The 12 inch Ring Light comes in a corrugated box strapped inside a padded carrying case, with mounting hardware, and an AC cord. Stellar estimates the light output at 1200 lumen. The real appeal of the 12 inch Ring Light in my opinion is that it can be powered by plugging it into an AC outlet, or by connecting it (using the supplied D tap connector) to a 15 volt battery. After pricing several battery systems (with some of the options costing several times the cost of the Ring Light itself,) I elected to power the 12 inch Ring Light by plugging the AC cord directly into a Vagabond Mini Lithium battery from Paul C. Buff Inc. My testing consistently achieved nearly two hours of continuous light on a fully charged battery. The 12 Inch Ring Light can be easily mounted to an extension pole and hand carried along with the battery by an assistant.
The 12 inch Ring Light from Stellar Lighting Systems
The 18 inch Ring Light comes in a larger box and padded case, along with tripod/c stand mounting hardware, and an AC power cord. According to Stellar, the 18 inch Ring Light which uses a 65 Watt lamp produces 4000 lumen (f 5.6 at 4 feet @ISO 200.)
As with most fluorescents, these lights are best used indoors. The color temperature seems most stable after running then for about 3-4 minutes. I find them flicker free.
Now for the deal sealer: The MSRP of the 12 inch and 18 inch units is $199 and $219 respectively. These lights are lightweight and pack a lot of bang for the buck. They are suitable for location or studio work. The only drawbacks are that 1) the gooseneck stand mount that comes with the 12 inch fixture has to be unscrewed (it’s held in place by two Philips head screws) to fit in the box and transport case, and 2) I wish there were an alternative to the cardboard braces used to protect the lamp when being stored or transported. All thing considered, these are both minor issues. Perhaps now you can understand why I’m excited about saying “With this ring, I thee light!”
Disclosure: No consideration has been received in connection with this blog entry, nor has any manufacturer and/or retailer offered any consideration.
copyright 2011 bk atkinson
Have you had any overheating problems with the mini battery?
No, I’ve had no problems at all. The battery operates for nearly an hour continuously before the fan comes on. When the fan does come on, it is audible, but not intrusively, and runs for about 2-3 minutes. During the second hour of operation the fan came on about 4 times or so.
Thanks for reading the post and for your question!