Metz Mecablitz 64 AF-1

£309/$435 The flagship from a flash legend

There’s a lot to like about this flashgun from the long-established German flashgun manufacturer. It has a powerful 24-200mm zoom range, -9 to 90-degree bounce facility, and the availability of both master and slave wireless operation, although only with optical transmission.

Uniquely in this group, there’s a secondary sub-flash module for adding a catchlight when using the main head in bounce or swivel mode. Onboard controls are slick and intuitive, based on a colour touchscreen. Pro-grade extras include a programmable repeat flash mode and a socket for an optional power pack.

Performance

TTL metering tended to err very slightly on the bright side in our tests and, despite the beefy Gn 64 power rating, the Metz delivers fairly average maximum power output at 105mm.