Marumi DRF14 Ring Flash for portraits

[thestablelondon]

Hey there!

This is my first post but i have been following this forum for a while and always found it very helpful and interesting!

Marumi DRF14 Ring Flash

With this said I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on this cheap ring flash unit or if anyone has used it what they have used it for and have any samples.

What i am looking for is to use it with my D300s and SB900 unit for portraits. I am really interested in checking these flash units out as i love the way it leaves a halo in the eyes of the subject. However... I am away that they are cheap and you 955 of the time, get what you pay for... this has certainly been my experience until this point.

However photography is a journey and i guess you have to try these things and learn from your sometimes expensive mistakes. I have looked at some reviews and there are loads out there but i wanted to test this forum out aswell as researching other sites and flashes

I'm am pretty new to flash photography but an really keen to learn and progress!!

All the best

 

[EdBray]

I had one in Canon flavour and it did what it said on the tin. A little harsh at close distances and too small and harsh really for portraiture.

If you up the ISO, you can increase the guide number of the flash to enable its use with portraiture (GN14 @ ISO100 = GN28 @ ISO400 = GN56 @ ISO1600) but you will more than likely suffer red-eye due to the proximity of the flash to the lens and the size of the tube.

Ringflashes used for portraiture are usually much larger and give a softer light than those designed for macro use!

 

[AliB]

Hi Alan, unfortunately this one is a macro ring flash and totally unsuitable for portraits.

The reason is simply power. This little unit will light great for macro where the subject is close to the lens but there is something called inverse square law that comes into play with lighting. It means that for double the distance you get quarter of the light. So there is no way this little thing is going to light a portrait at the distance you want to shoot it.

There is something called a Rayflash that fits Canon and Nikon Speedlights that will give about the cheapest access to ring flash but "Proper" ring flash is expensive because of the power requirements. Lencarta Safari is about the cheapest way into "proper" ring flash but if you want scaring have a look at profoto

 

[thestablelondon]

OK Thats realy helpful. I shal look in to those adapters. and look at the safari too!

There are a couple of things on the shopping list along with the Nikon 12-24.. But i really like the idea of working with ringflash. Short of googling guide numbers. Can anyone suggest good books for flash photography.. of this kindand just general great books on the subject.

I shall search this forum also!

Ta again!