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02-26-2008, 02:48 PM   #1
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Metz 48 AF-1: first impressions

Got my new flash from B&H today — wow they're great for instant gratification. Literally quicker than it would have been for me to go to a physical camera store (other than Cameras Inc in Davis Square, which is a great little store but not much selection — they do carry Pentax, though). So anyway, here's my fifteen-minutes-of-use notes, in random order:
  • Basic flash operation seems perfectly good. Wireless slave P-TTL good too. Exposure seems about right, maybe a bit overexposed by default, but I'll need to actually use it for a while to see about that.
  • Like the Sigma EF530 DG Super, high-speed sync only works with a fixed ISO, not Auto ISO. As I mentioned elsewhere, Pentax tech support did say that their official flashes don't have this limitation, and they stuck to that story when pressed. Could someone who actually owns one confirm either way?
  • Same deal for setting rear-curtain sync in slave mode. That doesn't work. Again, Pentax said it would with the official flashes — can someone confirm?
  • A major deal-breaker for the Sigma flash for me was that the flash-assist strobe of the internal flash would trigger the flash as a wireless slave randomly about ¹/₃ to ¹/₂ of the time. I spent several minutes trying to get the Metz flash to do the same, but it was always perfectly well behaved.
  • Build quality seems good. As others have noted, the click-lock tilt points won't hold much weight, but with just the flash or a light deflector mounted, this won't be a problem. The same catch is used for both tilting and swiveling, which is a nice design touch. Battery door is solid. There's one of those flimsy rubber plugs over the USB port — ugh.
  • Seems smaller than the Sigma flash, especially in width. But I think it's just as tall and seems fatter (deeper?), but maybe that's just the decreased width making it seem that way. I should have measured the Sigma flash before sending it back — listed dimensions for flashes are only part of the story since they seem to measure in bent-forward configuration only. Extended to the 90° position, the Metz 48 AF-1 measures about 17.5cm tall (to the base of the hotshoe plate) by 6.5cm wide by 5.5cm deep.
  • Sliding into and out of the hotshoe is easier than with the Sigma, but still a bit awkward because of the fat rounded "belly" of the front of the flash. I kind of think Pentax should abandon the ISO-standard hotshoe (hey, Sony did it) in favor of some more elegant quick-release system. (There should be an adapter to the standard, of course.) Unlike the Sigma flash, Metz includes the locking pin like the Pentax flashes — we'll see if it gets stuck!
  • The pop-out bounce card is cool, but pretty tiny. I've yet to see how well it works in practice.
  • Whenever you hit a button, it turns on the backlight on the flash's LCD, which doesn't bug me, but it also turns on the backlight on the K10D's top LCD! That's really annoying! No config option to disable this, either.
  • The user interface is basically good, but the need to push the center two buttons simultaneously to change settings is awkward. They're exactly far enough appart that I can't press them with one finger or thumb. And beyond the physical inconvenience, useful modes like wireless slave and rear curtain sync are mixed randomly with configuration parameters like whether to display in feet or meters and auto-shutoff time. At least when you are in SL mode, when you press the buttons for select again it starts right with the option for turning that back off, so that's not as annoying as it could be.
  • But, on the plus side, it's much easier to figure out how to do things without resorting to the manual — it doesn't take any brain power to figure out how to adjust the flash compensation or manual zoom in wireless slave mode, for example.
  • Speaking of the manual, there's a section (9.9, if you're following along) that seems to be talking about an option to disable conversion of displayed lens zoom range to 35mm terms. But there doesn't actually seem to be that option in practice, which is too bad, because I was totally psyched about turning that off so I wouldn't have to remember if I was being lied to or not when looking at the display. ("Uh, yeah, I've got my 40mm lens mounted, so when it says 50mm, it means the flash reflector is zoomed 10mm on the wide side, not 10mm too narrow. Got it.")
  • Oh yeah — you know that high-pitched increasing whine that flashes make while they're charging? This flash does not do that. It is totally silent. That's both freakish and actually slightly bad, since I'm used to listening for that as a cue about whether the flash is ready. Oh well, I suppose as I get older I'll lose the ability to hear that sound anyway. I think the big-brother Metz 58 AF-1 has some sort of option to actually make a beep when done charging.


02-26-2008, 02:57 PM   #2
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And a random question

Modelling light is one of those options buried in the double-button Select menu. Is there any particular reason to not leave this always set? It only affects what happens when I push the manual fire button, right?


PS: forgot to mention this, but it's kinda cool: the + button (arbitrary choice, but whatever) lights for 5 seconds after taking a P-TTL-mode shot if the flash thinks the resulting exposure was correct.
02-27-2008, 08:26 PM   #3
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CHANGE THE FLASH FOOT? Never. That caused Konminson so much trouble. There are lots of things that fit a flash shoe. Its like the cig lighter in the car.
Glad you are enjoying the new flash. Is the instruction book any better than the Sigma or Pentax? So many modes and so hard to understand what they do.
thanks
barondla
02-28-2008, 06:22 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by barondla Quote
CHANGE THE FLASH FOOT? Never. That caused Konminson so much trouble. There are lots of things that fit a flash shoe. Its like the cig lighter in the car.
There definitely should be an adapter for the mythical new interface. The current system is just so awkward.

QuoteQuote:
Glad you are enjoying the new flash. Is the instruction book any better than the Sigma or Pentax? So many modes and so hard to understand what they do.
I don't have any Pentax flashes (don't wanna buy the AF360FGZ without any swivel, and the AF540FGZ is more power, size, and price than I need), so I can't really properly do that comparison.

But the Metz manual is far better than the Sigma one. It's still clearly translated into English, but the translation isn't as awkward, and more importantly, the basic organization of the manual is way better. You could read through it and have an understanding of the flash's operation without having the flash in front of you to refer to constantly, which isn't the case with Sigma.

But actually even more important, you barely need the manual, once you've glanced through it once. The interface itself is simple and clean (despite the multi-button annoyance, and the conflating of modes and settings).

02-28-2008, 10:25 AM   #5
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does the metz function as an onboard master, for k100d users who want to go wireless?
02-28-2008, 11:50 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by OniFactor Quote
does the metz function as an onboard master, for k100d users who want to go wireless?
No. The much more expensive Metz 58 AF-1 does, but the 48 AF-1 doesn't.
02-28-2008, 12:13 PM   #7
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And the 58 AF-1 is about $50 more expensive than the Pentax AF-540FGZ, and nominally slightly less powerful (manufacturer claimed guide numbers for ISO 100 @ 50mm: Pentax AF540FGZ = 148', Metz 58 AF-1 = 137' — for reference, Metz 48 AF-1 = 114', Pentax AF360FGZ = 94', and Sigma EF530 DG = 132' ). It's got a few nice tricks like the integrated secondary reflector, but if I were in the market for that level of flash I'd be hard pressed to think of reasons to not just get the Pentax model.

Particularly if what Pentax tech support told me about the AutoISO and rear-curtain sync issues is true (something I'm actually starting to doubt...)

02-28-2008, 12:40 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
And the 58 AF-1 is about $50 more expensive than the Pentax AF-540FGZ, [...]
It's funny, I chose the Metz 58 AF-1 over Pentax AF-540FGZ precisely because Metz was 46 euros (~$70) cheaper than Pentax here in EU!
Metz was EUR290 ($436) and Pentax was EUR336 ($505)
02-28-2008, 01:31 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by gawan Quote
It's funny, I chose the Metz 58 AF-1 over Pentax AF-540FGZ precisely because Metz was 46 euros (~$70) cheaper than Pentax here in EU!
Metz was EUR290 ($436) and Pentax was EUR336 ($505)
That solves that mystery, then. I'm curious -- what are your prices for the Metz 48 AF-1 and Pentax AF360FGZ?
02-28-2008, 01:42 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
That solves that mystery, then. I'm curious -- what are your prices for the Metz 48 AF-1 and Pentax AF360FGZ?
Pentax AF-360 FGZ €188 ($283)
Metz 48 AF-1 €182 ($274)

Not so different, but still in favour of Metz. And of course based only ton the one shop I use.

Maybe Metz being a German product has something to do with this...

Are the prices comparable to US prices?
02-28-2008, 01:43 PM   #11
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damn.. so it's 220 for a better GN and swivel, or 220 for wireless commander, less GN and no swivel.. what a freakin trade off. lol
02-28-2008, 01:53 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by gawan Quote
Pentax AF-360 FGZ €188 ($283)
Metz 48 AF-1 €182 ($274)

Not so different, but still in favour of Metz. And of course based only ton the one shop I use.

Maybe Metz being a German product has something to do with this...

Are the prices comparable to US prices?
It's all considerably cheaper — $175 for the AF360FGZ and $220 for the Metz 48 AF-1. But, that non-swivel head is a deal-breaker for me.
02-29-2008, 01:38 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
It's all considerably cheaper — $175 for the AF360FGZ and $220 for the Metz 48 AF-1. But, that non-swivel head is a deal-breaker for me.
Do those US prices include taxes? EU prices do...
02-29-2008, 08:21 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by gawan Quote
Do those US prices include taxes? EU prices do...
Uh, well, in the US, we all buy things from other states on over the internet, and while our home states generally make claims about how they're due sales tax on out-of-state purchases, that's largely unenforceable and basically completely unenforced. So, the answer is no, they don't include taxes. And all our local governments are falling apart because of it, but that's another thread (and for another forum).

(Um, not that I am saying I fail to report anything, dear revenue dept. readers.)
03-04-2008, 07:40 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
[*]Speaking of the manual, there's a section (9.9, if you're following along) that seems to be talking about an option to disable conversion of displayed lens zoom range to 35mm terms. But there doesn't actually seem to be that option in practice, which is too bad, because I was totally psyched about turning that off so I wouldn't have to remember if I was being lied to or not when looking at the display. ("Uh, yeah, I've got my 40mm lens mounted, so when it says 50mm, it means the flash reflector is zoomed 10mm on the wide side, not 10mm too narrow. Got it.")
Ah, it's there. Just easy to miss. Nice to have it reporting real focal length data.
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