This review is about the Metz 48 AF-1 Mecablitz flash for Sony alpha cameras. For the last couple of years, I've used this flash unit's bigger cousin, the 58 AF, on Pentax bodies, so I have experience with two Metz units. The 58 is available for Sony as well and I assume works more or less identically to the Pentax version. So as I write this review, I am thinking about both units -the more expensive (top of the line) 58 and the less expensive 48.
Bottom line: The 48 is very good, especially if you are simply looking for a single flash unit, and especially considering its very reasonable cost. (As of this writing in November 2010, the Metz 48 is about $225, the Metz 58 is about $400, and the Sony F58AM is in between at around $300.)
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As a basic hot shoe flash, the Metz 48 works very well. I shot a wedding reception with it last month and it worked fine. Head tilts and swivels fairly easily so I was able to bounce the way I like to. In this respect it's similar or identical to the more expensive models.
The Metz 58 model is more powerful (higher guide number). I have shot wedding receptions in barns where the higher guide number really may have made a difference. So I'm not yet sure how well the 48 will perform when I need that extra power.
The Metz 48 supports Sony TTL metering and does a good job there. Exposures were good. And the Metz 48 also supports Sony's optical wireless triggering. You can for example take the Metz 48 off the camera and place it on a stand, and then trigger it using your Sony DSLR's pop-up flash as a controller. As far as I can tell, however, the Metz system doesn't provide the excellent lighting control that the Sony F58AM provides. (The Sony flash lets you control multiple off-camera flash units and you can control output ratios of different flashes, which can be important for studio work. Doing multi-flash work in the studio I simply put everything into manual and take test shots until I get things right. But I'm tempted to start buying the Sony flash units just for this reason.)
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The Metz menu system is NOT a plus, on either model. The menus on the 48 model are really quite simple, in the sense that you don't appear to have very many options. But that's precisely the point of my complaint: You actually have a fair number of options, they're just not obvious from the back of the flash unit. As I did previously with my Metz 58, I found that I absolutely had to read the user's guide for the Metz 48, not just read, but study, to figure out how to do basic things. And the manual isn't a model of clarity. But I was able, with some slight effort, to figure everything out. And it all works really well once you do figure it out.
I will soon be buying a second (and eventually third) flash unit, and I have not yet decided whether I'll be getting another Metz, or going with Sony's on F58AM. For myself, since I expect to be buying more flashes soon, the Sony F58 might have been a better choice, even though it's more expensive. But for a Sony photographer who simply wants a single flash unit, sturdy and effective, the Metz 48 is probably the best deal available.
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