Ring lights are exactly that, an LED strip embedded in a ring-shaped fixture that provides flattering light without creating harsh shadows or lines.
The first ring lights were typically designed so that the camera or cell phone was located in the center of the light. With this, shadows are minimized when holding the cell phone and perfect lighting for selfies is ensured. It's no wonder they became a must-have accessory for vloggers and influencers.
But ring lights have clearly evolved in recent years beyond their vlogging roots. Available in many sizes and configurations, they have become vital tools for budding photographers, as well as the perfect accessory for remote workers. In a virtual meeting through zoom, make a difference.
Over the course of a month, we've tested eight top-notch ring lights to determine which one provides the best overall lighting.
Our two favorites are these:
- Best Overall Ring Light: EMart 10 Inch Ring Light
- Best Portable Ring Light: Whellen Selfie Ring Light
A quick look at the winners
The Emart 10 Inch Standing Ring Light comes with a tripod that is fully adjustable, from 19 inches to 50 inches, making it a great option, whether you are placing it on top of your desk for video calling or need some extra support. aerial lighting so strange shadows don't creep into your photos. Its three light modes (hot, cold and a mix of the two), along with 11 brightness levels (among the best of the lights we tested), ensure that you always have the right light. And at a relatively cheap price of $ 35.40 , this light combines ease of use and affordability better than any of the other options we tested.
Since a 10-inch light isn't the most compact accessory to carry around, we also recommend the Whellen Selfie Ring Light. Whether you use a case or not, this ultra-portable 3.5-inch light conveniently attaches to your phone and fits easily on top of a laptop for video calls. The Whellen Selfie Ring Light provided flattering illumination in all the images we took with it, and offers warm and cool settings to adjust the harshness of the light being projected. It's just a great light, especially at $ 16.99 .
The winners in depth
Best Overall Ring Light: Emart 10-Inch Selfie Ring Light ($ 35.40; amazon.com)
The Emart 10 Inch Selfie Ring Light delivers on everything you ask of a ring light: adjustability (both in terms of setup and lighting options), lightweight design, and multiple use cases. Putting all of that together at an affordable price of $ 35.40 made the Emart a clear winner compared to the rest of our test group.
Right out of the box, the Emart Ring Light is extremely easy to use. The light itself simply screws onto the tripod, which itself has three folding sections to reach its minimum and maximum heights. The base that the light sits on can rotate 360 degrees and 180 degrees up or down, ensuring you get the perfect angle to reduce shadows when taking a photo or lighting up during virtual meetings.
While the setup is quite large (the tripod can expand up to 50 inches in height), you can collapse it to its shortest height (19 inches) to put it on your desk behind your computer. The 19-inch height gave the Emart an advantage, as it was the only ring light we tested that poked above the height of the laptop even at its lowest setting. That means you can still wear it straight from the front, unlike the others that you have to wear a bit to the side, which can lead to unwanted shadows.
But what shone the most during our tests was the flattering light cast by the Emart, which presented itself as natural sunlight in both portraits and selfies. That's possible thanks to the light's three light modes (there's hot, cold, and a mix of the two) along with 11 levels of brightness for each mode. In photos taken both during the day and at night, the lighting gave us high-quality images, highlighting everything that it was supposed to while cushioning the shadows. Even at its brightest setting, the light isn't overbearing, so it's not too distracting to use for video calls.
The Emart comes with two cell phone holders included. One of them is quite practical, clipping the thinnest part of the tripod with a small metal clasp that wraps around the pole where you hold your cell phone both vertically and horizontally. The second phone holder makes the light useless if used on the top of the tripod. It is not a problem since the other phone holder is sufficient, but it is annoying.
Ultimately, the 10-inch Emart Selfie Light, thanks to its adjustability and various lighting options, was the best we tested. Whether you are using this light to give a professional appearance in virtual meetings or to create fun and creative content it is a great option. Also, for a light and tripod combo, the $ 35.40 price tag is relatively high and delivers high-quality results.
Best Portable Ring Light: Whellen Selfie Ring Light ($ 16.99; amazon.com)
The Whellen Selfie Ring Light is extremely light and small, so it fits easily in pockets, purses and backpacks. We put it in a bag while we went shopping, and even with keys, a phone, a wallet and many more objects, the light was hardly scratched.
Attaches directly to your cell phone or laptop with a clip. If you are using it for the front camera, the lower half of the light will cover part of your screen while the upper half is above your phone. That might sound annoying, but in use, it doesn't block any important part of the screen, it never covered the other person while we were on a video call, for example, and it essentially covers the same amount of space on top of the phone as a notification. drop down, so you still have almost the entire field of view.
Whellen's clip has rubber padding on the inside, so you never have to worry about it scratching your screen. And even with a case, we had no trouble getting the clip onto our phone.
Like our overall winner, albeit much more compact, the Whellen offers three different lighting options - warm, cool, or a combination of the two - more than some of the larger, more expensive lights we tested. The cool setting is bright white, and the warm setting has an orange tint. Even in the darkest rooms or during night use, both the warm light and cool light options worked well, although we found the mix of the two seemed more natural and flattering.
The light has a single button, which changes through the settings. If you hold down the button while in either light mode, the light will dim so you can easily adjust the brightness levels. Once the light is at its dimmest, you can click and hold the top button again to return it to brighter levels, until it reaches the setting you want.
Battery life is the one thing that left us wanting more. It took about an hour for the light to fully charge, and it lasted about an hour and a half. It's on par with the rest of the options (almost all averaged the same lifespan) but the included USB charger is only 10 inches long. So while other lights can stay connected while in use, that's pretty much impossible with the Whellen if you don't put a charger with a longer cord.
Still, at just $ 16.99, the Whellen's multiple light settings and ease of use make it one of the best ring lights out there, especially if you're looking for something portable.
Note: The above prices reflect the price at the time of publication of the article.