1 - 1/256th: that's what I call good manual flash control!

            An old Metz 60 CT-4. This is capable of TTL metering if you manage to acquire the rare and probably expensive TTL hot shoe adapter for your specific camera. Without that you're restricted to manual control or the usual auto-thyristor self control via its own sensor. The sensor is the black dot on the left of the small forward facing optional fill flash and has a 25 degree forward angle of view.

The manual control levels are the semi circle of red figures along the top of the control/calculator dial. They run from 1 to 1/256th, with 1/32nd as W for Winder, and 1/64th as M for Motor Drive. That's from the era of film cameras. Winder is the flash power which can keep firing for ever as fast as you can wind the film on. Motor Drive will fire for ever as fast as your camera motor drive winder will go. Ranging from 1 to 1/256th is equivalent to an 8 stop dynamic range,

One of the lesser known virtues of a very low flash power from a powerful flash is that it's an extremely brief flash which is good for freezing very high speed motion.

The 60 refers to its GN of 60 with the (old) GN standard of 100 ISO and a beam width appropriate to a 35mm lens on a 35mm film camera. Some modern flash guns achieve their nice big guide numbers by citing them for higher ISOs and zoomed flash beams. This one is as powerful as a small studio strobe. If there's a pale ceiling up above, no matter how high, or how big the room, it can probably do a useful bounce from it. It's too powerful to host the flash capacitor or the batteries in the handle, so it runs off a big external battery pack which you carry with a shoulder strap.

The Metz 45 series, half the power of the 60 series, has the same size of handle but half the size of head, and is completely self contained with the capacitor and batteries (6 AAs) inside the handle.

I've had a Metz 60 CT-1 for some time, but its only manual option is full power, and (as I now discover) its battery is old and feeble, meaning rather long recycle times. This one recycles from a full power flash in several seconds, and squeaks when it's ready, which is very handy when operating it remotely from the camera.

I've become rather a fan of these old Metz guns. They're rather like vintage sports cars.

Original DSC09751.ARWX

Taken on: September 22, 2009

Tags:

strobist

Metz

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Sets appears in: • Flashy kit • Metz 60 CTn flashguns more » • strobist « less

Groups appears in: • Edinburgh Photographers • Metz Support group more » • Strobist Gear • East Scotland Strobists « less

Camera: Sony DSLR-A350, f/5.6, 1/8 sec, 50mm (=75mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony DSLR-A350
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.125 sec (1/8)
Focal Length:	50mm (35mm equivalent: 75mm)
ISO:	100
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Picasa 3.0
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