@sterretje
Quote: I guess that you mean 'newer Metz' And it requires the flash to have pTTL compatibility as well else the settings can't be exchanged; and pTTL compatibility is what makes flashes expensive.
Talking older auto-thyristor flash (you know, those that only have a X-contact or a PC connection ), you must match the (iso and aperture) settings on the flash to those on the camera (or the other way around). Easy in the film days because you basically used one ISO for a spool and usually set an appropriate aperture once off that would cater for most situations. And before we had those stupid zoom-heads to fake higher guide numbers, we did not have to bother about anything else.
But I suspect you know all this
No, and most of your statements are wrong.
I am speaking about Metz flashes which
1) Use the SCA system (since the late seventies, all but the most simple ones do)
2) Can alternatively connect with 3-digit or 4-digit SCA adapters (started about end of the eighties)
3) Do offer motor zoom
The SCA adapters 371-374 support non-digital communication only and will be used for Pentax cameras up to the P series.
The SCA adapters 3701/3702 support the mixed analogue/digital protocol Pentax introduced with the AF cameras. Since that time, this protocol was often extended, but the older stuff still works; with the exception of displaying in the VF whether flash power had been sufficient.
pTTL capability of the flash is NOT needed.
I do own 2 pTTL flashes which do not get much use, as my Metz 32MZ-3 and 40MZ-2 give more consistant results.
With both adapters SCA3701 and SCA3702 these flashes get all relevant settings from the camera, as is ISO, aperture, and angle of view (includes zoom status and crop factor!). Even 1rst/2nd curtain works correctly.
As these flash series were introduced 20-25 years ago, I would indeed call them "older".
And the GNs of 32 and 40 were calculated for the old standard. A 40MZ would now be offered as a GN50 flash.
EDIT:
Quote: 1) Use the SCA system (since the late seventies, all but the most simple ones do).
This one of my statements is not correct anymore. It seems that lately the differences between flash features of the main brands became too big to be handled merely by the adapter firmware. So most (or all?) newer Metz flashes are brand dedicated ones.