The Raya Bendie-Brite Folding USB Bi-Color LED Ring Light is the best ring light if you’re on the road a lot and want a ring light that can travel with you. It’s lightweight (weighing less than a pound) and can fold in half, so you can take it with you to shoot your vlogs or video chats or capture some casual selfies. However, although it’s small, it has some more advanced features, such as the ability to adjust the color temperature and brightness for your project via touch-sensitive controls. Rotolight’s Conference Kit takes the highly-regarded Rotolight Neo 2 video light and pairs it with a desk-friendly stand. Key specs – Ring diameter: 13cm; Brightness: 2500 lumens; Dimmable: Percentage increments; Colour temperature: 2900-7000K; Advertised CRI: 96; Internal mount: None; Power source: 6x AA or included mains adapter

Depending on how you plan to use your ring light, the power source can be worth noting. If you’re mainly working indoors you’ll want a mains powered light. Need a more portable option for working on the go? Look for a light that can run off of batteries. USB powered lights are also quite common and these are great for keeping cable clutter to a minimum. They can also be run off of a USB power bank which can come in handy. If you want to add a professional pop to your Zoom and Skype calls but don’t fancy turning over your whole desk to a larger lamp and stand, Elegiant’s 6.3” Ring Light is ideal. Ring lights are also commonly used for macro or product photography, where they can sometimes be affixed around a camera or lens for even lighting around a subject. You’ll find a range of brightnesses on offer, and the ideal option will be determined by how you plan to use your light. Most ring lights advertise an approximate brightness in lumens, with 800 lumens comparable to a 60W incandescent lightbulb, and 1500 lumens a 100W bulb. Larger ring lights tend to feature more LEDs and therefore provide a brighter output, although smaller lights can often be positioned closer for similar results. Additionally, consider the size of the light: some are quite small and portable, which means you can take them on the road with you; others are larger and heavier, which may weigh you down.The diffused light evenly illuminates faces, softening shadows, flattering the facial features and creating iconic halo catchlights. It’s no surprise, then, that ring lights are now some of the most popular lighting choices for YouTubers, vloggers and makeup artists. Increasingly they’re also being taken up by those looking to give their Zoom and Skype video calls a professional polish. For casual video calls with friends, the Rotolight Conference Kit is arguably overkill. However, if you’re on the hunt for a smart-looking, premium quality light to use within a professional or a serious piece of kit for your photo and video work, the Rotolight should be on your shortlist. The light features a clamp so you can mount it directly on your laptop, monitor, or the edge of your desk with no need for an additional stand. Once set up it can then be angled to suit, and can be plugged directly into your computer’s USB port, which keeps messy cable runs to a minimum. For versatility, you can alternatively opt to power it via a USB wall adapter or power bank.

Although this inexpensive ring light has a barebones design and feature set, it can be used on various mobile devices, including most phones and tablets, as well as on laptops. The model also lets you adjust the strength of the light’s brightness by setting it to low, normal or high. Key specs – Ring diameter: 46cm; Brightness: 2000 lumens; Dimmable: Percentage increments; Colour temperature: 2900, 5500k, 6500k; Advertised CRI: 90; Internal mount: Phone or camera; Power source: Mains adapter The light is daylight white balanced by default but it comes with a set of filters for indoor and mixed lighting situations. Two included diffusion filters also help soften the light for flatting portraits.READ NEXT: The best tripods for iPhones The best ring lights you can buy in 2023 1. EOTO 18in Ring Light: Best budget large ring light verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ The light is bright, compact, colour accurate, and feels built to last. A bright rear display makes adjusting brightness and exact colour temperature a breeze, while a set of included diffusion filters let you soften the light to taste. The light can be powered using the included mains adapter or, for a cable-free setup, you can use a set of six AA batteries (although we’d recommend looking into rechargeables). Do you need a ring that lets you adjust the light’s color temperature or brightness? Or do you need the option of powering the ring light either by an AC adapter or using batteries?

What makes this one of the best ring lights is that it offers variable color settings (including an RGBWW feature) and the ability to change the brightness of the light. The USB pass-through feature is another useful addition, as this lets you charge a phone while it’s positioned in the fixture, ensuring you won’t lose power during your shoot.

DSLR-Friendly Tripod 

Key specs – Ring diameter: 43cm; Brightness: 2500 lumens; Dimmable: Percentage increments; Colour temperature: 2900-7000K; Advertised CRI: 94; Internal mount: Camera; Power source: Mains adapter

This Nanlite Halo 16C is one of several ring lights the company has in its product line, ranging from 14 to 19 inches in diameter. This 16-inch model is well suited to many uses, including beauty lighting, vlogging, live streaming, makeup application and tutorials, portrait photography and small product photography.Although a little pricey, Elgato’s Ring Light is a genuinely well-rounded option for anyone in the market for a large diameter, high-quality ring light. If you’re buying a large, bright ring light, you’ll definitely want to opt for a model with a dimmer so you can manage the output. This can be less important on smaller, dimmer lights. The best ring lights work with both cameras and smartphones (we’ve actually got a specific list of the best ring lights for phones). So if you’ve just bought a new phone with an incredible camera or have invested in a new vlogging camera to take your TikTok videos to the next level, you’ll want to invest in a suitable ring light to give your content that professional edge. You’ve no doubt noticed that natural light can appear cool and blue, while indoor incandescent light can seem warm and yellow. If you plan on matching your ring light to any ambient lighting you’ll need to make sure it offers some form of colour temperature control. Most ring lights include the option to adjust the temperature, either electronically with an adjustable dial, or using interchangeable filters. Look for a 5500K or daylight setting if you plan on working mainly with natural light, or a 3200K or tungsten setting for working indoors. What other features should I look out for?