Neewer 18” Advanced Ring Light Review [vs Elgato Ring Light]

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This article will be a review of the Neewer Advanced Ring Light (SRP18-2.4G). I will be comparing it to one of its biggest competitors, the Elgato Ring Light. Click to see my review more focused on the Elgato. At the end I’ll give my verdict on which (if either) is a better buy.

Neewer Advanced 18” Ring Light with ball mount (webcam clip not included).

Elgato Ring Light with ball mount attached.

- Price
- Specs and features
- What’s in the box
- Build Quality
- Performance
- Convenience
- Neewer Ring Light vs Elgato Ring Light summary
- Verdict

Price

I bought my Neewer Advanced Ring Light for $137 (Amazon). You can find much smaller ring lights for under $50 on Amazon, and Neewer even sells an older model for under $90.

The Elgato Ring Light (Amazon) is even more expensive, launching at an MSRP of $200.

Specs and features

The Neewer Advanced Ring light has the following specs:

- 18 inch diameter ring.
- Stand height 30.7 - 74.8 inches.
- Maximum brightness of 2150 lux at 1 meter, 880 lux at 0.5 meters.
- Adjustable color temperature 3200-5600K.
- Capacitive buttons and remote included.

Brightness can be adjusted by 1% increments on the ring itself, and 10% increments with the remote. The the brightness and color temperature can be adjusted in 100K increments. Multiple Neewer Ring Lights can be controlled using the same remote by setting them to different channels. The ring can be tilted up and down 180 degrees by loosening the knob right under the light.

What’s in the box

The Neewer SRP18-2.4G comes with:

- Ring light
- Carrying case
- Remote control
- Tripod
- Power adapter
- Wireless bluetooth remote (for external devices like phones, not the ring light)
- Ball head adapter
- Phone bracket
- Instruction manual

Build Quality

Attaching a DSLR to the Neewer using the included ball mount.

The Neewer is extremely sturdy. The stand is super tall, but the material is reliable. It’s not a traditional tripod, and it does not use a 1/4th inch screw (nor does the light have a 1/4th inch thread). The light itself is quite heavy, but it fits very tight onto the included stand.

When adjusting the light’s angle, the Neewer makes loud clicks which concerned me, but it’s just the design. It’s made to stay in place once you make adjustments. In contrast, I actually had the Elgato Ring Light fall over once when it was tilted downwards because the ball head that connects the mount to the light is not designed well for that much weight.

Overall, the build quality is fantastic, but the entire unit itself is quite bulky. I’ll talk more about that in the convenience section.

Performance

Here are shots using the Neewer Ring Light in both night time and daylight. All shots are at maximum brightness. Camera used is the Logitech Brio (my review) with the exposure and white balanced locked manually.

Night time

No light (lol)

Neewer 5600K.

Neewer 4500K.

Neewer 3200K.

Day time

Daylight only.

Neewer 5600K.

Neewer 4300K.

Neewer 3200K.

Here is a comparison of the Neewer Ring Light vs the Elgato Ring Light in the same setting.

This is the Neewer vs Elgato on their coolest color temperature settings at daytime.

Neewer coolest temp (5600K).

Elgato coolest color temperature (7000K)

Overall, the Neewer Ring Light provides soft and bright light that can illuminate a pitch black room but is still easy to look at. However, it’s not quite as bright as the Elgato Ring Light, and on overcast days the color temperature can’t quite get cool enough to match daylight.

Both devices have excellent diffusion, but the Elgato’s was easier on my eyes over longer periods. The Neewer Ring Light has several (272) LED lights pointing forward, but the Elgato Ring Light is edge lit, with small lights pointing from the center out before being reflected by the back panel.

Convenience

The Neewer Advanced Ring Light can be set up in a couple minutes and comes with a carrying bag for the ring itself. It can be tilted up and down 180 degrees. It also comes with a bluetooth remote that acts as a shutter button for your phone’s camera app. More importantly, the remote for the ring itself is super fast and responsive and it allows you to control the brightness, color temperature, and other Neewer Lights at the same time.

When compared with the Elgato Ring Light, the two key differences are the wireless controls and the stand.

Wireless control

Although both devices have controls on the ring itself, the Neewer’s remote is far superior to Elgato Control Center. Control Center requires a wifi connection and has an inconsistent pairing and syncing system that gets disconnected all the time. The remote on the Neewer just works.

Stand

The Elgato Ring Light only ships with a desk clamp. To use it on the floor or on a desk without a lip you’ll need to buy a heavy base separately (Amazon link). Not only is this an extra $40, but it’s rarely in stock, and the Multi Mount S that the Elgato comes with is too short to use on the floor with the heavy base anyway. However, the Elgato leapfrogs the Neewer in versatility because of the 1/4th inch thread on the bottom of the ring. This allows it to be attached to tripods or other stands.

Elgato Ring Light isn’t very tall. 27 inches max height.

Elgato Ring Light can be screwed onto a tripod unlike the Neewer.

Desk clamp on the Elgato Ring Light.

Neewer Ring Light vs Elgato Ring Light summary

Here are the key takeways of the Neewer SRP18-2.4G and the Elgato Ring Light:

- Neewer Ring Light is cheaper.
- Neewer Ring Light has a much sturdier build. The mount on the Elgato isn’t optimized for the ring’s weight when tilted down.
- Neewer Ring Light remote is far more consistent than Elgato Control center.
- Neewer Ring Light comes with a phone grip and bluetooth remote for phones in the box.

- Elgato Ring Light is brighter.
- Elgato Ring Light has a wider range of color temperature. This makes it better for matching daylight when the lighting is particularly cool.
- Elgato Ring Light can clamp directly to a desk unlike the Neewer. It can also be mounted to other tripods. This makes it more versatile.

Verdict

I recommend the Neewer Advanced 18” Ring Light if: Putting a light stand behind your desk is no problem and you want a light with premium build quality.

I recommend the Elgato Ring Light if: You have limited space to place a large light stand behind your desk and you don’t mind getting a separate tripod when recording away from a desk.

Neewer Advanced 18” Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3sBWjmG
Elgato Ring Light: https://amzn.to/34K9fvK