Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

This flash is a significant improvement over the 54. More power is the least of it. The metal foot is very nice as is the faster mounting. The built-in bounced card and wide angle diffuser are also very nice. It mates very nicely with my two Canon DSLR cameras and also the Metz 50 AF-1 There is a bit of a learning curve but with use it can be overcome. Something that has not been of use yet is the ability to upgrade over the internet. When the need arises this is much nicer than the old method of shipping the unit to Manfrotto and waiting to get it back. Most importantly, it puts out a great quality if light. In summary, well worth the money!

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

I use it on my Canon 7D and 50D. I do both on camera and with pocketwizards. Great flash.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

There isn't much to write about the best lens in the world :)

Best value for the money...

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

Bought this flash to replace my AF-1, which had a blown flash head. Has performed very well over the two weeks I've had it. Gives me consistent light output, especially in manual mode. Fully compatible with Canon's ETTL-II system.

Mounted on my Canon 50D, is controllable by the camera menu with regard to mode (manual, ETTL and Multi), flash output, shutter sync (first, second and HSS), head zoom, and wireless. I haven't used the wireless settings, because I prefer to use a sync cord. If you pull out the wide angle diffuser, you can increase the spread down to 12mm.

I've used this flash with an umbrella, with the Gary Fong lightsphere, and with no modifier for outdoor fill flash. I'm very happy with the results.

The flash also has a servo mode, whereby you can trigger the flash remotely with the camera. Be warned, in spite of the wording in the manual, I could not trigger the flash in servo mode with another flash, but it will go off if you've enabled the camera's built-in flash.

If your camera supports flash sync over 1/250 sec (called high speed sync by Canon), this flash will sync with the higher speed. However, since it accomplishes this by spreading the flash out over a longer pulse time, the light reaching the sensor or film is diminished, even at as low as 1/320 sec. That means that this feature is really only useful in ETTL mode or auto mode. Using it for manual is problematic, unless you want to do a bit of experimentation. This is not a fault of the Metz flash, that's just the nature of HSS.

Overall, a very fine speedlight, and $$ less than the comparable Canon 580 II.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

I am a metz lover after I have Metz 58-1 I got metz 58-2 I think that metz is step ahead when it come too flashes. Light is very good specialy when it comes to reconozized white balance, it makes my work simple, specialy when you are a professional and can´t not distract by flash errors

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

I have two units of this flash and work perfectly. It has a very powerful and professional enlightenment with flash support. Ettl operating in wireless as well with my canon 7d, including shooting at any distance, even though they have hidden. I had the Canon 430EX and 580ii and change the metz AF58-2.
I also had all flashe olympus nikon and some, but as this metz none.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

I used a friends 58AF I which seemed to be more accurate in TTL than my 580II so I purchased the new 58AF-2. It worked fine for less than a month and then when it was put to the test of a large job that required quick action of zooming in and out, I started to get an ZOOM ERR message and its internal zoom head stopped working. As I lived close to the Metz HQ and repair center I brought it in for a repair and they gave me a brand new unit. Now 6 months later again in a situation that required heavy zoom usage, the same problem with the second unit. Back to the repair shop and a quick turn around from Metz but no explanation of what was wrong. Actually nothing on the repair ticket at all! Now two weeks later and the same problem while shooting a basketball game. I know who I'll be on the phone with tomorrow!!!!!

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

Easy to use. TTL works exceptionally well, bounce flash is also easy to adjust.
Service received from B&H Photo was also excellent, product was suitably packaged for an international delivery (from New York to Ballan, VIC, Australia).
I cannot not think of any aspect of the mecablitz 58 that could be improved.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

Very fast and very strong

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

I am a professional photographer for fashion show field.

I am always using speed light device.

When I was using NIKON.
Nikon speed lights were awesome as you know.

However, since I bought Canon bodies, I had some problem with speed lights of Canon.

The thing is YELLOW cast in many situation.
I bought Metz 54, first, and I was satisfied on that.

Now, my 54 died.

So, I moved on newer version 58!!
Recharging speed is better.
And the quality of light is great!

But, one thing,
I am using 1ds mark2.
This speed light in not fully matched into my body.

I noticed that the 'A' mode is not good at my body. But I am using ETTL, so it's not a big deal.

Good.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

around the house...socially...also in theaters...plenty of power...lots of option...I use it with the ring-light, and have not found any shortcomings

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

I just got this strobe and used it in a wedding for the first time and was pleased with the overall results. I don't like the menu and you can't use HSS in Auto mode which limits it's uses as Auto mode does a better job at correct exposure than TTL mode. If you have the time to meter, set it to manual mode and you will be happy with the consistant output and color temp, but if you are working fast with a lot of backlight I prefer the 580EXII over this unit. Beware, this unit eats batteries, make sure to bring lots with you on your next job. I shot around 600 images with this strobe and burned through 24 batteries. This unit also recycles much slower than the 580EXII, the formal wedding pics took twice as long as they would have with the 580EXII due to the long recylce time.

I will continue to use this strobe but only for location portraits because it does produce nice light, and leave my 580EXII's in my bag for weddings because I can work faster with them and they are more versitle.

I would reccomend this strobe, but only for specific uses.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

the features of this flash are truly impressive, but I am changing it for the Canon 580 just for total compatibility. On my 5D MKII, Canon makes it difficult to have the same ease as with the same brand flash(I dont's know about Nikon). I basically could not get E-TTL to work efficiently, but read others before taking a dicision as I am not a referecne for Flashes. It worked fine with my 20D.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

You can use in E-TTL or Manual with great results.Very easy and simple Menu. It´s compatible with Canon flash and Pocket Wizards.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

By comparison to its Canon counterparts (e.g., 580EX II), this unit feels light and cheap. Even by comparison to an older 430EX this is true.

Taken on its own merits, however, this is a solid unit and works extremely well with one horrific and glaring exception: it absolutely will not function as a wireless master in high speed sync mode.

Supposedly it will work as a slave in HSS mode, but I don't have another master with which to test this.

Unfortunately, I didn't discover any of this until tonight, 5 weeks after taking delivery; if I could go back and spend another $100 to get the 580EX II instead, I would.

Would I recommend this to a friend? It would depend on the intended use. This unit is a super dandy stand-alone flash, and I can only imagine that's it's a fantastic slave. No HSS in master mode, however, makes it nonviable as a wireless master.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

I already had the Canon 430EX II Speedlite TTL Shoe-Mount Flash but I would like to upgrade a better flash. One of my friend recommended this 58 AF-2 flash and I really like it since the day I had it. It produced great pictures !!!!

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

A pleasure to use in all circumstances, provided that you have a degree in electronics, and that you do not mind carrying the owner's manual.
The metallic foot is a great innovation.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

This is the first external flash I've bought in quite some time (15 years?). Mostly, when I use flash, it's in the studio or other controlled conditions.

Recently I had need of a location flash for a society party. It was clearly beyond the capacities and lighting control options of my built-in flash, so I rented a Canon unit. Very nice.

I decided to purchase one, by Canon or a third party, and was often warned away from those by other manufacturers because of unspecified compatibility issues.

Metz is an old standby among commercial photogs so I looked into what they offered. Turned out that this unit offered all the features of the current 500-series Canon, plus a forward-facing aux flash working in consort with but independently adjustable from the main flash. This extended the forward-fill options during bounce over those offered by the built-in white bounce reflectors found in both this and the Canon unit.

Beyond that, the USB port makes any needed firmware updates both possible and simple.

The construction quality was all I'd expect from a top-line manufacturer, at a 20% savings over the nearest Canon equivalent.

While both the Canon and Metz units offer metal hot-shoes with locking mechanisms I prefer the lever lock on the Canon.

Both are great units but the Metz was my choice.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

Strong and balanced flash! I would say its better than 580ex2 in some ways.

Comments about Metz mecablitz 58 AF-2 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon DSLR:

Very easy to use and with the use of this flash the pictures just come to life.