Interfit Fluorescent Ring Light Quick Review

I have always had a love/hate relationship with ring flashes. On the one hand they can produce wonderfully edgy and striking portraits, whilst on the other images can also look harsh and unforgiving, not to mention the inconsistency in exposure.

However I do love getting away from my trusted beauty dish or softboxes every now and again. As a solution I recently started experimenting with a ring flash alternative – the Interfit florescent ring light ($99).

The Interfit florescent ring light is a constant light source and as with a typical ring flash, creates a very unique lighting effect and ring-shaped catch-lights in the subject’s eyes. Interfit’s latest model is unconventional in that it is mounted via a 5/8 inch mount on a flexible arm, rather than on-camera. This allows greater freedom in angular camera positioning, making it possible to use the light in even more creative ways.

The light is a good size – 43.3cm outer diameter [19″], very light at about 1300g, has a power output of 260w and a colour temperature of 5400k. The light is powered via a 2.4m mains cord also, rather than by battery.

I found the light quality to be excellent and very easy to use and setup. As a portrait photographer we can achieve very pleasing results as shown below:

Nikon D800 | 85mm 1.4 | 1/160 F1.8 100 ISO

The constant light source allows me to shoot at a very shallow depth of field, typically between f1.8 and f2.5. This provides a beautiful soft almost blemish free image – perfect for headshots and portraiture. I tend to use the 85mm 1.4 when shooting with this light and I also use a custom white balance to help achieve the best results.

Nikon D800 | 85mm 1.4 | 1/160 F1.8 100 ISO

I really like the size of this light as it allows me to get a proper evenly-lit ring light effect while capturing head and shoulders in the frame and getting those cool light rings in subjects’ eyes.

Closeup examples of the ring lights in the subjects eyes

I think this light is awesome for creating these type of portraits – my only complaint is the the light doesn’t have a dimmer to adjust the brightness output. I guess the lack of a battery option may put some off but as it is light and portable, it hasn’t been a concern for me – a carry case would be nice though!