Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Front)
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Back)
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus Review
So the good people at Savage Universal know that I’m a ringlight junkie and sent me their Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus to review. Many thanks to them, and as a fan, professional photographer, and owner of a studio literally called “Ringlight Studios”, I guess it’s only fitting that I put this ringlight through its paces and give it an extensive review.
Just to preface this review a bit, for those who don’t know me or my work, I built my own custom ringlight out of wood, sockets, and actual lightbulbs that is by far my favorite light for capturing flattering beauty headshots with a unique catchlight. Here are some of my beauty headshots taken with my DIY ringlight with various colored backdrops. This will not be a comparison review as it’s not practical to expect people will have the time or skills to go out and build their own ringlight. Thus, I will on occasion use my DIY ringlight as a reference point in this review since I have so much experience shooting with it, and I may be able to highlight some advantages/disadvantages of the two ringlight systems.
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Front)
So how much does Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus cost?
The Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus sells for $297.99.
This item can be purchased directly from Savage Universal, or direct from Amazon.com and other online retailers.
Amazon Purchase Link:
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus
Savage Purchase Link:
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus
Adorama Purchase Link:
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus
Is this Ringlight a flash/strobe or continuous light source, and what’s the difference?
The Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus is a continuous light source only.
The difference is that a ringflash is one that is a flash/strobe producing a burst of bright light that can stop motion similar to any shoe-mounted flash. This is NOT one of those. This ringlight is a true ringlight and produces a constant light source that can be used for photography, videography, makeup artists, etc. This is similar to my DIY ringlight that uses actual bulbs to produce light.
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus Included Items
So what is included with the Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus?
First, let’s see what’s in the box. Here are some photos and a list of exactly what comes in the box:
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• Bi-color 96W LED ringlight
• Remote control
• Metal ball head
• 9′ AC Power supply
• Padded carry bag
• (2) Li-ion 7.2V 4400mAh 31.68Wh Batteries (Listed to fit Sony NP-F750/NP-F770)
• Usage Instructions
The items all come packed nicely within the padded carrying bag.
How wide is the actual opening on the Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus?
The internal opening is listed as 12” but I measured this exact size as 11-1/2” in diameter across.
Although this ringlight is listed as a 19″ Ringlight, that is the outer diameter which includes the bezel. The internal opening measures 11-1/2” across. The interior of the ring is also not a true circle as the bottom portion includes a small platform shoe for camera mounting.
How do you power the Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus?
The Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus runs on both AC and battery power.
There is a power cord and transformer included for AC power use, along with 2 batteries that clip into the back of the ringlight for battery power. Batteries are listed to run for 75 minutes at full power when fully charged.
The battery option is a nice addition and allows one to power up this ringlight anywhere, even on-location without the need for a Vagabond Mini or other portable AC power source like my DIY ringlight requires. The Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus comes with two batteries and two chargers. Here is a close-up view of the battery and charger:
Two Included Battery Chargers
Two Included Batteries
What’s also a nice addition is that the battery system with the Luminous Pro LED Ringlight isn’t proprietary. This means you aren’t locked into a system where buying additional batteries or replacement batteries can be difficult or costly. As of this writing, there is a matching Neewer Battery on Amazon for $13.99 with free shipping.
How long does it take to charge each battery?
Each battery takes approximately 4 hours to fully charge when opening the package for the first time. Since the package comes with two chargers, you can charge them simultaneously. Battery power also means you can even move the camera and ringlight around together as a solid unit and be cord-free when shooting video (or photos) for extreme portability. Really nice touch.
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Side View)
How does the Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus mount to a stand?
Each ringlight has a universal stand mount at the bottom, and an adjustable swivel dial to adjust the pitch of the ringlight on the mount either forward or backward. The package does not come with a separate stand, so you will have to mount the ringlight itself to any of your existing stands via the universal stand mount with tightening screw at the bottom.
Can one mount a Camera directly to the Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus?
Yes, the ringlight also comes with an optional shoe mount and metal ball head for mounting a camera to the base of the ringlight itself. The ball head allows for minor adjustments to the camera when mounted.
What are the Tech Specs?:
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• 480 Daylight balanced, cool-running LED chips
• Measures 19″ diameter with 12″ inner opening
• CRI: 95
• 5300 Lumens at 1m at 4300K
• 4300 Lumens at 1m at 3200K
• 3600 Lumens at 1m at 5500K
• Adjustable color temperature
• Shoe mount and metal ball head with removable shoe for camera mounting
• Includes a padded carry bag
• Even, flicker-free light
• 75 minutes of run time at full power (5500K, 3200K) with included NP-F750 batteries
• Dual voltage power supply (110-240v input-14.5v output)
• Rear LCD readout indicates power level, Kelvin temperature, battery level, group and channel settings
• Remote control for On/Off, power level, channel selection, group selection and color temperature levels
• Max camera weight: 4 lbs.
Ok, so now that the basics are out of the way, how does the Savage Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus stack up?
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Back View)
Brightness. Right off the bat, I noticed that this ringlight yields a lot of light. It’s bright, and that’s a great thing. There’s an abundance of light that is produced, and the included dial on both the front and back of the ringlight allows for an easy reduction of power when needed. This was crucial because I like to shoot at a shallow depth of field, (between f/1.4 to f/2.2) and thus, I was able to reduce the light’s power since I was shooting at such a wide aperture. This was excellent.
Color Temperature. The color temperature was also very nice to control on-the-fly as needed. The same rotating dial that adjusts the light’s power, also adjusts the color temperature when pressed. Another nice option. I typically shoot RAW and simply adjust white balance on one image in post and then apply those settings to all other images from the same series, but whenever you have the option to correct this in-camera that’s always a plus.
Close up of the Control Panel
For my test run with this ringlight, I ran it through the paces with model April Denise (@aprildenise) in my studio. The sample setup I used here was a Nikon D750 with an 85mm f/1.4 lens, mounted on the ringlight in front of the Cocoa seamless background paper from Savage. Here’s a look at the setup:
Model Credit: April Denise (@aprildenise). Sample Beauty Portrait Setup with the Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus
Shooting. This is where things get interesting. Each photographer shoots differently, and my personal go-to lens for portraiture is an 85mm f/1.4 prime lens on a Full Frame DSLR. When shooting portraiture at this focal range, I like to be about a minimum of 6 feet from the subject, depending upon if this is a headshot or portrait. This eliminates distortion and provides excellent bokeh when needed.
However, when mounting the camera as suggested to the ringlight, this means that the camera and light are at the same spot, and the subject must stand a minimum of 6 feet away from the camera/ringlight. This works, but makes the catchlight more of a single “dot” in the pupil. This isn’t a bad thing at all, and the results with this ringlight were fantastic, just a different look than what I’m accustomed to shooting. Here’s an example I took of a beauty portrait with the Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus:
Model Credit: April Denise (@aprildenise). Sample Beauty Portrait with the Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Shot at 1/125, f/1.4, ISO 640)
Model Credit: April Denise (@aprildenise). Sample Beauty Portrait with the Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Shot at 1/125, f/1.8, ISO 400)
For me, I like to actually shoot a bit further back from the ringlight, allowing the subject to get closer to the light. This produces a more flattering look in my opinion, and allows for a slightly larger catchlight the closer the model gets toward the ringlight. In order to do this, I ditched the ballhead completely, and just shoot freely from behind the ringlight. I typically don’t like being locked into a fixed position anyway when shooting headshots/portraits, but that’s just me. The end result of shooting farther away from behind the ringlight means more of it is in frame. It’s more of a style I like, and I love this shot, but then again, more cleanup in post to remove it. Here’s an example:
Model Credit: April Denise (@aprildenise). Sample Beauty Portrait with the Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus (Shot at 1/125, f/1.4, ISO 500)
This is also a bit of a moot point if you’re shooting video and not portraits. For portraits, I nearly never shoot with a 35mm or 50mm lens unless I’m trying to actually utilize the distortion to my benefit. However, if I were shooting video, I’d likely use a much wider lens, and combined with the brightness of this ringlight, you can easily illuminate and entire subject and/or want subjects further from the lens to begin with, so a fixed/mounted camera and ringlight would work well. If I start a YouTube channel, this is the light I’m using for videos for sure.
Included Metal Ballhead
Metal Ballhead. I like this ringlight, but if there was one weakness I would say it would be in the included ballhead. I personally prefer to shoot without the camera mounted on the ringlight in the first place for portraits. However, if you do, the strength of this ballhead is a bit questionable for heavy DSLRs and even heavier lenses. I removed the battery grip from my Nikon D750, and was using my 85mm f/1.4 prime lens (and not a bazooka like my 70-200mm f/2.8) and even with the 85mm prime, I wasn’t 100% confident with the stability and support for this setup. I will probably bolster this mount if I plan on shooting with heavier lenses in the future.
Again, for video, this likely won’t be a concern as wider primes at f/1.8 are much smaller and lighter than my setup. If and only if you find yourself in need of a bulkier ball head option, there are cheap upgrades to this that can also enhance the use of this ringlight.
Selfies. We all claim to hate them, but they are here to stay. Well, one cheap option for upgrading this ringlight to a selfie beast would be a hot shoe mounting adapter that works for your smartphone and/or GoPro. That cheap upgrade can truly make this a dream selfie ringlight. A smartphone mount can also be fantastic for makeup artists who want to record videos or time-lapse sessions of their work. That’s a huge plus as an option thanks to the hotshoe mount, and here are some additional third party add-on hot shoe mount options:
Fixed Hot shoe mounting screw:
Alternate Ball Head:
Hot Shoe mount for Smartphone or GoPro:
Included Remote Control
Included remote. This is really a nice option to have. The remote allows for everything to be adjusted as per the back of the unit. It includes raising/lowering the light’s power, color temperature, zone, etc. Again, if you’re using this for selfiles or for video, this is a nice option to have from anywhere within range.
Included Tote Bag
Carrying Bag. This too is a really nice option. Especially since this runs on battery power, it’s super convenient to have the included zippered tote bag with just the ringlight for maximum portability. One possible upgrade in the future would be to have a pouch on the side of the tote that could hold the power adapter and chargers so that they are separated from the interior of the tote with the ringlight itself, but this is just a suggestion. It works fine as-is.
Savage Universal Luminous Pro LED Ringlight Plus Review Summary
Pros:
• Beautiful flattering light for beauty, portraits, etc.
• Bright and Adjustable
• Adjust color temp as needed
• AC or battery power (nonproprietary batteries too!)
• Included remote
Cons:
• Included ballhead is weak
• Tote could use a side pouch for accessories
• Shooting diameter of 12” may limit some shooting styles
So there you have it. If you’re looking for a video or DSLR ringlight I hope this review assists you. I found the greatest strengths of this ringlight to be the beautiful bright light is produces with simple-to-use dials for adjusting both brightness and color temp. The included remote and tote bag are extremely convenient, and the option of battery power transform this for maximum portability. I wish the ballhead had greater strength, but I actually prefer shooting without it, and alternate mounts are cheaply available, so it’s not a huge concern to me. All in all, it’s another tool in my shooting arsenal, especially for video, and I’m looking forward to putting it through even more tests in the future.
Have a question or comment about this review? Please use the comment section below
Want to learn more about a photoshoot or have a question?
Interested in a photoshoot? Just use the contact page here to email me with any photo session ideas you may have. If you are interested in portraits or headshots, and looking for a San Francisco headshot photographer, I shoot professional portraits and professional headshots both outdoors with natural light and/or strobes, or in my San Francisco Bay Area-based photo studio with a wide variety of backdrops and lighting options for many types of projects. Whether you need fashion photography, portrait photography, yoga or fitness photography, headshot photography, an online dating profile photographer, beauty headshot photography, artistic extreme colored gel hypercolor portraits, product photography, modeling digitals for agencies, or anything in-between, I offer various packages for many budgets. I look forward to hearing from you. Let’s shoot!
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