Mmmm! Donuts. A review of the coco ring flash
Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 10:22AM Yes, donuts are man's best friend as Homer Simpson phrased it, but donuts may not be what you want when it comes to photography. If you are not mindful of what you are doing with the new Coco ring flash (where did they come up with that name?), this may be what you are ending up with. Not the regular, sugar-coated kind that Homer Simpson reveres, but rather donut-shaped catch lights in your subject's eyes. This classic, fashion photography look is just one of the characteristics that the ring flash can produce. Knowing when the characteristics can show up is key to getting the look you want.
What is the Coco ring flash?
The coco ring flash is an adapter you slide onto your flashgun. It is built specifically to fit on the flashgun mounted on the camera with whatever lens you have on the camera sticking through the hole in the ring flash. Even my biggest lens, the Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 easily fits in the adapter with room to spare. With the flash and adapter mounted on your camera, it grows a bit in size but is still manageable and steady. Just be warned that you will get a lot of 'what is that thing'-questions.
Those darn donuts
Traditionally you will shoot with the ring flash with the flash attached to your camera for ease of use and freeing up both hands for setting your camera and lens. If you shoot this way and are relatively close -- roughly within half a meter -- you can end up with the characteristic donut-shaped reflections in your subject's eyes mostly seen in fashion photography. Now this may be what you are looking for, but it doesnt' always work as I discovered when photographing a couple of 'rowdy' boys. The 'flashy' catch light tend to work better with women, especially if you are mimicking a fashion shoot look. Oh! and one more thing. If you are into droplet macro shots or just macro photography with wet subjects, such as water on a leaf etc., you will also get circular reflections in the droplet/water. Quite odd and unnatural looking so be aware of that.
'Pop'
Used on camera with plenty of light around, the direct light from the ring flash can produce very flat, unflattering light washing away most of the contours and contrast of your subject. Taking away the 'pop' of the image. In these cases, take the ring flash off camera and fire it remotely from the side or above of the subject (such as the baby shots below), and you will have a much more interesting shot being able to play with how the soft shadows fall. On the other hand if you are shooting with the ring flash on camera with very little available light, the straight-on lighting really helps separate the subject in the foreground from the darker background producing a nice, 'popping' image.
Where did the shadow go?
The ability to produce a nice, soft edged wrap-around shadow is another positive effect of the ring flash, and it really becomes apparent if you shoot up against a wall. What a difference compared to a 'naked' flash. The wrap-around shadow really shines in close-up portrait photography and macro photography where you are you want a smooth surface with minimal shadows. But you still have to be careful not to loose too much of the contours and contrast in your image.
Beam me up Scotty
Without getting too technical, your flash will need some extra juice to properly expose the images using the ring flash. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense since the flash has no way of knowing the ring flash is there and consequently cannot compensate for the light loss introduced by the adapter. A good work-around is to set the flash to TTL (through-the-lens) metering and then dial in +0.3-1 stop of extra flash power depending om the amount of available light. That usually did the trick.
And you just gotta love that light.
Be sure to catch some of my portrait work made with the ring flash: "We enjoy drinking coffee together", "Family of four" and "I'm a bit biased, but he is so darn beautiful".
For the technically interested: All shots with the Nikon D300 and a mix of Nikkor lenses: 50mm f1.4 G, 17-55mm f2.8 and 105mm f.8 VR. The Coco ring flash is available at the moment only for the Canon 580 EXii and Nikon SB900 flash. The fit is loose, but with some additional Velcro tape (that is there for my portable soft box) it feels a lot more secure. The ring flash is clearly cheaply produced, but it is very competitively priced @ $60 USD versus the more expensive cousins, the Orbis ($169 USD) and Ray Flash ($200 USD). Despite the relatively cheap price tag, the ring flash is fairly sturdy and has now months of shooting in various locations. You can buy the Coco ring flash
Review | tagged coco, flash, macro, portrait, ring, ringflash, sb900 | 33 Comments | Share Article | Email Article
Reader Comments (33)
I like the nice flat lighting it gives. Though, you can see the light fall-off in the corners.
I like that effect anyways - I do that using the vignette function in Lightroom.
I think I will pick one of these up, when I am in Shanghai.
Looking forward to giving it a test.
After reading this Ordered one from Amazon. GG
@ Ian. Hi Ian, great to hear from you again.
True there is some light fall-off in the corners due to the ring flash not being able to illuminate the full scene. When browsing for a cheap Chinese ring flash adapter, be mindful that it may not fit your D700. I know the manufacturer for the Coco ring flash does not support the D700.
Klaus
@ JSH
Glad you liked the review.
Klaus
Thanks for the review.
I wonder if it can be used with big lenses like the Canon 24-70 /2.8. It is a 77mm thread.
Will it fit?
@ Jose: it will fit a 77mm thread lens, such as the 24-77mm f2.8 or 70-200 f2.8 lenses. The only thing to be aware of is that it will only fit the 580 EX II flash and the smaller Canon camera bodies, like the 5D, 50D, etc.
Klaus
Hi, will it fit the 580EX I
@ Ryan: That's a good question. I shot it on the Nikon SB900, so I do not have any Canon compatibility first-hand experience. Looking at the specs from amazon.com, it calls out that you will need the 580 EXII. If there is a significant difference in flash-head size between the EXI and EXII the ring flash adapter may not fit the EXI.
If you're convinced that you want to buy this over, say the more expensive Ray Flash (that do fit the EXI), my suggestion is to go ahead and then see if you cannot make it fit. E.g. if the adapter is too large, you can add velcro tape to your flash head, etc. And if it turns out that you cannot make it fit, you can always return it at a minimal loss (shipping cost).
Klaus
Hi there!
i just wanted to firstly say that i found this blog/review very useful and i'm thinking of getting the coco ring flash now because of it!
I've also now seen numerous reviews on the coco ring flash and everyone seems to be pretty happy with their purchase, especially because it's only like $60.
I went to Amazon.com to purchase it, and found that i didn't look closely enough, and its in USD and i'm from Australia. I was able to get out of it, as it ended up calculating to something of the price i'd pay for the Ray flash.
But i was just wondering if there's anyone that knows of a site that i could buy this Coco flash for around the $60 AUD price and not have to pay a million dollars in postage and handling.
I'd really like to get one, after reading sooo many reviews and getting all excited about it :) lol
Please help if anyone knows :)
Thank you :)
@ Laura: Hm! after looking around I can only find the Coco ringflash on Amazon.com/co.uk. Strangely though, it says that the ringflash is sold via 47th Street Photo in New York, but visiting their website you cannot find the coco ringflash. Weird.
My suggestion is to contact 47th Street Photo directly (sales@47stphoto.com) and ask them if you can buy the ringflash anywhere else. If not, it seems that amazon.com/co.uk is the only purchase channel.
Klaus
Hi
I just got a Coco ring flash from Crazy cameras.co.uk After reading your reviews and the price is right for me
Chris
@ Chris: congrats on your new purchase. Feel free to post a link to some shots you take with the ringflash, would be interested to see what you produce with it.
Klaus
Fits my D700 fine, the Coco Ring Flash that is. Found that I need to compensate even more than suggested here on sb900 due to light loss. Shooting with the flash on manual over TTL seemed to work better for me.
@Jake: Thanks for the head's up.
Since this post I have upgraded to the D700 and find (as you) I can still use the ring flash. However it depends on what lens I have on the camera. With my beefier lenses (such as the 105mm f2.8 VR) the fit is getting tight because of the raised hotshoe mount compared to, say the D300. So I can see it might be even more difficult to fit the ring flash on camera (D700) with 77/82mm diameter lenses.
Alternatively, I will use the flash + ring flash off camera triggering the unit via cable or CLS utilizing the SU-800.
Klaus
Thanks heaps Klaus Boedker and Chris.. I might either email 47th Street or check out that camera.co.uk
however being that its a UK site, i'll probably have to pay just as much in postage and handling. I guess thats the only way to go.
I think it ended up calculating to some thing like $70-80 just for the postage and handling, and that was on top of the $60 price, so that's why i thought i'd ask if anyone knew if there was a cheaper one!
Thanks heaps guys for helping me :)
I'm definitely getting one to play around with - this is a GREAT review. Also they are near $50 on USD on Amazon.
Hi there just jumping in on this post. I'm considering buying this ring flash adaptor. I first read about it on a post from a user who used it on a Sigma flash unit, so it obviously fits the Sigma flash units too. I'm wondering if it would fit on my Metz AF48 flash unit. If anyone has successfully used it on a Metz unit, or indeed if any of the owners could give me the measurements of the sleeve, to see if it would fit over the end of the Metz unit. I'm shooting with a Canon 40D so its compatible with the body size.
Thanks for any help
John
@Gretchen: glad you liked the review. Am planning a follow up post, sort of a "six months later" post. Great work by the way on your website.
Klaus
thanks for the review. was looking at one of the cocos since its 1/3 the price of the orbis and such. also, there is now a d700 version available on amazon for $10 more than the smaller bodied models, just to update a previous comment that there wasn't.
http://www.amazon.com/Coco-Adapter-SB-900-Digital-Cameras/dp/B0036FBXSE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266413345&sr=1-1
@davidmonnerat: thanks for the head's up on a new version of the coco ring flash. I have actually been using the 'old' version for my D700 a lot off camera. Great way to get more directional lighting on your subjects.
Hello,
I liked your review very much!
But really needed an aswer to one vital question!
I do mostly weddings and was wondering will the CoCo have enough power to equaly fill the light with the sun. Does it even have enough power to overpower the sun?
I shoot with a Nikon D300 and SB900 at ASA100. Mostly at ditances between 6-15 feet.
I am not worried about the longer distances, beacuse they usually are of the group shots and I wouldn't use the CoCo for those shots anyway.
But I am interested in the 6-10 foot range!
Thanks for any input you can send me on this.
Yours,
Bob
engelphotography@juno.com
@Bob Thanks for the comment. Glad you liked the review. Roughly speaking the coco ringflash 'eats' up 1-2 stops of light compared to a naked flash. But with the power of the higher end flashes, the option to dial up ISO, dial down shutterspeed, or open aperture up, you should be OK.
Lately I have used the ringflash extensively for fill flash in outdoor shots. Like this session:
http://www.seeingthemoment.com/photoblog/2010/2/26/family-of-four.html
Though, my subjects were mainly in the shade. Hope that helps.
Klaus
This has been the best Coco review that I found! I was also wondering if you can tell me if they noticed any light falloff between the top and bottom parts of the photo when shooting horizontally since light is coming from the top of the ring. And also how snug is the fit? Does it wobble? I`m also worried about it messing up the hot shoe as all the weight pulls the adapter and the flash forward. Thanks in advance!
One, no I haven't seen any noticeable light fall-off between the top and bottom of the frame. There is quite a bit fall-off in the corners when using the ring flash as a primary light source. Use it as fill, and you will not see any fall-off.
Two, the snugness depends very much on which flash gun you mount the ring flash on. On my SB900 it is a very snug and secure fit. True, the ring flash does add extra weight to the hot shoe, but nothing that has concerned me. If you see it as a point of worry, you can always use the ring flash off camera via wireless syncing or cable.
Happy shooting.
Klaus
Thanks for your review of the Coco Ringflash, it was very informative. I'm convinced!
One question though; do you know if it fits a Canon EOS 500D? Only the 50, 40 etc. are listed as compatible..
Thanks in advance!
Anders
Now regarding compatibility, I would actually take the specs given by Coco fairly seriously. When first purchasing the ring flash, I was shooting with the Nikon D300 which is listed as compatible. Since upgrading the D700, which is not listed as compatible, it is significantly harder fitting thering flash mounted in the hot-shoe around a lens. This is simply because the D700 hot-shoe is mounted higher than on the D300.
In your case, I am guessing that the same will apply since the 500D is a smaller body than a 40/50D. Meaning the ring flash may bump into the upper part of the lens when mounted in the hot-shoe.
To circumnavigate this issue, I find myself shooting more with the ring flash off camera tethered to the hot-shoe via a sync cable.
Hope that helps.
Klaus
Thanks!
Only possible issue I can see is that the lenses being so relatively short, they may not protrude all the way through the ring flash. So look out for any light spill directly into the lens.
Cheers,
Klaus
Happy shooting.
Klaus
but doesn't have velcro or double sided tape to afix it to the hotshoe flash. I bought mine second hand and there wasn't any pamphlet or instructions with it.
Thanks, Lisa
Hope that helps.
Klaus