[Test] Elgato Ring Light: OSRAM LED, versatility, performance and ease of use

Renowned for its many quality accessories for videographers and streamers, Elgato offers us (finally) this time a circle of light, the Ring Light. The manufacturer took his time to bring us this OSRAM LED lamp, an accessory yet very popular with all content creators. “Live” (but not only…). Was this long wait worth it? No need to overplay the false suspense: the Ring Light does not disappoint and is even much more complete and versatile than expected. Explanations:

Ultra simple assembly and fixing

Despite the fairly large number of separate parts, mounting the Ring Light is a breeze… and assembly. The luminous circle with a diameter of 17 inches is screwed directly to the desk support (no dedicated tripod in the box, too bad…), just above a ball head.

Another ball joint with standard 1/4 screw attaches to the center and bottom of the light circle. It will therefore be easy to fix your camera there, even if you have to be careful not to place a DSLR with a too massive lens. The system was indeed not designed to support a weight beyond 450-500 grams maximum.

The desk support is easily attached to the edge of the living room table (where we carried out our tests) and the telescopic central branch (+ 60 cm possible) allows the accessory to be positioned at the right height of the face. In general, the Elgato Ring Light is extremely easy to position, especially as the most picky can accessorize thanks to the design Multimount (addition of one or two “Solid Arm” rods, a heavy base serving as a foot, etc.). Note that once mounted, the Ring Light is still quite light (around two kilos). Another element (to be fixed on the 1/4 screw thread) allows you to place a smartphone in a vertical or horizontal position. This mini support is extendable and can accommodate the most compact smartphones as the most imposing. Convenient.

Choice of color temperature: the big plus

The Elgato Ring Light can be controlled manually very simply (+ and – buttons for the variation of light intensity, on-off button) or via a mobile application (iOS / Android) or desktop (PC / Mac). 8 levels of light intensity can be selected, knowing that the circle can go up to a maximum of 2500 Lumens. Elgato makes a big deal out of OSRAM LEDs, the LED frame with side-lighting and uniform illumination, the “ULTRA-REFLECTIVE” aluminum foil that “Scatters the light outwards” or even the top layer of opal glass which “Merges the beams for optimal transmission of photons”. The fact is that the results are excellent: the scene in front of the Ring Light is never overexposed despite the 2500 Lumen, the skin tones are extremely well preserved and you can look right into the heart of the Ring Light without your retinas being begin to melt.

Minimum light intensity, with just a little remote lighting. The skin tones are not altered, no projected shadow effect. Impeccable.

Medium light intensity, with only the Ring Light (total black at the start)

The famous light circle effect in the pupil …

2500 Lumen at full blast, with just a second light source

To complete it all, it is even possible to adjust the color temperature, from 2900 to 7000 k. Portrait photographers will undoubtedly favor warm hues tending towards yellow while gamers will probably prefer streamer their part of Call Of with shades turned to blue. The choice of the color temperature as that of the light intensity is made directly on the accessory or with the two potters integrated into the application (the functions of the latter can also integrate the shortcuts of Siri).

A versatile accessory

The quality of the LED system and the possibility of varying the color temperature make the Ring Light a much more versatile accessory than expected. Above all, the quality obtained turns out to be far above what can be obtained with a light circle that is almost no-brand and of lower quality (but all the same often priced in the waters of 100 euros). How do I know? Simply because I have one of those low cost accessories… and it’s just not the same world with the Elgato Ring Light, not to mention the monumental difference in finish and overall ruggedness.

The Ring Light can be supplemented with other Elgato accessories, such as the Key Light here

Conclusion: join the circle

In short, you will understand, we are won over. Easy to install and configure, versatile in terms of uses, giving very good overall results, the Ring Light is a must in the setup of any videographer / streamer / photographer who does not want to compromise on quality without having to break the PEL .

The Elgato Ring Light is a rather versatile light ring. Above, for a portrait photo

TheElgato Ring Light is available now on Amazon at a price of 169 euros (or on Cdiscount, Darty, LDLC, Materiel.net). It was already a good deal at indicative selling prices (200 euros), but here, you shouldn’t hesitate too much if the accessory can fit into your setup projects.