Flashgun Overload Concerns

In a recent post about the Metz 36 AF-4 Flashgun on the Canon Powershot G7 I mentioned the alarming warning in the Metz manual stating that, when using fast recycling times, one should: ‘observe an interval of at least 10 minutes after 15 flashes, otherwise the flash unit will be overloaded’

I wrote to the British Metz distributor to find out more, and I was impressed to receive an answer the following day.

They explained that the warning is actually applied to all their flash units, even the top end models. I happened upon a Mecablitz 58 manual and this is indeed the case.

The danger is basically that repeated rapid firing will cause the unit to heat up, fry components, permanently damage the flash and spoil your day.

The rapid firing which can lead to the problem is said to be continuous shooting where recycling times are less than two seconds.

Considering this input from Metz I asked myself if there was anything to be concerned about?

I use 2100mAh NiMh batteries and these regularly charge the flash within two seconds, considering it’s continuous shooting speed is two frames per second, I expect that if pushed the G7 could take a shot, with external flash, every 2.5 seconds, fairly close to maximum Metz warned about.

So, the short answer to the question is yes, but not very often.