Frequently Asked Questions

The orbis(tm) works with most flash/strobes straight out of the box, with no need for any extra parts or conversion add-ons !

We have tested the orbis™ with the Canon 300TL, 420EX, 430EX, 540EZ, 550EX, 580EX I and II, Nikon SB28, SB80, SB600, SB800, SB900, Cosmos 360, LumoPro LP120, LP160, Metz 44, 48 and Metz 58, Minolta 5200 and 5600, Olympus FL36R and FL50, Pentax AF360 and AF540, Sigma 500, Sony F56, HVL F36 and HVL58, Sunpak PF30X and 5000 and the Vivitar 283. If your flash/strobe is similar in size and shape to these, it will almost definitely be compatible with the orbis™. If you’re not sure, email us and we can tell you!

The only common flash/strobes that we know of that don’t fit the orbis™ are the Cactus KF36, the Metz 45 and 45CL, the Vivitar 285 and the Vivitar 285HV, which are all slightly too large.

Also please note that the orbis™ is designed to work with standard-design SLR hotshoe flashes with a head that can be tilted back to vertical, so it does not work with the Canon 220EX, Nikon SB400 or the  Metz “Hammerhead” series (Metz 60, 76 etc).

Be sure to read the instruction manual before using your orbis™. You can download it here.

The lens tunnel is 86mm wide, so the orbis™ works with commonly used Canon 16-35, 24-70, 24-105, 70-200 (IS and non IS), Nikon 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200 (non VR), 80-200 VR, 18-200 VR and more.

If you’re in mainland US, shipping starts from $16.99, and in the UK, $13.99.

Click here for all our shipping rates.

We have spent a lot of time arranging logistics partners in the USA, the UK and Australasia. That means that when you order an orbis™ from the US, UK and within the EU, shipping will not cost you the earth.

No problem. If for some reason you decide that the orbis™ isn’t for you – you can return it in perfect condition in its box with all original packaging in sellable condition within 14 days.

The orbis™ is guaranteed against manufacturing defects for 12 months from the date of purchase. We also offer a no-risk money-back guarantee for 14 days; if you’re not happy with your orbis™ you can return it to us in its original undamaged packaging (must be sellable quality). See our Terms page for details.

There are two ways to use an orbis™, on its own with your flash or with the accessory orbis™ arm. Using the orbis™ on its own, it’s important to remember that having fitted the orbis™ to your flash, you hold your flash in your left hand and just place your thumb and index finger on the orbis™. There are conveniently placed grip surfaces on the front and rear of the body.

Using the orbis™ with the orbis™ arm, follow the instructions that came with your orbis™ arm to set it up. Depending on setup and preference, you can hold the system with your left hand on the bottom or main shaft of the orbis™ arm. Or mount the whole system on a tripod.

The orbis(tm) is manufactured by enlight photo. Founded by full-time professional photographer James Madelin in 2006 to develop an effective modular ring flash, James is a sportsshooter.com member, a devoted follower of the ‘Strobist’ philosophy of inventive off-camera lighting and in a previous life was a keen amateur photographer too.

enlight photo have offices in the United Kingdom and New Zealand as well as a delivery center in the USA.

As an international company, if you order an orbis™ it will be sent to you from your nearest logistics center, either in the USA, the UK or Australasia. That means that you don’t pay a lot for shipping and that in the unlikely event that you have to return your orbis™, it will be straightforward to do so. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, check our FAQs first, then contact us by email at support@enlightphotopro.com if you can’t find an answer to your question.

As a highly engineered photographic accessory, your orbis™ should be treated with care to ensure it keeps working for years.

The orbis™ comprises a double layer shell formed from durable ABS plastic for strength.

The unique clip into which you slide your flash/strobe has been stress tested in a lab to ensure material integrity over thousands of cycles.

We’ve drop-tested the orbis™ thoroughly and sent it several times around the globe to ensure that normal little accidents don’t result in disaster.

We urge you to read the instructions that come with your orbis™ before you use it. Though it is ready-to-go out of the box, enlight photo ltd are not responsible for any damage to equipment caused by mishandling the orbis™.

If you’re one of the millions of photographers keen to push the envelope and take better and better photos without spending a fortune, the orbis™ is for you.

Unlike other ring flashes, the orbis™ does not prevent your camera and compatible flash/strobe from using TTL metering to get the exposure just right (as long as you’re using an off-camera cord, Canon’s IR system or Nikon’s CLS). That makes it really easy to use and fast to set up – ideal for every keen photographer with a flash/strobe.

Just like expensive studio-oriented ring flash (Broncolor, Lumedyne, Alien Bees, etc) the orbis™ is great for product, food, medical and macro photography.

Put simply, diffusers like the Lightsphere spread the light from your flash, but don’t actually re-shape it. That’s great if your environment means that the spread of diffused light will bounce back, say if you’re under a low ceiling or next to a wall. And the ceiling or wall is a neutral light colour. The moment your subject moves, or you’re not near a convenient wall or ceiling, a simple slip-on diffuser like a Stofen or a GF will barely help at all. The orbis™ is unique as it spreads the light AND fundamentally re-shapes it. The amazing shadowless ‘ring flash’ lighting effect you get with the orbis™ is totally independent of where you are and what you’re shooting. Even when used off-camera like a mini-softbox, the orbis™ is still fundamentally changing the shape and size of the light from your flash, something other diffusers don’t do. The orbis™ is the only way to get beautiful, shadowless photos anywhere, every time.

The orbis™ is a fantastic and affordable way to have fun with the ring flash effect at a portrait range or closer, but differs from studio ring flashes in two ways.

The orbis™ ring flash uses your standard flash/strobe as the source of light and power. A studio ring flash is much, much more powerful. If you need to light up the other side of the street or a subject standing 10m away, have the thousands of dollars required to buy a studio ring flash and the assistants to carry and guard the power pack, plus the time to set it all up, then the orbis™ probably isn’t for you.

Similarly, when used with particular settings and circumstances, photos taken with the orbis™ may have a slightly different look to those of a studio ring flash, as re-distributing the light from a single light source will never be perfect. Although most photographs taken with an orbis™ ring flash are indistinguishable from those taken with a studio ring flash, if absolute technical perfection is essential, you have the thousands of dollars to spend, the assistants to carry and guard the power pack, plus the time to set it all up, then the orbis™ probably isn’t for you either.

But if you’re keen to have fun taking photos using your flash/strobe with a classic, beautiful shadowless lighting effect, you’ll love the orbis™ ring flash !

The ring flash effect is immediately recognisable and timeless. Much easier to use than softboxes and beauty dishes, ring flash is a great way to cast beautiful shadowless light. Without access to ring flash lighting you’re one step behind other photographers. And remember, ring flash is particularly useful when used as part of a multi-light setup.

Photography has never been more competitive. Now that you can have a ring flash for only $199 it simply makes sense to have an orbis™ on hand.

The orbis™ bridges the gap between high-end and home-made ring flashes. If you want a great piece of kit that won’t break the bank or look out of place on a pro shoot, the orbis™ is for you.

And unlike most home-made ring flashes, you can pack your orbis™ in your kit bag safe in the knowledge that it will be in one piece when you get to your location!

At an affordable price point, the orbis™ enables all keen photographers to reach the next level without breaking the budget.

Order yours today to get the edge on your competition!

The orbis™ has been designed primarily to be handheld; it does not actively fit to your lens. Holding the orbis™ and your flash/strobe in one hand, you push your lens through the orbis™ lens tunnel. You can of course put the orbis™ on a lightstand if you’re using it in studio. One of the big drawbacks with studio ring flash systems is how time-consuming and awkward they are to set up. If you are shooting for longer with your orbis™ on-lens as a ring flash, the orbis™ fitting arm fits your orbis™, flash and camera together into one system. Click HERE to find out more.

Yes, as long as you are using either a compatible off-camera cord, Canon’s IR system or Nikon’s CLS.

If you’re using a PC cord or radio trigger, your flash/strobe and camera cannot communicate the TTL information effectively, so in this case you have to set the flash/strobe manually.

The orbis™ used as the manual suggests does not block any sensors on the flash. TTL metering is all calculated in camera, but Focus Assist and infra red sensors are often positioned on the flash/strobe head.

Remember, the orbis™ is the first ring flash that does not impede both the camera’s TTL and Focus Assist functions, making it as easy as using on-camera flash (see the manual for details).

Instructional websites and blogs have given rise to a global movement of ‘Strobists’. The orbis™ fits the strobist philosophy perfectly; easy to afford and use with great results.

The orbis™ is powerful enough for shooting photos out to full-length portraits, right down to macro work, without having to use a high ISO or wide open aperture.

Most ring flash photographs are taken at relatively short range where you won’t notice a loss of light intensity.

For more information, hover your mouse over the photos in our galleries; many of them include the camera settings.

The orbis™ is around 20cm (8 inches) wide, 26cm (10 inches) tall and 6cm deep. It weighs about 500 grams (18 ounces).

The orbis™ is a fantastically compact, lightweight ring flash that’s easy to sling in your kit bag or over a shoulder for quick access in fast-moving photography situations.

The light tunnel inside the orbis™ uses patent-pending design to ensure that light from your flash is efficiently redirected with minimum light loss. Our testing has proved that light reaches all the way around the orbis™, faithfully reproducing a ring flash effect.

Our unique clip means that your flash fits snugly into the orbis™ to limit any light loss around the flash/strobe head.

You can also use Canon’s Infra Red triggering system or Nikon’s CLS. If you don’t mind setting the flash/strobe manually, you can use a cheap PC cord or you may already own radio triggers like those found on Ebay, PocketWizards or SkyPorts.

If you don’t already have a way to fire your flash/strobe when it’s not on the hotshoe, we recommend using an off-camera cord as the most efficient solution. They are also really useful for exploring other directional lighting effects.

Anyone who takes their photography seriously;

Keen photographers; make the most of the harsh flash/strobe you rarely use to take beautifully well-lit photos of your family and friends, that look like they’re straight out of a magazine. They’ll love you for it !

Wedding photographers; imagine being able to take beautifully lit bride and bridesmaid shots of top fashion magazine quality in moments with an orbis™.

Press photographers; when you’re three jobs down in a day with four to go and you have to get yet another portrait in an uninspiring location, the orbis™ will save your day by giving you a really fast way to come up with a completely different eye-catching look.

Magazine photographers; you have to deliver top photography to a tight bottom line. You can own an orbis™ for the same as, or less than, one day’s studio ring-flash rental. Beat your competition by getting that high-value ring flash look to impress your editor.

Portrait photographers; an orbis™ is a great way to fill your lighting setups quickly an easily without spending a small fortune on an unwieldy studio ring flash. For family and child portraits, the portability and light weight of the orbis™ means you can keep up with fast moving subjects.

The orbis™ is a great way to light photographs beautifully; if you don’t have a fortune to spend on studio equipment, the orbis™ is for you.

Most hotshoes, the component that connects a camera to a flash/strobe, are designed to be sacrificial; they’re actually designed to break! In the event of a shock to either the camera or the flash/strobe, the easily replaceable hotshoe on the flash/strobe breaks to prevent damage to the more expensive camera and/or flash/strobe unit. Any light modifier that hangs from the flash puts strain on the hotshoe, greatly increasing the chances of breaking it. And that means an end to your shoot, at least until you can grab your spare system, and a lengthy wait for repairs. By moving the orbis™ off the camera, you avoid any dangers of hotshoe failure.

Furthermore, the orbis™ doesn’t obstruct the sensors on front of your flash/strobe, used for important functions like Focus Assist.

Most hotshoes, the component that connects a camera to a flash/strobe, are designed to be sacrificial; they’re actually designed to break! In the event of a shock to either the camera or the flash/strobe, the easily replaceable hotshoe on the flash/strobe breaks to prevent damage to the more expensive camera and/or flash/strobe unit. Any light modifier that hangs from the flash puts strain on the hotshoe, greatly increasing the chances of breaking it. And that means an end to your shoot, at least until you can grab your spare system, and a lengthy wait for repairs. By moving the orbis™ off the camera, you avoid any dangers of hotshoe failure.

Furthermore, the orbis™ doesn’t obstruct the sensors on front of your flash/strobe, used for important functions like Focus Assist.

As a highly engineered photographic accessory, your orbis™ should be treated with care to ensure it keeps working for years.

Keep the orbis™ safe in its protective case when not in use, but if the unavoidable does happen, the answer for the busy family photographer is that you can rinse it through with water, let it dry carefully and keep shooting! Never attempt to wipe the reflective light-tunnel.

Yes, you can fit gels onto your flash/strobe with hook&loop fastener and it will still fit your orbis™.

The orbis™ was designed for use with autofocus cameras. Although manual focus is possible with the orbis™, it is best to mount the orbis™ on a lightstand with your camera on a tripod when using manual focus. A fitting kit that will enable you to attach your orbis™ to your camera -to make manually focussing a lot easier- will be launched in 2009.

See the manual for details.

Light moves in mysterious ways. Our extensive virtual and real-time testing concluded that there is an optimum opacity for the orbis™ lens to maximise efficiency. The diffusion in the front panel stops too much of the light escaping before it’s been re-directed through the patented light tunnels. Less diffusion means that more light spills out before it has been re-shaped, causing a sharp fall-off in efficiency.

Similarly, the size of the light tunnels are defined by the extensive virtual testing that our optical engineering team carried out. Changing the diameter by just 5mm either way causes considerable fall-off in efficiency.

You can view our terms and conditions here

The orbis™ manual in English is available for download here. The orbis™ arm instruction manual is available for download here.

There is no competition currently running. Watch this space, and the flickr group, for details !