Large Ring Lights, Comparisons, Review, Tips Rosco LitePad Loop, AlienBees, Elinchrom

There are many sizes and levels of sophistication of ring flash equipment. Plus some flashes are ring shape, but inside there are only two flash units, so these are really just a dual macro setup inside a ring holding (Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1 offers this arrangement).

Then there are the cheap Chinese ring lights. These are so low-bid that they can light only a few inches in front of the camera. These tend to be a ring of LED lights. But if you are doing flower photography, up-close macro, then such a soft flash does indeed function.

But for serious macro photography, we recommend a serious ring light. When I was ordering the ROSCO, one of the in-house photographers suggested I get the cheap substitute (just a floppy ring-shaped cloth accessory to wrap around your normal flash). Yes, a great way to save money. But, sorry, I want a real ring light or none at all. So I ordered the Rosco LitePad Loop.

Here are the three professional size and professional quality ring lights. Note that these are large size since they are for portrait photography. If you are photographing only individual single flowers, a smaller light may work just fine.

The Rosco LitePad Loop arrived on June 2nd, so we will be updating this page as we compare it with our other ring light and macro flash systems. The crucial question is: Which is better? Rosco LitePad, AlienBees ABR800 Ringflash Unit, or Elinchrom1500 Ringflash?