It's an 18-inch ring light which makes it perfect for shooting portraits or filming videos. As it's wireless you can use it on location or in the studio which makes it a great option if you want to be able to do both. When you need an inexpensive light that will work just as well with your laptop as it will your phone, we like the QIAYA selfie ring light. It's USB-powered and clips directly onto your phone, tablet, or laptop; giving off soft, warm, adjustable light. This ring light earns its "Pro" designation with distinction. At 17 inches in diameter, it's an inch smaller than the Lume Cube Wireless Ring Light (below), but it gives you a half hour more battery life, and the new light stand is a half-foot higher.The new remote control is a godsend for lighting yourself without having to keep getting up and down, and the improved diffusion is a dream for lighting portrait subjects. The quality of light is also absolutely spot-on, which is particularly important for creators shooting content such as makeup tutorials. In terms of image quality, there’s a lot to like here too. The Dell records at 4K alongside 1080p and 720p, and it supplies solid output at all those resolutions. Colours are a tad oversaturated and other cameras are a little crisper. Despite these minor criticisms, Dell’s picture is still in the top tier when it comes to webcams. This camera doesn't disappoint if you want high-quality output for business calls. Image quality is outstanding: crisp, bright and colourful, with great contrast. The white-balancing works well, and the Brio handles lighting adjustment with ease. In short, you're almost always going to get fantastic image quality with this unit.

We've also included products that will work well with different types of video setup, like the Ivisii 19 inch Ring Light, which is a particularly good choice for those capturing video on an iPad. Note that many ring lights can hold small DSLRs and mirrorless cameras but will not be stable enough to hold a full-frame camera. Image quality, for starters, is superb: crisp, clear and well-balanced, with natural colour and good detail. The good core image is bolstered by fast, effective autofocus, solid exposure adjustment and automatic white balance. Audio quality is decent thanks to stereo microphones. Given their donut-shape, ring lights are perfect for headshots and close-ups, whether you're shooting still images or video. So if you photograph or film yourself or others directly looking into the camera, a ring light is perfect for you. Ring lights can also be used like more traditional LED light panels, to provide overall key or fill lighting to a scene, but they are tailor made for shooting faces. Do professionals use ring lights? We also take them out to see if they're sturdy enough to be transported and used on location, or if they're only really robust enough to stay on your desk or in the corner of your room. It's important to see how the output performs when using batteries versus main power, too, if that's something they offer. Frequently asked questions What's the difference between ring light and LED lights? The secret is their size and shape. The best ring lights produce a constant, wide, circular light that illuminates the face from all directions – and the bigger the ring, the softer the lighting. The result is incredibly flattering illumination, with spectacular circular catchlights in the eyes, soft falloff, and light that generally wraps and sculpts the face.The most important things to consider are the size of the ring and the number of LEDs, since this will affect brightness and thus how close you need to be to the light source.Generally, the more LEDs, the further away you can place the light, which makes it softer, more diffuse and usually more flattering as a result because it reduces the prominence of skin blemishes and spots. Elsewhere, the Dell has a clever AI-based focus system that keeps subjects smoothly in focus. There are plenty of tweakable settings in Dell’s straightforward management app. The device tilts but doesn’t pivot, though, and it also doesn’t have a microphone. For creatives and streamers, though, the Logitech offers plenty of versatility alongside smooth, high-quality 1080p footage, so it’s a great choice. Some sophisticated models have options for altering RGB colours, making them ultra customisable, whereas others have filtered gels that sit over the LEDs themselves. Professional-grade LED lights may also even feature creative lighting effects to mimic natural lighting such as lightning, gunshots or campfires. Are battery-powered ring lights worth it? But another reason is the arrangement of the light. The ring creates a dispersed light that’s much more flattering on the face. Depending on the position of the light, the ring will usually be reflected in the subject's eyes, and if you look very closely you'll probably see that telltale halo in many videos online. However, this can also be advantageous, with the glint adding life to the eyes.

There are several qualities that make the best ring lights so popular for filming to-camera social media videos or for making video calls. Firstly, they're quite affordable and their size makes them handily portable and easy to set up on a desk or on the floor, without the need for a lot of space.

That extra blur is not a big deal, though. Recording at 1080p means that your images are still easily sharp enough for business and home use. Elsewhere, the Anker delivers accurate, natural pictures alongside clear, well-balanced sound. It’s good in low-light conditions, too. Modern ring lights are LED lights, since they are powered by clusters of LED bulbs. However, most LED lights come in the form of rectangular-shaped panels, which produce much flatter illumination. Ring lights, on the other hand, are donut-shaped, which is much more flattering to faces. So rather than providing harsh, flat lighting, ring lights sculpt your features and provide a more dimensional, pleasing, professional look. What are ring lights good for? Videographers love ring lights not just because of their soft and flattering lighting but because they provide a continuous light – regular camera flash is obviously no good at all for video. Many of the best ring lights enable you to adjust the color temperature to suit different skin tones (making them great for makeup tutorials, too) and to match the ambient lighting conditions. Whether you're using them in the sun, the shade or yellow-tinged indoor light, you can make your lighting look natural. The rest of the feature set is excellent. The field of view can be widened all the way to 90 degrees, and there's an infrared camera that works with Windows Hello login. The USB-C connection also means longer cables can be used.