Got it. So across manufacturers like say for the Metz-AF-1 charging times can be different, but for a single flash manufacturer they remain constant like OEn
Nope, the manufacturer has nothing to do with it. It's all about your choice of size and power.
Just like every manufacturer has their own version of almost every body made, every manufacturer has their own version of every flash, and they really all work near identically. I wouldn't be surprised if they all came from the same factory, they're all so similar. The only reason you choose one manufacturer over the other is compatibility with your complete system. Each manufacturer has their own offerings which parallel that of each other manufacturer.
There are different types of flash which are equivalent across manufacturers. For instance, the Olympus FL-50R is like the Canon 580EXII, which is like the Nikon SB900. They all provide similar power and recycle rates. Likewise, the Olympus FL-600R is like the Canon 430EXII, which is like the Vivitar 285HV (and I can't think of the Nikon equivalent off-hand, lol). They all exhibit similar power and recycle times to each other. It all depends on if you want something more portable with less power, or something larger with more power. The recycle time varies depending on that choice of power, not manufacturer (the Olympus FL-36R was a rare exception because it used half the batteries at only 2 cells, which made its recycle time much slower than the normal 4-cell units). If you're putting out twice the power with a larger flash, then it's going to take that much longer to recycle. However, if you use a larger flash and halve the power, then you will see the same recycle time as a half-size flash putting out the same power, but at full power for that flash. That is where the recycle time is approximately equivalent across all the various 4-cell flash units. The Olympus FL-600R by the way, is essentially the same as the old FL-36R except with 4 batteries instead of 2 giving it much faster recycle times (equivalent to the FL-50R), and the addition of a continuous video light (which can also be used as a low-light focus aid). The Canon 430EXII type flash units also have the same specs.
So I don't mind doing manual, and yes indeed primes will be what I'm using. Didn't know that about the Canon TTL cable nor compatibility. I'm not sure what a remote commander is so I'll need to look that up. Also it sounds like in order for the camera to sync with the flash I will need a cable regardless (I apologize for such terrible new guy questions) because I doubt I will need TTL that desperately.... So would buying a 'wireless' flash would be overkill as I don't need full wireless capability nor TTL? And if that is the case would you or anyone recommend an older or more simple flash with good recyc time? I appreciate this immensely Ned. Lifesaver you are!
The Remote Commander comes built-in with your camera. The Four-Thirds (the old DSLR system) and Micro Four-Thirds systems use the same flash system with the same wireless flash control across all brands, not just hotshoe compatibility. Olympus has been using remote wireless triggering via an optical commander included in their pop-up flash units since 2007 (years before Micro Four-Thirds existed). Panasonic however, only just introduced a Remote Commander into their pop-up flash as early as your GH3 model. So buying Panasonic you just barely got into the wireless technology. Any R-series flash units from Olympus (ie, FL-300R, FL-36R, FL-600R, FL-50R... listed from smallest to largest) or Panasonic L-series flash units (ie, FL360L, the Panny equivalent to the Oly FL-600R) are capable of receiving wireless controls from that built-in flash commander.
As for whether it's worth the investment to buy wireless-capable flash units if you're not going to use that TTL capability, I would say yes. One big reason for that is that since the Four-Thirds wireless flash system is optical, our wireless units have one huge advantage (Nikon flash units, which also uses an optical system for wireless, has the same advantage). That is, the ability to function as an optical slave which will trigger off any flash fired. This is a huge boon for manual shooters, allowing large complex lighting arrays without the need for an endless expense of costly radio triggers or cumbersome PC cables. To add a single Pocket Wizard transceiver to your system for instance, is another $200, for just one single light, on top of the $200 for the transceiver you attach to your camera. Now think about doing that for a full 6-point speedlight system. Some people swear by radio, but mostly they either don't use many lights (ie, like your wedding and event photographer with a mobile flash unit shooting at events full of other photographers, not your studio-style commercial photographer like me, shooting large lighting systems in my own dedicated shoots) or they have bottomless pockets from a different day job ('cause working as a photographer sure doesn't pay for those mass amount of triggers).
Of course you would fall into the event category so radio would be a good choice for you, but if you're interested in learning manual and want to expand your system, then you should keep your options open. Now, optical slave capabilities can be added to any flash unit (including old cheap vintage flash units from the film era) by use of an external optical eye mounted to your flash foot. These are still going to run you about $65 apiece however, so unless you can save a huge amount by buying non-wireless (which won't happen if you're looking at modern OEM units, but can happen if you're looking at vintage film-era units), then if your Olympus flash can come built in with an optical sensor, why not use it?
This is all looking at future potential capabilities, though. As far as your single event flash mounted to your flash bracket and preferably hard-wired to your camera... you will not need any wireless capabilities. I would not purposely close that door, however.
