R0M wrote:
Funny you mentioned it i was the first who actually complained about this, but was considering buying the NX30 to take advantage of the flash, i am still on my old NX210, i am considering replacing it with a Metz 44-AF1 it does everything this flash does on my NX210, i only like the swivel and bounce.
This is part of why I want a stronger flash, more situations where you can take advantage of that bounce. NX30+SEF580A would be my 1st choice if I could afford to also pick up and NX30. Even the SEF580A was a gift I had to return, can't afford it myself. The 58 AF-1 can do things the SEF580A can't even when paired with the NX30 (e.g. remotely fire Canon flashes, not useful for everyone, but if you already have one it is, and the secondary reflector). At least some people, though I don't have numbers on how many, still seem to prefer the exposure from the thyristor flash to the TTL results. Finally, the 58 AF-1 seems to be much more flexible for use with other cameras (after all, it's made for Canon cameras but almost everything works on the NX300).
But am annoyed when shooting in low light, bounce at 60 degrees and the legs are black so i have to photoshop after.
So you're bouncing the light off the ceiling in this case, so the light falloff (since the legs are further) is getting you?
Maybe use a diffuser would fix the problem.
It will probaly help, I don't think it would entirely fix it (I could be wrong though, I don't have a lot of experience with flash yet). Something like the 58 AF-1 may also help, it has a secondary reflector so that it can fire some light directly while doing bounce at the same time (can set to off, 1,1/2, or 1/4 power). Their stated use case was to act as fill flash for the main flash, lighten shadows (since the light is coming off the ceiling from the bounce people can often have heavy shadows under their eyes) and get catch lights in the eyes. I don't see why it wouldn't also lighten their legs some.
I was happy with my SEF42A but i want a flash with AF-Light which is why i considered it, i got screwed since it does not support it. Does AF Light works on your NX300?
Well, the little built in green one still works with the 58 AF-1 attached. The one on the flash does not, this is typical of many cameras with a built in AF beam. For instance, the 58 AF-1 AF beam does not work on my SX10 IS (has a built in beam) but does on my mom's 5D. Same for the AF beams in the YN-622C remote triggers. Some cameras that have their own beams will trigger attached ones, but those cameras are quite few.
If not, can anyone recommend a flash with AF-Light, that would solve all my AF problems i am faced in low light
No luck here with the NX300. I haven't had too many issues with focus in low light with the kit lens (18-55 OIS III in my case) + built in AF beam on the NX300 though. The 50-200mm is awful for low light focus though. If it fits your use case I think the best for focussing in low light would be to use a faster lens (since the focus occurs wide open and it stops down just before taking the shot) like the 30, 45 85, or the new f/2-f/2.8 zoom. The 30 and 45 are the cheaper options on that list.
Regards.
58 AF-1, things that do not work on the NX300:
ETTL, AF-Beam, Azoom (and so maybe not zoom extension, though maybe it still applies to a manually set zoom, I would need to check), 2nd curtain sync
58 AF-1 things that do work on the NX300:
Everything else, including things like multiflash (stroboscopic), master mode (to fire Canon and probably Metz but I would need a 2nd Metz to check with flashes remotely, Auto mode (thyristor, is not the TTL), flash bracketing, and more.
SEF580A, things that do not work on the NX300:
almost everything
SEF580A, things that do work on the NX300:
A-TTL... mostly, the Azoom doesn't update properly
That's pretty much the end of the list, even manual doesn't work properly, it's dismal really.
Why to get a 58 AF-1 over a 44 AF-1?
More power!
Secondary reflector.
More light levels (in part because of more power, but some other flashes with similar power like the Neewer TT560 also have more levels than the 44 AF-1 does).
Multiflash (need quite a bit of power to do this effectively, which is probably why the 44 AF-1 doesn't)
HSS not for NX300, but for use with other cameras that support it
Auto (thyristor flash mode) always useful
Servo mode, though you could buy cheap optical triggers to add this to other flashes and there are some much cheaper flashes that do this, e.g. those Neewer TT560s.
Why to get a 44 AF-1 over a 58 AF-1?
A-TTL (or whatever TTL for the camera brand you've chosen), 2nd curtain sync on NX (58 AF-1 Canon version only has rear curtain sync with ETTL on Canon cameras as far as I have seen so far), Azoom.
Here are the manuals, so let me know if I missed or misinterpreted something:
https://www.metz.de/index.php?eID=tx_nawsecuredl&u=0&file=fileadmin/fm-dam/Download/Photo_Electronic/Bedienungsanleitung/mecablitz/mecablitz_48_bis_76/mecablitz_58_AF_1_digital_Canon_D_F_NL_GB_I_E.pdf&t=1401393405&hash=608a0dca024069a803779da71d55c9687e95fe91
https://www.metz.de/index.php?eID=tx_nawsecuredl&u=0&file=fileadmin/fm-dam/Download/Photo_Electronic/Bedienungsanleitung/mecablitz/mecablitz_40_bis_45/mecablitz_44_AF-1_digital_D_F_NL_GB_I_E.pdf&t=1401393405&hash=657f79a1aed4bc4af0bbed3e2f18c48dcf65302c
All the Metz manuals can be found here: https://www.metz.de//en/service-support/instruction-manuals/flash-units/mecablitz.html
Could get a 58 AF-1 for Canon and a 44 AF-1 for Samsung both for less than the cost of the SEF580A, though as I read the manual it looks like you would need to get the 44 AF-1 for Canon if you wanted to remotely trigger it with the 58 AF-1.
