Review of £66 ebay ringflash

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Dave Pickett

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Dave Pickett
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This unit arrived yesterday, so I have given it a quick try out. Here it is on the camera:

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It's pretty certain this is the same as the Marumi unit that sells for around £120 from the normal outlets.

Overall build appears fine to me, a number have commented it's very flimsy, I really dont see this. I Used some vapex 2700 batteries and they are a tight fit in the battery box, but nothing too drastic.

Camera compatibility

Nikon D60 - poor, inconsistent triggering, not really usable (update, tried again and its fine!)
Fuji s5 pro - consistent triggering, but spontaneous flashing (update, consistent firing but still spurious flashes!)

Both of these cameras are fine with my Di622 and sb600 so I can only conclude there are compatibility issues

Then on to "old reliable" my D90.

Perfect, consistent triggering better metering than the others and no spontaneous flashes.

So what about the results? these are quick point and shoots just to show what the unit can do without any form of adjustment:

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Verdict: If you have a D90 or maybe a D60, excellent value. It really doesnt like the Fuji at all.................

Would any Marumi users care to post their experience, it does seem strange there appear to be compatibility issues with other cameras.....I will do some more experimenting and report back if I find out anything more...
 
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Just remembered about you ordering this flash and did a search to see if you had posted results.
Initial images look good. I just need to find out if the Canon version gives full TTL on the 50D
 
you got a link for that mate?
 
Can you PLEASE test it on another person? I would love to see it used for portraits!
 
Sebastian said:
Can you PLEASE test it on another person? I would love to see it used for portraits!
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Look at the size of it, it's way too small to be useful for portraits.
 
This is interesting, I did consider getting one of these at one point. Just bought the Lencarta ring light instead so will post a review of that when I've had chance to use it properly as a comparison. Definitely the law of diminishing returns in action looking at what you get for a tenth of the price :thumbs:
 
The Canon one isn't to cheap
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That'll be cos you are looking at the wrong one!!

you got a link for that mate?
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Do a search on delta ringflash and all the versions come up

This one is £66 and has a different name - its the one I have

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Macro-Ring-Fl...shUnits_JN&hash=item2a078ae148#ht_5983wt_1042

Anyone any thoughts on why is should mis behave on the S5pro (and sometimes the flash ready on the D60 gets a ? next to it and it wont fire?) Have cleaned the contacts and done all the usual stuff.....
 
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33L said:
Seems a bit steep but actually quite like it. The pics in the video are quite good. Anyone used one on here?
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I had the chance to go one a photo walk on Tuesday night with James Madelin the guy who invented this . I and a few others on the night came to the conclusion that it is a really nice product to have in your kit bag and creates a very nice light . So much so that I bought one . Just a shame that my camera has now broken so not a chance to give it a real go yet :'(
 
Cheers John, i am really tempted but finances mean i cant get it yet. one of the things that i want to know is how do you get on zooming withouth the mount?
 
Lol this was one of problems I had , I'm sure that with a little practice I'll get the hang of it... or grow another hand :thinking: . The trick seems to be to just stretch a couple of fingers off of the camera body to turn the zoom ring , or the orbis comes with a shoulder strap so zoom first and then offer up the orbis and recompose . Your not too far from me so if you want to have a go just let me know . I can try to sort something out when my camera is fixed .
 
That would be great. To buy direct is £170 ish with the arm inc del. I might have to bite the bullet next month, funds are commited elsewhere this month. I am doing a lot more on location strobist stuff now and might get rid of my studio heads that are not getting the use they need.
 
Yeh i was looking at buying direct , but just went with the flow on Tuesday night and bought there and then for £220 . I'm taking my camera in to Jessops on Monday to claim on my extended warranty ,so will be a couple of weeks I guess before I get it back . We can sort out something when I have it back . If you look on Leeds Strobist flickr group there are some shots on there from the shoot with Tori . I think that some are linked to the orbis ringflash group as well .
 
This is interesting, the results seem fine to me but the design is deeply flawed - looking at the photo of it, there seems to be a transparent/translucent area of the plastic parallel to the lens which will push light straight onto the front lens element - or at least it would if the lens wasn't deeply recessed.
Looking at the photo, it should produced bad flare on a lens that isn't recessed - have you tried it?

This is interesting, I did consider getting one of these at one point. Just bought the Lencarta ring light instead so will post a review of that when I've had chance to use it properly as a comparison. Definitely the law of diminishing returns in action looking at what you get for a tenth of the price
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But a massive difference in both power and size. The Lencarta one can't be used for macro and this one can't be used for anything except macro, horses for courses:)
 
You could be right Gary, but as you observe the tamron is deeply recessed so no problem. I have no reason to try any other lens but the obvious candidates (35 f1.8 and 50 f1.8) are also deeply recessed. If it did cause a problem I am sure a bit of duct tape would be an easy solution - in fact I might try blanking some of it off to give some shadows and better light.

On a further look this may be deliberate so that a small item actually inside the ringflash could be properly lit, this is a macro setup rather than studio....

As always we need to consider price at £66 we are looking at a unit that produces even lighting for close ups. The nearest alternative I found was the Sigma at £300, no doubt the Lencarta is excellent, especially for studio work, but it's nowhere near as portable for macro...........horses for courses.

PS now working fine on D60, wont bother with the S5 pro, will leave the D60 mainly set up for macro stuff....
 
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Garry Edwards said:
But a massive difference in both power and size. The Lencarta one can't be used for macro and this one can't be used for anything except macro, horses for courses:)
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This was one of about 20 shots I took with it the day I received it. I am looking forward to having a play over the next few days.
 
thanks for the review - has anyone had any success with the always on LED ring "flashes" for about £35 ??
 
:lol:
has anyone had any success with the always on LED ring "flashes" for about £35 ??
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I was interested in these, but why bother when you can get a proper ringflash that freezes action for just £66 delivered?

Darren, thats very grainy, did you take it from next door's garden and crop it?:lol:
 
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looking at the demo shots, I wonder why the shots are part out of focus. Must be the setting for the shot. If the unit comes with a complete power supply and lens mount it`s not a bad price.
 
Further to my post ,I thought the ORBIS a bit expensive as it is only a mirror reflection unit. Some of the shots look a bit burnt out. I will just stick to my own. Only cost peanuts.
 
I wonder why the shots are part out of focus.
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Macro gives you very narrow depth of field, even at the f14 or smaller that these were shot at, nothing to do with the ring flash. Yes it comes with 4 adaptors, 55,58,62,67mm
 
I've got one, it doesn't like my D1x's (fires, but very low output) I asssume it's a compatability issue as the D1x is pre ITTL.
I'll have to buy a newer camera:D
 
I'd love so see some more examples of this unit. I was loking at them, but it seems to cheap to be true compared to the Sigma and Canon versions.
Ive just ordered a 100mm f/2.8L macro, so I can in no way afford the sigma now anyway, so I wonder if this will do the trick for the time being.

Failing that, I'll have to bodge some kind of bracket to get my Nissin Di622 closer to the front of the lens.
 
TCR4x4 said:
I'd love so see some more examples of this unit. I was loking at them, but it seems to cheap to be true compared to the Sigma and Canon versions.
Ive just ordered a 100mm f/2.8L macro, so I can in no way afford the sigma now anyway, so I wonder if this will do the trick for the time being.

Failing that, I'll have to bodge some kind of bracket to get my Nissin Di622 closer to the front of the lens.
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There is a review here as well if this helps.

I have just ordered one, they seem ok for the price as long as they are used as intended. Thanks for the review Dave.
 
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stoneblower said:
There is a review here as well if this helps.

I have just ordered one, they seem ok for the price as long as they are used as intended. Thanks for the review Dave.
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Thanks for the link. Looks quite promising.
 
Dave did you get it from this supplier in Poland and if so how long did it take to come as this is the supplier I used?
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Yes about 4 working days, very good!
 
I bought an Opteka one for my 20d which has ETTL for £36! Can't recommend it enough! I would imagine these are very similar. :thumbs:
 
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