Pixel 18 Inch Professional LED Ring Light Kit for Photography and Video Review

Pixel 18 Inch Professional LED Ring Light Kit for Photography and Video Review

Buy it at Amazon: Pixel 18 Inch Professional LED Ring Light Kit for Photography and Video [Affiliate Link] Exclusive discount! Use promo code SLB5DU4A at checkout for 30% off at Amazon (US only, for a limited time)

Takeaway: Quick setup, compact and lightweight design for travel, bright and dimmable w/ warm/cool temperature filters.

The ring light comes packed in a padded canvas travel bag. Inside you'll find the ring light and a set of orange warm diffuser plates. The cool white diffuser plates are pre-installed. You'll also receive an instruction manual, power brick w/4 ft cord, 10 ft power cord, phone grip, mini screw driver, ball head cold shoe mount, rigid cold shoe mount, and Velcro strap. Be sure to check the smaller box in the bottom of the main box for the included tripod.

The tripod is made of a lightweight metal and measures 19" when folded up. To open the tripod, pull down on the legs until they are fully extended. The tripod height can be adjusted from 3 ft to 6 ft tall via 3 telescoping tube sections. The ring light is made from plastic and has a 19" outer diameter and 14" inner diameter with 240 LED lights inside. It attaches to the top of the stand and articulates forward and back about 200° allowing you to set the angle. The center control panel on the back of the ring light has the power input on the left-hand side and the power dial and dimmer on the right. To connect the power cable, align the notch on the connector to the slot in the port and push up, then slide the locking ring up and rotate counter clockwise to lock in the cable. The notches can be a little tricky to catch, so keep turning while pressing up until you feel it slide up and lock in. One small design flaw is that the cord from the power brick to the light is too short, since with the tripod extended above 4 ft, the power brick is suspended off the floor.

To turn on the light, twist the power dial counter-clockwise, then turn the dial left and right to adjust its brightness. In the center, on top, is the cold shoe mount for attaching the various accessories. In the center of the ring light you can attach either of the cold shoe mounts and phone mount. This lets you use a mobile phone camera for taking selfies or filming video with your phone for vlogs. With the ball head joint you'll be able to adjust the camera's angle and direction independently from the light.

I typically use 2-3 soft boxes when filming, but they can be a chore to disassemble and pack up when I travel. They also take a bit of time to set back up once I get on location. This ring light, however, sets up and disassembles in only a minute and is much lighter and more compact, but just as bright. It provides soft, even lighting for portrait shots and nice directional light for filming. When shooting straight on at a subject, it casts an even diffuse light, smoothing out facial features for soft angles and curves and gentler details. It also adds a cool halo effect as it reflects off the subject's eyes. The LED bulbs are longer lasting and energy efficient meaning they'll consume less power and make it less likely you'll need to replace any blubs that burn out. That being said, the individual diodes in the light are not really replaceable, so time will tell if these end up being a more reliable lighting option. The only feature of the light that I wasn't a fan of was the snap-on warm diffuser plates. I feel they cast too much of an orange tint on my face creating an unnatural looking skin tone and highlights. This, of course, will be dependent on the subject's skin tone, other supplemental lighting, and the settings on your camera. For others it may lend a bit of color, warmth, or rosiness.

Overall, I think the right light is nice addition to my lighting equipment arsenal. It's definitely a tool that I think I'll end up using in all or most of my video shoots going forward just because it's so easy to set up and adjust. It actually makes a really good single point lighting system if you want to travel light and use a simple setup that would work just about anywhere you're able to plug into power. One thing I do want to note is that the tripod doesn't fit inside the travel case, so you will have to carry that separately, though I did find that the Velcro strap lets you attach it to the top of the bag around the handles so you can keep them together when using the shoulder strap.

Exclusive discount! Use promo code SLB5DU4A at checkout for 30% off at Amazon (US only, for a limited time)

Buy it at Amazon: Pixel 18 Inch Professional LED Ring Light Kit for Photography and Video [Affiliate Link]