Hi,

I discovered something about my Metz which makes me think of switching to Canon's 550 EX:

In E-TTL the Metz is in fact E but not TTL.

You might have discovered the small black sensor in the lower left corner of the main reflector. Talked to a Metz technician yesterday, he told me that due to some patent restrictions, they were not allowed to implement ETTL as in the Canon flash units. That is, the information gathered from the pre-flash is not evaluated by the ambient metering sensor behind the lens, it's the little sensor in the main reflector who evaluates the reflective properties of the subject and calculates when to cut off the main burst. So, it is indeed evaluative but rather TTR (through the reflector) than TTL (through the lens).

In effect, this means that the Metz will probably (and my experiences prove this) fail to work properly in ETTL in the following situations:

- when the main reflector is in bounce position,

- when a pocket diffuser such as an Omnibounce or a Softbox is attached

This was also confirmed by the Metz technician.

Now this means, that in the above situtation, which I enounter quite frequently I have to use "A" mode instead of ETTL mode. Please note also, that this has nothing to do with some incompatibility or design flaw in the SCA 3102 M2. It really due to the fact, that in ETTL the evaluation of the pre-flash power is done by the little sensor in the main reflector, instead of the ambient meter in the camera. Note also, that this sesnor has nothing to do with the light sensor for "A" mode wich is placed on the body of the flash below the AF-assist beam.

My question to those who switched from the Metz 54 MZ3 to the Canon 550 EX or vice versa or those who own both:

Are you happier/unhappier know that you have the Canon 550EX instead of the Metz?

Is the 550EX's capability of ETTL in the above described situations, worth to dump the Metz?

I appreciate if you could tell me your experiences.

Best regards

Christoph
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Canon EOS 10D, BG-ED 3, EF 24-70 2.8L, EF 70-200 2.8L,
Metz 54 MZ 3, Lowepro Reporter 400 AW
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