Metz Mecablitz 34 AF-3 C User manual

TV • VIDEO • CAMCORDER • MECABLITZ

MECABLITZ 34 AF-3 C

Operating instructions

Foreword

Dear Customer,

We thank you for your conﬁdence in our meca-

blitz MB 34 AF-3C.

The MB 34 AF-3C ﬂashgun has been especially

designed for Canon EOS system cameras.

IMPORTANT: Never mount the ﬂashgun in the

accessory shoe of any other system camera,

otherwise the ﬂashgun’s foot or the camera’s

accessory shoe can be destroyed! The dedica-

ted contacts in the foot of the MB 34 AF-3C

only support the controlling commands of

Canon EOS system cameras.

The following pages give details for the correct

operation of the mecablitz ﬂashgun and summarize

its ﬁelds of application.

Please read these operating instructions carefully,

even if, at ﬁrst sight, some points may not appear

to be of interest. Our design work placed

particular

value on ensuring that operation of the mecablitz is

as simple

as possible, but it should be noted that

the system cameras for which the ﬂashgun is

intended offer a great diversity of capabilities.

We wish you much pleasure with your new Metz

ﬂashgun in conjunction

with a Canon EOS system

camera to light up the darkest points, and for

creative ﬂash lighting.

Contents

1. Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

2. Preparing the mecablitz for use . . . . . . .24

2.1 Power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

2.2 Loading and replacing the batteries . . . . . .24

2.3 Automatic ﬂashgun cut-out circuit . . . . . . .25

2.4 Mounting/Removing the mecablitz . . . . . . .25

3. Setting the mecablitz into operation . . .26

3.1 Preconditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

3.2 Switching the ﬂashgun on and off . . . . . . .26

4. Flashgun instructions to the camera . . .27

4.1 Flash-ready indication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

4.2 Automatic ﬂash sync speed control . . . . . .27

4.3 Correct-exposure indication . . . . . . . . . . .27

4.4 Information displayed in the

camera’s viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

5. TTL ﬂash control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

5.1 E-TTL ﬂash control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

6. Flash synchronisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

6.1 Normal synchronisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

6.2 Second curtain synchronisation (REAR) . . .31

7. Flash in the individual camera modes . .32

7.1 Use of ﬂash in the program modes . . . . . .32

7.2 Special functions not supported by ﬂash . .32

8. Autofocus measuring ﬂash . . . . . . . . . . .33

9. Flash techniques and ﬂash functions . .34

9.1 Automatic ﬁll-in ﬂash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

10. Lighting and attachments . . . . . . . . . . . .35

11. Care and maintenance -

Manual ﬁring button

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

12. Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Lightning distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

1. Safety instructions

•NEVER ﬁre a ﬂash in the immediate vicinity of

the eyes! Flash ﬁred directly in front of the eyes

ofapersonoranimalcandamagetheretinaand

leadto severevisual disorders- evenblindness!

• Spent batteries should be immediately remo-

ved. Chemicals leaking out of spent batteries

will damage the ﬂashgun.

• Do not short-circuit batteries! DANGER OF

EXPLOSION!

• Batteries should not be exposed to excessive

heat, for instance sunshine, ﬁre and the like!

•NEVER throw spent batteries in a ﬁre!

• Do not expose the ﬂashgun to dripping or

splashing water!

• Protect the ﬂashgun against excessive heat and

high humidity levels! Do not keep the ﬂashgun

in the glove compartment of a car!

• In the event of ﬂash shots with full light output

observe an interval of at least 3 minutes after a

series of 20 ﬂashes. This will protect the ﬂash-

gun against overload.

•

NEVER place material that is impervious to light

in front of, or directly

on, the reﬂector screen.

The reﬂector screen must be perfectly clean

when a ﬂash is ﬁred. The high energy of the

ﬂash light will burn the material or damage the

screen if this is not observed!

•NEVER dismantle the ﬂashgun! DANGER: HIGH

VOLTAGE! There are

no components inside the

ﬂashgun that can be repaired by a layperson.

Disposal of batteries

Do not dispose of spent batteries with domestic

rubbish.

Please return spent batteries to collecting points

should they exist in your country!

2. Preparing the mecablitz for use

2.1 Power supply

The ﬂashgun can only be operated with 2 CR2-

type lithium batteries. This type of battery can be

stored for many years with practically no loss of

energy, thus making it ideal for occasional ama-

teur ﬂash photography.

Batteries have become discharged or spent

when recycling takes more than 60 seconds.

The batteries should be removed from the

mecablitz if the ﬂashgun is not going to be

used for a prolonged period.

2.2 Loading and exchanging batteries

• Turn off the ﬂashgun with the main switch.

•Press the unlocking catch, slide the battery

compartment lid to the right and fold open (see

ﬁg. 1).

•Insert the batteries according to the indicated

battery symbols.

The supplied lithium batteries are expendables

and, as such, are not subject to our warranty pro-

visions.

After the batteries have been inserted, fold down

the battery compartment lid, and push to the left

until it engages audible with the unlocking catch.

☞

☛

➭

Fig. 1: Unlocking and exchanging batteries

2. Preparing the mecablitz for use

When loading the batteries ensure correct

polarity. Incorrectly loaded batteries can dest-

roy the ﬂashgun! All batteries must be of the

same make and have the same charge level.

Exhausted batteries must not be thrown into

the dustbin! Contribute to the protection of

the environment and discard exhausted bat-

teries at the appropriate disposal points.

2.3 Automatic ﬂashgun switch-off

To avoid accidental battery discharge the ﬂashgun

automatically switches itself off to save power

approximately 8 minutes after

- the ﬂashgun was switched on

- the last ﬂash was ﬁred

- tripping the camera release, or

- switching on the camera light metering system.

The green ﬂash-ready indicator is turned off.

To turn on the mecablitz again switch the main

switch OFF and then ON. The ﬂashgun should

always be turned off if it is not being used.

2.4 Mounting/Removing the ﬂashgun

• Turn off the mecablitz.

• Press the unlocking catch at the back of the

mecablitz (see ﬁg. 2).

• Slide the mounting foot into the camera’s moun-

ting shoe.

•

Always turn off the ﬂashgun before it is removed.

•

Press the unlocking catch at the back of the

mecablitz (ﬁg. 2) and withdraw from the camera.

☞

Fig. 2: Unlocking catch

☛

3. Setting the mecablitz into operation

3.1 Preconditions

The mecablitz must only be used with TTL

ﬂash controlled cameras!

The sensor of TTL ﬂash controlled cameras

measures the light reaching the ﬁlm through

the camera lens and instantly cuts out the

ﬂash when the ﬁlm has been correctly expo-

sed. Please refer to the camera’s operating

instructions to ﬁnd out whether your camera

features this function.

A full-power ﬂash is ﬁred if the camera does

not feature TTL ﬂash control!

In other words: Without TTL ﬂash control, the

mecablitz ﬁres an unmeasured ﬂash at maximum

output.

If there is a ﬂashgun integrated in the camera

must be switched off or completely folded

down when the mecablitz is used.

Fig. 3: Switching the ﬂashgun on and off

3.2 Switching the ﬂashgun on and off

Set the main switch in the ON position to turn on

the ﬂashgun. The green ﬂash-ready indicator

lights up to indicate ﬂash readiness.

Set the main switch in the OFF position to turn off

the ﬂashgun.

OFF ON

4. Flashgun instructions to the camera

The mecablitz transmits different signals and

messages to the camera when it is connected to

the camera and is switched on.

4.1 Flash-ready indication

The green light on the mecablitz illuminates

when the ﬂash capacitor is fully primed, thereby

indicating ﬂash readiness. This means that ﬂash

can be used for the next exposure. The ﬂash rea-

diness signal is transmitted to the camera where it

is indicated by a corresponding display in the

camera’s viewﬁnder. On some cameras (depen-

ding on the operating mode and camera model)

the shutter is automatically changed to ﬂash sync

speed when ﬂash readiness is reached. The ﬂash

willnot beﬁredif theshutteris releasedbefore the

ﬂashready light illuminateswith the resultthat the

exposure may be incorrect if the camera control

circuit has already changed over to ﬂash sync

speed. Please refer to the camera’s operating

instructions for further details.

4.2 Automatic ﬂash sync speed control

When the ﬂash unit is on, the camera will automa-

tically switch it to ﬂash sync speed from any ope-

rating mode selected. The sync speed depends on

the camera model and usually ranges between

1/30 sec. and 1/250 sec. For details please refer

to the camera’s instructions for use.

Some camera models will, when the ﬂash unit is on,

switch it to ﬂash sync speed as soon as program

mode „P“ or full-auto mode is selected. Speeds

faster than the ﬂash sync speed cannot be set.

4.3 Correct-exposure indication (see ﬁg. 4)

The red correct exposure light brieﬂy illuminates

when ﬂash exposure was correct. At the same

time the mecablitz sends an o.k. signal to the

camera for display in the viewﬁnder. Please refer

to the camera’s operating instructions for further

details.

4. Flashgun instructions to the camera

4.4 Information displayed in the camera’s viewer

The following table only gives a general survey.

Camera-speciﬁc deviations ar possible (please refer

to the camera’s operating instructions.

blinks: Indicates that ﬂashgun should be

used or switched on (on some

cameras).

illuminated:

The ﬂash is ready for use (on some

cameras) Please refer to your

camera’s operating instructions to

ﬁndoutifthis applies toyourcame-

ra model.

Fig. 4: Exposure o.k.

5. TTL ﬂash control

The mecablitz receives its information exclusively

from the connected TTL-controlled camera.

Exposure measurement in TTL mode (TTL =

through-the-lens) is completed by the camera’s

sensor. This sensor measures the light reaching

the ﬁlm through the camera lens. An electronic

control circuit within the camera transmits a stop

signal to the ﬂashgun as soon as the ﬁlm has been

exposed by the correct amount of light; the ﬂash is

then instantly cut out. The advantage of the TTL

mode is that all factors inﬂuencing the exposure of

the ﬁlm (such as ﬁlters, change of aperture or

variable aperture zooms) are taken into account.

You need not worry about adjustment of the light

output. The camera’s electronic system automati-

cally deﬁnes the required amount of light. You can

also utilize various metering facilities

(e.g. spot ,

matrix or centre-weighted overall readings)

offered

by some cameras.

The Table on page 37 gives the maximum range

for the selected aperture. The minimum lighting

distance is approx. 15% of the maximum thres-

hold range.

If the actual distance is shorter than the

minimum lighting distance, then this may

result in overexposure.

Astrip ofﬁlmmust beloadedin thecamera iftests

are to be conducted in TTL ﬂash mode.

The effective ﬂash range can only be checked by

the correct-exposure display (o.k.) if the ﬂash is

triggered by the camera and not with the manual

release on the ﬂashgun!

☞

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