Speed Booster

[Randy Johnson]

I want to get a speed booster, I think it will help me on a few levels. Is there any reason why this wont work over the Metabones adapter?
focal reducer speed booster adapter for Nikon F/G AI AIS to Sony NEX 5 6 7 FS700 FS100 VG20 EA50

[Stephen Brenner]

I doubt it will work since the flange distance of the metabones speedbooster is already set correctly and would be altered with another adapter behind the lens.

I have the metabones speedbooster for Nikon F to Blackmagic pocket camera MFT and I plan to
experiment with an Olympus WCON 08B placed on front of the lens. That should work since it doesn't alter the flange distance.

[Randy Johnson]

Just to be clear I wasnt suggestion using 2 adapters I was wondering if the cheaper speed booster would work well enough VS the metabones speed booster. the one is only $150 where the metabones is $425.

[Stephen Brenner]

Yes, it's well worth getting feedback from users on that.

There was a Chinese made speedbooster (might have been fotodiox)
that was so bad, they started to advertize it as having a "soft focus" function.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Randy

For the sake of a few hundred dollars I wouldn't go for a cheap adapter. I still have a Fotodiox dumb adapter lying in my drawer that was so tight on my Nikon lenses it damaged on and the EA-50 end just didn't fit correctly!! I have never used it so it was a total waste of money!! As already mentioned the cheap adapters will give you soft focus issues plus the optics are poor and you will end up getting the dreaded blue cast when shooting into light.

Not worth cheaping out when between the adapters you have a very expensive camera and a very expensive lens. If you have to get a speed booster then get the best.

I'm still trying to decide myself if I should buy myself the new Sigma 18-35 F1.8 zoom (about $850 here) OR should I get a Metabones adapter and just use my Nikon mount Tokina 11-16 F2.8 or Tamron 17-50 F2.8

Do Metabones make a speed booster that works well with manual lenses?? or will the fancy Smart Adapter allow my Nikon mount lens to communicate with the EA-50 ...???

Chris

[Peter Rush]

I have the RJCamera speedbooster for EF lenses

Canon EOS EF lens focal reducer speed booster adapter to Sony NEX 5 6 7 FS700 FS100 VG20 EA50

and it's great - it won't let the EA50 communicate with the lens however so it you can't manually control the iris on your lens then it will be set to the largest aperture - with manual lenses however not a problem - seems to be decent glass - I've never noticed any aberration - I use it on my VG-20 with Samyang lenses and use the metabones speedbooster for my EA50 as I use Canon glass with it

[Peter Rush]

Does anyone know how how using a focal reducer such as the metabones/RJCamera affects calculations for using a DOF calculator - ie. is a 24mm Canon EF lens still 24mm on an APS sensor camera such as the EA50 when attached to a focal reducer?

[Roger Martin]

I bought a Metabones speed booster for my GH3.
It does work as advertised.

But it is so ackward for me to use manual focus that I sent it back.

Most of my Videos are unattended continuous recordings in very poor/low light.
I traded it back in for a 12-35 f/2.8 lens.
The Panasonic is set for AF-F and works "good enough".
But, I have the GH4 on order for promise of "much better".

[Craig Marshall]

Originally Posted by Peter Rush

Does anyone know how how using a focal reducer such as the metabones/RJCamera affects calculations for using a DOF calculator - ie. is a 24mm Canon EF lens still 24mm on an APS sensor camera such as the EA50 when attached to a focal reducer?

I have only ever used manual lenses on film and video cameras for over thirty years so have built up an almost complete collection of Zeiss 'Contax' full frame prime lenses,plus one or two short Zeiss FF Zooms. All Contax lenses have the C/Y or Contax/Yashika mount which I adapt to the NEX APS-C E-Mount cameras with a genuine Metabones focal reducer ie: the 'Speed Booster' designed by Canadian optical engineer, Brian Caldwell.

I can assure you, my Full Frame 50mm F1.7 for example "is" a 50mm lens again when coupled to an APS-C sensor using the Metabones 'Speed Booster'. Of course, it now represents f1.2 at the sensor but remember, too using a genuine 'Speed Booster' not only adds that extra stop of light, it also reduces any chromatic aberration and eliminates the dreaded 'Filter Effect' caused by using some 'film' lenses on digital cameras.

[Peter Rush]

Thanks Craig - that's answered my question - I have a set of Canon L series EF lenses and the Metabones Speedbooster is the one Item I would replace in a heartbeat if I lost it!!!

[Craig Marshall]

Yes, they are a remarkable device. I'm planning to purchase a second 'Speed Booster' soon, this one a C/Y to MFT so I can adapt my Zeiss primes to the BMPCC.

[Tom Van den Berghe]

Originally Posted by Peter Rush

I have the RJCamera speedbooster for EF lenses

Canon EOS EF lens focal reducer speed booster adapter to Sony NEX 5 6 7 FS700 FS100 VG20 EA50

and it's great - it won't let the EA50 communicate with the lens however so it you can't manually control the iris on your lens then it will be set to the largest aperture - with manual lenses however not a problem - seems to be decent glass - I've never noticed any aberration - I use it on my VG-20 with Samyang lenses and use the metabones speedbooster for my EA50 as I use Canon glass with it

To bad mitakon lens turbo doesn't communicate with the powerzoom stocklens. So only the metabones speed booster communicates with the powerzoom lens?

So still can use autofocus and powerzoom with it?
What I understand of it is: wider field of image and most imortant for me: you will win some extra light.
But is the difference big you win with the stocklens in low light? Is there footage out there?

[Chris Quevedo]

i am sorry, but i think you don't understand. the speed booster can not work with NEX mount lenses. it is not possible to use the metabones speedbooster with the power zoom lens that comes with the NEX-EA50. the speed booster is made for other lens mounts like nikon, canon, pentax and minolta, but there is no way to put something between a NEX lens and a NEX camera. this simply is not possible

[Chris Harding]

Hi Tom

Chris is 100% correct no NEX to NEX adapter exists!! Why the dependence on the Power zoom??? Zooming with a manual lens isn't difficult at all and with focus peaking, manual focus is easy too!! As long as you are not doing a huge zoom even a non parfocal lens will stay in focus if you zoom just a small amount. There are very few times when you have to zoom anyway ..I mainly use zoom to reframe! There is nothing that screams "amateur video" than lots of zooms so rather use the zoom as a reframing tool than a zoom.

What shots do you have that require a 18-200??? I find that 99% of my work is between 18 and 50mm so something like my Tamron 17-50 F2.8 is a magic lens for me and obviously a lot faster than the stock lens.

In low light the new Sigma 18-35 F1.8 is going to be a killer lens!!! I'm scraping my pennies together!!

Chris

[Tom Van den Berghe]

CHris,

Because is most easy for me to zoom with the zoomrocker. I always used camcorders with small sensors and zoom rocker. I was used to it. Sometimes I need to film stage events and that 21db (I set this to max gain of 21 for me) freaks me out. For stage events I use my small panasonic HC-X920.

A bit strange. I use a small handycam to film the close-ups and the nex-ea50 to film the global picture at stage. (also because the limited 11x zoom range)

Maybe you are right and is 5 x zoom or something like that enough in most situations.

but with a mattebox and a donut ring is more difficult to use manual zoom with the zoom ring.
None of my camtree donut rings seems to match the stocklens fine.
Maybe I did this last not on the correct way.