Ray Flash: The Ring Flash Adapter

[kobe629]

Has anyone used this product:

Ray Flash: The Ring Flash Adapter
http://www.expoimaging.net/products/product_detail.php?prodid=15&productname=Ray_Flash:_The_Ring_Flash_Adapter

I'm wondering if this is worth the the money?

[JAcosta]

I wish they made one that fit vivitar 283/285s. Id buy one to try out and see if I liked it.

[davidfig]

$300? Seems steep to me.

[bolantej]

Yikes! Isn't there one that's cheaper than that?

[topher04r1]

i got to play with the ray flash when david hobby came to tucson .... it's cool but IDK if it's worth 300 bucks...... if i had a 580ex2 mabye ....

[Gujustud]

$300 to walk around with a ringflash with NO external power? Seems pretty decent to me. Depends on your needs.

[thepepperman]

Compared to an Alien Bees ringflash, this doesn't require an external power source.

Compared to a Canon/Sigma etc ringflash, this doesn't need to be attached to your lens - I think these generally are made for smaller (>60mm) lens diameters, and lenses of this size often have rotating front elements.

Compared to a DIY ringflash, there appears to be a lot of investement in making sure that the light dispersion is essentially even around the front of the flash, and only loses a fairly minimal amount of light. $300 might be a bit steep at the moment, but it is an interesting accessory that addresses a number of issues which might be of concern to a photographer.

[sspellman]

The AB Ring flash works great for only a $100 more, had good power, and a modeling light. The biggest problem with this light is that it blocks the focus assist. In a situation where you need flash, you will almost certainly need the focus assist light too.

-Scott

[thepepperman]

^^ I think that a ringflash would see more use in studio shoots etc where you can use ambient to achieve focus. Again, I think its a little expensive compared to the ABR800 but it does bridge the gap between current products.

[DavidPhoto]

The price is actually $250 for Canon 580EX ($300 for Nikon users) or atleast thats what it shows for me. Look sinteresting but the shots I've looked at dont seem to have a very ringflashy look. Wondering if it is too small to be really effective.

[Barb42]

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/03/full-review-ray-flash-ring-flash.html

Has a good review. I ordered one that should be here in a couple of days. Looking forward to trying it out. I have read other reviews from the UK as well and all are good. Certainly is portable.

[TooManyHobbies]

I would expect the B&H price to come done by 60% over MSRP. It has for other ExpoDisk products. I would buy one for $199.

[545iBMW]

I'd get one for $149.
Otherwise, I'd wait for someone selling an ABR800 for $300 or so.

[TooManyHobbies]

I have the Zeus ring light strobe which is a little less portable that the ABR, but more powerful. It's the power pack version so the camera unit is less heavy and hot, but you need to carry around the powerpack and the battery inverter. It still would be nice to have something more portable and less invasive for weddings and day to day stuff. Taking your camera on and off a 120V ring light strobe and then switching to something else and stowing the strobe is not as easy as it would be with this unit.