Metz 50 AF-1 ?

Does anyone have experience with the Metz 50 AF-1? I found a few threads on TDP regarding alternative flashes for Canon but no mention of anyone's experience with this flash in particular. Statistically it matches up very close to the 430 EX II but I can pick it up the Metz for $70 cheaper than the Canon and I can pick it up locally. This is my first off camera flash by the way and though I was initially was aiming for the 580 EX II I think either the Metz 50 or Canon 430 would be a better jumping off point for my pocket book; down the road they would also make a very nice secondary flash if I really get into flash work.

I use the Metz 48, which is a previous model. It works very well with my 400D. I have never tried any Canon flash on my DSLR, but i found that the Metz was very user-friendly, and consistently gives me nice pictures, except when I forget to reset the settings. It is easy to play around with over/under exposure and the ETTL works nice. In fact, it has inspired me to play around with flash more than I had thought. For me, it was well worth the money, and I also saved about 70-90 euros.

I do not know how compatible it is with accesories such as radio-transmitters or slaves, but I bought an extension cable for macro, and that works nice.

Lars