Review: OldShark Ring Light

As part of my quest to become an internationally renounced fashion vlogger (shut up! It could happen!) I've been sent a ring light to review.

If you've ever wondered why all your favourite YouChubers are so well lit - this style of light is the reason why. They provide a constant, shadow-free, evenly spread light.

So, what's this £40 light like?

This is made by Jiangxi based OldShark.

Perhaps the most important thing with these sort of lights is to get it at exactly face level. This has a pretty tall tripod. Obviously, when extended all the way, the centre of gravity is pretty high. So you may need to secure the base.

You'll notice that there's a standard screw fitting in the middle of the light. Put a clamp in there and your selfies will be perfectly lit.

The light is USB powered - and works off a laptop port. The cable length is a bit under 2 metres which is long enough. But, if not, a cheap USB power pack will keep the LEDs on for ages.

As well as the tripod and clamp, there's a variety of attachments for hooking other stuff up to the tripod.

Bundled with everything is a Bluetooth selfie button. Pair it up with your phone and you can start and stop recording without having to lean into the camera.

I've separately reviewed these style of buttons and how you can make them work with Linux.

There's also a smaller tripod, suitable for mounting on your desk.

The control pad gives you a choice of three different colour temperatures.

The light has 10 levels of brightness.

Cons

At this price point, you don't get the same level of quality as a professional rig. The tripods are a little unstable and lightweight.

There's no USB control, so you can't programmatically alter the lights. Similarly, the Bluetooth button is for activating your phone's camera control - not the light.

But, for all that, the unit casts a bright and even light - which is pretty much all you can ask from it.

Buy the OldShark Ring Light on Amazon.