Elmarit-R 90mm + Speed Booster - some quick tests

[dan_]

I have just received my new toy – the Leica R to sony NEX Speed Booster. It was not cheap, ~500$ with shipping and taxes, and my legitimate question is : was it worth?; what it does well and what it doesn't?; what would it be useful for?
As I couldn't find any samples on the Internet of the 90mm Elmarit +SB combination I’ll test it first with this lens.

My first impressions, before actually trying it, are mixed.
The good ones:
- quick shipping (FEDEX)
- well packed
- reduced customs and VAT taxes (~ 60Euros) due to the reduced invoice value
- it looks nice and robust
Not so good: it was not adjusted for infinity and I had to spent 20 minutes to adjust it properly.

My expectations.
After reading the “White paper” pdf I realized that the image created by SB+myFFlens combination, in spite of having the same angle of view, won’t match the characteristics of the same lens used on FF ( one stop faster, slightly increased contrast, possibly a little sharper in the center and softer in the corners, some added spherical aberrations, etc).
That is why I see no point in testing the combination against the FF image created by the lens without SB.
The SB+myFFlens is, in fact, a new lens and the tests should reveal how good or bad this new lens is. Due to what I read in the “White paper” I expect it to be a nice portrait, close up and, probably, all around lens but I don’t expect it to be so good at landscapes. Let’s see…

After more then a week of stormy weather yesterday the sun showed again behind the clouds and I took my NEX-7 with the 90mm Elmatit+SB combination on a walk on the beach for some quick tests.

In PP wasn't applied any sharpening but in-camera sharpness was set to +1 .

Closest distance - f/2.8

And 100% detail:


1m-3m sharpness f/5.6 – f/8

1.

and 100% detail:


2.

and 100% details:


3.

and 100% detail:


Bokeh - f/2.8-f/4

1.

and 100% detail:


2.

and 100% detail:


3.

and 100% detail:


4.

and 100% detail:





Distant landscape (camera on tripod)
The whole image :


And 100% details

f/2.8


f/5.6


f/8


f/16

[calvin83]

It looks like the speed booster with well with your Elmarit 90 on NEX-7. The center looks sharp even on full open. Thia will be a good reference to those who are considering one.

From all the reviews I have read, those focal reducer have little impact in edge performance on macro and telephoto lens than wide angle lens. However, it will also magnify the vignetting problem on telephoto lens especially when you focus at close distance.

[Rick1779]

Seems really good, but the fact is: I've payed my elmarit 90 100$~ less than the adapter, is it worth?

[Aanything]

[dan_]

[Orio]

Provided that whatever brings joy and fun to a person is good for him/her,
my personal take is that I don't really see much advantage compared to
the lot of money needed to buy it.

The x0.7 angle of view is negligible for all lenses except wides
(if I want to shoot at 63mm, I use a natural 50 or 55 mm lens,
not a 90mm lens messed up with non native optics).

The only real use, in my opinion, may be for photojournalists
or street shooters who work in the night and can actually take
advantage from a f/1.0 speed obtained from a f/1.4 lens, even
if that means to sacrifice the quality of optical performance.

But that is really a marginal use, I for instance shoot street often
and I do that in hyperfocal style. Using a f/1.0 lens means the
need to focus every time in the viewfinder and this is a luxury
that street shooters can not really afford.

In general, also, I see little point in spending a lot of money for
Leica lenses in order to couple them with chinese optics of dubious
quality.

[dan_]

[cooltouch]

[fermy]

They charge it because they can. They charge about $100 for simple LTM to m43 adapters that can be had for $5. My understanding is that they are a Chinese operation that tries to operate to higher quality standard and charge what reputable companies such as Cosina/Voigtlaender would charge. This also explains the choice of mounts: they are trying to cater to "money is no object" and professional crowd, not to budget minded.

From what I've seen, Speed Booster has a small IQ edge compared to Lens Turbo. However, Lens Turbo is $150 and is available in FD mount, which automatically makes it also useable with m42, and Nikon lenses, which makes it really a KO victory for Lens Turbo in my eyes.

[Orio]

[RnR]

Brian Cardwell posted a couple of simple resolution tests over on mu-43.com which were very interesting. The Nikon 35mm f1.8G out performed the native Panasonic 25mm f1.4. The Nikon 105 f2.5 ais got extremely close to the Olympus 75mm f1.8 lens.

http://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=52603

I have the Speed Booster for the Nikon mount and its now permanently attached to my m43 body.

[dan_]

[cooltouch]

One of the aspects of a focal reducer that I have read more than once is because it is allowing the lens to gather more light than is normal for the given lens to gather, which is in part what enables the increased angle of view, this additional gathered light not only amounts to having an additional stop in lens speed but that, in the centers of the images at least, often an increase in resolution is seen when compared to the lens with no adapter. To me this is an attractive by-product of using a focal reducer.