[rollbahn]

Hi,
I am new to the Pentax world coming over from Leica rangefinders. I have purchased the MZ-S which I am enjoying and will be getting the LX soon too and I am looking for a lightweight flash that will work across the board on all cameras and take advantage of HSS and P-TTL when I need them plus still do manual flash etc. The Metz looks perfect but of course there is no mention on their website anymore about its compatibility with film cameras.

From what I can see it should work perfectly with the MZ-S and taking advantage of the more niche modes but still working perfectly on the older cameras like the LX with standard TTL or just straight Auto and manual settings.

Just checking in case there is some weird digital only flash hotshoe that I wasn't aware of.

Thanks for your help.

Jason

[stevebrot]

Welcome to the Pentax Forums!

Here is a quick summary:

• The Metz M400 supports Pentax P-TTL and provides flash dedication on Pentax P-TTL bodies. It also supports manual flash and "auto" flash using its own on-board sensor.
• Very few Pentax film cameras support P-TTL. Fortunately, the MZ-S is one of that exclusive club.
• The MZ-S also supports regular TTL (no pre-flash) with a large number of flash models for both the first generation (analog) and second generation (digital) protocols.* See the MZ-S manual for details of which models do what.
• The LX does NOT support P-TTL and would be limited to "auto" flash or manual mode with the M400. Fortunately the LX does support first generation (analog) TTL and also is compatible for that feature with a goodly number of Pentax flash.
• Figuring out which Pentax flash support TTL on the LX is a chore since, with few exceptions, one must go to the flash manuals themselves. I am not aware of any "Ultimate Pentax Flash Compatibility Matrix".

My opinion is that the Metz M400 would be a very decent choice if the MZ-S or a Pentax dSLR were your target camera and would only be workable on the LX. However, your broadest compatibility would be with the Pentax AF540FGZ or AF360FGZ where all bodies back to the early 1980s are supported to their full capabilities.**


Steve

* The older, analog TTL control protocol used a hot-shoe with three contacts on the face. The digital TTL control protocol added a fourth (data) contact to allow complex signal exchange. It is not unusual for later cameras and flash to support both protocols. Earlier models generally only support the analog version.

** Basically, this means active cooperation with the body to balance exposure, support for full manual, "auto" flash, TTL (analog protocol), TTL (digital protocol), and P-TTL.

[stevebrot]

See the MZ-S manual for details of which models do what.

The manual is available at the Butkus site for free download (donations accepted)...

Pentax MZ-S user manual


Steve

[rollbahn]

Thanks very much for your reply.

I have the MZ-S manual and read it extensively before buying the camera so that was my reasoning behind thinking the Metz M400 would work well with the two latest cameras of the film period as they both support seemingly the same protocols as the Pentax digital camera barring the most recent digital specific changes.

My only thought was the one you bought up being that the flash contact points may be the issue as I have tried a few flashes I have at home that have worked on almost every camera I throw them on but the MZ-S won't fire any of them except a small Nikon SB-30.

BTW I just got a reply back from Metz on email and they said it would only work on digital cameras but I'm not convinced that is anything but covering their behind as it has not been tested on them which is perfectly understandable for them to do at this point.

It just makes no sense to me that a flash that supports from manual through to P-TTL wouldn't work.

Perhaps the only way to find out is to get one and give it a go and return it if it doesn't work.

Tanks again for your time.

Jason

[rollbahn]

Sorry I should have pointed out in the original post that I already have a Metz 54 MZ-4i with various hotshoes and I can of course get the Pentax SCA Adaptor for it the Metz 54 but was hoping for something smaller and in particular much lighter that could do everything I need (360g vs 220g). I can then use just the one flash across various bodies - everything Auto on camera and flash with the MZ-S when I need it for family gatherings or parties but then I can still go all manual with an LX and the manual flash settings on the M400 when I want to go out shooting for myself.

I can easily choose from a large variety of various bigger flashes from Pentax or 3rd parties but the M400 struck me as a great middle-ground for me.

[stevebrot]

I have the MZ-S manual and read it extensively before buying the camera so that was my reasoning behind thinking the Metz M400 would work well with the two latest cameras of the film period as they both support seemingly the same protocols as the Pentax digital camera barring the most recent digital specific changes.

Yes, the MZ-S (2001) will support the full feature set of the M400. The other Pentax film models offering similar support are the MZ-6 (2001) and *ist (film) (2001). Although the LX stayed in production until ~2001, its flash technology was 20 years older and has only limited compatibility with the M400. The LX supports auto and manual flash only with M400.

I can easily choose from a large variety of various bigger flashes from Pentax or 3rd parties but the M400 struck me as a great middle-ground for me.

Cool! I'm glad we were able to confirm your research.


Steve