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There were not many reviews on this flash and I was really having a hard time deciding between this flash and the offerings from Olympus and Panasonic. Unfortunately I did not purchase all three just to compare them so I can only tell you my experience with the Metz 58 AF-2. I have been using this on my Lumix GH2 camera.
Build Quality
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This is a fairly expensive flash unit so it's fair to start off with the quality of its build. Despite being heavy around 1 lb with batteries it has a "medium grade" type of feel to it it's not made from the best quality plastic, nor is it the worst. The flash swivels a little over 90 degrees and the swivel "ratchet" mechanism is a little loose. I believe the looseness is intentional, as making it too rigid may cause it to break. I have not had any problems where the flash moved out of position after I adjusted its angle.
Brightness
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This is a very bright and powerful flash. It has a guide number of 58 meters at 100 ISO, which means an effective range of nearly 200 feet. In real-world use this translates to an ability to sufficiently illuminate subjects using "bounce" mode even in rooms with high ceilings. It also does a great job of filling in subjects shot in bright light, such as the sun. I used this on a model shoot I was hired to do on cloudless day and it really delivered some accurately balanced fill. The integrated camera flash cannot compare.
Features
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The flash has a servo control to adjust the reflector based on your lens' focal length. This is a very useful feature because it ensures that the flash always fills the frame and does not cause the vignetting effect that more basic flashes do. Vignetting means the dark corners on the outer edges of the frame due to a mismatch between the flash's light pattern and the camera's frame size.
The flash also features TTL mode which I use, high speed TTL which allows it to sync correctly at higher shutter speeds, an "auto" mode which uses the flashes own metering system rather than the cameras (handy if you are using these as additional slave flashes to eliminate shadows on the side or back) and a variety of user-adjustable settings that allow for some degree of fine-tuning.
One handy feature is the built-in reflector card. The reflector card is just a piece of plastic that slides out over the top, and is intended to be used when you swivel the main lamp upwards. This allows you to use bounce mode while still directing some light at the subject to reduce shadows. It can also be used to soften the light cast onto a reflective subject.
There is also an integrated diffuser that allows the flash to support wide-angle focal lengths down to 12mm (6 mm on M4/3), and lastly a small secondary flash lamp that is used for metering and can be activated as a secondary fill while shooting in bounce mode.
Conclusion
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Well, it's a flash so there's not a whole lot to say other than this one works well. Its recycle time can vary depending on how much light the flash needs to emit, however it's generally less than 3 seconds. This will increase as your batteries deplete; you may be able to maintain a higher recycle times by using lithium batteries instead of alkaline. The box also includes a stand which allows you to place the flash somewhere other than on your camera to use as an auxiliary slave.
An easy way to assess the quality of the flash is by looking at the photos you take if your photos do not appear as though a flash has been used (i.e. evenly lit frame without any harsh "bright spots") then you know it's working well. This one does just that as long as you take the time to read over the instruction manual so that you understand what each function does.
Overall I am satisfied with the purchase of this flash. It has enabled me to expand my photographic capabilities without compromising quality, but I'm not giving it a full 5 stars because I think for such an expensive product it should have been built from higher grade materials.
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