I happen to see this LINKsometime back.

After very long consideration I decided to invest in this item. Personally because I am not willing to pay S$650 for a made in Indonesia FL50.

After acquiring it. I did a quick sanity check and I found it work very well with E300. Though this is not the "i" version, TTL works well. Unlike the version 1 of 44MZ2, TTL does not work at all.

I also found out that many features in FL50 are available in 54MZ4 too except FP mode which is proprietory.

Before I got this, I got my HK friend to check on the i version in HK and it cost about S$550.

One last thing to mention that Metz are still made in Germany.

hmmm again the point of non japanese made equipment has popped out. Well almost all the E300, E500 and E330 are made in china now. Anyways as long as its from a reputed company i dont mind where it is made at. Global economies are changing and we should fine tune ourselves for more products from china, vietnam, thailand and indonesia. Anyways its personal preference.

Frommy experience in China, there are more higher quality contract manufacturers/factories set up, and the crucial thing is the QC from the manufacturer. I cannot say that I am 100% sure all the goods will be comparable to the Japanese made ones because most (not all) of the factories in China, the people who worked in there has no pride in their work unlike workers from other countries. This is the main cause of crap products. Manufacturers love this because then it kind of solve greymarket products going out... people will buy warranty products in case of a manufacturing fault... think about it... from a manufacturer's channel sales' point of view. Its working out for them.

cycle time >FL50 ? distance ?

u2nofear wrote (View Post): › cycle time >FL50 ? distance ?

5s max. not sure how to measure distance.

I took THESE with omni bounce on at a "distance"

Hi selamat, I use FL50 and I am thinking of buying FP1 which is a lot more cheaper than SHV1, what do you recommend to boost the fast recycle time for the FL 50.I hate replacing batteries during shoots.Tks.

Hello thevar,

If I have that much money to spend I will go for SHV-1 instead... But your requirements should be derieved from your usage....

If it is hardcore shoots like full day event you need SHV1, just for short time usage FP1.....

Hope this helps till selamat shows up....

How much is it going to cost for FL50 and shv1 ? What is your objective for buying it ?

If your objective of fast recycling time for FL50 price why not Metz (made in Germany) ?

I have shot events on Auto or Manual on Metz with E300 since TTL is not available, I have no issues with Auto.

thevar wrote (View Post): › Hi selamat, I use FL50 and I am thinking of buying FP1 which is a lot more cheaper than SHV1, what do you recommend to boost the fast recycle time for the FL 50.I hate replacing batteries during shoots.Tks.

Hi TheVar,

For me, two things to consider.

#1 : Flash use demand vs battery endurance. Having mentioned that you hate replacing bats, if either the SHV1 or the FP1 runs out of juice, bats are far easily replaced in the modular SHV1 than the FP1.

#2 : Weight : For the sake of my wrist & from experience, I'd rather have weight on my shoulders than my wrist. Hand fatigue means you'll have handshake & you'll be distracted fighting that.

There're other reasons, but these two are key. Although the FL50 boasts good exposures in AUTO mode, I concur with Selamatlzh that the Metz delivers consistent exposures in AUTO. Booth flash are excellent performers.