This ring light is truly GOATed — my selfies just got a whole lot better

I’ve spent a lot of time testing the best ring lights out there, from smaller, budget-friendly options to more expensive models, and finding the perfect light can definitely be an overwhelming experience for the uninitiated. But after hours of selfies, make-up, and photography, I can say that the Neewer RP19H is the one I’m going to be reaching for from now on. And I’d advise you to do the same.

I can’t find any serious fault with this light, apart from the slightly higher price than other lights I have tested. However, I think its price is worth it for all of the great features.

The 19-inch light comes with three (yes, three) cold shoe mounts and phone holders so you can shoot from multiple angles all at once. The color temperature ranges from 3200K to 5600K and is adjustable by 100K increments, while the brightness can be altered in either 1% or 10% steps, for a totally customizable setup. The sleek design and simple-to-use controls are the cherry on top for this light.

You can find out more about my experience in this full Neewer RP19H review.

Neewer RP19H review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A 19-inch ring light with fine-tuned adjustments, three phone stands, and an adjustable tripod.
• What does it cost? The Neewer RP19H is available at Amazon U.S. for $149 and at Amazon U.K. for £114.
• Who is it for? This is perfect for live streamers who need multiple camera angles, photographers, or anyone in need of an improved and stable lighting solution.
• What do we like? Three cold shoe mounts and phone holders. The color temperature and brightness are fully customizable. And the sleek design makes the light extremely simple to use.
• What don’t we like? It’s on the expensive side.

Neewer RP19H review: Specs

Neewer RP19H review: Price & Availability

The Neewer RP19H ring light is available at Amazon U.S. for $149 and at Amazon U.K. for £114. The ring light comes with a one-year warranty, but this can be extended by purchasing the ring light directly from Neewer’s online store. From the Neewer U.S. store, the light is available for $199, while on the U.K. site it costs £114

This light is on the more expensive side of what we have tested here at Tom’s Guide, but it’s by far the best I have tested. For something a little cheaper at a similar size, you could check out the Godox LR120, which is an 18-inch ring light priced at $59. This light offers three color temperature settings and great brightness adjustment, but you get so much more with the Neewer RP19H.

The Neewer RL-18 is another option at $159. However, the color temperature settings are severely lacking since you only have the choice to swap between manual plastic filters.

It really depends on what you’re using the light for, and if you can get away with stark differences in color temperature, both of these lights are great. But the smooth transition of the RP19H makes it my winner.

Neewer RP19H review: Design

The Neewer RP19H 19-inch ring light is the most convenient and practically designed ring light I have come across thus far. The design is a lot sleeker and more polished than the Neewer RL-18 18-inch ring light ($98), although that light is a little cheaper. That being said, I think the level of control you can achieve with the RP19H is worth the extra cash.

It has three cold shoe mounts at the bottom of the ring, which hold the three included phone holders. These are 7.5 inches in height and 360º rotatable, so I was able to get the perfect angle very easily without having to move the whole ring light.

The head of the ring light is also adjustable 180º to get the best angle for your shot. The light is very sturdy when on the tripod — which itself was incredibly easy to set up. When folded, the tripod can be stored away at a height of 19.68 inches. When set up, it can extend from 59 inches to 70.87 inches. This meant, after taking pictures of myself, I was easily able to adjust the height and take photos of my taller colleague.

There’s an LCD screen on the front of the ring light, which shows the adjustments being made to the lighting temperature and color hue of the light. I found this very useful as the screen made it easy to remember my ideal temperature settings. There are also touch controls on either side of the LCD screen, but a 2.4GHz remote control included with the light can be used too.

There are two USB-A outlet ports at the back of the light, so you won’t need to worry about your devices running low on battery when streaming. The ring light is mains powered for a consistent and stable power source. It does, however, mean that the light can only be used near a power outlet. The Westcott 18-inch bi-color ring light is fully portable and comes with commercial photography batteries.

The light also comes with a carry bag to make transporting it super simple. This made it very easy to pack away and make sure everything was compact and protected from any dust while I wasn’t using it.

Neewer RP19H review: Controls

The Neewer RP19H can be controlled with the included 2.4GHz control or with the touch-sensitive controls on the front of the light. Both are very easy and fast to use. The remote can be used up to 66 feet away from the light.

The touch controls on the front of the light are very responsive, and I didn’t have any issues inputting commands. I also liked that when I was changing the settings, I could see the lighting temperature change on the LCD screen. This made it simple for me to know the exact changes I was making since there are a lot of adjustment options, which could otherwise get confusing.

This was far easier than using the Neewer RL-18 as I only had to tap the buttons to change temperature, rather than pulling off the panels on the light and swapping them out fully. The RL-18 is cheaper, but you may want to stick with the RP19H for ease of use and the more premium build.

When using the touch controls, a short press will make adjustments by 1% and a long press will make adjustments by 10%. But be wary when making adjustments if you’re standing in front of the light, as it gets very bright — enough to hurt my eyes.

There’s also a Bluetooth shutter button remote that connects to your phone to take pictures and stop and start videos without having to go back and forth to the light. I found this especially useful as I could stand further back and not have to worry about setting a timer for pictures.

Neewer RP19H: Performance

As I said, the Neewer RP19H gets very bright. But it can also be adjusted fully, and I ended up using middle-of-the-road brightness and warmer-toned coloring, as this suited the conditions I was shooting in best.

I also tested out some of the cooler tones in the lighting options, and these showed far more detail and imperfections on my face. But the RP19H’s color rendition on camera is very true to the real world. It has a CRI (color rendering index) rating of 97+, so an accurate representation is to be expected.

The effect of this high rating was evident after testing the RL-18, which has a CRI of 95. Although this may not seem like much of a difference, the colors on the RP19H are richer and more prominent. The results were also far better than when I tested the Godox LR120 18-inch ring light, which has a CRI of 90>, although that one is much cheaper at $59.

Since the Neewer RP19H can get so bright and can be angled, it is perfect for more detailed photography or tasks, too, such as makeup artistry when you need to replicate a natural light source.

The ability to make such small adjustments with this light is something I appreciated after testing the Neewer RL-18, which only had two color settings. But with the Neewer RP19H, I could make color adjustments in increments of 100K, making the changes appear smooth and subtle. Being able to adjust the brightness by 1% increments also meant I was in full control of the lighting.

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The high level of color adjustment that comes with the RP19H is what makes it stand out from the crowded market of ring lights. Being able to get super specific with color settings means I have been able to experiment in finer detail with what the light can do. It also meant I could keep everything looking natural with that real-world color and not sacrifice any background detail either.

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The brightness adjustment also meant I could get the perfect setup regardless of whether it was totally dark in the room or I had a natural light source from elsewhere. Having high brightness adjustability settings also means you can shoot at a higher shutter speed, faster frame rate or narrow aperture while still keeping your shots/footage bright and exposed. But the opposite is true, too, and if you want to shoot at a lower shutter speed, you can drop the lighting to make sure your image isn’t too bright.

Neewer RP19H: Verdict

If you are on the lookout for a ring light that can do it all, this is the one for you. Not only does it have a super-easy setup, but it performs so much better than any other ring light I have tested.

There are three cold shoe mounts and three phone holders, making it ideal for live streaming or getting multiple angles at once. The color temperature is adjustable by 100K increments, making it ideal for fine-tuning your content’s look and feel. And the brightness can be adjusted in either 1% or 10% increments for the perfect exposure. The touch controls also make all of this incredibly straightforward. And the sleek-looking design is the cherry on top of the cake.

This light is a little on the expensive side compared to other lights we have tested here at Tom’s Guide, but a cheaper option at a similar size of 18 inches is the Godox LR120 ring light ($59), but this doesn’t have as much opportunity for customization as the Neewer RP19H.

For me, the Neewer RP19H is the ultimate ring light. The experimentation opportunities are endless, and it really is an all-rounder.