Metz 40MZ-2 Flash Unit Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by: Camero
(Expert)

Review Date
September 14, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

Review 1 of 5

Price Paid: $565.00 from Jacobs

Summary:

Awesome flash unit that leaves others in the shade. Mounted atop my Canon EOS is rather top heavy so I prefer to use the Camera Bracket (0004036), Power Grip G16 (00000160) with the SYNCH LEAD SCA 3000 (0033005) mounted in the hot shoe.

Strengths:

The Metz 40MZ-2 is a well balanced fully functional mobile studio with every conceivable application at your finger-tips. Dedicate a complete day to learning the various applications then a futher day trying them out. This will save countless hours later. The added bonus is that the SCA 3000 system is compatible with other top-end 35mm cameras such as Nikon and Pentax.

Weaknesses:

Mounted atop my Canon EOS is rather top heavy, also in this format flash recharge is not up to scratch.

Would you like to Comment?
Join PhotographyReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Rating
Reviewed by: Rustom Havewalla
(Professional)

Review Date
August 24, 2002

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
1 votes

Review 2 of 5

Price Paid: $260.00 from Mumbai

Summary:

This is my latest review over the previous ones. I sold my flash Metz 40 MZ 1 Why? Because its adapter m4 was not working with the latest Nikon F100. M5 was not available in India.

Strengths:

Good flash, very powerful, small size, low hight and therefore, smaller shadows The most important feature is the Ex-Zoom which enables you to zoom the flash at a wider angle than the focal length of the lens. E.g. the flash will be on 28, if the lens is on 35, the flash will be on 35 when the lens is on 50mm and so on. This ex-zoom feature prevents vignetting of light in your pictures, which is the most common problem in all the flashes.

Weaknesses:

Metz create flashes with adapters which are not as good as those of the Original flashes of the camera manufacturers. As such, when you upgrade your camera, the Metz flash becomes useless.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon SB 26 at the moment.

Customer Service:

EXTREMELY POOR IN INDIA

Would you like to Comment?
Join PhotographyReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Rating
Reviewed by: Rustom A. Havewalla
(Professional)

Review Date
July 25, 2000

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
3 of 5

Review 3 of 5

Summary:

It is certainly a great flash. Remove the weaknesses and it will be the best.

I have a brand new SCA 3401 M4. I shall be extremely thankful if METZ can replace the same with SCA 3401 M5.

Strengths:

Very good flash.
Extra Zoom is a great feature.
Colour rendition is extremely good. Much better than the Japanese Flashes.
Small height gives less shadows.
The flash range is unbelievably good.

Weaknesses:

Power consumption is heavy.
There is no standby switch. So you have to keep it on all the time if you do not wish to miss a photograph.
SCA 3401 M4 does not match with Nikon F100. That means spend again for SCA 3401 M5.
The auto-zoom is not very accurate and causes vignetting.
I personally prefer mechanical settings that I can adjust with the feel of my hand than LCD settings that I have to read with my spectacles.
The auto flash underexposes by one stop.

Similar Products Used:

32 MZ 3 - extremely good flash. It is a darling. But the range is less and has only three auto stops in steps of 2.

Nikon SB25: Very versatile flash. Very accurate auto-cuts. But the reflector is too harsh, contrast becomes very high and colours are not as pleasing as METZ.

Customer Service:

Extremely poor in India.
The only representative in Mumbai charges whatever he likes.
The flash is not very popular here because those who have them do not know how to sell them.

Would you like to Comment?
Join PhotographyReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Rating
Reviewed by: Narendra Bhagwat
(Expert)

Review Date
November 22, 1999

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Review 4 of 5

Model Reviewed:
40MZ-2 Flash Unit

Summary:

Excellent flash for creative flash photography. One can use this flash for studying motion. Flash enables us to show those images which can not be seen by normal eyes.

Strengths:

Stroboscopic feature:
Can be fired upto 20 times per second.
Example : Catching three images of a flying bird in a single frame.

Weaknesses:

At full power flash duration is too much.
e.g. flash duration at full power is 1/128, where shutter speed could be 1/250.

Similar Products Used:

This is the only one giving so much features.

Customer Service:

Very good.

Would you like to Comment?
Join PhotographyReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Rating
Reviewed by: Jim Dembiec
(Professional)

Review Date
November 21, 1999

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Review 5 of 5

Model Reviewed:
40MZ-2 Flash Unit

Summary:

An excellent flash. Very powerful for the size. Metz adapters make it adaptable to the different cameras that I use. From manual focus non-ttl to the fully auto everything.

Strengths:

Adaptable

Weaknesses:

None

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar, Sunpak,

Would you like to Comment?
Join PhotographyReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.