Metz 58 AF-1 flash goes out with a BANG! [Take 2]

[This is my 2nd attempt at this post.  You may have noticed a previous post with the same title and no message body.  Somehow I posted before I got a chance to write my message; then I clicked "Edit Post", wrote my message, clicked "Post" and the message vanished into thin air.  Argh!  This time I got smart and re-wrote the whole thing in my favorite text editor.]

Has this ever happened to any of you?

I was doing a shoot of a music event with my K-3 and my trusty Metz 58 AF-1 flash.  I was standing on a chair shooting down at the people dancing, with my flash pointed at the ceiling for bounce, and suddenly - BANG!  It literally sounded like a firecracker.  RIP Metz 58 AF-1!

Well, my beloved Metz flash served me well for over 9 years, but now I can see what's new in the world of flashes for Pentax.  I'll be catching up on what the new top of the line Metz and Pentax flash models are.  Are there other flashes I should be checking out?  Also any other related opinions are welcome, including Metz vs Pentax, but of course I'm sure there are already plenty of threads on this, in this forum and elsewhere - and I'll be be doing my searches.

Cheers!

-Bob

What you heard is a popping capacitor, someone with electronics skills may be able to replace it but may have blown the circuit board to bits in the process. This happens with hi-fi components too where a re-cap can fix units.

If you were happy with the Metz and familiar with it why not just get another one? The Pentax flashes are more expensive but look at the used market.

I agree with the others - stay with Metz .

I have been using Metz for close to 50 years : my first ever flash was a used Mecablitz 500 , which I used with my Rolleiflex TLR .

Later , I bought a new 45 CT5 , and had two of these which I used with my LX bodies for many years ; I just gave them away last year , still working , to a friend as I now have more flashes than I need .

I had two 58 AF1 in my Nikon kit at work - they were great flashes .

In my own Pentax kit , I have four 54 MZ-4 flashes , which I use wirelessly with my Cactus V6ii transceivers , both with my K-3 and my K-1 ; or I can just mount one straight on the camera - these are older and a little less powerful than the 58 series , but they still work for me .

The reason I gave away my two 45 CT-5 flashes is because I now have four 45 CL-4 Digital flashes - the great thing about them , compared to the smaller shoe mounted flashes is the bigger battery packs with six cells , allowing faster recycling , and if you are doing a lot of rapid fire shots ( I sometimes photograph events like dinners where you have to photograph all the guests arriving at the door - and you have to be quick . I usually have a space set out , with a couple of flashes set up on lighting stands , and using my Cactus transceivers , then get each couple or group of guests to step in , two shots and next please .

The 45 series can keep going without overheating , and have a battery pack which can be swapped over in a couple of seconds , rather than having to faff around with AA cells . I have something like 14 of the NiMh battery packs for my 45's and this has never left me short of power ( although I do also have four holders for each flash which can use standard AA cells ) and I have a lot of Duracell high capacity 'stay charged' rechargeable AA cells , which I feel are the best AA cells available .

I do have a number of Quantum Turbo external batteries , but you can end up with too much equipment and cables at a shoot sometimes , and just the flashes with their own batteries can be simpler .

I also have one Metz 70 MZ-5 , which is a fantastic , powerful flash , it's big , but it will also keep going through rapid fire sessions .

I have killed a few Metz 45 flashes , as have my colleagues - we work for the fire service and often have to photograph fire scenes , sometimes firefighting operations where there is a lot of water spraying about , and often going into buildings after the fire has been extinguished - again there is water dripping , high humidity and steam in the atmosphere - this can be in the winter when it is at the same time freezing cold , a very harsh environment for photo kit , and I've had my kit soaked on many occasions as well as steamed up , frozen etc : one of the things I like about my Pentax kit is that it withstands this treatment , my Nikon shooting colleagues have not been so fortunate .

I like Metz flashes - they're great .

I would stay with Metz also. I have tried many, couldn't afford to pay much so I found the 44AF-2 digital and it has worked great on my K-3lls and my K1.

Tom W.

Oiche wrote:

What you heard is a popping capacitor, someone with electronics skills may be able to replace it but may have blown the circuit board to bits in the process. This happens with hi-fi components too where a re-cap can fix units.

Unfortunately, the capacitor took a few things with it.  If I look into it I see what looks like broken glass; and I hear it when I shake it.  So I'm pretty sure this flash is DOA.  Although I seriously doubt it, is there any chance that I'm wrong?

Bobolink wrote:

Oiche wrote:

What you heard is a popping capacitor, someone with electronics skills may be able to replace it but may have blown the circuit board to bits in the process. This happens with hi-fi components too where a re-cap can fix units.

Unfortunately, the capacitor took a few things with it. If I look into it I see what looks like broken glass; and I hear it when I shake it. So I'm pretty sure this flash is DOA. Although I seriously doubt it, is there any chance that I'm wrong?

Not sure about glass, usually glass is only used for transparent fuses in electronics so you can see if the fuse has blown. Capacitors usually pop the tops off their cylindrical bodies but very high voltage ones used in flashes can 'explode'.

Ask Metz and see what they say, they might be able to do something.

EDIT: I googled glass capacitors and they do exist, I've just never used them in high-fi electronics. So could be the case!

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far.  I really appreciate your input!

I was already leaning towards getting another Metz flash, as I was quite happy overall with my 58 AF-1. You all seem to reinforce my feeling.  I think I'll probably get the Metz 64 AF-1; with even more power (sometimes I need it when I'm shooting fairly long distances with ceiling bounce).

I read all the reviews of the Metz 64 (as well as the Pentax AF540FGZ II) on B&H and Amazon.  A couple reviews did give me pause with the Metz 64.

Like this one on the B&H site:

"Known issues with light, 6 months to repair! UNACCEPTABLE! By Sebastian B.

VERIFIED BUYER Huge disappointment!  After reading reviews that the secondary light has a tendency to noisily explode, rendering the whole unit useless I thought I would be one of the ones that it won't happen to but boy was I wrong! ..."

Any of you ever heard of this issue?

Another more minor issue mentioned in several reviews, is complaints about the new touch screen interface, summed up well in the following quote:

"I don't like this touch screen for these reasons: 1. Uses battery power 2. Too many clicks to make changes 3. Keeps going back to home screen if you halt for 2-3 seconds during setup - very annoying..."

The 3rd complaint, about going back to the home screen if you pause too long, sounds very annoying - even maddening.  Anyway, I will search this forum for more posts in the Metz 64, but if any of you would like comment on the points I've raised here, please feel free!

Thanks!

-Bob

Thanks KPM2 for your reply,

OK, I won't worry about the one report of the Metz 64 AF-1 blowing up; it seems that if you read reviews on just about anything you'll always find a few horror stories.

My biggest concern is the menu interface that resets to the home screen after 3 seconds of inactivity. This seems like something that could drive me crazy.

I'm also concerned about several reports of the battery compartment being poorly designed; including a report of batteries falling out, rendering the unit inoperable (with batteries).

I'll start a new thread on these concerns so more people will see what I'm currently asking.

Cheers!

-Bob