Best Ring Lights For Taking Selfies, Vlogging, Youtubing, Meetings & More
In the world of YouTube vlogs, TikTok reels, online video selling, creating the ambiance of studio-like lighting is not a big task. However, you need the best lighting setup for that.
We might be thinking vloggers come live on social media only when they are in a studio. But that's not the case. You just need a reliable ring light.
The ring lights cast a powerful external light on the subject in a way; that reduces shadows in the face, minimizes blemishes, and effectively improves the image quality.
Generally, we think that professional film accessories mean a lot of investment. Right here, let me break this myth informing that the ring lights started getting available at a reasonable price.
Now tell me, do you want to complement your subject with such continuous diffused light? If yes, stay tuned till the end. I’ve covered a few top-rated ring lights across a wide range of prices; hopefully, you’ll like them.
In a hurry?! Here are my top picks for the best top rated ring lights
REVIEWS OF THE BEST RING LIGHTS
1. NEEWER RING LIGHT KIT - 18 INCH LED RING LIGHT WITH STAND
PRODUCT DETAILS:
This is one of the topmost reliable 18-inch LED ring lights featuring 240 LED bulbs with up to 5500K color temperature. The included orange and white filter provides a more steady color temperature or ring light colors than other’s color lighting modes, making your photos and videos natural-looking.
Most of today's ring lights use LED lights to conserve energy, but the best part of this light is that it produces low heat output without involving harmful ultraviolet and infrared light radiation.
If you’re looking for big ring light with a stand for studio purposes, you can go for it without looking further.
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
2. SENSYNE PROFESSIONAL RING LIGHT WITH STAND - BEST RING LIGHT FOR STREAMING
PRODUCT DETAILS:
I’ve chosen another reliable floor ring light from SENSYNE PROFESSIONAL, one of the best ring light brands as the second-best option. This electric-powered video light provides 50% more brightness than the USB-powered models. It is convenient to use at outdoor shooting and studios.
The extended lighting options, the customizable tripod stand, and the phone holder case are the great reasons to go for this one.
Another pro feature of this external video light is the remote control feature; that eases the lighting adjustment operation.
From professional videographers to amateur YouTubers or TikTokers, I would like to suggest this tripod ring light to everyone. I know the smaller lights work better in close distances.
Being a huge ring light, the wide dimming range and choices of color temperature make it perfect for live streaming, video calling and doing desk make-up.
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
3. AIXPI STUDIO LIGHTING RING - BEST RING LIGHT FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
PRODUCT DETAILS:
Checking the key features, you can clearly understand that this one also produces similar bright light with adjustable color temperature compared to the previous one.
A nice extra on this high-quality ring light is that it allows you to rotate the light-head 360 degrees. So you can find the perfect angle to illuminate your subject with ease.
You don’t need to look at the best selfie lights for purchasing one separately; the included light stand will allow you to clip your phone horizontally for blog videos and vertically for taking selfies.
With that said, I would like to mention once again, whether you take a selfie, make YouTube videos, or broadcast video from a dimly lighted room, this circular light, featured with 120 LED bulbs will offer the best lighting every time.
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
Thinking a ring light is the only important camera accessory for vlogging or Youtubing?
Well, you are wrong, there are a number of camera accessories in the market. All you need to look at is the budget and the equipment that will make your video work less cumbersome.
4. UBEESIZE DESKTOP RING LIGHT - BEST RING LIGHT FOR VLOGGING
PRODUCT DETAILS:
From the earlier 10” ring light reviews, you probably guess that you can expect the same brightness, lighting functionality, and usability from this circle light.
This dimmable light also offers remote-controllable three-color temperature modes and 30 brightness levels. The wireless remote lets you control your phone camera and the lighting effects and enables such hands-free operation within a distance of up to 30 feet.
This ring light is ideal for working at your desk. Being a USB-powered small ring light with a portable and foldable table tripod, you can roam around with this light and your video recording system with ease. So, I found it one of the best travel ring lights, as well.
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
When the pandemic situation arose, since then, we started fighting with another big issue, which is lightening up our face during online meetings or video chatting; Right? So, enough of those big ring lights with floor standing or table-standing tripod, henceforth I’m going to mention some mini ring lights; that can be mounted on the desktop, laptop, iPad, smartphone, and cameras.
5. QIAYA BATTERY POWERED RING LIGHT: BEST AFFORDABLE RING LIGHT FOR IPAD
PRODUCT DETAILS:
Look at the dimension of the light; you can clearly understand how tiny is this ring light, making it perfect for use with smartphones, tabs, and laptops during vlogging, online video broadcasting, or video calling.
It is the most affordable ring light on the list but offers useful lighting features. Despite being tiny in size, it’s bright enough to illuminate your face.
So, if you want an instant solution at the cheapest price for doing makeup or shooting videos, look further than the QIAYA handheld ring light. It's my favorite choice for the best ring light for ipad as well!
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
6. CYEZCOR RECHARGEABLE RING LIGHT: BEST RING LIGHT FOR LAPTOP MOUNT
PRODUCT DETAILS:
It is one of the best laptop ring lights, featured with 10W 48 LED lamps; that offer a wide range of color temperatures, ranging from 3200K to 6800K, the widest range on the list.
What I like about this bright ring light is the portable size, hassle-free usage, steady and most flexible lighting. There is no hassle of a cord; even you don’t need to worry about the battery’s lifespan; the USB-powered light stays lighted on as long as you want, only you need to connect it to your laptop through the USB cable.
Like the rest, it’s also a good ring light that you can buy for live streaming, video broadcasting, zoom meeting, or video calling.
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
7. BEKADA CLIP-ON SELFIE LIGHT: BEST RING LIGHT FOR DESKTOP MOUNT
PRODUCT DETAILS:
Although this is another most reasonable option but has a unique design and overall useful feature set. You can clip this ring tiny ring light on the computer for webcam, including various portable devices, like phones, tablets, as well as on laptops.
It comes with a strong clamp; that lets you clip the ring light on the edge of desktop or laptop during video calling; the edge of bookshelf or bed headboard during the study, even you can stand on the clamp by itself with bending the arm or hang it on the wall.
You can clip this external light on the edge of the laptop or desktop screen without fear of getting scratched, as a sponge pad is there on the clip; that protects the furniture.
You have to agree with me; no other options could give you such versatile usability, even with this affordable price point.
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
8. PLOTURE CAMERA MOUNTED RING LIGHT: BEST RING LIGHT FOR CAMERA MOUNT
PRODUCT DETAILS:
If you’re looking for something better or similar ring light for mounting on camera, this one is just for you. The photography professionals prefer such ring lights for macro photography.
When you take close-up shots of small subjects, this ring light could help you achieve the lighting to produce evenly balanced shots with sharp details.
Basically, it’s a round-shaped flashlight. It comes with an LCD display for easy lighting adjustment. Besides that, the lighting kit includes 4 color filters for achieving natural color and 8 adapter rings to enhance compatibility with different lenses. You can achieve the best lighting result using one of the shooting modes, Left Flash Mode / Right Flash Mode / Full Flash Mode / Full Light Steady-On.
I think nothing could be a better option as a travel ring light rather than this one. Moreover, a ring light affixed to the front of a camera genuinely comes in handy while filming a subject; whose head moves a lot. So, I would like to suggest this ring light to them, who shoot make-up tutorial videos.
What I liked about this RING LIGHT:
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHILE PURCHASING A RING LIGHT
Do you think about how to choose the best model from the range of available options? Here, I’ve also added some consideration points to help you make the right purchasing decision.
DIAMETER
The diameter of the ring lights is the most important factor; that defines whether it produces hard light or soft light? The small light means light point source, which is better at generating hard light.
When it comes to ring lights, we want to make our subject look better with flattering soft light. So, go for the larger one.
If you are a video professional; looking for one to use at the studios or event venues, the diameter should be at least 14” and preferably 20”.
POWER SOURCE
The power supply through wall output adapter and USB power supply to the rechargeable battery - both ways have their merits to produce satisfying diffuse light. Likewise, they have their own advantages and disadvantages.
For instance, a light using an AC/DC adapter is likely to be brighter than rest. Conversely, having a working wall electric supply outlet and reliable extension cord nearby is the must-have thing for it. The cord length and electric outlet could limit the usability of the light in some instances.
On the other hand, a cordless ring light with a USB power supply is probably less bright but more flexible regarding placement than the previous one. You can use it anywhere with any video recording device by plugging it into a power bank, even while walking.
HIGH COLOR RENDING INDEX
The color rendering index of a ring light defines how accurately the video light could represent a color. An external video light with 100 scorings could only allow you to capture the original color of an object, though most ring ling scores around 70.
DIMMABILITY
The dimmable ring lights are the best option for professionals, as they offer greater control of color temperature and more versatility. Most LED ring lights offer 100% disability; that lets you adjust the range through the onboard dimmer feature or smartphone app.
MULTIPLE COLOR TEMPERATURE SETTINGS
You can make your subject’s skin tone richer with warmer yellow color settings. Similarly, during a zoom call, you can match the color temperature of the video with another's ambient light to look better. However, the professionals suggest sticking to white light during online streaming.
Having different color-temperature settings in your video light isn't a great thing, but it’s great fun. One more thing, you can take advantage of this feature only if your camera app has a manual white balance control.
ADJUSTABLE ANGLE AND HEIGHT
Having an angle and height-adjustable light stand along with the best ring light; only could help you achieve the proper lighting with ease.
ACCESSORIES
Most ring light manufacturing brands offer versatile accessories, like – a light stand, phone or camera holder, and remote controller along with the ring lamp.
If you need to consider some particular aspects, like - suppose the led ring light stand isn’t suitable for your shooting need or shooting place; here, you have no other option rather than buying a separate light-stand as per your requirement.
If this is not the scenario for you, I would suggest going for a ready-to-use ring lighting kit rather than purchasing the accessories separately to save money.
PRICE
So many ring lights are available at so many different price points. We generally tend to sort the list using a low to high price range; Right? But, don’t do that when it comes to camera accessories because mostly they will be a one-time investment.
Pick the one; that comes around your budget but make sure the chosen one is worth every penny.
FAQ
Technically, the Westcott’s 18-inch ring light is the overall best among all but a bit pricey. If you want something in a lower price range, you can look at my top choices; I’ve mentioned all of their plus points and minus points.
To help you decide, I’m mentioning a vital point here again. If you want something for using at home scenarios, small-sized ring lights; that produce soft light will be the best for you to smooth out the shadows on your face.
On the other hand, if you use a big ring light during video conferencing by keeping it beside your computer or laptop, it would highlight your skin wrinkles.
You can purchase these lighting rings from the nearby retailer shops and versatile inline portals. You can see the ring light costs start from $11 at Amazon.
CONCLUSION
I've tried to cover most of the best ring lights for photography, vlogging, online streaming, and video calling with versatile mounting features. If you want something to use with your desktop webcam, laptop, camera, or smartphone, choose the best one from them according to the device mount compatibility.
However, I personally found all of those ring lights mentioned above the best in terms of all consideration points. If you come across better products than the recommendation list; that you think people should know about, leave us a comment below.
I would love to receive recommendations from you and try to review the products in the future.
