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metz 54mz flash series?
- Thread starter barry685
- Start date
Ben Rubinstein
Active member
The 4i just included support for nikon's i-ttl. No difference for other stuff as far as I know. If I remember right the difference between the mz-3 and mz-4 was the newer shoe which can be bought seperately anyway though I would check on that, it's been 3 years since I used 54's and I can't remember that well.
I think the 4 has a dedicated shoe allowing more compatibility with the systems it is dedicated to, while the 3 allows you to swap shoes for different systems. As such, the 3 has less compatibility with the more advanced TTL systems like those from Canon and Nikon.
Hi Barry:
AFAIK, the only Metz that will work TTL on the Mamiya 645 AFDx is the 54MZ 3 with the 3952 foot.
I have that combo and it works very well, but rather limited options compared to a Canon or Nikon flash on their respective bodies -- though I know of no better alternative for the Mamiya...
AFAIK, the only Metz that will work TTL on the Mamiya 645 AFDx is the 54MZ 3 with the 3952 foot.
I have that combo and it works very well, but rather limited options compared to a Canon or Nikon flash on their respective bodies -- though I know of no better alternative for the Mamiya...
Ah, my bad. I did not even realize there was a non-dedicated version of the 4 that used the dedicated feet -- what is the difference between it and the 3?
Barry, my 3 + 3952 works as fill with compensation, but of course on the Mamiya you are limited to a 1/125th synch speed which is somewhat limiting when shooting outdoors --
Correct. If I remember correctly they have some dedicated versions for the big sellers like Nikon and Canon, which do not have interchangeable SCA adaptors.
I can't answer on the differences between the 3 & 4.
Ben Rubinstein
Active member
http://www.metz.de/en/photo-electro...a-flash-units/mecablitz-54-mz-4i-digital.html
The Metz 54 series is an SCA adaptor flash. It's annoying as I used to know this stuff, I used a couple of Metz 54-3's for 2.5 year with a 10D and 1Ds in the days when ETTL was worse than pukeable and Auto flash was the only way to get reliable flash exposures. I do remember that for canon there was no difference between the 3 and 4.
If you look through the metz site it should say what functionality will be available with the metz adaptors for the Mamiya. They are also very good on answering technical emails. According to the tech sheet there isn't a specific adaptor for Mamiya (strange, I'm sure there used to be) ebay may be your friend there.
Otherwise, and only if you can't get an appropriate SCA then to be honest there are easier to use Auto Flash (only) units. When you are having to input iso, aperture and compensation via their annoyingly tiny control wheel. Pretty much any Nikon flash gun has far more user friendly auto controls and the non digital compatible ones can't be given away on ebay these days.
Of course as you are a canon shooter, the 580ex II has an auto mode and a pretty easy interface to dial in values and you will get a far better ETTL flash should you want to use it on your canons. The Metz is extremely fiddly IMO for ETTL and you can only use the Auto flash mode in manual unless you get an older deprogrammed canon SCA adaptor (which I had). Have to admit that after years of annoyingly limited auto flash for fill, the sensors on auto flashes aren't good except close up outdoors for reliable fill, and using pain in the tuches ND filters, having reliable hi-sync flash on my canons has been such a blessing!
The Metz 54 series is an SCA adaptor flash. It's annoying as I used to know this stuff, I used a couple of Metz 54-3's for 2.5 year with a 10D and 1Ds in the days when ETTL was worse than pukeable and Auto flash was the only way to get reliable flash exposures. I do remember that for canon there was no difference between the 3 and 4.
If you look through the metz site it should say what functionality will be available with the metz adaptors for the Mamiya. They are also very good on answering technical emails. According to the tech sheet there isn't a specific adaptor for Mamiya (strange, I'm sure there used to be) ebay may be your friend there.
Otherwise, and only if you can't get an appropriate SCA then to be honest there are easier to use Auto Flash (only) units. When you are having to input iso, aperture and compensation via their annoyingly tiny control wheel. Pretty much any Nikon flash gun has far more user friendly auto controls and the non digital compatible ones can't be given away on ebay these days.
Of course as you are a canon shooter, the 580ex II has an auto mode and a pretty easy interface to dial in values and you will get a far better ETTL flash should you want to use it on your canons. The Metz is extremely fiddly IMO for ETTL and you can only use the Auto flash mode in manual unless you get an older deprogrammed canon SCA adaptor (which I had). Have to admit that after years of annoyingly limited auto flash for fill, the sensors on auto flashes aren't good except close up outdoors for reliable fill, and using pain in the tuches ND filters, having reliable hi-sync flash on my canons has been such a blessing!
Last edited:
Ben Rubinstein
Active member
Just checked again, the SCA adaptor on both the 3 and 4 for your AFD II is the SCA 3952 M with full TTL control. No change in functionality between the 3 and 4 with that adaptor either so I think a cheaper 3 might be the answer.
Woops, wait a sec, there isn't any TTL for digital, no film plane to read off unless they are doing something very clever. I think we're back to auto flash and as such, a different flash gun would IMO be a better idea.
Woops, wait a sec, there isn't any TTL for digital, no film plane to read off unless they are doing something very clever. I think we're back to auto flash and as such, a different flash gun would IMO be a better idea.
Got the following reply from Metz in Germany.
Many thanks for your e-mail enquiry of 19.October 2008.
The only difference between the mecablitz 54 MZ-4 and the mecablitz 54 MZ-3 is that the mecablitz 54 MZ-4 additional disposes of the D-TTL flashcontrol in combination with the Nikon digital-cameras. However all further functions and features of equipment are identical. Therefore the flash units mecablitz 54 MZ-3 and 54 MZ-3 can be used with the same functions in combination with the Mamiya camera.
We hope we could be in assistance to you and remain
with best regards
Roland Laemmermann
Technical support
________________________
Many thanks for your e-mail enquiry of 19.October 2008.
The only difference between the mecablitz 54 MZ-4 and the mecablitz 54 MZ-3 is that the mecablitz 54 MZ-4 additional disposes of the D-TTL flashcontrol in combination with the Nikon digital-cameras. However all further functions and features of equipment are identical. Therefore the flash units mecablitz 54 MZ-3 and 54 MZ-3 can be used with the same functions in combination with the Mamiya camera.
We hope we could be in assistance to you and remain
with best regards
Roland Laemmermann
Technical support
________________________
Ben, this is erroneous, sorry. I have a 54MZ3 with the Mamiya foot and I get full TTL with EV comp on my AFD2/3 bodies and it works as advertised with my P45+ back. (also note there are a few *DEDICATED* versions of the MZ4's that do not allow for interchanging SCA feet
) Barry, that is good clarification, thanks for sharing it.
Cheers,
Ben Rubinstein
Active member
Ben, this is erroneous, sorry. I have a 54MZ3 with the Mamiya foot and I get full TTL with EV comp on my AFD2/3 bodies and it works as advertised with my P45+ back. (also note there are a few *DEDICATED* versions of the MZ4's that do not allow for interchanging SCA feet
Barry, that is good clarification, thanks for sharing it.
Cheers,
Sorry Jack, how the heck do they do it? According to the Metz site there are no current MZ4 flashes that are not SCA compatible, the dedicated flash units are all called different things.