Got my "small" flash purchase a couple days ago:
Sunpak 120J TTL with EXT-10 remote cord and battery slab
Metz 40 MZ-2 with SCA-300E remote and SCA-321 module
Metz SCA system remarks:
Already had a 40 MZ-3i, SCA-321, a pair of SCA-300A cords and an SCA-307A
remote cord. The 40 MZ-2 is nearly identical and with the OM system it
operates exactly the same way as the newer "3i" version. Adds another unit
to the stable. IMO it has features and is the direction Olympus should
have gone with their evolution of the T series instead of creating the
F280. They recharge very quickly with NiMH cells in them.
Undocumented in Metz' manuals and on-line listing of accessories is the
ability to create the equivalent of an SCA-307A remote cord using an
SCA-300E foot and an SCA-300A cord. The 300A cord is designed to interface
with handle mount flash units with a plug at one end and an interface for
the SCA-300 series module on the other. An SCA-300E foot has a "cold shoe"
for remote mounting and a socket on the back identical to the 300 series
sockets on the handle mount flash units. Metz advertises this with a
couple special module setups required for use with Bronica and Hasselblad
medium format systems, but that's about it. Put the 300E foot on the
bottom of the flash, mount it to the flash bracket and then use the 300A
cord to connect it to the hot shoe. Works like a charm.
Why do this? I also have two metz grips, a G15 and a G16 (similar to BG-2
for a T-32), which use the SCA-300A cord to connect them to the camera hot
shoe. This allows keeping the SCA-321 module on the 300A cords instead of
having to take one of them off and put it onto the 307A remote
cord. Reduces the work in switching from the G15 or G16 and a remote on
the Newton flash bracket and moving SCA-321 hot shoe modules around between
cords.
Sunpak 120J TTL remarks:
Finally had a chance to play some with the 120J TTL and its TR-PakIIa
battery slab. This is a "poor man's" Quantum T2 bare bulb flash
unit. Already have two Sunpak handle mounts, a 555 (TTL control) and a 544
(no TTL but Normal-Auto), plus two Sunpak TTL modules for the Olympus OM
and an EXT-11 cord to use one of them with the 555. The EXT-10 remote has
a cold shoe on one end of the cord and TTL module interface on the other
end. This allows the flash to be mounted on a flash bracket.
Sunpak has redesigned the normal auto mode of the 120J for wider aperture
settings. The old ones were f/5.6, f/8 and f/11 with ISO 100 film; not all
that useful with faster films (aperture narrows as film speed goes
up). The new ones are f/2.8, f/5.6 and f/8 for ISO 100 film. IMO, these
new normal-auto settings are more versatile if I need to use it with the
OM-1n for some reason (would normally use the Sunpak 544 with it). In TTL
mode with the OM-2S or OM-4, it doesn't matter; just set the desired
aperture while keeping in mind the working range.
Never worked with a battery slab before. This one's is relatively small
and light compared to some others I've seen. Has capacity for 200 full
dump shots. Since most are partial dump, a fully charged one should last
an entire wedding. It allows the 120J to recover nearly instantly; max is
about 1-1/2 seconds from full dump. A couple or three shots to be had with
the limiting factor being winding on to the next frame. Useful for
capturing things as they happen very quickly, such as a wedding bouquet
toss. In the past I've had to ensure overkill on flash power for partial
dumps to do this. One oddity is the requirement to have 4 AA cells in the
flash for the TTL mode to work. With the power switch in the HV position,
the slab powers only the HV circuits to fire the flash. The AA cells power
only the low voltage circuits for TTL control.
Why Metz and Sunpak?
The T-32 is a wonderful flash, especially with a BG-2 grip, but too low
powered for things like wedding work with ISO 160 film. The T-45 has the
power, but is an expensive handle mount and I prefer using a bracket most
of the time. The Metz 40 MZ series are higher powered when used with 35mm
and longer lenses, have more settings for normal-auto, and can be mounted
on the G15/G16 grips or remoted on a bracket. There is also no Olympus
"bare bulb" flash unit. I've wanted one for some time after going back
through my father's Kodachrome archive, looking at his flash bulb shots,
and comparing those to later ones using an electronic flash. There is a
difference between the bulbs in larger reflectors and electronic
flash. Has the brightness of direct lighting with less of the edgy
harshness a normal electronic flash can create, especially at closer
distances. Hard to describe in words.
-- John
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