Customer Reviews

Phoenix Smart Flash RF46C Macro Ring Flash Canon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I wanted to experiment with a ring flash... and I read the reviews and bought this one... Its light, and feels cheap... the hotshoe is plastic... but it does the job, and does it well... I have NO complaints... I've used it a ton... and found that I LOVE using it all the time... I'm always tempted to leave it on for random candids... it gives a cool flat look on multidimensional scenes, that has left alot of people wondering how I did it... I would buy this again and again!!! If it were a little better constructed it would be an automatic 5+ from me... but you won't regret buying it... I know I don't... and I'm usually a harsh critic.

Very light and compact flash that really serves its purpose well. Great for macros and portraits. Bang for the buck. I would say that this would be better than the ring flash adapters out there that is about the same price as this ring flash. Recycle time is almost instantaneous. Worth every cent.

Day one out the box, the flash work's way past my expectations. Build quality is u pay for u get, its very light. But performance is great, it makes a big difference as opposed to using a diffused 430ex. Shadows are really soft, with that ring light halo. Working distance is macro distance, I would'nt be using this for portraiture although i could. U cant change the power manually its ttl/ttl2, only thing on the back is a power switch, test flash button and 2 led lights. Recycle times are fast except shooting f18 and up. Will update the review another 3 months.
Also! batteries using are energizer 2500mah rechargable.

This is a very cheap piece of plastic gear, and the first one I got was dead and had to be exchanged. BUT, the working replacement is still cheap feeling, but works quite well. If you have the money, the two Canon original equipment macro ring flashes are excellent units, with few detractors. But for occasional use, they're really hard to justify price-wise. This no-name (Phoenix is a camera generic brand) unit works fine, allowing me to get well illuminated macro shots that really do require a ring flash.

Pros: Recycle time is fast, illumination is even, and it plays well with Canon.
Cons: Cheapest imaginable construction, and first one was dead in the box.

The unit looks good but just didn't work. I tried two different ones just in case. The first unit never charged or worked in manual mode. The second unit worked for about 10 minutes and then failed. I was so looking to save some money and it just did not work with my camera. I have a Canon XT so it should have worked. Too bad as some reviews were very good. Hopefully, I just had a bad run. Amazon as usual, made good on the unit so I was not out anything but a bit of time. Too bad for all of us.

After only a few weeks of use this flash quit working, after which there was a strong electrical smell and the battery compartment started melting from the heat of an obvious electrical short. I would not recommend this unit.

Output's just as good as Canon's RF that costs much higher. Construction is a big flimsy, but it gets the job done if you're careful not to bang it around. Excellent value.

Full Disclosure: I borrowed one of these for about two months before buying my own. I liked it so much I simply had to have one. First Point: Unlike a lot of other items in the $40-100 range, this is NOT a Ring Light or Adapter. This is a true flash. As such, it can be a bit more challenging to use. That being said, I think Phoenix has done a masterful job with this product. They've really exceeded the quality of the cheaper models and delivered solid performance. If you've looked, you'll notice that there's almost nothing available in the $100-300 range. So, after this item the prices get harder to swallow. You get a solid piece of gear that is easy to justify to your Wife / Husband / Accountant. Second Point: This really is a versatile flash, but you have to know how to use your camera. It doesn't have any built-in controls, so you'll have to rely on in-body flash settings. Once you do that you'll be in business. A few folks may complain about "blowing out" targets, but that's more a function of the user than the flash. Last Point: This is a truly portable item. The head folds like a standard flash and it fits well inside both my small and large cases. It is an easy item to toss into my bag / case and go. This is a must-carry item for me.

This piece of equipment works well. It's plastic, so don't drop it... But, for the money, you can't beat it. The light comes with some adapters for bigger lenses - make sure that the right adapter for your lens is included. I had to buy another adapter to fit my wider lens.

I bought mine from eBay as this one was more when I bought it. Nice to see Amazon lowered the price about 2days after I bought it:/

Anyways, this flash works great for the price. Recycle time is pretty fast( I am using cheap china rechargeable batteries). I couldn't afford the Canon flash at $450+ so this had to do. It's very nice, but the reason I give it 4 stars is because it's cheaply made. The plastic is nothing fancy, and I would hate to drop it. And of course it has no flash settings, just the On/off switch and test button.

One of the things I noticed is that no one list what adapter's come with this. They are 55,58,62, and 67mm. And, just the flash is 52mm. I didn't realize the flash ring itself is threaded for 52mm. I ended up buying an adapter before I got it. At least it wasn't a very expensive purchase.

If it wasn't for the cheap design, I would give this 5 stars no problem.

Edit: Not very strong. Accidentally knocked it off my desk when I was changing lenses. The clear ring around the flash cracked in 3 places. Some of the "Aluminum" paint/reflector chipped and is on the clear plastic. Thankfully it still works and doesn't looked to have caused any problems. But what a shame falling only 2+ft.