Metabones - Speed Booster

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

I've paid 15€ for my 0,5x focal reducer.
You can buy them for 50€ new in 2" size.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/2-Focal-Reducer-0-5fach-f-Teleskop-Brennweitenreducer-/370328345452?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item56394a1b6c
They work good from 0,3-0,7x (similar quality loss as with normal teleconverters)
That price is ok for playing around!

600$ is much too much imho!
150€ for an such an adapter, made from MC ED glass would be a fair price.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Anything that reduces IQ is a waste of time, what's the point of taking a good lens and reducing it's quality, might as well have saved your money and just bought a cheap crap lens in the first place.

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

That makes no sense at all to me, put a huge heavy lens on a tiny camera. What use is speed like that anyways, unless you want to play at being Stanley Kubrick and shooting by candle light, and even then, a normal speed lens will do the job just as well if your technique is correct. What will the IQ be like? If the medium format lens has, let's say, 75lp/mm resolution, which is enough for razor sharp mf film shots, what's it going to look like on the tiny Q sensor? And modifying the light path so drastically is bound to have an effect on the IQ, probably the greater the ratio of compression, the greater the effect on the IQ. A moderate ratio, such as going from 35mm to APS-C might give an acceptable reduction in IQ but a severe compression such as from a 70mm image circle down to the fly speck of the Q sensor is likely to have a proportionately greater effect on the IQ.

I'm all for experimentation, but it needs to have at least some sound theory behind it.

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

I believe going from 135 to APS-C with a good 20-30mm difference in the flange focal distance could allow for relatively stress-free reducing of the FL, so I'm pretty giddy about this adapter. Considering that, e.g., SLR Magic's 35/0.95 for APS-C costs $1300, this adapter @ $600 which will allow me to mount my Zuiko 50/1.2 (which could be purchased for ~$400) and use it like a 33.3mm F0.9 lens, is certainly not a bad deal. And of course, I'll get to mount my Zuiko 21/2, 28/2 and use them as if they were mounted on my 5Dmk2, as well. Those currently do not have equivalents on the E-mount system (14mm f1.4, 18mm f1.4) and when we do see equivalents, say, from Zeiss, you can bet they will have a price tag that goes far beyond $600.

Also, regarding medium format lenses, it's kind of silly to think about an adapter that will compress that to Pentax Q sensor.

However, if you think that basically the same exact optical formula (reduction factor 1.5x) but with slightly larger elements could convert a Hasselblad/Zeiss V-mount lens (say Planar 110/2) to act as the lenses were intended on a 1.5x crop square sensor like CFV-16 (as a 73mm f1.4 lens), then something like that is VERY interesting for Hasselblad and other 6x6 shooters, like me.

It's kind of frustrating that so many people fail to see exactly how truly exciting this development is… I'm reminded of the time when Apple first introduced the iPod (and later iTunes) and I was running around trying to tell people how truly amazing it was and that how it would revolutionize how we interact with music, and so many people were like "Bleh, I like my Nomad better" Smile

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

Needless to say, I'm purchasing this adapter pronto. I just need to raise $600 Very Happy

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

I don't see how it's exciting, then again I'm not obsessed with the speed of lenses, shooting wide open is not something I think is worth doing most of the time. I don't an ipod and have never used itunes either, I was listening to MP3s in the mid 90s so I don't think that analogy is that true.

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

Well there you go, you're not obsessed with the speed of lenses. So it's something that is not exciting to you, personally, but surely you understand that, seeing how many, many, many, many people DO care about the speed of lenses, how something like this could be very exciting to people other than you, no?

I'm perfectly fine with people who come out and declare that they are not personally interested in XYZ. I just find it mildly annoying when people come out and declare that XYZ is not something (other) people should be interested in. Not to say that you said so, but I AM hearing a lot of exaclty such sentiment.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

That's a lot of manys. Smile

Considering most of the photos I see taken with ultra speed lenses at full aperture are crappy then yes, I fail to see the excitement.

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

Also, it's not *just* about the speed of lenses; as I mentioned above, this technology will allow, for the first time ever, legacy Hasselblad/Zeiss (and other 6x6 and larger medium format) shooters to use our lenses as they were originally intended using extant technology.

We are probably never going to see a full-size 6x6 (or 6x7 or 6x9) sensor, which means all the lenses that existed for MF systems other than 645 could only be used "cropped".

Until now.

With the same technology, all 6x6 lenses (for SLR MF) can be used "natively" on a 1.5x crop MF sensor like the CFVII and 16. All SLR MF lenses of the 6x7, 6x8, and 6x9 variety can be used natively on a full frame 645 sensor like the current top of the line MF digital backs like IQ180.

THIS is very very very exciting.

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Let's see the resulting image quality first before we get excited. Also, where do you put the adapter? There's no room between the lens and body to put it in, say, a hasselblad system, it only works with mirrorless cameras because the register is much shorter than the system the lenses were designed for.

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

This article is good:

http://philipbloom.net/2013/01/13/speedbooster/

"It’s easy to assume it would, as you are all aware that teleconverters adapters basically will magnify the aberrations of the given lens.

The reverse is true for the MetaBones ‘Speed Booster’ as it compresses the image and reduces lens aberration for the given lens. Of course, the adapter is not completely aberration free, but still taking this into account, there is a significant improvement in MTF compared to the given lens used without the ‘Speed Booster’."

wow!

I want different mounts for all my mf lenses to use with my OM-D! I hope the chinese would make good cheap ones Wink

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

Well, I just got the funds I need so I went ahead and ordered my copy today Smile

Will let you guys know what I think as soon as I get it.

caerwall · Joined: 11 Nov 2010 Posts: 51

Yes, I have had mine for a few days. I like it. There are things it could do better. But if the benefits of this adapter are not self evident then I think we re all wasting our time trying to "sell" it to anyone not interested. For those that are: read the "White Paper" on the Metabones site - it caters for the theory, the good points, the concessions made (not to make it capable of generating f0.7), the warts and some samples. From a round up of the various first impressions and reviews no one is saying that the white paper is incorrect in it's claims.

I can enjoy it, others might think it waste of time for 1,001 reasons all of which may make some sort of sense. But others can see the giant step this device has made for the usefulness of a whole host of lenses made for 35mm film imaging circle.

Unsaid is that it gives aps-c size sensors a new lease of life just when the FF sensor size was working up a charge. Nothing wrong with a FF sensor but nothing wrong with leveraging diversity either.

Tom

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

by now there are also non-AF speed booster adapters for Alpa, Leica R and C/Y available, first costs 449.-, the others 399.- usd
http://www.metabones.com/product/sony-nex/alpa-lens-to-sony-nex-speed-booster-detail
http://www.metabones.com/product/sony-nex/leica-r-lens-to-sony-nex-adapter-detail
http://www.metabones.com/product/sony-nex/contax-yashica-lens-to-sony-nex-speed-booster-detail

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29

Yeah, basically I'm like passed the stage of being really curious about this adapter…. it's now GLUED to my NEX6 pretty much. I'm just shooting it with my Zuiko lenses like I would a compact FF.

Shooting 28/2 on it is fantastic

Snowland by Dr. RawheaD, on Flickr

50/1.2 seems to give me a bit more color fringing that when on the 5Dmk2, but at the same time, the 5Dmk2 would not have been able to make this shot:

Shot with NEX6 + SB + OM50/1.2

This was shot with the camera on tripod set up 1 m away from the bird feeder and me inside the house using the NEX6 remote app for my iPhone. Before taking this shot, I stood 5 m away from the feeder with my 4x5 camera absolutely still for over 30 minutes. Not once did a cardinal land on the bird feeder while I froze my ass off. With the remote function and me inside the house, birds were landing within 5 minutes Smile

Nikos · Expire: 2015-01-02

brianc1959 · Joined: 23 Jan 2013 Posts: 7 Location: Virginia, USA

rawhead · Expire: 2014-04-29