I test a lot of ring lights — here is the one feature that really matters

After months of testing, I've come to love having one of the best ring lights as part of my setup. Whether it’s for content creation or just doing my makeup in the morning, the ring light goes on, and I'm suddenly in the zone.

Seriously, my makeup has never looked so good, and the selfies I can take with the lights prove it. But what makes a good ring light?

I look for a lot of brightness control that can be varied for the real-world situation or the shutter speed on the camera I'm using, and good color adjustment. And while the Neewer RL-18 is a great, consistent lighting solution with brightness adjustment, the color temperature settings are not what I want from a ring light.

Neewer RL-18 with Soft Tube: was $159 now $93 at Amazon

The Neewer RL-18 is a great ring light with consistent lighting that is easy to set up in any location, as long as there is a power socket nearby. It comes with useful accessories like a phone stand and a Bluetooth shutter button. If you’re not too fussed about customizable color temperature, then this ring light is perfect. But you only have two color settings that are only changeable by plastic filter covers, which can prove tricky.

View Deal

Why I need adjustable color temperature

When finding a good ring light, an adjustable color temperature that can be altered with the click of a button is one of the main things I look for. This makes it so much easier to make slight alterations to your lighting situation based on the mood you want to create and the existing natural lighting.

Ring lights like the Neewer BR60 5-inch and the Godox LR120 make this super easy with the press of a button. Make such quick changes means I can instantly improve my lighting setup for an image with no fuss.

I can make alterations based on the color of my background, what clothes I’m wearing, all to benefit the final image result and make sure I get the best real-world color representation possible.

But it can also be used to alter the mood of the shot. Take the Twilight films, for example; they have a distinctive color profile, and without this, the films would not seem as moody or gothic. Of course, this effect was done in post, but the cool white light and warm yellow light achieved with a ring light can work to tell a story too.

Plastic covers are tricky

The plastic covers of the Neewer RL-18 ring light are tricky to pop on and off. With some practice, this does become a lot easier, but initially, I was tugging at the pieces and couldn't change the color filters quickly between shots.

There are two color options with this light: white or orange. As you can see from the picture below, when using the orange filter, it pulls far more red-toned, and although it creates a warmth in the image, I much prefer a yellow-toned warmth as it invokes more real-world color with a natural look.

The other filter option is white light, which, to be fair, is very good. If you were using this light in the same conditions every time for the same type of image, it would be perfect. This is also perfect for any detailed work like makeup artistry or tattooing, as recommended by Neewer.

But it’s not a deal breaker

With all of that said, the lack of color customization is not a deal breaker. It comes with a steady tripod, a phone holder, and is actually a breeze to set up out of the box (apart from the filters, of course).

This is actually a great ring light. It is just better suited to situations where consistent lighting is appropriate.

I still use it for taking pictures and doing my makeup so I can see what I am doing in detail, and it is perfect for that.

You can find out more about how I used the ring light in my full Neewer RL-18 review.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.

More from Tom’s Guide

• This 18-inch ring light is perfect for content creators and makeup artists — but there’s one thing missing
• iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 17 Pro: 5 biggest trade-offs to expect
• I found my laptop of the year — and it proves the MacBook Air is missing 5 killer features