Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

This very small piece of equipment is the perfect companion to your point & shoot camera. It allows to have sufficient light where most of the internal flash let you down.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

I use it attached to a Panasonic ZS7/TZ10. I thought I needed something like this slave flash and after trying it I was sure I needed it. It requires practice and patience to use it properly and not blow out the pictures. It also requires knowledge on how to set up the camera's exposition and aperture settings. I'm happy with the results. Common alkaline batteries last long and recycle time is fast.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

My Mecablitz 28 CS-2 functions superbly with both my Canon T2i-DSLR and my Canon S90-Point-and-shoot cameras. I usually hand hold or mount on a light stand to get nice lighting. This is an excellent slave.

I asked B&H Customer Service about getting extra parts for this flash and they sent them to me free of charge. I am very pleased with the BH Customer Service Department and sincerely appreciative for all of their assistance.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

Can use on my Lumix point&shoot or Pentax K20DSLR
Easy set-up and no pre-flash issues.
Compact & easily attached to tripod mount - I leave it attached to my compact camera and it still fits in original camera bag. Have used it for passport photos, Zoo shots of animals in dark cages, fill flash for people in shaded areas, and my own pets indoors. Researched many slaves and made the best selection for my needs. Wish I hadn't waited so long to purchase. Anyone who has a point & shoot especially, should own this flash.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

This is a fantastic solution if your point and shoot does not have a hot shoe. It is a learning flash in that it starts generic in the package and you set it up for your camera. The built in flash will trigger this flash.

Having the bracket as part of this flash is very convenient.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

My Fuji F100's built in flash was not powerful enough for some situations.
Tried using a slave with my old Metz flash to supplement the F100's flash, but with the F100's preflash, the old Metz and F100 flashes were out-of-sync.
Searched for a solution. Eventually found and purchased the Metz 28 CS-2.
This is the 2nd Metz 28 CS-2 ordered (the 1st unit was from another retailer, but had to return it since the battery compartment door was jammed shut and cannot be opened to insert batteries).
The unit from B&H was fine and it took less than 5 minutes to train Metz 28 CS-2 to work with the F100 flash. Now the F100 and Metz 28 CS-2 works great together.
With Metz's know-how, experience and manufacturing capabilities, it would be great, if they can add a PC sync outlet to the Metz 28 CS-2 or the newer version to this flash. This would allow user with older flashes to use them with the newer digital preflash cameras.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

A lot of flash for it's size, weight, and price. I've used it for 6 months now. It is a great product for the price. The main problem I have with it is when the pocket camera's flash is strong enough I have to remember to manually shut off the CS-2. If I don't the result is a way over exposed shot and likely a missed opportunity if I had to work fast. You are better off with the pocket camera's under exposed flash because you may have a chance of fixing the exposure with software later. Shooting indoors under tungsten lights causes a huge yellow color shift that I haven't figured out how to fix, even with Photoshop. However, when I was shooting a snow storm at 8:00PM my neighbors came out to see what they thought was snow lightening, but it was my CS-2. The shots I got looked like I took them in the daylight and they were 100 foot deep landscapes down the side of my building.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

Using this with the Panasonic ZS-7 Travel Zoom and it eliminates the cameras only weak point - wimpy built-in flash. Superb indoor picture results in the Auto mode with camera in aperture preferred setup.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

I purchased the Metz 28 CS-2 to complement my "carry everywhere"/"Handbag" camera, the Leica X1. I popped some batteries in, set it to automatic slave with preflash, and started using it. Super simple. As a nice side bonus, when I was showing it to a friend with a Panasonic Lumix I just dialed in the ISO and f stop and showed him using his own camera--though I had to dial it down an additional stop to EV-2 with the Lumix for some reason.

On the downside, if you are working with the flash close to the subject in low light at a high ISO balancing ambient the flash is too powerful at it's lowest setting. I always have a full CTO and full green will me anyway, one cut out for the on camera flash and now a set for the Metz 28 CS-2--so adding a few neutral density gels is really no big deal. As much as I would like a 1/128 or at least a 1/64 setting, saying that this light little pocket slave can be too powerful doesn't really seem like much of a complaint.

It would be nice if this flash also had a PC socket so that I could use it with other cameras that don't have any on camera flash...but I also understand that this flash is doing exactly what it was designed to do and doing it quite well.

If used bare it can be a little shadowy depending on where you hold it. I find holding it 1/2 an arms length on the opposite side of the on camera flash with the on camera flash EV-1 to the CS-28 works great. Velcro on a gel and something to diffuse the light and hold it wherever you want ;)

I have used the Metz 28 CS-2 mostly at family get togethers and on the street at night a little to throw some light on the foreground. Adding this to my carry everywhere camera has taken a lot of the sting out of not having a dSLR with a speedlight with me. I'm now quite content to just bring the X1 and the Metz 28 CS-2 out and give my back rest. It is a fun and easy way to capture images.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

I have a active interest in the art of photography.
Also, I have done some work as a Engineering Consultant. That's how the name Metz caught my eye.
The compactness of modern point and shoot cameras cameras suit my interests in photographic art perfectly and I will have plenty of flexibility with the CS2. But, the instruction manual is very hard going. You should provide a easy start instruction manual to go with the easy mode.

Sincerely Yours

John Hardy
Mechanical Engineering Consultant

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

I bought the Metz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash to use with my FUJI W1 3D camera. The Metz Slave Flash has dependably responded to the on-board flash of the FUJI W1 at distances of over 25 feet.
Another bonus is it uses 2xAAA batteries and recharges quickly.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

Functionally is great. The one reason I don't give it five stars is the build quality. For it being plastic the quality is great, but a flash like this you put in your pocket, in your pants, in your shirt, you get the idea. It needs to be more solid. Another small gripe of mine is that it isn't available in black. It would be very useful if the flash could rotate on the built in bracket.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

I use with my Canon SD900 at iso 80 and I am completely satisfied with the results (good synchro, plenty of power) And it is so small and light.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 28 CS-2 Digital Slave Flash:

I use it with my P/S cameras & DSLR. It works flawlessly with very impressive results. Very very easy to use CS-2.It also works with my other flashs too.
Previously my P/S cameras did not work with others flash due to the lack of preflash supression function. It must be my travel companion. I tried with a diy diffuser and used it with a bounced card. No problem-very happy.I bought it after I noted that all users were happy with it.