What to look for in a flash gun?

Hey all,

I was just wondering what makes one flash gun any better than another?


I was looking at this in particular on el bayo;

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Metz-Olympus-Fit-36-AF-4-TTL-Flash-Gun-New-UK-Stock_W0QQitemZ350315056686QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraFlashUnits_JN?hash=item5190678e2e


And looking for thoughts on it from more experienced users really. I don't really know anything about Flash Guns and so I am not sure if its terrible or great.

Also, should I be OK to assume that the above gun can tilt the flash vertically AND also rotate left/right etc. on the camera? Or is that a rarity?


Cheers

RoundyMooney

I'd be interested in this too, as I could do with a flash for low level light situations.

Camera is a 30d.

Sebzy

Ok that Metz is a good flash and in direct competition with the Olympus FL36
What makes one flash better than the other would be.
- TTL compatibility
- Range of movement of the head for bounce situations
- price
- power rating
- Build quality
- Flash recovery time between shots

The Metz is a good flash it's built well and supports the full Olympus flash TTL. it's more competitive on price than the FL36 and with simular power rating. The only thing you will loose out on is the ability to use remote features such as those in the FL36R.

Oh yea and it only looks up and down not right to left.

It's a good buy all the same.

FoxT

RoundyMoney I have been using a 550EX with my 40D for some time now. I bought the flash secondhand, Cost me about eu190 with a battery pack. I am very pleased with it. E-TTL works a treat, it has loads of power & is manually adjustable as well so I can use it with radiopoppers (which I have only started experimenting a bit with ) . Swivels & tilts to beat the band. The battery pack cuts the recycling time (for full power) down from about 10s to about 1s, I would recommend that too.

PopeBuckfastXVI

TTL Compatibility with your camera, manual control & a moveable head.

Anything else you can sort out after (e.g. triggers) except these.

So TTL is a good thing, yes?



EDIT: Also, in the description of the flash linked to in the first post, it reads;


"* Number of full flashes: 450"



What does that mean?

nilhg

Deleted User wrote: »

So TTL is a good thing, yes?

If you just want to put the flash on and shoot it's the only thing, TTL means Through The Tens, the flash and camera together work out the exposure and strength of the flash for you, auto mode if you like.

Deleted User wrote: »

EDIT: Also, in the description of the flash linked to in the first post, it reads;


"* Number of full flashes: 450"



What does that mean?

I presume it's the number of flashes on a set of batteries, one thing to remember is that as the batteries run down, the time between flashes increases.


This is a good guide to using a flash on Olympus cameras, it's written with the FL 50 in mind but the settings will be the same even with a metz

VisionaryP

Deleted User wrote: »

Hey all,

I was just wondering what makes one flash gun any better than another?


I was looking at this in particular on el bayo;

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Metz-Olympus-Fit-36-AF-4-TTL-Flash-Gun-New-UK-Stock_W0QQitemZ350315056686QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraFlashUnits_JN?hash=item5190678e2e


And looking for thoughts on it from more experienced users really. I don't really know anything about Flash Guns and so I am not sure if its terrible or great.

Also, should I be OK to assume that the above gun can tilt the flash vertically AND also rotate left/right etc. on the camera? Or is that a rarity?


Cheers

That's not a bad little flash, but when you want to start to experiment with bouncing lights off walls, you'll curse the fact it only goes up and down. The recycle time is quite frustrating too, 5 seconds can seem like an eternity when a group are staring and waiting on you to take their photo. The user interface on Metz flashes is tricky to get to grips with too.

I'm selling my Oly gear, and have the FL36, FL50 and Metz AF58 flashes for sale. I'd be happy to let you play with each of them, see what you think.

If you just want to practice the basics of flash though, and aren't interested in bouncing light, you could do a lot worse than the Metz 36. That's a good price too.

Hey all;

Sorry to bump this, but I was wondering if anyone here happens to own a Met 48AF1 Flash gun?


I'm considering picking this up;

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Metz-Olympus-Fit-48-AF-1-TTL-Flash-Gun-New-UK-Stock_W0QQitemZ140382075956QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraFlashUnits_JN?hash=item20af6c7c34


And was just wondering; a poster above said TTL mode is essentially Auto mode on a flash gun (Which would be obviously really useful starting out with a flash gun) but I'm wondering, would TTL work with an Olympus E-420 (four thirds) camera?


According to the item description;

Includes Four Thirds TTL flash mode, Four Thirds TTL remote mode (slave operation)

To me; that seems to answer my question pretty straight forward enough. However; I don't know too much about flash guns and so, don't want to think I'm getting something that seems obvious to me, but I'm actually not gonna get TTL because some other technical piece of information about that i don't understand says so. In other words; I want to try and avoid screwing myself over out of ignorance.


Also, can I ask, this same flash is listed several times, with different brands in the title:

http://stores.shop.ebay.ie/Crooked-Imaging_Flash-Guns_W0QQ_fsubZ14409049QQ_sidZ121831711?_nkw=48+af-1&submit=Search


Is there actually a differnce in the flash guns, or are they universal and the same flash unit can fit all brand of cameras?


Sorry for the silly questions, just don't want to spend over €200 on a flash gun whilst wondering about it's different aspects...


Cheers

Hey again all,

Sorry to double post. I've read a lot of good things about the Metz 48 AF-1 flash so I think I'm gonna go with it.

However, I have a Canon and an Olympus camera, and I'm really unsure which one I'm gonna end up with down the line (still just starting out) so I was wondering if anyone knows, I know the flash gun is listed several times with different brands as linked to above, and with that In mind I can only assume that there are different fixings on the canon/olympus cameras, so can I ask, would it be possible to be able to use the same flash gun on both cameras?

Is there a converter or something that can be bought to allow this?

VisionaryP

No, the same flash won't work on 2 brands, and no, there is no converter. You need to get the specific Metz for whichever brand you want to use. The Oly one can be quite hard to get sometimes.

Before you buy the Metz, you should be aware that the user interface on the Metz is quite awkward. Even the most simple of functions can require several button pushes. Fantastic performance, just nowhere near as user friendly as the Olympus Flashes or the Canon Speedlites. Nihlg bought my Metz 58 off me, so maybe as him for his thoughts before you take the plunge.

My 2 Oly flashes sold on Ebay, by the way.

nilhg

I'm not sure that it's all out as simple as saying they won't work on both cameras, obviously TTL or automatic zoom won't work on its non native brand but I think it'll fit in the hotshoe and be triggered by the camera but you'd need to use fully manual mode or the flash's own auto mode. I'm not 100% sure of this but I was considering buying something like this and I know it'll trigger on all makes except Sony/Minolta, the same goes for the cheap radio triggers, they work the same.

I haven't got to use my new Metz at a proper occasion yet but doing some tests at home I'm delighted with it, the interface as VisonaryP say is in no way intuitive but I downloaded the manual and went through it several times and I'm getting there.

Cheers Visionary and Nilhg.

I went ahead and bought it anyway (for Olympus). My Olympus camera has Live View, which makes learning the different settings easier in my opinion, so hopefully I'll be able to learn a little about it with the Olympus and some day down the road, I'll be able to get a flashgun for my Canon (though I really need to decide what brand I'm gonna stick with, it'll cost me a fortune if I try to keep both).


I know you were both saying the interface is awkward, but seen as this will be my first flash, I won't have anything to compare it to, so hopefully that won't hurt me too badly.


Thanks for all the advice and info. I'll let you all know how I get on with it (disastrously, no doubt).


Nilhg; can you tell me where you downloaded the manual? I'm on the metz site but, though it's allowing me to read them as a PFD, it's not letting me download them. Wouldn't mind taking a browse whilst mine is in the post.

melekalikimaka

right click on pdf link and click save as

nilhg

Some more reading for you, the reference is to the FL50 but the camera settings will be the same with the Metz

http://forum.43photo.com/showthread.php?t=19507

magicbastarder

i'd be very careful about looking into flashguns, if i were you.

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'd be very careful about looking into flashguns, if i were you.

Care to elaborate?


Sounds like a threat :pac:

magicbastarder

Deleted User wrote: »

Care to elaborate?

it might be painful on the eyes.

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

it might be painful on the eyes.

Ah... I see. Literally had to have that one explained to me. Go me.

Well I'm the owner of a Metz 48 AF-1 Flash gun for my Olympus now. Thank you for the advice boardsies

EDIT: Oh, and it works on the Canon 20D, too. Not sure if it's fully functional on it, but it worked in Auto mode, and that's all I'll be using it for for a little while anyway, until I get to look into it properly, so I'm happy with that!

VisionaryP

Keep in mind Auto mode is not the same as TTL.