Macro ring flash or twin light flash?

[mariom]

Hello everyone,

I am planning on buying the canon mp-e 65mm lens and I want to set it up with a flash unit. I have read excellent

reviews about both macro flash units, but still can't decide on which one to buy. So my question is which one would

suit best the mp-e macro lens? the ring or the twin?

 

Thanks for the advise.

[derrickdehaan]

I cannot vouch for the ring, but I do own the twin. I bought the twin for more versitility. The flash heads are removable and have a tripod socket on the bottom of them. Of course they have adjustable output for each head as well. The twin can also be used as a master, I do not know if the ring can. So, in a nutshell, I went with the twin for its versitility and the ability to have more control over the position of the lights.

 

Derrick

[j_smith6]

Definitely twin. Ring flash gives you a "perfect", flat, no-shadow image which isn't always interesting. It looks nice but

after some time it gets boring. With twin flash you can control the lighting and get interesting results. You can control

the strength of each part and get nice fill in flash effect.

[seismiccwave]

The ring light can also be a master but the twin light is more versatile. I think the twin light is a little more expensive also.

[lester_wareham]

The twin flash is best I would say, specially with the MP-E.

 

The ring flash tends to provide more flat lighting although some ratio control is possible, it is cheaper and slightly

more compact. This type of flash can cause unnatural ring highlights in shiny areas of the subject like insect's eyes.

 

The twin flash provides more control over lighting angle and good modeling with MP-E 65mm and 100mm macro

using the supplied lens bracket. With the 180mm modeling will be less effective however the heads can be removed

from the supplied bracket and placed on ordinary brackets further off axis from the lens to improve modeling if

desired.

 

At high magnifications (3-5X) with the MP-E 65mm the twin flash flash heads can be in the way of subjects if they

are on a flat surface but if this can be avoided excellent modeling is possible. In some circumstances the ring flash

might be easier to use. The twin flash permits control of the focus lights from the camera shutter button, this is very

important for use with the MP-E 65mm at higher magnifications.

 

I use the twin flash very successfully with the MP-E 65mm and 100mm macro.

[anthony_zipple]

Lots of opinions on this in the archives.

[mariom]

Thanks for the insight, I think I am going with the twin lights.