Mecablitz

Metz Mecablitz 36 CT 3
image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

Metz Mecablitz 180 on Konica C35
image by Uziyahu Michaeli (Image rights)

Metz Mecablitz was a largely advertised series of sophisticated electronic flashguns.

The Metz Mecablitz 36 CT 3 was a flash for the ambitious amateur. It needed just 4 AA batteries put behind its front sliding door. Its flash could be set to indirect lightning positions 45°, 60°, 75° or 90° upwards, or into normal straight-forward lightning position or the same position with the close-up variations 5° or 10° downwards. On the flash part was an uncoupled analog calculator to see which film-speed/aperture combination allows which distance in feet or metres. A second coupled analog calculator was combined with the electronic settings switch on the back. This also allowed to read out different distances for wide, normal and tele lenses. And it switched the electronics to settings for apertures 11, 8, 5.6, 4 or 2.8, or to a TTL mode, or to the M mode (probably the mode for the uncoupled calculator), or to the W (weak) mode.

The flash had the SCA 300 system. That means that its foot could be exchanged with a special foot for certain TTL cameras' special hot shoe. That's what the TTL mode is good for.