The unit itself seems to be pretty well made. Its lightness is because it is made of a plastic material. While I think that if it were used roughly, it could show some adverse effects and probably be irreparably damaged if mistreated, when treated with a little common sense and care, it should have no problems. My first thought was that it would be easy for this to fall off when using, but I had no problems with it. Despite flinging and flipping my camera, it all felt snug.
Once you have it attached, shooting with it is as easy as ever. There is a little weight noticed, especially when shooting freehand and flipping the camera back and forth, but nowhere like a full mechanical ring flash attachment, or some of the do-it-yourself configurations I have seen.
In the sample below, the image on the left was shot with a Canon 20D and a Canon Speedlight 580EX II. You can see the harsh shadows that were produced behind the subject. The image on the right was done using the Ray Flash. No harsh shadows. I did no editing to either picture other than cropping and sizing.
As with all ring flash units, there is a certain amount of fall off. If you want the background to be illuminated by the Ray Flash, then what you are shooting needs to be close to background or use additional fill lights. Keep in mind that this is not isolated to the Ray Flash, but to ring flashes in general and I only mention it if you have not worked with a ring flash before.
At $299.00 USD, the Ray Flash may be a little pricey for the average hobbyist, but for someone who is doing portraits, fashion work, commercial, or wedding photography, this will make for a nice addition to your bag of tricks and will pay for itself many times over. If you are looking for a lightweight, easy to use ring flash, then you really need to check out Ray Flash.
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