REVIEW: Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Ringflash ECO

Ranger Quadra Ringflash ECO

A couple years back I reviewed the RayFlash as an alternative to expensive ring flashes (which cost $1000 – $3000 back then). I was pleased with the results, but it took a lot of battery juice and forced me to shoot at ISO 800. In short, it worked but it wasn’t ideal.

Now fast-forward to Photo Plus Expo NYC 2011 where I discussed the latest and greatest gear from the top photography related companies in the world. One of those companies showing off their new gear was Elinchrom and they were quite proud of their new affordable ring flash. Now, this ring flash still cost over $500, but that’s less than half the cost of their Elinchrom Ranger RX 1500 Watt/Second Ringflash. That makes it much closer in price to the $200 RayFlash than it does its big brother, so I’d say that qualifies as affordable!

Using the RingFlash

A Diffusion Cover is offered (mouse out),
but I preferred it off (mouse in)

This gadget must be easy to use because it comes with directions that are less detailed than what you’d get from your average one-page instructions from Ikea. That said, I figured out how it worked without too much trouble and used it on both short and long lenses. In the end I preferred using it with my 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM the most. Here’s what the ringflash looked like installed on that lens :

 

Getting it perfect straight is a bit of a choir, but the reality is that it worked fine both crooked and straight. I couldn’t tell the difference. The arms adjust so it works for both short and long lenses, but this was as long as I could extend it, so  you couldn’t use it with a beast like the 200mm f/2L IS USM.

While I show it on a tripod here, the reality is that I like to shoot handheld so I just carried it in my hands and shot. You definitely get tired when you do this, but it is doable. You have to be mindful of the Quadra cord and you need to strategize on how to set the camera down, but beyond that it works fine attached.

Shooting Lessons Learned

I loved the light and the rim shadows you get with the ring flash

I’m not a ring flash shooter and I honestly don’t know much about them. As a result I think I had a pretty good experience that many of my readers will relate with.

At first when you use the ring flash it takes a little getting used to dialing in the right settings. It can be like using a sensitive shower where it’s super easy to go too far in one direction (i.e., too bright or dark). While I don’t use a light meter in my studio, I’d suspect this thing would give it fits – but who knows. Here’s one of my test shots that shows exactly what the image looked like straight out of the camera (only a dust spot removed, a simple crop and sharpening added – zero other edits):

What I liked about my starting point is that the models skin looked really nice and curves of the bone structure had nice highlights. Sometimes the shots would be a bit too bright as shown above, but it was easy to correct in RAW.

It took me about 3 shots before I had my desired brightness dialed in and then I was cranking out shots like the one at the top of this section where I enjoyed the ringflash look. The breasts especially (and those are natural ones) seemed to take on a more curvy look, chins, cheekbones and lips also seem to really benefit from the extra punch of light.

What About Catch Light Rings In The Eyes?

With short lenses, ring catch lights are common

When using a 70-200mm I didn’t have a single shot with the signature ring catch lights in the models eyes. However, to get them it took a little more work than I expected so I volunteered my big eyed daughter Sierra to show the effect above.

With that said, at normal viewing distances you aren’t going to notice them as shown below:

What you will notice though is that with short lenses its easy to overpower your background lights (which I had cranked to the max in the shot above). Perhaps this is why you usually see models on dark wall-like backgrounds when ring flashes are used, but I found that if you get farther back with a long lens then its much easier to get your white seamless to look more white than gray.

Give your model a break!

One thing my models pointed out really quickly was that the ringflash is blinding to them since the light goes directly into their eyes. After several blasts in a row they were seeing circles and their pupils got tiny. Keep this in mind when you are shooting with shy models who might not speak up. Working at longer distances helps too, so consider going a bit farther back if you can –this gun have a enough light to get to your subject without blinding them in the process!

Great for a serious, sexy or edgy look

While the shots of my daughter Sierra above show that these ringflash shots don’t need to be super hard edged when processed, I just gravitate that way for fun when I do them. To me this device just creates images which are perfect for serious, sexy and/or edgy looks like this:

I love edgy processing with ring flash shots! (hover to see before editing)

RingFlash versus RayFlash

RayFlash Sample Shot

I enjoyed my RayFlash and it created a nice similar look, but the added power of the portable Quadra pack helps a ton. Even if having a cord is a bit annoying, its worth it. It’s also worth noticing that the adjustable bars on the ringflash give you a lot more options than the fixed size of the RayFlash, so those finding the need for multiple RayFlashes to fit their gear may be able to get along with only one ringflash.

After this experience, I’ve decided that it’s probably time to sell my RayFlash. I want this ringflash as great results are much better easier to obtain. As a result I ended up buying my test unit and plan to use it more often in my studio.

Conclusion

I’m not a ringflash shooter so I expected it to be much like the RayFlash where I thought it was fun to review, but I’d probably never use it much. However, I found myself very surprised at how much I loved the look from this gizmo. It was especially nice when shooting people like myself and my daughter who have inset eyes as it really brightened the eyes. I also loved what it did the to skin on models (like the chest shot of Erica at the beginning of “Shooting Lessons Learned”.

Ringflashes are super hot in fashion photography, and with a good one you quickly understand why. I’m hooked, and recommend this one for Quadra users! If you are looking for something different to spice up your shots, this is a nice toy to enjoy!

Where To Buy & What You’ll Need

You can click on the following items below to order everything needed to make your ring flash work:

• Ranger Quadra Ringflash ECO (required)
• Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Head S Standard Set OR Ranger Quadra Head S Pro Set (can be used for non-ringflash purposes)

For more info about what I use, see my lighting setup page.

Disclosure

I was provided a loaner unit to review which I purchased using my personal funds at a used price rate. I may make a commission if you purchase using the links found in this article, so if you enjoy the article please use my links to support this blog.

REVIEW: Ray Flash: The Ring Flash Adapter

Unless you’ve been in a cave, you’ve probably already seen or heard about the Ray Flash. Everyone is talking about it these days because it is an inexpensive way to get results that are similar to a more expensive solution like the Profoto Ring Flash Head, which is frequently used in fashion photography these days to soften the shadows on a model and also to create a trendy stylized look.

When I got my Ray Flash I was pleased to see that it was a lot more sturdy than it seemed in the pictures. This is actually one well built device that seems like it can withstand normal wear and tear very well. Granted, I wouldn’t toss it on the concrete or sit on it, but short of that it should hold up quite well.

 

One challenge with these things is due to the nature of what they do – because the flash goes around the lens (as shown – albeit crooked - above on a Canon 5D Mark II using a 580 EX II and a 24-105mm lens, the flash you use as well as the size of your camera body is critically important in determining the size unit you need.

If you shoot with multiple bodies that aren’t exactly the same size or using the same flash, this means you either need to dedicate the ring flash to one camera body (my preference) or get two. When I discussed this issue with ExpoImaging and inquired about an adjustable body, I was reminded that they did try this solution but it resulted in a 2 stop light drop, so for efficiency sake it was felt that a fix solution was the right way to go. After using this device, I would agree as more light fall off would be a very bad thing!

Visit the the Ray Flash web page on ExpoImaging’s web site for lots of great information, sample images and more reviews. However, be sure to come back here for a great discount on the Ray Flash!

Sample Images

I’ll admit that when i started this review I wasn’t a huge fan of the ring flash look so I wasn’t expecting to get any photos from it that I’d be very pleased with. However, this thing surprised and I got one of my favorite studio shots to date with it. All the sample images in this article were taken with a Canon 5D Mark II using a 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, and I intentionally used a black paper background with a model in all black to help illustrate the impact of the ring flash lighting opposed to more traditional lighting methods. 

 
f/4.0, 1/125 sec, and ISO 800 – 580 EX II Flash Exposure Compensation: +1

This image was taken after I had gotten warmed up with how to use the Ray Flash. Specifically, I learned that you need to kick up the exposure compensation and crank up the ISO to get the light you need for it to work the magic that a real Ring Flash can give. This was something I really didn’t expect as it seemed the Ray Flash is very well designed to minimize the loss of light, but the reality is that you are asking a lot of it so some light loss is inevitable.

The image above was my favorite shot of the bunch and one that actually made me open my eyes up after the shoot and say “hey wow, I might really be able to use this thing!”. Seriously, I am not crazy about Ring Lights, so I thought this was going to be an article where I proved there were crap, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. However, one thing it did prove is that you have to watch the type of clothes your models are wearing (or not wearing underneath) as this bolt of light will shine right through the fabric as shown in this shot.  Nevertheless, the result here is that the shadows on the skin look fantastic and the hair is simply radiant which I really like! I couldn't have been happier with this shot, so score one for the Ray Flash here.

f/4.0, 1/200 sec, and ISO 400 – 580 EX II Flash Exposure Compensation: +1

This image had to be brightened quite a bit in Photoshop because my initial exposure was way off. I needed the settings of the previous picture (which was actually taken after this one) to get a proper exposure, so my original shot was way too dark. In fact, all of my original shots were a sea of black with some skin poking through. The good thing is that I shot RAW and was able to fix it. What this tells me is that had I exposed my shot properly, then this result could have easily occurred out of camera (as shown in the previous shot) and the net result is a nice shot that has enough shadows to show definition, but eliminates enough of the harsh contrast to still create a nice look on the skin. There is a good separation between the model and the black background, and once again the the hair looks radiant.

Image taken with just the On-Camera Flash

I’m pretty pleased with my on-camera flash especially, after reading On-Camera Flash Techniques. However, for this shot I thought I’d do the traditional point to the ceiling and pop the white card that most people do (and I do when I’m in a hurry) to see what kind of results I’d get.

f/4.0, 1/125 sec, and ISO 400 – 580 EX II Flash Exposure Compensation: 0

The first thing you notice with this shot is that the shadows are creating more depth in the image, and not in a flattering way. The skin tones are pleasing and the lighting is nice (especially on the top of the hair), but the catch lights aren’t as dominant either. Now this isn’t to say that I couldn’t have worked the shot to get the results I needed, but when compared to the equal effort I put into the ring flash shots, the result is that I liked the ring flash results better. The results under the eyes and on the neck, clearly show the advantage the ring light offers. You’ll also notice here that with no exposure modifications that ISO 400 with no flash exposure compensation was enough to light this shot very well. The only fault here is mine for not bouncing my flash in a more favorable way.

Image taken with Off-Camera Flash using Umbrellas

f/4.0, 1/125 sec, and ISO 400 – 580 EX II Flash Exposure Compensation: 0

Using two lights off camera on umbrellas I was able to eliminate some of the shadow problems and create a better result, but without the aid of a flash on the background the separation between the subject and the black background isn’t as defined as I would like. I also feel like this setup did a much better job with the shadows on the face to create a nice balanced soft shadow look like you get with the ring light, but without the light on the background (which in this case is a bad thing). Overall though, you can see that this solution (or one with softboxes, studio lights, etc…) can create a pleasing result without putting a bright highlight on your background which may not be desirable (as it is in this extreme black on black scenario).

Conclusion

In short, I liked this gadget. It isn’t something I’d say is a “must have” or something that I’d use 100% of the time, but it is a fun tool to play with. This article isn’t trying to convince you that it is better or worse than anything, but rather to show you how the results you achieve with it (under the same conditions) can give you drastically different results. Now in this case I did stack the results in the ring flashes favor by going all black, but that was primarily to show how it really can light up your background which in the case of a bright background may or may not be what you really want.

I should also point out that this device works with other flashes and camera bodies (i.e., Nikon), so be sure to refer to the information on ExpoImaging’s site for more information.

Yes, there are other devices by Orbis and Alien Bees, but that’s not what this article is about. It’s about my 2 cents on the Ray Flash which ultimately I enjoyed. I don’t think I’ll use it every day, but I can definitely say that I’ll be experimenting with it more often on shoots just to see how I like the results compared to my traditional setups. I haven’t tried the others, but others have so I encourage you to check out those comparisons via the link here.

Special Offer

 

Save 15% on all ExpoImaging Store products like the RayFlash or ExpoDisc when you enter ronmart09 in the “Enter Redeem Code” box and click Redeem in the ExpoImaging Store’s shopping cart as shown above.

Disclosure

I was provided an evaluation copy of the Ray Flash by ExpoImaging for this review and I will earn a commission when you use my discount code (thanks for supporting the blog).