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-   Sony NEX-EA50 (all variants) (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nex-ea50-all-variants/)
-   -   Speed Booster (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nex-ea50-all-variants/522739-speed-booster.html)

Randy Johnson April 27th, 2014 08:07 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
Chris,
Im not sure what you mean by Canon glass. I dont have anything Canon I have a NEX camera and Nikon mount Lenes. I took the Tamoron 17-50 on a job today with the Speed Booster and it was great that extra stop really helped. I used the digital zoom to cover up the vinetting I only had to go to 1.2. My only issues were the same issues I would have with any converter. Manual Iris/focus and no servo zoom made for a awkward shoot if they ever released the 18-35 at 1.8 with a NEX mount I would be first in line.

Chris Harding April 27th, 2014 10:09 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
Hey Randy

Sorry! I thought you had a bunch of Canon lenses! If I'm shooting on the 18-35 with a dumb adapter I just crank the lens wide open (You are in low light and if the stock lens at F3.5 isn't going to cut it, then it makes sense to go to F1.8) So I let the camera expose for me with a theoretical fixed F1.8 lens. At 18mm you have heaps of DOF so for things like people dancing, you seldom need to change focus and I simply focus on people in the middle of the floor. At 35mm it's a little tighter but still you seldom need to change focus so the extra effort is just an initial focus and you can run the cam almost as a point and shoot.

For me, I would rather not use digital zoom at all as it does degrade the image despite what Sony says!! and instead of buying a speed booster, I'd rather put that towards a lens I can use on both my still cameras and EA-50's .... even in manual, the Sigma is awesome ... I shot virtually the entire reception last night without using a video light at all. Nice to be in a venue and your camera sits around 3 -6db gain only!!!

Chris

Craig Marshall April 28th, 2014 06:27 AM

Re: Speed Booster
 
I think the Metabones 'Speed Booster' is a very misunderstood device and often purchased for the wrong reasons. Perhaps it's name is a great marketing tool but as I see it, it's real benefit is to adapt all those superb vintage Full Frame 'film' SLR lenses to modern APS-C and MFT sensors and cure the ‘Filter Effect’ along the way!

To explain: the Metabones built device will improve contrast but it also corrects aberrations cause by the low-pass/infrared/sensor cover glass filter pack (used on CMOS sensors) when fitting ‘film’ lenses on digital cameras. The fact that it also doubles the amount of light hitting the sensor is a very nice spinoff!

Randy Johnson April 28th, 2014 02:21 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
Chris,
When you say you let the camera handle the exposer do you mean through shutter speed?

Chris Harding April 28th, 2014 06:40 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
Hi Randy

Yes, that's correct but only partially!! In low light venues I just keep the iris wide open and then allow the camera to set the shutter (normally it will set it at 1/50 anyway) and the camera will also adjust iso/gain automatically.

When I'm sometimes using a dumb lens in bright light ..if I leave the iris wide open obviously the shutter will scream up to something like 1/6000 or even more so I simply close the iris until the shutter gets down to the range I want it. At weddings I'm not really phased about shutter speed as it has to be super high to affect video and as long as I can hover around the 1/100th to 1/300th that's great so really, I just turn the aperture control on the adapter until the shutter speed is in the low 100's and I'm done.

All this of course falls over if you are shooting progressive where shutter speed needs to be a multiple of frame rate ... I only shoot in 50i as it's easy simple and works for everything.

Chris

Steven Digges April 29th, 2014 01:46 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
Craig, I agree that they are highly misunderstood. This thread has become a good example of misinformation about them. They are not just for full frame lenses. They are not hard or fussy about attachment, but there is a proper way to do it. They are not just for adapting old classic lenses. I use the smart adapter on my Canon EF lenses and it works great. Even at 16mm because it does not have the focal reducer element in it.

They are a very versatile tool. Even though they are a simple adapter you still need to understand how it works. I'm still not sure if Randy knows it has a green mode and an advanced mode? Those things are activated by how you attach it. You can also choose which one you want for a default. The green mode is useless for EA50 shooters, it is not there for us.

I don't like to see people who may benefit from a good piece of gear get steered away from it because of bad info on a forum but it happens all the time. I am not saying they don't have quirks. In fact, I think Gabe is one who has battled with them? Did you ever get everything working for you Gabe?

My bottom line is this: for $400.00 I am able to use about $10,000.00 worth of Canon glass on my EA50. I think that is a damn good deal. They are not for everyone, but if you already owned the glass or want glass that will work on a SLR body and your NEX body they can't be beat.

Steve

Craig Marshall April 29th, 2014 02:36 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
Steven wrote: "My bottom line is this: for $400.00 I am able to use about $10,000.00 worth of Canon glass on my EA50. I think that is a damn good deal. They are not for everyone, but if you already owned the glass or want glass that will work on a SLR body and your NEX body they can't be beat."

Precisely. In my case: "for $400.00 I am able to use about $10,000.00 worth of Carl Zeiss glass on my VG20. I think that is a damn good deal. They are not for everyone, but if you already owned the glass or want glass that will work on an SLR body, APS-C (or MFT body with the correct model), they can't be beat."

Randy Johnson April 29th, 2014 03:08 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
The reason I started this thread was to try and get through a lot of the mis information. After getting into it I realized that there are so many different types of users that I couldnt get a straight answer of how it effected me personally so I just went ahead and bought one. I am happy with my purchase and I hope to find a lens that is wide but doesn't vignette with it.

Randy Johnson May 1st, 2014 02:54 PM

Re: Speed Booster
 
Just to update you guys if you are looking at a speed booster, My photographer friend let me at his collection of old lenses. I was like a kid in a candy store, He had a old Nikon 28-105 at 3.5-5 and it worked great it was brighter and the lens had a good feel. He gave it to me. Then I tried a 18-200 like the stock lens but now its brighter and a bit wider. He gave me that one to. The third one was a wide angle 13 mm @ 1.4 that would mount on the speed booster but was nice for special stuff. fortunately for me all these lenses were broken with problems that he couldnt use but I could:) focus motors, zoom motors or just wouldnt communicate with the camera anymore. If I try any more lenses I will add them to the list so you guys can get an idea of what works and what doesnt.


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