[Confused]

Hi again Matt

I mainly intend to use the Metz 48 AF1 attached to the K10D to start with, so the 'wireless slave mode' probably won't enter into the equation for the time being. Incidentally, I haven't used an external flashgun since my Olympus OM1 film days.....giving my age away now, etc ! I tended to rely on the under-powered built-in ones of my previous Fuji & Panasonic bridge-cameras, which is a shameful admission ! I must admit that I was rather surprised to learn that you "get slight overexposure on bouncing" as I'd have probably expected the direct opposite !

I set the flash compensation to -0.3 and now I'm happy.

I recently attended a wedding reception that took place in a high-roofed sports hall and at one point began to feel a bit sorry for the official photographer, because there was precious little ceiling for his flashgun to actually bounce-off ! He was a C***n aficionado, so naturally I became slightly less sympathetic as the evening wore on.......'nuff said, really.....LOL !

I think the following anomaly....

Whenever the back-light illuminates, the camera's top LCD back-light comes on too.

...is quite a neat feature, but the downside of this might shorten the stamina of the K10D's LIon battery somewhat ! Pity there's no way of disabling it ? And finally....

Oh! One more weird thing — it doesn't make an audible whine while charging. The 58 AF-1 apparently has an optional beep.

So I'm guessing that the Metz 48 AF1 doesn't 'beep' ? Oh well, you can't win 'em all !!!

Best regards
Richard..........Beep deleted....LOL !

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Last edited by Confused; 06-02-2008 at 02:22 PM.

[Ben_Edict]

I use a Metz 54MZ-4i with the latest SCA adapter on my K10 and K20 and also a couple of other Metz flashes (5 all in all). In the past (the pure TTL-days) I also used some Pentax flashes, of which the small AF280T was simply the best, giving the best results lighting-wise.

My experience with Metz flash guns in general is: they just work - like a Volkswagen. They don't break, they are utterly reliable, even the more modern ones with digital dials etc.

That the P-TTL is somewhat errorness is just part of the P-TTL technology and hasn't much to do with Metz. TTL metering on the film surface with the LX or PZ-1 or even the Super Program was much more reliable.

P-TTL is really not better than any good auto-Thyristor control a sophisticated flash gun will provide. This is, by the way, one of the main advantages of the larger Metz flash guns: they usually provide a wide choice of aperture settings for their A-mode.

The good thing of the current P-TTL is mainly the wireless capability (that at least is my personal view). But even there Metz provides its remote flash counterpart, which works not only with P-TTL, but also with A-mode (auto-Thyristor), which makes it versatile, because it will work with any camera – digital, film, medium format or even large format...

I won't say anything bad about the current Pentax flashes. From what people report and from what I have seen in the shops, they seem to be fine products. Nevertheless I give the advantage to Metz, because of 25 years solely very positive experience.

Ben

[yenemy]

After doing quite a lot of research on this, I concluded that:

- Pentax has a better interface than Metz, but both are usable.
- Pin locking worries on the 540 are present, but shouldn't be a huge issue.
- Performance and features are close enough to not make that much difference either way, except the lack of swivel on the 360.

I would say, given equal pricing, the 48AF-1 would win hands down over the 360 (swivel+bounce vs bounce). I would put the 540 and 58AF-1 in a dead heat, with the interface of the Metz balanced against the pin locking concerns of the Pentax.

International markets being the way they are, though, Pentax has a significant price advantage in the US, and Metz has a significant price advantage in Europe.

Since I'm in the US AND wanted swivel+bounce, I went with the 540 because I didn't want to pay that much -just- to get swivel+bounce (on the 48). Figured I might as well go for broke and get all the other goodies from the 540.

If I wasn't willing to fork over for the 540, I would have gotten the 48. If I had to just get one, I would have gotten the 540... the pin locking issue doesn't worry me much.

[Confused]

Hi yenemy

I greatly admire your optimism re:

the pin locking issue doesn't worry me much.

....but I'm not so sure you'd be 'quite' so charitable towards Pentax if it happened to YOU ?

Best regards
Richard

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Last edited by Confused; 06-03-2008 at 04:13 PM.

[yenemy]

Hi yenemy
....but I'm not so sure you'd be so charitable towards Pentax if it happened to YOU ?

Best regards
Richard

Hi Richard,

I should have been more clear; I don't use the locking pin

[Confused]

Hi again yenemy

Confucious say:

" Wise man take pin out of flashgun-base BEFORE put on expensive Pentax DSLR, otherwise big repair-bill find way to doormat, Ah so !"

Velly canny advice, so no chargee much $$$$$......LOL !

Best regards
Charlee Chann !

[yenemy]

For me, it's easier (and doesn't void the 540's warranty) to simply not flip the switch over... if I get paranoid, I can plug the socket on the hotshoe with glue/toothpick, tape the switch open, or any number of other little things. I just don't like messing around with the internals if I don't have to.

[Confused]

Hi Matt

Is there some setting on the Metz 48 AF1 which calculates the AF distance, but doesn't send out the annoying pre-flash when using the P-TTL mode ?

Best regards
Richard