What's the difference between the Spectrum Aurora ring lights?

If you’re looking for the best lights for enhancing portraits, selfies, make-up or hair shots, macro and product photographs, look no further than our Spectrum Aurora ring lights.

The soft and even light given off by ring lights lets you illuminate your subjects in a variety of ways, and there are different sizes of lights – from large studio ones that need stands, to the compact types that you can attach to your phone.

Ring lights give a slick and professional look to your images and video, but they do have some limitations – they’re great for lighting single subjects or small and medium objects, but not so good for group shots or larger items.

Why a Ring Light?

LED ring lights are one of the most versatile lighting tools that you can buy, and the quality of light, as well as their portability and convenience, makes them worth the cost. Because they give continuous lighting, you can see what your image is going to be lit like before you press record or click the shutter.

Unlike traditional flash head units and softboxes, ring lights don’t get in the way of your camera – you can shoot right through the centre of the ring, as well as move the lights to the side.

You can also team two or more of our Spectrum Aurora ring lights together to create a totally unique and different lighting aesthetic for your work, as well as team them with reflectors to lift any small amount of shadow.

Portrait photographers love them because their circular shape gives the subject’s eyes that beautiful ring of light around the iris. (If you want to know how a portrait was lit, just look at the model’s eyes – you’ll see a reflection called a catchlight there, which shows what type of lighting modifier was used).

They don’t heat up like conventional tungsten lights, which means you can pack up straight away at the end of a shoot without waiting around for your light to cool down.
 

Spectrum Aurora Ring Light Comparison

This article is going to look at the Spectrum Aurora Ring Light Comparison table, so you can see which one of the new range of ring lights suit you best.

FEATURES	MINI PEARL	MINI PEARL II	DIAMOND LUXE V1	DIAMOND LUXE II	GOLD LUXE I	GOLD LUXE II
Light Source	180 SMD individual LED lights	240 SMD individual LED lights	240 SMD individual LED lights	512 SMD individual LED lights	240 SMD individual LED lights	512 SMD individual LED lights
Colour Temperature	5400K (natural daylight)	3000-5500K	5400K (natural daylight)	3000-5500K	3000-5500K	3000-5500K
Approx. Lifespan	80,000 hrs	80,000 hrs	80,000 hrs	80,000 hrs	100,000 hrs	100,000 hrs
CRI+ Colour Rating	95+	95+	95+	95+	95+	95+
Power Cable	Australian Plug	Australian Plug (Also UK, US & EU Available)	Australian Plug	Australian Plug (Also UK, US & EU Available)	Australian Plug (Also UK, US & EU Available)	Australian Plug (Also UK, US & EU Available)
Ring Light Diameter	13"/34cm	14"/34.5cm	19"/50cm	18"/44.5cm	19"/50cm	50cm
Dimmable Control	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Colour Temperature Control	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Luminance @1m	2600 LM	3000 LM	4200 LM	6000 LM	6000 LM	6000 LM
Attachable Mirror	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes - Included
200cm Light Stand	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes - Included
Phone Bracket	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes - Included
Camera Bracket	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes - Included
Goose Neck	No	No	No	Yes - Included	Yes – Included	Yes- Included
Carry Bag	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes - Included
Diffuser Panels	Yes – Included	Yes - Built In	Yes – Included	Yes – Included	Yes - Built In	Yes - Included

Spectrum Aurora Firefly Selfie Phone Ring Light Comparison

The New Spectrum Aurora Ring Light Range

As a general rule, the larger the area you want to light, the bigger the ring light you’ll need. If you’re just starting out, the Spectrum Aurora 14" LED Pro Ring Light Kit - Mini Pearl II is a budget-friendly choice, as well as being a compact size for travelling. MUA’s will find it great for lighting brows or lips.

Photo booths require a larger, more powerful ring light like the Spectrum Aurora 18" Diamond Luxe II Ring Light , which is also great for MUA’s and beauty professionals, as it provides flawlessly lit images that show off your work to the best advantage, as well as keeping the colours true to life

The Spectrum Aurora 19" Gold Luxe II Ring Light certainly doesn’t come in cheap, but it’s an investment in your future. If you are looking to move up from entry-level or mid-range ring lights, then this is the one for you. It provides enough light to illuminate flat lays, and also to give shadowless light for interior design photographers, MUA’s, vloggers, social media influencers, portrait photographers, still life and food photographers etc.

Conclusion

As our Spectrum Aurora Ring Light comparison table shows, each ring light has different strengths and capabilities.

It will stand you well in the future if you buy the best ring light you can afford now, and one that will be powerful enough for your needs in a few years’ time without you having to buy a more powerful one.

At the end of the day, the type of ring light you choose will come down to personal preference and the type of photography or videography that you do, but hopefully, this ring light comparison will help make your decision easier.

 For more Spectrum fun, check out our updated 2022 Ring Light Guide here