Editor's Choice 2006: Lighting

There are plenty of small fluorescent lighting units available now, all providing a useful daylight color balance and cool operation, but this one is the most versatile of the lot. The Ego Light houses two 5500K-balanced, 27-watt fluorescent lamps, each providing the equivalent of 100 watts of tungsten light, inside a curved white diffuser. The unit can sit on your working tabletop or be mounted on a light stand or tripod with its 1/4-20 screw thread socket. Either way it can be tilted forward for directional control. Well suited to both tight portraiture and product photography, the Ego comes with a white reflector to temper unwanted shadows, though the unit's light is soft and envelopingto begin with. About $100.