Neewer Macro Ring Lite 14EXT - Review

I have never used a Ring Flash, mostly because it is way beyond my budget, but also because i have seen those ugly ring reflections on Ladybirds and Leaf Beetles. They do produce a rather harsh light.

Recently i discovered a very cheap Ring Flash on Amazon, the Neewer Macro ring Lite 14EXT. It's only 67,- Euros for the Complete set and no, it isn't a LED Ring lite as you might read somewhere else. It actually has two Flash Tubes - one left and one right. They are not as long as the ring unit might indicate, but for that kind of money - no wonder.

And it is not weather sealed - do not use it with wet hands, outdoor in the Rain etc. etc.

Quality

The build quality of the main Unit is in my opinion, extremely good compared to the price. It is made out of a good Plastic, feels very solid - no squeaking noises when working with the unit.

(The Velcro was added be me, to attach a diffusor - see below)

The Informative LCD Display is green back-lit, very practical when shooting in the dark.

Often the battery lids of flashes are the first thing to break, but the Neewer battery lid is metal hinged and reinforced with metal. Makes a good impression.

It even has an External Battery Pack Connector, just like the Pro Canon 5XX and 6XX Speedlite series. This is great for reducing the flash recycle time.

Connections and even a metal hot-shoe!

The ring unit is much lighter, but build with same quality, very solid.

On the ring there are two Focus Lamps, which are bright enough to photograph in complete darkness. One downside though, they are only activated for a short time when pressing the lamp button on the main unit. Some online reviews explains that these two lamps lights up when you press the shutter button halfway down. On my camera (Canon M50) this unfortunately doesn't happen.

I have the impression, that it would survive a drop on the ground. And if it doesn't i can always buy another one.

Mounting it on your lens

In the box there are 8 adapter rings.

77mm, 72mm 67mm, 62mm, 58mm, 55mm, 52mm and 40,5mm.

These are all of a very cheap quality. Careful when you screw them on you metal-threaded lens, if you twist them too hard, you might ruin the plastic thread.

The ring clicks easily onto the adapter, but unfortunately it doesn't have any grip on the adapter. I used an elastic band in the adapter groove which makes the grip rock steady.

Testing

On my balkony we have the Nezara vidirula - Southern Green Stink Bug. The first 3 or 4 instar's are mostly shiny black which is good for testing the harsh light and the ring reflections.

This one i found sitting on our Wine.
First image is the Ring Flash alone.

The light is harsh with some highlighting. Even the antenna has two shadows - not the best.

So i quickly build a ring flash diffuser out of cardboard and milky white matte transparent plastic sheets. Used some duct tape to reinforce it. To mount it on the ring unit I used Velcro.

Here is the same animal again with the ring diffuser.

Much better, no double shadows, contrast is lower. Not that harsh.

And here it is 1:1 portrait.

Same image scaled to 100%.

Nice! I am happy.

Conclusion

Simply, if you have 67 Euro loose in you pockets and you always wanted to try a ring flash, go for it.

I really like it - with my diffuser on, that is. If you're all thumbs and don't wanna waste your time with duct tape, scissors and cardboard, soon you can buy a off-the-shelve ring flash diffuser at:

https://www.macrodiffuser.com/shop/canon-mr-14ex-ii-macro-ring-lite-diffuser

I contacted the owner and he told me he will soon start working on a version for the Neewer 14XTR.

Cons:

The adapters - i'm scared to break them every time.
No grip in the adapters - the ring just turns and turns. Elastic band saves the day.
The focus Assist light doesn't light up - would be great if it did.

I really highly recommend this Ring Flash.
Bought this one with my own money.