Extended Zoom Mode; Af Measuring Beam - Metz MECABLITZ 44 AF-4 Mode D'emploi

5.7.4 Extended zoom mode

The extended zoom mode (Ex) reduces the focal length setting of the flash
unit by one step as compared to the focal length of the camera lens! The
resulting wider light coverage inside rooms provides additional stray light
(reflections) to achieve a softer flash illumination.
Example of extended zoom mode:
The focal length set on the camera lens is 35 mm. The extended zoom mode
sets a 28 mm reflector position on the flash unit but 35 mm continues to be
indicated on the LC display!
The extended zoom mode is only possible in the "Auto Zoom" mode with Group
B, C, D and E cameras as listed in Table 1 and CPU lenses with focal lengths as
of 28 mm.
Since the initital position of the zoom reflector is 24 mm, a focal length of less than
28 mm will cause "24" mm to flash on the LC display thereby warning the user
that the required reflector position for the extended zoom mode cannot be set.
Shots taken with a 24 mm focal length setting will be correctly illumi-
nated right out to the image corners by the flash unit also in extended
zoom mode!
Turning on the extended zoom mode
• Continue depressing the "Select" key combination (= "Mode" key + "Zoom"
key) until "Ex" appears on the LC display.
• Continue depressing the "Zoom" key until "On" flashes on the LC display.
• The setting becomes instantly effective. The LC display returns to its normal
state after approx. 5 sec.
After the setting procedure, the "Ex" symbol for the extended zoom mode will
continue to be indicated on the flash unit's LC display!
Please note that the wider illumination coverage in extended zoom
mode results in a diminished maximum flash range!
Turning off the extended zoom mode
• Continue depressing the "Select" key combination (= "Mode" key + "Zoom"
key) until "Ex" appears on the LC display.
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• Continue depressing the "Zoom" key until "OFF" flashes on the LC display.
• The setting becomes instantly effective. The LC display returns to its normal
state after approx. 5 sec.
The "Ex" symbol for the extended zoom mode will no longer be indicated on
the flash unit's LC display!

5.8 AF measuring beam

The AF measuring beam is activated by the camera electronics when the
ambient lighting conditions are insufficient for automatic focusing. The AF
beam emitter projects a striped pattern on to the subject, and the camera
uses this pattern to focus automatically. The AF beam has a range of approx.
6 m to 9 m (with a 50 mm/f/1.7 standard lens). Parallax error between lens
and AF red light emitter limits the close-up range of the AF measuring beam
to approx. 0.7 m - 1 m.
The AF mode "Single-AF (S)" must be set on the camera so that the AF
measuring beam can be activated by the camera (see the camera's
operating instructions). Zoom lenses with a small initial lens aperture
may significantly reduce the range of the AF measuring beam!
The striped pattern of the AF measuring beam only supports the ca-
mera's central AF sensor. When using cameras with several AF sen-
sors we recommend to only activate the camera's central AF metering
area (see the camera's operating instructions). If a decentral AF sensor
is manually selected by the photographer, or automatically by the
camera, then the emitter of the flash unit's AF measuring beam will
not be activated.
In such instances some cameras will use the AF illuminator integrated
in the camera (see operating instructions of the camera).