How much should a good, basic ring light cost?
I want to purchase a ring light for zoom meetings and food photography in my rather dark home. How much should i expect to spend? Is it the kind of thing I should get from photography store, or could I find it on Amazon or Craigslist?
Answers ( 1 )
Amazon or eBay would be the best sources for these. Ring lights run the gamut from $10 - $200 depending on how professional you want to get with it. The issue is that the things you want to use it for would best be handled with different types of ring lights.
If you're using it for live streaming or zoom, then look into a webcam with built-in ring light functionality that clips onto your laptop or monitor. These are usually around $30USD.
For food photography, a better product would be a light kit instead of a ring light, as the lightboxes in a kit help to soften shadows and balance the light. A ring light wouldn't give you the range of light you'd need to take good base shots of food (even if you adjusted the exposure in Adobe Lightroom). These are more expensive (usually starting at $100USD) but will give you better pictures and can attract more interest in your food photography. You can also find these used on eBay if you're on a budget.