 One ring circus for macro photography
Get ready to seriously Pimp Your Cam!
Maybe nobody cares about you and your digital camera. But the moment you take a Ring Flash you will seem like Jacques Custeau to everyone.
Macro photography with a dSLR is a deep experience. From the moment you see that ultra shallow depth of field to the amazing detail your dedicated macro lens can achieve, you instantly know that you are taking the next big step. And by this time you may find that macro photography is not just a point and shoot task.
With macro photography you will have to stop down your camera big time to get a sharp image and just the perfect mix of blur and sharp parts of your picture. If available light is less than perfect your in-camera flash (or even external flash) just won't do the trick. You will need a dedicated Ring Flash for your camera.
 The MR-14EX is a ring flash that looks pretty intimidating because of the large amount of customizable settings. It's OK if you're scared, but fear not: the first great news with this flash is that it will work automatically when you set your camera in P, Av or Tv modes and the ETTL will do its job wonderfully.
Recharge delay is pretty short, and some 2500mA NiMh AA batteries will be a very good investment.
So, it works great in auto mode. But this one ring circus has a ton of tricks. You will spend a good time understanding the manual because with the MR-14EX you'll be capable to customize flash exposure compensation, high-speed sync, manual exposure and has nine custom functions. With one or more EX-series Speedlites having a slave funcion, you can create a wireless, multi-Speedlite flash system (and don't be scared, it's as easy to use as normal E-TTL II autoflash).
Probably the only thing we disliked from this ring lite is the $438 (street) price tag: it's pricey, but as you can see, a quite advanced flash unit. Before buying it consider that it will only work for macro photography and that you'll need a dedicated lens like the >>EF 100mm f/2.8.
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Good
to know... |
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Brand & Model: |
Canon
Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX |
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Pertinent
info: |
> External Macro Photography Flash
> Auto mode & fully customizable
> Wireless capability
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Ideal
for: |
Macro Photography |
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Street Price: |
$438 |
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Low cost alternative: |
Opteka RL 500, $100 |
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High cost alternative: |
Canon macro twin light MT-24EX $635 |
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Advantages: |
- Easy to use
- Highly customizable
- Excellent results for macro photography
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Disadvantages: |
- Bulky and conspicuous
- A little intimidating in manual mode |
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Our emotional opinion: |
It's expensive, it looks dangerous, but is incredibly fun to use. This ring flash will allow you to grow as a photographer thanks to the many customizable functions. |
Macro Ring Lite Gallery
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