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Metz 48 AF-1 Flash: Metamorphosis

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Jamuz

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Part 1.

Received it today from BHPhotovideo. With user manual instructions strictly followed, and batteries fully charged, in all modes except Manual, My K10D and this flash produced images underexposed to the level of unusable! I noticed that the flash would fire just before shutter release. In Manual mode, at shutter speeds slower than 1/180 it produced totally black frames, at faster than 1/180 though the images were perfectly exposed. At this point, I was so disappointed and felt so bad that I would have smashed all my photo gear into pieces if I had an axe in my hands :-)

Part 2.

Just before I did that, my lovely girlfriend calls and says she missed me big time :-) Well, at least one pleasant thing for today. I leave the flash on the camera and head for her place. Don't you ask me what we did there :-) I come back home in a few hours, in a great mood, thinking I would send back the Metz and order a Pentax 540.

Part 3.

I see the camera with the flash attached, turn them on (the camera is in P mode, the flash in P-TTL), and just take a shot of my room... and cannot believe my eyes -- the exposure is now perfect! Since then everything has worked perfectly in all modes, at all settings, at all distances and all focal lengths... The flash exposure is simply perfect every time! Now I know what woman's love can do! :-)

After what happened first, I'm not sure what to do, but am leaning more towards keeping the flash. What would you guys do if you were me?

--
Cheers,
Jamshid.
 
No...

You play with your camera and flash some more. I will go to your girlfriends place.
--
Vene Vidi Vici
@GMT+3
 
Hehe, of course I made up Part 2 :-) It was a test! 3 out of 3 responders so far focussed on the girlfriend rather than the flash LOL... I should have waited for more, but will not :-)

But my experience with the flash is 100% true. After a few hours of sleep (my sleep, that is), it simply started working correctly!
--
Jamshid.
 
Well, leaving the girlfriend alone for a moment and focusing on the flash...

The P-TTL flash shoe has four contacts in addition to the ground. I've noticed inconsistent performance myself on occasion which I think is caused by intermittent contact of one or more of the wires. Perhaps you tweaked the camera and flash and it suddenly started making better contact.
 
I received this flash last week and have found it works very well on my k10d. I have much more confidence in this flash than I did with the 360 I recently sold.

Unfortunately, mine worked right out of the box so I didn't have to go visit my girlfriiend in order to get some divine intervention to make it work..although my wife wouldn't have appreciated that method of miraculous intervention!

Reid
 
I just got my 48 replaced after someone stole it off my front porch, so I haven't had as much time with it as I'd like, but I did notice similar problems to your underexposure.

In my case, it happened most often with my Pentax off camera-ttl cable (I didn't have time to read the wireless part of the two manuals before my first shoot). It did happen at least twice without the cable, though, so I know that's not the only thing...

The flash would not always "see" the camera (nor the camera the flash). I did notice that I could predict the behavior by looking at the flash control panel. If it didn't have the "P" in front of TTL for the mode readout, the picture was going to be awful.

Cycling the flash and the camera off and back on would eventually get it working, but I haven't yet figured out what is happening, exactly. Fortunately, it's a pretty rare occurrence, so I'm going to fiddle a bit before I try the warranty...

-Eric
 
Well I don't have the Metz, I have the FTZ 500 on a DS2. I've experienced a similar thing.

Mine I've realized occurs when the camera and the flash stop 'talking' to each other. something wrong with the contacts between the flash and the camera. I noticed it when I zoomed a lens and the flash head didn't zoom with it when I half pressed the shutter.

So I keep an eraser in my camera bag. Works really well to clean the contacts on camera and on flash
 
inferno10 said:
Sounds like the flash needed some time to condition the capacitor up
to proper capacity.
Click to expand...
I vaguely recall having read some specific flash manual that told to discharge the flashgun several times before the first use and after long periods of non-use (of the flashgun).

Maybe it has something to do with the capacitor being "conditioned".

Cheers,
 
For those people who is using the Metz 48 or 58, is there any particular thing that you don't like about Metz? Or may be I should ask what is the best thing that you like most about Metz?

I have been using the AF-540 for almost 10 months and I really like it alot until lately it's been given me lots of problems. As someone mentioned, the flash sometime just refused to communicate with the camera. The flash mode will unexpectedly changes to TTL and overexpose the photo. Changing it back to PTTL is kinda hard, it usually required switching it on and off many times. Sometime it will work and sometime it just won't.

So I'm thinking seriously of getting another flash, maybe a Metz58. In term of wireless mode, PTTL, SLAVE, how is it compare to AF-540?

Daniel
 
Yes cleaning is the answer.

The best method for cleaning contacts is the synthetic erazers (pencil) as these will remove tarnish,dirt and grease. But will not abrade the metal/Plastic.

If it makes you feel better the 540fgz does exactly the same shows ttl in the lcd(No P) and take stupidly underexposed pictures, again contact issue.

I blame Pentax Chrome over brass is a notourious bad conductor.

But in their defence its hard waring and offers a hi degree of corrosion protection.
 
awaldram said:
Yes cleaning is the answer.

The best method for cleaning contacts is the synthetic erazers
(pencil) as these will remove tarnish,dirt and grease. But will not
abrade the metal/Plastic.

If it makes you feel better the 540fgz does exactly the same shows
ttl in the lcd(No P) and take stupidly underexposed pictures, again
contact issue.

I blame Pentax Chrome over brass is a notourious bad conductor.
But in their defence its hard waring and offers a hi degree of
corrosion protection.
Click to expand...
Awaldram,

Do I need to clean the contacts on the camera as well as the one on the flash? Is there ways to prevent these mishap?

Daniel
 
It'll be the contacts on the camera that need cleaning.

The contacts on the flash (if the same as the 540) are spring loaded spikes and therefore the pressure/surface area is high.

The camera on the other hand is a flat area so as you push the flash onto the camera any dirt/debris gets driven into a pile under the flashes contact.

No unfortunately there is no instant prevention, I think once you've cleaned the contacts and providing you fairly regularly use the flash the contacts will stay clean.

Not losing the hot shoe cover is also a good starter (advice I've failed to follow) ;-)....

I find that if I get issues in the field switch of both flash and camera, re-mount flash and wiggle side to side gently generally fixes.

Its very rare though.
 
awaldram said:
No unfortunately there is no instant prevention, I think once you've
cleaned the contacts and providing you fairly regularly use the flash
the contacts will stay clean.

Not losing the hot shoe cover is also a good starter (advice I've
failed to follow) ;-)....

I find that if I get issues in the field switch of both flash and
camera, re-mount flash and wiggle side to side gently generally fixes.

Its very rare though.
Click to expand...
Hi Awaldram,

Thanks for your good advice. After cleaning my contacts on the AF540 flash and the camera, I'm getting like 90% of the time working with PTTL mode. During the test only twice the mode unexpectedly changes to TTL.
So I suppose getting a Metz 58 will also encounter this kind of problem?

Daniel
 
Hi Jamuz and all

I have K10D and Metz 48. Faced the same issues. So I started looking around and reread the manuals.
K10D manual suggests using Tv or M modes with external flash.

I tried manual mode but I'm not experienced enough to play fast with exposure settings and take lot of test shots. I had to shoot skating - so the objects distance was constantly changing. I blew (overexposed) lots of shots.

So then I tried Tv - it seems to work. With 1 catch - you gotta up ISO, usually to ISO 800. The reason I think that camera needs to measure the scene and focus and higher ISO allows to do it properly. I found it by setting ISO to Auto, it always came high.

As far as controlling aperture you can assign 2nd wheel to Ev in custom settings. So Tv will be just like manual.

Qualities of Metz 48 are good, it only lacks dedicated buttons, so setting manual zoom is cumbersome, you can miss the shot. I think Pentax 540 is better but it is twice as pricey.

John Smith, aka anonymous
 
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