I was sent a Raya Bendie-Brite Folding USB Bi-Color LED 10” Ring Light to review. The light is aimed at vloggers, online presenters, and of course selfies. Does it provide the versatility required for that audience? Let’s take a look.
Raya Bendie-Bright — Portability
The light scores high for portability. It only weighs half a pound and can fold in half. This cuts the size down to a 5” crescent shape that can easily fit in a bag while on the go. The construction is plastic, but it doesn’t have the “cheap” look that other plastic ring lights sometimes have.
The light also doesn’t require a power adapter. It has a USB Micro-B port and comes with a lengthy USB cable. Run it from any powered USB port, such as a portable USB power bank, your computer, or a tablet.
Raya Bendie-Bright — Light operation
The Raya Bendie-Bright features 120 LEDs for consistent and sufficient, yet soft, light output. The intensity at 3 ft is 148 Lux. It can operate at color temperatures from 2700 to 5600K.
Adjusting the light is easy. Just swipe your finger along the touch sensor for stepless dimming and color temperature changes. I really like this style of control because it allows for fast and convenient changes. While the sensor makes it difficult to make very small and precise adjustments, I do not feel that is needed for 99% of use cases for this light.
Raya Bendie-Bright — Versatility
The light includes a smartphone holder. A flexible arm holds a spring-loaded clamp that securely grips your phone. It can rotate to hold the phone vertically or horizontally. The arm stays at the position you bend it. The clamp holds phones up to 3 1/4” wide, and easily held my Samsung Galaxy. However, when the flexible arm is bent to hold a larger phone outward, it may put force on the base and slip out of the shoe. So, be sure to really tighten down the arm.
The light’s built-in cold shoe could also be used for accessories, such as a microphone.
Beneath the light is a 1/4”-20 mount that accepts the included ball head, which offers 180-degrees of adjustment. Or, you can mount to a table top tripod directly. The light is so lightweight and balanced that it can even stand on a mini table top tripod.
