Any one currently use one? Pros-cons? Im looking at getting a third light (i have an B800 and B1600). I have seens some great work with ring lights, but i have also seen some very harsh work. It seems distance from the camera is very critical for proper use of these. so... any opinions? Any examples? Matt care to chip in, i think you have one.....
I have the Sigma Ringflash for Canon. The flash already has a diffuser which helps diminish any harsh flash reflectance on the subjects. This is true both in macro photography (the reason I bought the flash) and in portraits. The flash is not usable for any other uses, save for possible fill flash on a sunny day. Mounting the flash on the lens and the hot shoe is a task, much bigger than just mounting the normal flash on the hot shoe, and frankly, I would not get into the trouble. Going back to macrophoto, the reason one should/would buy such a flash, the Sigma is a joy to use. Very easy to take correctly exposed pictures, the modelling light / strobe light are very handy to focus in those cases where the viewfinder is virtually black and the flash feels well made and reliable.
Ring flashes are designed to be use with subjects close and small enough to be surrounded by the ring tube. They provide soft and shadow-free light in that application. If you use it as a regular flash on more distant subjects, then it behaves like a regular flash and provides the same bad lighting any on-camera flash would provide.
