Metz Mecalux 11 Auto Hot Shoe Slave

Comments about Metz Mecalux 11 Auto Hot Shoe Slave:

I tried some other shoes but they would not accomodate a Pocket Wizard for less expensive speed flashes with no electronic trigger outlet. This is the only one I found that would accept a trigger as well as work optically and not even all the staff at B&H knew about it so ask for it by name. It might be more well known since that was about a year ago.

I appreciate the way this shoe operates with the use of a pocket wizard or simply as an optical slave. It's nice to use without a wizard if for no other reason, to save some $$$ on batteries and the wizard itself. But as we know, slaves seldom work well in above average light so outdoors is no good. It fires nearly every time. It would be nice if there was an included cap to cover the slave in the event others are using flash in the room. The slave can be covered up with a piece of tape but that's just another thing to drag around with you.

The worst part is that the plastic construction seems flimsy. I don't want to rely on it to keep my Nikon SB 400 or SB 800 flashes from plummeting to their death. The 800 or 900 is compatible with a pocket Wizard so not as much as an issue. With that, I make sure the flash is placed squarely on top of it on the light stand or lay it completely on it's side to avoid torque and pressure on the swivel base as I visualize it snapping off there. It hasn't happened yet but I do not want to risk it.

Comments about Metz Mecalux 11 Auto Hot Shoe Slave:

Bought in-store 10/24/10.

The hot shoe mount is made of metal, which is attached to plastic. The same is true for the bottom, with a bit of metal to hold the unit against a plastic cold shoe mount. The coldshoe has no lock, not that it should, but it fit my camera hotshoe perfectly unlike when I went to put my flash on the slave unit hotshoe.

The hot shoe seems to have some metal wear as if the product was tried out on an incompatible or thick flash. However, it doesn't seem to be as big a concern as the rotating piece is. I'm afraid that, since the mount swivels and is partly attached to plastic, that it will break after a few uses. Using my flash, the snugness of the mount means I have to be careful when mounting since the wrong angle of insertion can move or push against the shoe (which has very little tension and I'm fearful I'm pushing the shoe against only a piece of plastic). Also, the rotating hotshoe piece itself doesn't show signs of wobbling where it's attached to the main body, which is a plus for construction.

For a slightly higher price than other slaves, I would have wanted a better made construction for the rotating hotshoe. However, it appears to perform as indicated and the rotating piece is convenient for faster adjustment of the flash without moving the tripod.

I'm using a canon 430exII flash and a rebel 450d/xsi camera.

I didn't test the pc sync socket.
I haven't noticed any misfires, though I haven't used it for long.

I won't be using it for heavy duty use so concerns are in the long term when I do need a slave flash and have to attach/detach my strobe.