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[OM] Metz SCA-300E Remote/Sunpak 120J TTL Design Changes!

Subject: [OM] Metz SCA-300E Remote/Sunpak 120J TTL Design Changes!
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 23:22:07 -0500
Got my "small" flash purchase a couple days ago:
  Sunpak 120J TTL with EXT-10 remote cord and battery slab
  Metz 40 MZ-2 with SCA-300E remote and SCA-321 module

Metz SCA system remarks:

Already had a 40 MZ-3i, SCA-321, a pair of SCA-300A cords and an SCA-307A remote cord. The 40 MZ-2 is nearly identical and with the OM system it operates exactly the same way as the newer "3i" version. Adds another unit to the stable. IMO it has features and is the direction Olympus should have gone with their evolution of the T series instead of creating the F280. They recharge very quickly with NiMH cells in them.

Undocumented in Metz' manuals and on-line listing of accessories is the ability to create the equivalent of an SCA-307A remote cord using an SCA-300E foot and an SCA-300A cord. The 300A cord is designed to interface with handle mount flash units with a plug at one end and an interface for the SCA-300 series module on the other. An SCA-300E foot has a "cold shoe" for remote mounting and a socket on the back identical to the 300 series sockets on the handle mount flash units. Metz advertises this with a couple special module setups required for use with Bronica and Hasselblad medium format systems, but that's about it. Put the 300E foot on the bottom of the flash, mount it to the flash bracket and then use the 300A cord to connect it to the hot shoe. Works like a charm.

Why do this? I also have two metz grips, a G15 and a G16 (similar to BG-2 for a T-32), which use the SCA-300A cord to connect them to the camera hot shoe. This allows keeping the SCA-321 module on the 300A cords instead of having to take one of them off and put it onto the 307A remote cord. Reduces the work in switching from the G15 or G16 and a remote on the Newton flash bracket and moving SCA-321 hot shoe modules around between cords.

Sunpak 120J TTL remarks:

Finally had a chance to play some with the 120J TTL and its TR-PakIIa battery slab. This is a "poor man's" Quantum T2 bare bulb flash unit. Already have two Sunpak handle mounts, a 555 (TTL control) and a 544 (no TTL but Normal-Auto), plus two Sunpak TTL modules for the Olympus OM and an EXT-11 cord to use one of them with the 555. The EXT-10 remote has a cold shoe on one end of the cord and TTL module interface on the other end. This allows the flash to be mounted on a flash bracket.

Sunpak has redesigned the normal auto mode of the 120J for wider aperture settings. The old ones were f/5.6, f/8 and f/11 with ISO 100 film; not all that useful with faster films (aperture narrows as film speed goes up). The new ones are f/2.8, f/5.6 and f/8 for ISO 100 film. IMO, these new normal-auto settings are more versatile if I need to use it with the OM-1n for some reason (would normally use the Sunpak 544 with it). In TTL mode with the OM-2S or OM-4, it doesn't matter; just set the desired aperture while keeping in mind the working range.

Never worked with a battery slab before. This one's is relatively small and light compared to some others I've seen. Has capacity for 200 full dump shots. Since most are partial dump, a fully charged one should last an entire wedding. It allows the 120J to recover nearly instantly; max is about 1-1/2 seconds from full dump. A couple or three shots to be had with the limiting factor being winding on to the next frame. Useful for capturing things as they happen very quickly, such as a wedding bouquet toss. In the past I've had to ensure overkill on flash power for partial dumps to do this. One oddity is the requirement to have 4 AA cells in the flash for the TTL mode to work. With the power switch in the HV position, the slab powers only the HV circuits to fire the flash. The AA cells power only the low voltage circuits for TTL control.

Why Metz and Sunpak?
The T-32 is a wonderful flash, especially with a BG-2 grip, but too low powered for things like wedding work with ISO 160 film. The T-45 has the power, but is an expensive handle mount and I prefer using a bracket most of the time. The Metz 40 MZ series are higher powered when used with 35mm and longer lenses, have more settings for normal-auto, and can be mounted on the G15/G16 grips or remoted on a bracket. There is also no Olympus "bare bulb" flash unit. I've wanted one for some time after going back through my father's Kodachrome archive, looking at his flash bulb shots, and comparing those to later ones using an electronic flash. There is a difference between the bulbs in larger reflectors and electronic flash. Has the brightness of direct lighting with less of the edgy harshness a normal electronic flash can create, especially at closer distances. Hard to describe in words.

-- John


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