Metz Mecablitz 44 AF 4o

[marcof]

The Metz Mecablitz 44 AF4o is a dedicated Olympus system flash which supports the FP TTL mode (called Olympus HSS by Metz).

The olympus version is identical to the other models in looks and use.

Specs:
Guide No at ISO 100/21° (105mm) 44
Guide No at ISO 100/21° (50mm) 34
TTL & FP TTL support
Motor-Zoom, Extended-Zoom
Max angle 24mm
Tilting of head
LCD on the back
Manual mode, EV control (through camera)
Auto-off

cycletimes:
NC batt min: 0.2s, max 4s
Alkaline min 0.2, max 5s
NiMH min 0.2, max 4s

#of (full power) flashes:
NC 600mAh: 85
Alkaline: 240
NiMH 1200mAh: 205

weight: 400g

size: 75x125x108mm

Pros:
- powerful
- fast
- easy controls
- built quality

cons:
- EV control only through body .. on E1 this means pushing flash button and "+/-" button and dialing main dial. "three fingered salute"
http://www.metz.de/images/produkte/gross/498.jpg
- no turning of head .. for me not an issue, others might disagree
http://www.metz.de/images/produkte/gross/496.jpg

Sample image shot with this flash:
http://static.flickr.com/42/247438480_6b2f0ae320.jpg

and another one:
http://static.flickr.com/59/247447405_8ae53005a7.jpg

both with omnibounce attached to the flash

[ghenton]

I picked one up from B&H. Have to say that I am impressed so far. I have shot a few frames just to see how it handles a couple of situations and it passed so far. I will post them when I get a chance. The cycle times were fast. It is dead simple to use. Has lots of power. It is quite compact. I sells for half of a FL50 a little less than a FL36.

GerryH