In all walks of life there are expensive products and cheaper variations, some of which achieve some semblance of the task required and others barely manage to create a facsimile. The Orbis Ring flash looks to undercut the majority of the ring flashes on the market by using existing equipment.

By clipping onto a flashgun the Orbis reduces the cost by an impressive amount, coming in at around £100 less than a fully fledged ring flash. The entire setup does rely on a standard flashgun being in possession of the photographer, but the universal mounting does allow for most known brands to be utilised. With a plastic mounting able to clip around the head the flashgun will fit quite snugly into the underside, although the flash will drop out if not held from underneath or supported in some manner.

An off-camera flash cable is also needed in order to shoot through the ring as the DSLR must sit behind the unit. It’s fair to assume that, although the flashgun is a likely purchase, the cord is not, so an amount of extra cash is required to use the ring flash to its full potential.
The ring flash looks a touch flimsy on first impressions, but after usage is found to be quite robust and sturdy. The flash does need to be supported from underneath which takes a little getting used to when working handheld, as the likes of focal length and shutter speed can’t easily be altered. The flash also takes some setting up, as getting consistent results when relying on the camera to automatically meter can result in uneven images. Manually changing the power settings seemed to bring about a far more reliable end product, and make more of the Orbis’s mirrored system.

For portrait photographers looking for a cheap alternative to get started the Orbis Ring Flash is well worth considering, especially if only dabbling in the field rather than going fully pro.