John & Maria's Photography Pages

Using the Olympus STF-8 macro flash

A lot of field macro work is only possible using flash to light small, often moving, subjects.  In the past I've used external flashguns and small softboxes, either singly or as a pair, mounted on a attached bracket and fired either with a connector cord or wirelessly. They worked - but cumbersome is an apt description of using them for photographing insects in leafy areas.

So I was delighted to find a used Olympus STF-8 twin flash for sale at Wex Photo and Video earlier this year.  The price was very reasonable compared to new so I raided the piggy bank and took the plunge.  After all, I'd easily recoup the investment, wouldn't I.  Gear aquisition syndrome strikes again.

The macro flash comes in it's own elegant carrying case.  I think I've used it twice since the first opening.  Assembly and fitting of the flash unit to the camera and 60mm macro lens is pretty simple and results in the following compact unit.

Small, compact, lightweight and weather sealed it's ideal for field use in terms of easy manouverability. The individual small flash units and diffusers can be rotated round the filter ring to provide optimum lighting directions and the control unit sits and locks neatly to the flash shoe.  Four AA batteries - I use rechargeables - power the whole thing.

Flash exposure is set from the back control panel.  I use manual exposure on the camera to set up aperture and shutter speed (max 1/250 sec on the EM1 Mkii) and, for most uses the left hand dial is on the camera/RC setting to allow TTL flash exposure.  It's possible to set the flash power manually but field working often doesn't provide enough time to play with the settings.  The right dial allows the user to balance the light between right and left flashes to enhance modelling.

So, does it work in practice?  And have I recouped any of my investment?  Short answer, yes.  Long answer, read on.

It's certainly easy to use in the field.  I can hand hold it for hours and even use it one handed, allowing me to hold a leaf or card for background colour to avoid the classic bright subject / black background unnatural flash 'look'.  In this case the background is a dock leaf.

The diffusion is not quite as good as I would like, the flashes generating small hot spots on shiny insects such as this greenbottle fly.

Having said that, even fairly sparkly subjects such as this iridescent eyed Dolichopus griseipennis fly come out well.

Duller subjects such as this tortoise shield bug, Eurygaster testudinaria, are no problem.

Overall, I'm very happy with the STF-8.  I'll do some experiments next year to increase the amount of diffusion to see if that generates superior results.  I'll also look at more focus bracketing / stacking to give a greater depth of field.  I've had a couple of goes.  It's not as easy as it sounds!

Finally, have I begun to recoup my investment?  Yes. $70 (to me) sales thus far. Hopefully there will be more next year.