stand or hand held. I've used the latter to shoot events where I didn't want the camera mounted to the ring flash. You can see where I attached a mount to the body of the adapter.

Orbis Ring Flash with Orbis bracket


Orbis Ring Flash with DIY bracket

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

That's a cool rig you fabricated! Looks better than some of the getups I've seen. I still think the Neewer unit, with a big flash base on the hot shoe, and a smaller light ring, is easier to manipulate, but this makes the Ray flash a lot more palatable. Thanks for the suggestions!

jcboy3

This is NOT the Ray Flash. It is the Orbis. Very different. I did a similar rig with the Ray Flash; attached a mount on the bottom of the adapter and ran a bracket from the bottom of the camera. That solved the stability issue, but not the issue that the Ray Flash is sized for a specific flash head to lens axis distance. The Orbis works with nearly every flash you can throw at it.

The Neewer unit has the same problem other macro units have; the adapter diameter is too small. I haven't use the Neewer, but I had a Nikon ring flash and still have an Olympus ring flash. They don't throw a wide enough pattern, and tend to be underpowered to boot.

I do have the Paul Buff ring flash, with both size Moon Unit. That's a really big, really powerful flash. With the Moon Unit, it's unwieldy (I use it with a radio trigger so I don't hide behind it when working with models. I like the flat look (sometimes), though.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I've found the Neewer plenty powerful for the subjects we typically shoot, which are mostly not moving and not microscopic. It's plenty powerful enough.

I agree with the limitations on the Ray unit, but I've found the Neewer a convenient size for the lenses we use - primarily the Sigma 18-300 and the Sigma Macro. The Orbis looks very good - so compact!

But I think I'll look into the Moon unit for our next upgrade.

Lots of good choices for the OP to examine, but I agree that the Roy seems the most limited model in the low price field.

Andy

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

I agree the attachment rings are plastic and cheaply made, they also are hard to take off my front UV filter once you put them on. I love the flash, but hate the attachment rings. I wrote to the manufacturer to find out if I could purchase another set of attachment rings (in case I break the ones I have) and they said that they were not available as a separate product and I would have to purchase the whole unit (bad marketing).

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

My Ray Flash sits collecting dust. As noted, the original unit has to be mated to the proper cameras. Besides being plastic & easy to damage, it's bulky. I got it intending to use it for macro.... Bad idea...

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

I've been using a RayFlash as a macro ringlight for some years now, finding it more convenient (if not a bit bulkier) than the Sigma EM-140 ring flash I owned before that. While it worked fine as a true ring light for portraiture (which or course is what it was made for), I used some components from Really Right Stuff to enable me to use it with my DSLR (and nowadays with my mirrorless) and a 200MM macro lens. I needed to do this as the 200MM macro (Micro Nikkor) was so long that the lens itself threw a shadow on the subject. I don't need to use the rig if I use the 105MM macro lens, as that is short enough to use the RayFlash in the manner it was designed, but I much prefer the longer working distance of the longer focal length macro lens.

As you can see from the photos, it is a rather bulky kit once assembled, but to my eye the lighting it provides is worth the PITA. And, as I indicated, now that the Ray Flash is no longer connected to the flash in a hot shoe, I can use it with virtually any other camera. After first using the original Ray Flash that required a specific camera/flash combination, I later got the Universal Ray Flash which has an extendable neck and spring mounted flash grip so I can use that on pretty much any camera and flash. I can adjust the distance of the flash along the rail on the bottom of the camera - note that with the narrower angle of view of the 200MM macro lens the positioning in the first photo still works perfectly well; the ring does not encroach on the field of view.

Almost all of the macro flower shots on my website (URL in my signature) were shot using this setup. I can walk around a botanical garden with it and stop to shoot something I spot without hassling with a tripod, since it is the flash that will "freeze" the motion as well as enable me to use a small aperture for maximal DOF.

Meanwhile that Orbis thing strikes me as really being a sham - the entire concept of a ring flash is to encircle the optical axis of the lens with the flash light - otherwise the advantages are lost - by positioning their "ring" on top of the flash and still leaving the lens well below it all it does is perhaps make circular catchlights in the subject's eyes - but that was only a side effect and not the original purpose of ring flashes anyway. So shame on them.

distill Loc: Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire UK

Hi
Well thanks to you all for ideas and advice in the end I have decided to go with a new "Ray Flash Universal" luckily for me I have bought new in the UK £49 delivered which I think is a good price, also looked at the Orbis but that was costing a lot more even at 2nd hand prices and I just do not like the look of it.
I have one of the small LED ring flash but OK for limited use but the battery fitting part broke so I was using it with a mains adaptor so only ever good for macro.
Will be using the Ray Flash for portraiture and close up work so just waiting for delivery Friday.
again many thanks