The Photojojo Oh! Wow. Ring Light ($99) is a relatively inexpensive take on a classic ring light, a flash design that surrounds the lens for even illumination when shooting macro subjects or portraits. It uses 60 LED lights, which don't have the reach of a traditional camera flash, but comes in at a price that's about a fifth of what you'll pay for a name-brand alternative from Canon or Nikon. There are some improvements we'd like to see made to better separate this unit from bargain basement options from the likes of Polaroid, which sells a similar unit with fewer LEDs for $40, but for photographers looking to experiment with lighting for macro photography it's an affordable starting point. Photojojo has given it a fun name, but you can buy the same light under the Gisteq Flashmate LED RingFlash moniker from other retailers.

The light consists of two units, tethered together by a cord. The control portion sits in your camera's hot shoe and houses the four AA batteries that power the light. The light itself mounts to your lens using a set of filter thread adapters; 49, 52, 55, 58, 62, 67, 72, and 77mm adapters are included. Controls on the main unit include a power wheel that can vary the output from 1/4 to full power, buttons to change between flash and continuous operation, and a center button that lets you turn off the left or right half of the light. The two parts of the flash clip together for storage. Photojojo states that the LED lights can be anywhere from 3200k to 5500k in color temperature; the review unit I received was definitely on the 5500k end of the spectrum, as a daylight white balance setting netted the best results. I would have preferred to see this spec locked down; without testing dozens of these lights there's no way to tell if there's an actual variance in the color temperature of the lights that are going into this flash model, or if it's just an issue with the specification sheet.

Despite being sold in a version with TTL metering support for Nikon and Canon cameras, I found that the Ring Light consistently overexposed images by two stops with the Nikon D800 set to aperture priority mode. Dialing in EV compensation is quick fix for this. An issue I experienced that doesn't have an easy fix is the flash's tendency to leave its continuous light on at all times. When dealing with inanimate objects as subjects this isn't an issue, but it does make the flash a bit less attractive for portrait use. The individual LED lights are bright, even when set to lower power, and harsh on your subject's eyes. The classic circular ring highlights in the eyes are still there, but they appear as individual points of light, not a continuous ring. It is possible to turn the continuous light off—I did so by toggling between flash mode, continuous mode, and then back to flash mode, but a half press of the camera's shutter reactivates the continuous lighting. I'd like to have seen a stronger diffuser around the lights to cut down on the harshness and blend the individual light points together; the Bolt VM-110 LED Macro Ring Light ($104) includes four clip-on diffusers, and can be found at retail for a bit less than its MSRP.

The inability to turn off the continuous light is certainly a concern for portraiture, and can be a deal breaker if you're a portrait photographer, but when using the flash for macro subjects it's less of a concern. I got the best results by shooting macros in full manual mode, with the continuous light used to illuminate subjects for focus and the flash firing to grab a shot. For the most part I paired the D800 with a Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-s lens, and was happy with the results. If you have a camera that's Nikon or Canon, you can still use the light in continuous mode—I also shot some handheld shots with a pair of Panasonic compacts, the XS1 and ZS40. The TTL dedication does mean that its flash only fires when paired with a compatible camera; but you can mount it in another camera with a hot shoe and use it in continuous mode.

LED lights do have a shorter range than a traditional camera flash. It's great within about 5 to 10 feet, but there's some noticeable fall-off in terms of power when dealing with subjects that are 15 feet from the lens. The product manual also advises against using it with wide-angle lenses due to the tight coverage that it provides, but you're not likely using anything shorter than a 50mm for macro work. Recycle time is quick; the flash had no trouble keeping up with the D800 at its 4fps continuous shooting rate.

At $100, the Photojojo Oh! Wow. Ring Light seems like a bargain compared with name-brand options for Canon, Nikon, and other camera makers. I was very happy with the illumination that the ring light provided for macro photography, but felt its design limits its use for portraiture. There are similar products available for less money, including a $40 light from Polaroid that doesn't have as many lights, and others that lack TTL dedication that will be better choices if you've got a camera that doesn't have the Canon or Nikon logo on it. With a few tweaks—a stronger clip-on diffuser and a design that turns off the continuous light between shots—its effectiveness for portraiture could be improved. But for macro work, I thought that price was in line with the quality of the product, and do recommend it for that purpose.