Ring flash question.

I've been looking at a lot of portrait shots lately that use a ring flash and I was wondering, if money was not an issue....is there a specific brand that works best and is used most often by professionals? I was looking at the alien bees one, canon and sigma. Most list as macro...so this brings me to another question, for those of you using a ring flash is there a maximum distance that it will work for?....I mean....how close do you have to be to shoot with a ring flash during a portrait?

Thanks.
Rob.

I would use the one relative to your Camera. EX: Canon Camera - use Canon Ringlight. This would be my opinion, as it would use your E-TTL II.

If money wasn't an issue... I'd probably go with a Profoto ProRing 2 Ringflash. I've seen some amazing results from the Profoto range.

I'm extremely happy with my Elinchrom Ranger Ringflash. The Alienbee Ringflash also looks like a good valued unit.

Canon Ringlight flashes are more suited for macro photography, not portrait photography.

I personally Use Profoto. But, Keep in mind that these are not stand alone units! You will need the appropriate pack to power them. The Acute2 Ringflash pairs with the Acute or D4 packs and the ProRing Pairs with the Pro7 or D4 Packs.

Alien Bees currently makes a standalone ringflash suitable for portrait work. I believe they are about $400.

The ringflashes you are looking at do not have enough power for portrait work, they are designed for macro work.

Thanks for the help guys. I think right now I am going to go with the alienbees ringflash...thanks for your time.

Rob.

I can shoot small group full length portraits with the Alien Bee ABR800 ring flash. The following were shot with the ABR800 at 'minimum' power. So there was plenty left for larger setups.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR