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Metabones lens speed booster adapter, focal reducer
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  • The Japanese test article says it's really not recommended for old lenses. That will disappoint FD users. Modern EF lenses seem ok.

  • I had a metabones m43 "dummy" adapter for F mount. The build quality was on par with Voigtlander's. Very glad about such disruptive technology from them.

  • If you open the link Vitaliy posted in Chrome, it translates it pretty well including all the text that is below each photograph sample. Thorough review that also shows how the little aperture button works, so you can adjust the aperture in different ways.

    @B3Guy The term "faster" is not a scientific term. Most ppl will interpret it to mean how the set the F-stop, and it is possible to make the lens meter at a lower F-stop. The lens is part of a system, so on a different system you can rework the lens to get a different result. So scientifically, the light is going through the front part of the lens just as it always does. Then it gets concentrated.

    The question arises--why haven't the big lens companies done this already?

  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev The old four thirds format.

  • @DrDave could be a patent issue that's not valid anymore, like some of the old anamorphic focusing technologies.

  • @b3guy it would be a dream if Cieco could take one of these and make it for OCT-19 lenses!

  • @klem007

    Try "extension tube." There, you've coined a phrase for us all :-)

  • I've got an eye out for price-drops on wide angle adapters like the DMW-GWC1. Nope, hasn't budged yet - and some sellers are even low on supply. Best to wait until the game-changing Metabones arrives and start cookin' with gas using Samyangs!

  • @B3Guy let us not muddle up apples with pears here, so I will just try to summarize:

    The lens still transmits the same amount of light as it does on a FF camera

    Correct, the same amount of light enters the adaptor

    on a crop sensor camera much of the light from a FF lens doesn't even hit the sensor

    Well.... if no optical elements stand between the lens and smaller sensor (µFT or APS-C) and if the mechanical adaptor does not change the angle of the light axis, the smaller sensor is hit with identic amount of light like this same part of the FF sensor would be. The small sensor just covers less of the image circle of the lens. If the physical sizes of pixels by both sensors are identic, each pixel perceives just the same amount of light. The big sensor just has more pixels and covers more of the image circle.

    By using the "SpeedBooster" on a crop sensor camera, you are not boosting anything, but rather are gaining back the light that you otherwise would have lost by cropping in (remember: crop sensor) on the lens' image circle

    Wrong. It indeed does boost the speed, the pixels of the smaller sensor will perceive with this adaptor more light from the same lens than pixels of the FF sensor without the adaptor- through spotting the wide light circle to narrow. Think on magnifying glass, using it by strong sunlight makes possible to spark / cause fire on the piece of paper.
    The glass is boosting sunlight from wide to narrow circle. This adaptor does just the same.

  • @tetakpatak

    This clearly needs something made in Offtopic category so theoretical discussions will continue in proper place.

  • I just tried to keep line of this topic by resolving misunderstandings some other people had here. Tried to avoid further discussion about this matter as it is not necessary.

  • @Stonebat

    The Japanese test article says it's really not recommended for old lenses. That will disappoint FD users. Modern EF lenses seem ok.

    Do they explain why ?

    Txs !

  • Some legacy lenses might scratch the glass element inside the metabones adapter. Also there might be infinity focus issue.

  • SAMYANG 35mm f/1.4 + Speed Booster = 24.8mm f/0.99 :-)

    I wonder how the 25mm SLR magic f/0.95 [prototype] will match up to all the competition?

  • The normal focal length is the most likely to do rack focusing. Samyang is known to have horrible lens breathing.

    Samyang 50mm is going to be cheaper than Samyang 35mm. Speed Booster can turn it into 35mm T1.1.

    If rack focusing is needed for telephoto, ETC on m43 25mm lens can give 65mm with less lens breathing. Or ETC on Nokton 17.5mm gives 45.5mm. But that can't match to the sharpness of Samyang 85mm at max aperture. Prolly Samyang 50mm T1.5 will be sharp, too. So Samyang lens has its place. Horses for courses.

  • I think one effect in the used market will be that lenses that really are reasonably sharp wide open will have a much higher value than ones that are not, plus some lenses that have horrible bokeh wide open will be worth less as well. Although this is certainly true already, some people will be willing to pay a lot for something that is usable in the sub-F1 category and sharpens up even more between 1.4 and 2.

  • @goanna are you affiliated with slrMagic, i get impression as you are promoting this on every thread ?

  • @feha

    are you affiliated with slrMagic, i get impression as you are promoting this on every thread ?

    Are you joking? Seriously, are you joking? Again, a little ;-) (wink) face would help.

    No, on the contrary! I am seriously exasperated at the way a couple of cherry-picked photo samples of the SLR_M 25mm are being targeted at us in order to promote a prototype lens which could be, for all we know, little more than vaporware.

    The point of my last post was this: if SLR magic are just flying this concept lens idea up the flagpole so as to estimate its potential market and price before committing to production - or else to dissuade competitors from engaging in R&D of a similar product, then the news of the imminent speed booster will throw a spanner in the works. These days, even an oily spanner's smell will scare off buyers.

    The Metabones Speed Booster looks like a a game changer which could well put R&D of future fast wide lenses like the 25mm f/0.95 on the manufacturing back-burner.

    As a journalist I sit on the fence and try not to imply improper emphasis. Unfortunately I often hope in vain that readers will read between the lines.

    Unfortunately again, spelling it all out like I am doing now gets misinterpreted, yet again, as if I am against the SLR-M lens. (As if I am psychic or have enough info to have any opinion of this lens - except the samples which seem to show good close-up, wide-open performance!)

    Like @stonebat, I can have no idea how good this lens is, nor can I possibly have a clue about the Digital Bolex or any other equipment sleazily revealed to us a teaspoonful at a time.

    I have no such reservations about the Metabones offering. Their white paper is comprehensive, sourced and easy to understand. Their testing is the kind we have come to expect.

    The people who do indeed seem to have bought shares in SLR-Magic are probably the ones wasting all us Voigtlander users' time with incessant comparisons and unhelpful criticism. Now they've got two threads: one for their favourite SLR-M dream project, and another where they can do their comparisons. Now we can all be happy!

  • @klem007 the Four Thirds sensor (43) is the same size as micro Four Thirds (m43), only the flange distange is shorter on m43 since there is no mirror. Thus there is no point and it is not possible to make such version of speedbooster.

  • @goanna @feha

    Haha. I'm gearing toward SLR 25mm because it's cheaper and has a clickless circular iris and built-in lens gears. Yes I like SLR 12mm and Nokton 17.5mm, too. But that wouldn't make me affiliated with either company.

    I don't think the Speed Booster would replace native m43 lenses. It just adds more choices to m43 arsenals.

  • @stonebat , sure i like 12mm but not in this form it is constructed ... Speed Booster is great for other FF lenses but as you said the native m4/3 can't be replaced ... ups, we are going out of the topic ...

  • I wonder who's gonna invent such adapter for m43 lenses to be used on 1" system camcorder in the future :)

  • I'm hoping someone does it for FF-35 so they can go shoot with IMAX or OMNIMAX lenses! FF-65mm is bigger than some M4/3 cameras!

  • I have being out for a while, but this sounds exiting. But from my understanding, this cannot be used on our micro 4/3 camera right?

  • Not yet, but Metabones announced a future m43 version of it.