Metz Mecablitz 36 C-2 hotshoe flashgun review

Gallery

Verdict:

An unusual – and fairly cumbersome – system for judging automatic exposures, but useful for when other methods aren’t available.

Review Date: 14 Mar 2010

Price when reviewed: £60

Supplier: http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk

Reviewed By: Ben Pitt

Our Rating 3 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

This low-cost flashgun doesn’t support TTL (through-the-lens) flash metering, but uses an alternative technique for automated metering. An integrated sensor measures the light reflecting off the subject, and stops the flash when enough light has been gathered.

The process is far from automatic: the user must inform the flashgun of the selected focal length, ISO speed and aperture via a series of interconnected switches, and also extend the flash head to focus the beam to match the focal length.

Still, we found that exposures were reasonably balanced, adjusting automatically to various distances from camera to subject. Nearby subjects such as faces were often over-exposed against a dark background, but tilting the flash to bounce off the ceiling lit the room more evenly. Performance was fast, at 3.9 seconds between flashes at full power.

Manual mode is frustratingly fixed at full power and automatic mode is a little unwieldy, but this flashgun makes sense for cameras that lack TTL flash metering, such as the Fujifilm S200EXR. Its compatibility with virtually all other shoe-equipped cameras is a bonus.

Prev Next

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1