Mecablitz 58 AF-1 Digital flash

The Metz 58 AF-1 challenges camera manufacturers, like Nikon and Canon, with a more affordable, feature rich flash unit

By Robert Jensen

Metz (or Mecablitz) may be an unfamiliar name to a lot of you but for many decades its been the workhorse flash for a lot of pro photographers around the world. Metz is made in Germany and marketed in the US by Bogen Imaging Inc. www.bogenimaging.us

I used to sell a lot of Metz strobes at the camera stores I worked at and over the decades came to appreciate their quality and durability. The Metz AF-1 Digital is a hot-shoe mounted flash available for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax/Samsung, Olympus/Panasonic (4/3 cameras).

Features

Power sources
1.2V NiCad
1.2V NiMH (Approx 180 full power flashes (1600 mAh batteries)
1.5V Alkaline-manganese (Approx 180 full power flashes using high capacity batteries)
1.5V Lithium
Metz P76 Power Pack with optional connecting cable V58-50 (Approx. 430 full power flashes)
Compatible with several Quantum power packs using dedicated cords

Recycle time
Approx 5 seconds with NiMH batteries
Approx 5 seconds with high capacity Alkalines
Approx 2.5 seconds with Power Pack P76

Front

Back

Right

Left

World's first user firmware upgradable flash (via mini-USB plug)
Wireless capability
Remote Master/Slave functions
Secondary flash head (Wink Light)
Auto Zoom head covers from 24-105mm (35mm full frame) Manual mode too
Built-in Wide Angle adapter (18mm) (35mm full frame)
Tilt and swivel head
Max guide number (GN) of 192 (ft. ISO 100/DIN 58) @105mm zoom
Color temperature of approximately 5600 Kelvin
ISO Speeds from 6 to 6400
Manual power settings from Full power down to 1/256 power (8 stops)
Flash exposure compensation - plus/minus 3 stops
low voltage triggering won't damage digital camera (cite early Vivitar 283 high triggering voltage and damage it causes)
Display can be set to show distances in either feet or meters
Backlit LCD display - easy to read in the dark
Standby/Auto Off after 10 minutes of inactivity (can be set to 1 minute or disabled)
Display illumination for 10 seconds after button pushed and syncs with camera's illumination too
Weight 355 grams
Dimension (WxHxD) 71mm x 148mm x 99mm
Included in the box, flash, instructions, T58 case, plastic mounting foot
26 page manual with 4 diagram pages

Modes

TTL, Automatic, Manual, Strobe
Nikon Modes (depends on camera model)
TTL, D-TTL i-TTL
TTL-BL, D-TTL-3D, i-TTL-BL
Canon Modes (depends on camera model)
E-TTL II, E-TTL, TTL

Auto Fill Flash mode automatically sets a correction between -1 to -2 stops (Which is how I would normally set it manually)

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