A ring lamp includes a light source having a first hollow cylinder with a lighting device disposed therein. The light source has an emitting surface with a light-emitting direction oriented toward an axis of the hollow cylinder. The lamp also includes a light directing device configured to direct light emission. The light directing device includes a lens system having a lens formed as a second hollow cylinder and configured to focus light into a radial plane which is orthogonal to the axis. The lens system has a ring-shaped aperture diaphragm disposed centrally in an optical path of the light emission behind the lens. The emitting surface of the light source and the lens system have a same length, are coaxial and axially aligned with each other. A radial surface which is defined by an inner radius of the lens system and the length of the lens system spans a delimited volume.