Tonor TRL-20 Ring Light - Review
ETHICS NOTE: I purchased all the products mentioned in this article. The text contains no product placement or advertising, and all opinions are entirely my own.
Today I'm reviewing the Tonor TRL-20 12" ring light. This kit is a budget lighting and camera mount setup for those looking to film with their mobile phone.
Firstly I'll describe the product and specifications, and then I'll give you my opinions on whether this is worth fifty pounds of your hard-earned cash.
What’s in the Kit?
Everything comes well packaged in a large brown box. Included is a four-segment tripod in a waterproof drawstring bag. The tripod has a permanently fitted pan-tilt video head to allow vertical and horizontal movement.
Also included is a tripod mounting plate, the 160 LED 12" ring light, an iOS and Android Bluetooth camera remote control and a phone clamp with a gooseneck to mount your device in the centre of the ring light.
The mount fixes firmly to your phone and is spring-loaded to fit any phone width. I am testing this with an iPhone 11 Pro Max, which is on the larger side of most mobile phones. You can rotate your phone into portrait or landscape mode using the ball and socket joint to the rear of the phone mount.
Tonor TRL-20 Ring Light Kit (SLR and Phone not included)
Power
Power is through a 5V USB-A connector, meaning you can use any active USB port on a computer, a USB power supply or a power bank. The manual states that these need to be 2A ports for the light to work correctly; however, I have found it to work fine on a 1A port.
Controls
The ring light includes a two-meter power lead with an in-cable control roughly halfway down the wire. This control has three functions through four buttons.
Turn the light on and off
Adjust the brightness through ten levels
Switch colour temperature between the three preset values
Diffuser
The 160 LEDs are covered with a diffuser to minimise harsh shadows at higher brightness levels. The ring light's back is black plastic and has a hole to allow direct mounting to a wall.
All mounting is through consumer 1/4" 20 UNC standard tripod screws.
It’s Just So Cheap
So that's what you get with the TRL-20 package, but is it any good? Well, let's take an honest look.
The Tonor TRL-20 is a budget product. It's cheap, and it feels cheap. Everything is barebone plastic unless Tonor absolutely couldn't get away with it. For example, the tripod legs are metal-coated to give them structural strength. They would probably flex to breaking point if they weren't.
Of course, all 1/4 20 screws are metal. However, even some of those are the nasty variety with a hole drilled into the centre. Presumably, manufacturers do this to save just a tiny bit more metal in the production process.
The bag provided for the tripod is a waste of time. It feels like a newspaper and probably isn't much more substantial.
The rather flimsy power cable enters the light through a hole in the plastic. There's no retention or protection. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a knot on the other side to stop it from pulling out.
The included Bluetooth remote looks like an off-the-shelf piece of junk. The power switch on the side rattles around in the housing, and the unit weighs about two grams more than the battery.
Plastic, Plastic, Plastic
Nothing here is going to last. If you're going to need to move your lighting configuration around a lot and maybe transport this from place to place, I can't see this lasting more than a few months without something snapping, bending or breaking. I have absolutely no evidence of that, but this is my review. It's my opinion and therefore my judgement on what will happen.
If you're looking to do professional photography or videography with this setup, forget it. The LEDs have a manual stated CRI rating of 80-90, which is terrible. Not only does this figure suggest that what you get is pretty much pot luck, but it's also a low rating. If accurate colour rendition is your thing, you'll need to pay more for LEDs with a CRI upwards of 95 to ensure that you're not missing half the spectrum.
What Makes it Worthwhile?
But you know what? This ring light isn't going to be used by professional cinematographers. It's aimed at beginners. Those launching a career on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and whatever platform becomes necessary to insert here in the future.
It's also an incredible addition for anyone who spends any time on video calls for work or pleasure. Adding extra lighting can hugely improve the quality of any laptop webcam. You'll come across clearly to others and appear more professional in the process.
Not everyone wants to or can spend hundreds of pounds on a single light. This kit is great because of that. There's just no need to spend that kind of money until you know more about where you want to specialise or focus your spend.
The TRL-20 includes everything you need to get streaming or recording from your phone in literally minutes. Lighting and audio are everything when it comes to video, and this checks one of those boxes off very nicely.
If you're going to be producing your content from one spot in a studio, office or bedroom, this is perfect. Set it up and leave it, and the cheap plastics will happily serve their purpose.
Tonor TRL-20 LED Layout
USB Power
The USB power makes this amazingly flexible. I tested this with an Anker 26,800mAh power bank. Having a decent capacity meant I could comfortably plug in my phone and the light and run for hours without any other power and still have a port free for another device.
Real-Life Usage
The CRI and output quality of the light may be sub-par, but that's what you get at this price point, and that's OK. I can take photos and compare the skin tone rendition of a professional light versus the Tonor light, but there's no value in doing that. I shot hours of footage of my son playing Lego Worlds using this light together with an iPhone, and the colours look fine. Don't worry about perfection. What's important is producing content, and this kit will help you do that.
The diffuser does a fine job spreading light evenly across your face and reducing shadows even at a close distance. The individual LEDs making up the ring are not visible through the opaque plastic, and lighting is consistent around 360 degrees.
The Best Bit
Fortunately, aside from the CRI rating, the light is the most impressive part. The ten brightness levels provide everything you will need to give you enough or little enough light for a wide variety of uses. The light has a warm, medium and cool colour temperature setting. As per the CRI, the actual Kelvin temperatures are estimates in the manual. There's no precision here, but you can be sure to tell the difference, and the three settings allow you to match most environments roughly.
Warm - 3200K - Like a living room light or old incandescent bulb
Medium - 4500K - Like an office or shop
Cool - 6000K - Like a cloudy, overcast day
The central mounting of the light means you will have a circular catchlight in your eye. Many of you will, no doubt, want this. I find it unnatural and false. It would never happen in any natural lighting scenario, but it's a creative choice. When I filmed my son gaming, we set the light to the side for a slightly more natural look. There are no firm rules here. Whatever works for you.
The composition of your shot is a breeze with the video head, the gooseneck and the ball joint mount together, giving you massive control over the light and camera position.
The Tripod
The tripod is in four-segments, meaning it's small enough when collapsed to sit on a desk but also tall enough to be used on the ground when required. I wouldn't use it outside. In fact, I wouldn't use any of this kit outdoors.
It would be nice to see a spare mounting plate or two in the kit. It's an incredibly fragile part but also essential. Without it, the light quickly becomes useless.
As mentioned, the Bluetooth remote is basic and cheap, but it works. It pairs without any problems and makes starting your recording much more straightforward. That said, as this is such a handy little part of the kit and one that you might bump around a bit, it would nice to see more money spent here. Just an extra pound would probably get you something that can handle a little more abuse.
Conclusion
I know some of this review is harsh. I'm afraid that's the reality of these type of products. Every expense is spared.
However, if you need lighting for Instagram shots or streaming, or you want to massively improve the quality of the webcam on your work PC, something like this will work.
There's a place for value stuff like this. These products help people learn and get their foot in the door without spending a ton of money. They also make fabulous presents for parents who have younger kids wanting to stream gaming with their mates or something similar.
It's not a five-star product, but at this price, I'd give it four. The fact you're watching this video means you're thinking about how to light your shot. That can only be a good thing, and the Tonor TRL-20 will set you off in the right direction.
Just treat it with care.