Hi Marc,
Sorry for the long gap, but I've been offline during the holiday season (needed a break from keyboards). Happy New Year to you and everyone else reading, now I'm back!
Returning to our little discussion, you've got me confused. Chuck W states the following in the link:
"E-TTL II weights and averages the flash metering for the subject and all other objects at the same distance as the subject"
Now obviously this is specific to E-TTL II. I don't have a camera equipped with anything more recent than regular E-TTL, but what I do know is that the flash metering fails dismally if I mount a lens without a data bus. What were you trying to say, that E-TTL II *will* work without the data bus (which would seem unlikely given the info quoted above) but original E-TTL won't (which my experience certainly confirms), or what?
Yours, confuddled,
-= mike =-