The best ring flash for macro photography in 2025: use a ring light for better closeups

The best ring flash has traditionally been strongly recommended purchase for any macro photographer. If you're on the lookout for interesting plants and insects to capture with your macro lens, you need a way to provide a quick bit of fill light, especially if you keep finding yourself inadvertently casting great big shadows over the things you're trying to photograph! There are alternative solutions nowadays using carefully positioned LED panels, but the ring flash is a brilliant integrated solution to the problems of lighting creepy-crawlies and the like.

A ring flash has the additional advantage that it can provide enough light to allow you to stop down the aperture enough to get your whole subject in focus. The built-in flash on your camera won't cut it, and hotshoe flashguns often won't work too well with macro lenses, with the two getting in the way of each other. And LED panels will struggle to give enough power to give the aperture and shutter speed combination you need for moving subjects.

The best macro flashguns, also known as a ring flash, attach around the front of a lens to provide illumination without getting in the way or casting shadows. This also has its applications in professional sciences and forensics; you may have seen a ring flash being used by crime-scene photographers on a show like CSI!

One thing to note is that here we've compiled ring flash units, for photography. If you're looking for a ring light for video, then head to our guide to the best ringlights for vloggers.

There are two types of ring flash available. The genuine ring flash uses a circular flash tube to provide even lighting around the subject. Its advantage is that it creates donut-shaped catchlights in your subjects’ eyes if you use it for portraits.

The alternative is a twin-flash design, which uses two small flash tubes on opposite sides of the lens. These usually have large, semi-circular diffusers to mimic the all-around lighting of a genuine ring flash. The advantage is that you can vary each tube’s output independently. This enables you to create a side-lit effect, which can look better than the flat lighting of a genuine ring flash.

Chris George

Chris has been writing about photography professionally for nearly 40 years and has tested hundreds of different cameras – and has used a wide variety of macro set-ups and ring flash units. He has been the editor of What Camera, N-Photo, PhotoPlus, Video Camera, and Digital Camera magazines.

The Quick List

Best ring flash for macro photography 

Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test.

Best overall macro ring flash

The Neewer RF1 Macro Ring Flash is a close-up lighting solution for Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras and is my top buy, due to its performance, quality, and low price. The kit includes a control unit, a flash unit with separate dual-sided flash tubes, and eight attachment rings for various lenses.

One of the flash's main strengths is the ability to independently control the power of the dual left and right flash tubes, which allows for creative lighting effects. It also features AF-assist/modelling LEDs and dedicated TTL metering. The flash is significantly more affordable than comparable models from major camera brands, like Canon and Nikon. It runs on four AA batteries but can also be powered by an external power pack.

However, the power setting can be too strong for some ultra-close-up shots, and the rotary dial for manual adjustments can be a bit fiddly. The full-power recycle speed is also quite slow. Despite these minor issues, the Neewer RF1 Macro Ring Flash is highly recommended for its excellent value and versatility.

See our full Neewer RF1 review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best macro ring flash for precision

Nissin’s contender stands out with its clever head design that can expand by 14mm to accommodate lens diameters up to 82mm without vignetting – though the six mounting plates included top out at 77mm.

Other features include a Fine Macro mode, in which the left and right flash tubes can be individually adjusted from 1/128 to 1/1024 power in super-precise 1/6 EV steps (compared to 1/3 EV from full power to 1/64 power). A guide number of 16 provides plenty of poke for portraits or macro photography.

Changing modes is easy with the color LCD on the control unit, and the simple interface also makes light work of configuring the wireless TTL master and slave options. Advance features also include high speed sync and rear curtain sync.

Performance doesn’t disappoint, with the MF18 offering lovely soft light and fast recycle times. Color temperature is a whisker warmer than with the other flashes on test, and the control unit is quite bulky, but if you can live with these minor drawbacks, it’s excellent value for money.

See our full Nissin MF18 review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best budget macro ring flash

The K&F Concept KF-150 Macro Ring Flash is a versatile and competitively priced flash for Canon and Nikon cameras, featuring independent left/right flash tubes, six attachment rings for various lenses, and built-in LED lamps for AF-assist or modeling. Its control unit has a user-friendly layout and a clear LCD screen, and it is powered by four AA batteries.

While I found the flash output to be plenty powerful enough for macro photography, its minimum power setting was sometimes too strong for extremely close-up shots. I was disappointed to discover that the TTL (Through-The-Lens) metering didn't work with Nikon Z mirrorless cameras, although it was functional with Nikon DSLRs, but this isn't a deal breaker if you prefer setting the power manually for macro work. Recycling times can be a little slow at full power, too, but it's still a worthwhile purchase due to its strong performance, useful features, and good value.

Read our full K&F Concept KF-150 review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best universal ring flash

The Godox ML-150II Macro Ring Flash is a budget-friendly option designed for broad compatibility with the vast majority of cameras and lenses, coming with eight different attachment rings. It's a manual-only flash, which means it lacks automated features like TTL (Through-The-Lens) or split flash for creating shadows. The design is simple, with a control unit and a circular flash head, and power can be adjusted using straightforward +/- buttons.

I found the flash's output to be was slightly lower than its claimed guide number of 12 (ISO 100, meters), but still sufficient for close-up work. It also boasts a quick recycling time of 2.4 seconds after a full-power flash. It's pretty basic, but it offers decent value for its price, providing consistent, shadowless lighting, making it a good choice for those who are comfortable with a manual workflow.

See our full Godox ML-150II review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best Canon macro ring flash

Image 1 of 2

Despite its compact size, this unit packs E-TTL II metering, LED focusing lamps, and twin flash tubes with independent power adjustment that can offset their output by up to six stops. A guide number of 26 and a 5.5-second full-power recycle time are acceptable for close-range work.

Build quality is second to none, while a large, clear display makes for effortless usability. I can’t fault the MR-26EX -RT’s performance, either: its light softness is superb, backed up by flawless color rendition and accurate TTL metering.

I'm pleased that the outdated control panel of the preceding MT-24EX has been redesigned, with a layout inspired by the 600EX II-RT flashgun. Controls are simple and intuitive, using high-quality switches and dials, and there’s a backlit LCD screen. Instead of a flash tube, the control unit uses two thick coiled cables that connect to two small flash heads.

The only fly in the ointment is lens compatibility: it’s made for Canon macro lenses with 58mm threads, or larger L editions with optional adaptors (see list of compatible lenses).

See our full Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-26EX-RT review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best Nikon macro ring flash

Rather than using a one-piece ring flash, this kit comes with a pair of SB-R200 flashguns that clip onto a mount, which in turn attaches to your lens via included adaptors in sizes from 52mm to 77mm.

The modular design lets you precisely position each flash to fire at the perfect angle, and there’s the option to add extra flash units. The creative customization continues with some included colored gels, and clip-on diffusers, which improve light softness when shooting extreme close-ups.

But with so many separate elements, set-up can be slow. Other annoyances include the relatively pricey and uncommon CR123 batteries that power each flash, and I found the light quality to be a tad harsh without the diffusers fitted, though color rendering is excellent.

You’ll also need to be sure your Nikon’s pop-up flash has a commander mode to trigger the SB-R200s. If not, there’s always Nikon’s expensive R1C1 version of the kit, with adds in Nikon's SU-800 commander unit.

• Back to the top ⤴

How to choose the best macro ring flash

Guide number
The guide number (GN) measures the maximum output of the flash. It gives the range in metres if using an aperture of f/1 at ISO100. Divide it by your actual aperture to give the real range. Ring flashes are used at close distance, so the GN will be small – around 15.

TTL metering
This is the automatic flash metering system used by most modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, which uses a preflash system to ensure the subject gets the right amount of light.

Manual flash
This enables you to fix the output of the flash. Settings are expressed as a fraction of the full power – 1/2, 1/8, 1/64 etc. The more options the better.

Connection rings
Most ring flashes include attachment rings to connect to the front of different-sized lenses, but ensure the model you choose is large enough for your lens (and be warned some adaptor rings cost extra).

High-speed sync (HSS)
High-speed sync enables you to use shutter speeds faster than the usual 1/200 or 1/250 sec maximum possible with flash. Useful for fast-moving insects, or when using the widest apertures to blur backgrounds.

• Back to the top ⤴

How we test flashguns

We test all available features for each flashgun that goes through our labs. To test power output, we used a Sekonic flash meter placed at a distance of one meter from each flashgun. We check the complete range of manual power settings, in one-stop increments. Based on a sensitivity of ISO 100, the figures correlate directly with the Gn (Guide number). The results are double-checked by taking shots of a gray card with the appropriate lens apertures and using the camera’s histogram display in playback mode.

We also check the accuracy and consistency of electronic/intelligent TTL (Through The Lens) flash metering, and the speed with which each flashgun can recycle to a state of readiness after a full-power flash, using both Ni-MH and alkaline cells, or a Li-ion power pack where supplied.

Find out more about how we test and review on Digital Camera World

• Back to the top ⤴