¿Does I need a SCA 307a or SCA 3007a?

I'd like to buy a Metz 54 MZ-3. This flash has the wireless TTL

automatic operation. The question is: Does I need the SCA 307a or SCA

3007a module extension cord if I want to use the flash off the camera?

I'm also looking for opinions about this flash...

Thanks in advance,

Iván

Hello

Follow this link to the Metz web site, where you select a series of choices, to find the correct model for your camera and lens. Tere is not enough information in your question to answer it.

http://metz.de/1_metz_2000/m_pages_english/main_index_e.php3?link=4&sub=6&linkname=mecablitz

Regards, Ross

Thanks Ross.

I think I don't explain my self...

I have a F65, and maybe, I'll buy a F80 (I'm not sure yet).

Now I know the adapter to use a Mecablitz with both Nikon SLRs: SCA 3402 (thanks for the url).

So, this is the adapter to use the flash ON the camera. Now, suppose what I want is to use the flash OFF the camera... let's say a few meters between the flash and the camera:

- If I buy a 54 MZ-3, does I need any adapter or cord to connect the camera and the flash, or the wireless TTL automatic operation does the work?

- If I buy a 44 MZ-2 (cheaper than the other)?

Iván,

<<If I buy a 54 MZ-3, does I need any adapter or cord to connect the camera and the flash, or the wireless TTL automatic operation does the work?>>

Yes, you will need a device on the camera, connected to the hot shoe, that can communicate with the Metz flash head. Optically triggered slave flash can get the "go" signal from a camera's onboard flash. But wireless TTL still requires some method of transmitting the wireless signal that says "stop.". The F65 or F80 cannot do so alone. note that Nikon's matrix system uses a preflash to measure subject reflectance, and this preflash tends to trigger optically fired slaves, rendering them useless. So you need to be sure the Metz fires at the time of the principal flash, not the preflash. I think this will involve the use of Metz's adapter.

I looked at the info on the Metz web site for a while but did not find the answer to your specific question about wireless triggering. Finding which module to use for on-camera use is easy. Finding how to configure wireless operation is not so easy. You might need to dig for technical specs or thumb through a Metz flash operator's manual in a store.

<<If I buy a 44 MZ-2 (cheaper than the other)?>>

You lose 3D matrix flash, for one thing. If you're going to spend the money for a Metz unit, why not spend enough to take advantage of your camera's most sophisticated flash mode?

Have fun,

Thanks for that, Jim. I found the explanation of the Nikon's matrix system very intesting.

You are right, there is not enough information about my question in www.metz.de, but I've downloaded a manual of the 54 MZ-3, and found information about the SCA 3082 there and in other web sites.

And that is the answer.

SCA 3082: You put it on the flash unit (54 MZ-3, not the 44 MZ-2), and that's all. The SCA 3082 tells the flash when to start and when to end, in TTL slave mode and using the camera's onboard flash as the master unit. Other Metz units have this adapter built in, but not the 54 MZ-3 (still a nice one, for me).

Just one doubt: The SCA 3082 is able to deal with the preflash of the Nikon's matrix system? I think the answer is 'yes': Nothing is said in the manual about a problem with this...

Iván.

<<The SCA 3082 is able to deal with the preflash of the Nikon's matrix system? I think the answer is 'yes': Nothing is said in the manual about a problem with this... >>

Well, it will be easy enough to test.

With the F80/N80 set for 3D matrix fill flash and the Metz 54MZ3 positioned to give strong SIDE lighting to your test subject, you'll see whether it works. At the time you take the test shot(s) you'll be able to tell whether the Metz is firing in wireless mode.

After processing, if your subject winds up lit from the side in the test shot(s), the wireless trigger is in sync with the shutter and not with the preflash, which occurs while the shutter is still closed. Obviously, that's the result you want. If the test subject is lit only from the front (in other words only by the onboard flash) then the burst you saw from the Metz was in sync with the preflash, and that would indicate no compatibility between the camera's 3D matrix mode and the Metz's wireless mode.

If 3D Matrix doesn't work in wireless mode, plain vanilla TTL should still work (no preflash to worry about).

Metz makes good stuff, and especially for photographers who use camera bodies from more than one system, Metz gear is very appealing because one only needs the correct adapters (not a bevy of whole new dedicated flash heads) to work with multiple brands, multiple formats, etc.

Have fun,