Image on top: The Metabones Speed Booster.
Metabones created an amazing adapter with the Speed Booster. And it’s also a very pricey tool. You pay $399 for a manual adapter and up to $599 for an electronic adapter. So if you are praying for for a cheaper alternative than your prayers will be listened by the Chinese company Mitakon. I have been informed that these guys are going to launch a much more affordable “speed booster” alike adapter in July. Price will be at least the half of the Metabones. Of course we have to see 1) if the quality of those adapters will be as good as the Metabones 2) and how the heck Mitakon will avoid to get into a patent dispute with Metabones.
back to the Metabones adapter. They are shipping at Metabones website. Those are the different versions:
ALPA to NEX ([shoplink 16469 ebay]check Alpa lenses here on eBay[/shoplink]).
Canon EF to NEX ([shoplink 17391 ebay]check Alpa lenses here on eBay[/shoplink]).
Contarex to NEX ([shoplink 16478 ebay]check Contarex lenses here on eBay[/shoplink]).
Contax C/Y to NEX ([shoplink 17392 ebay]check Alpa lenses here on eBay[/shoplink]).
Nikon F to NEX ([shoplink 17393 ebay]check Alpa lenses here on eBay[/shoplink]).
Leica R to NEX ([shoplink 16471 ebay]check Leica R lenses here on eBay[/shoplink]).
—
Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
79 Responses
Well, the patent is still pending. I’d also like to a more affordable adapter if the quality is good enough.
The metabones adapter are really pricey, esp. when you want several of them.
And on top of that: I doubt there will be any dispute. Focal reducers are known for ages, it’s not anything new on a market.
Ok, I give up. There was a second part to this comment, but after 16 attempts to post it – I’m done. Someone needs to throw out this commenting system into a garbage bin.
yes it sucks.
Since there is FF nex coming, they might make medium format => 35mm focal reducer as well.
Oh, wait… there is VG900 already…
lol… i don’t think that chinese will care of any patent at all… they will just sell it alot. btw metabones prices are outta this world anyway – they’d better revise their prices
The Speed boosters I want (EF and C/Y) has been out of stock since long. Clearly Metabones underestimated the market. An alternative would be great as long as it is on par with Metabones IQ wise.
OPTICS is the main thing, can Mitakon create just as good optics?
That’s the $300 question.
just as good as what??? metabones optics is good?? basic sony lens quality optics? or premium zeiss quality optics?
just look at the teleconverter prices. kenko is like $20, sigma is $300, sony is $500, leica APO teleconverter is $900
so i am guessing metabones is like sigma quality?
There is no direct comparison for the Metabones adapter IQ wise. Once Mitakon brings their version, anyone can do a comparison and we’ll know if Mitakon delivers or not. Frankly, although the Metabone’s design appears to come from two guys in the US, where they source their glass and how well is cut is another matter.
Most reviews suggest that the adapter is of good enough quality that no lens is able to loose resolution as compared to its nominal FF resolution. They all seem to gain a little in some places and in others a little more (usually the centre) so Mitakon has to show it can do the same at least. I mean, I find it difficult to pay even $150 for an adapter that makes my lenses hazy, or has a decentering issue.
“Most reviews suggest that the adapter is of good enough quality that no lens is able to loose resolution as compared to its nominal FF resolution.” – that’s a total BS.
@Sky-Walker
Say what?
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/01/metabones-magic
http://www.eoshd.com/content/9485/metabones-speed-booster-adapter-full-review
Kenko teleconverter for $20? Where?
Well the optics are designed and manufactured by US company called Caldwell Photographic, google/bing/yahoo/yandex that name and read about what they do. Then ask yourself: are the optics any good?
Actually, Mr. Caldwell’s last consumer outing was an unmitigated failure. The 60mm Coastal APO macro was plagued with hot spotting in the IR spectrum, and it wasn’t discovered until well after the lens was shipping. All this for $5000, and there was never a fix.
high quality teleconverters usually got a 7 element design. I don’t know enough about optics to say something definite but I guess that there are enough imperfections that cannot be corrected with a 4 element design to justify the 7 element design. Since the speedbooster really is just a teleconverter in terms of optics, the speed booster probably is not the pinnacle of teleconverter/compressor evolution to say the least. It’s good enough for most of us though.
(speedbooster got a 4/4 design)
How patentable a reasonably well-known optical phenomenon can be is debatable. More likely Mitakon will just have to avoid using the same optical formula and overall design.
As an owner of the metabones speedbooster I think their prices are ok for the quality of glass you get in the adapter. I hope these new ones aren’t just a cheap and nasty version that degrades the lens quality and that they don’t give all “speedboosters” a bad name as they are a great product for a FF FOV on aps-c.
I’d rather prefer a more expensive Metabones SB for a variety of mounts.
c’mon ppl! do you really think that piece of metal with one single lens inside cost twice or 4 times as fully autofocused sigma e-mount lenses for example? (not bad lenses btw) it’s overpriced.
SB is a very delicate piece of equipment, with 4/4 formula BTW.
even that doesn’t judge the 4x price of sigma 30/2.8 with 7/5 formula and all that autofocus motors etc.
its not more delicate than your average teleconverter. And these don’t cost more than lenses. I don’t care about the EF electronics. I just want a dumb speedbooster, preferably with interchangeable bayonets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Teleconverter.png (olympus TC)
Sony charge $550 for their converters.
even that doesn’t judge the 4x price of sigma 30/2.8 with 7/5 formula and all that autofocus motors etc.
If you want something cheap buy the mitakon one, leave the quality to people who appreciate it
Actually, metabones products arent known for being flawless. I don’t remeber exactly which but one of their NEX adapters got problems for instance (I think the contax one).
Well, from my experience of using MIC clone products, my comment is “what-you-pay-is -what-you-get”. For example, you pay 1/3 price for a MIC studio light for a Clone verison of Swiss made model, you get 1/3 life span or even shorter from it. The price different creates alternative market which the consumers is not affordable to the high price. That’s compromise of quality. As I know, Mitakon used to make projector lenses and make the legendary 35mm f/0.95 E-mount lenses. She knows the optic science well but might not be the same to the electronic parts. I used to use metabones smart adapter and MIC alternative the performance of metabones is stable while the MIC just sometimes too buggy that beyond your imagination. If you are going to use manual focus, then it might be worthwhile to wait for the MIC. If EOS is your need. I think you should pay for a reliable one.
I don’t think a patent is possible on this device becouse they have been used for a long time in astronomy.
+1
Only a design patent could apply to the exact product, not the concept.
For that matter, putting a magnifying glass in front of an image is not patentable. Nor are the mounts either side of the glass (those belong to Sony and Canon or whoever). So all they have to do is make their magnifying glass non-identical to the Metabones one (and I’m sure someone out there could do a better job than them). A piece of glass surrounded by a couple cents of brass and paint doesn’t suddenly become $500 just because you are a perfectionist. Even with the best machining, mounting, and a single piece of glass (please request them from Sigma) it can’t possibly cost more than a couple hundred to make a nice profit. Metabones have always been overpriced and its competition like this that may drive their prices down, so even diehard Metabones fans should appreciate this effort.
For example, Canon FD-to-EOS adapter with lens inside to allow infinity focus – available on Ebay from $25-$100.
Hopefully it will be fully functional with a mouunt.
This type of option is one more reason the new sony ff e nex needs to be higher ..resolution than 24mp
I’ve been getting outstanding results with Speed Booster and the NEX-7—and the price is worth these results.
Is there room for a competitor? Oh yea. Is there room for improvement on the product? Oh yea.
Patents!? China is not a member of International Patent Organization. So they can easily TAKE the idea and remake it. And… I think the are right not to join this Patent mumbo-jumbo, it all just increases prices and stopping progress.
your comment shows ignorance
Yet if USA sells same product as China sells, but for 10x more price, paul will still sellout USA and buys China made of same quality, just like all USA citizen sellout USA to save $$$
But it’s OK if you close your eyes and save a few bucks, right?
There is no such group as the International Patent Organisation, it’s called World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). That you can’t get this right tells us how valid your opinion is.
Second – China joined WIPO in 1980 and is still a member.
Third – Whether or not China is or is not a member has no bearing when the product is sold into a market that has recognition of the relevant patent. The product can be removed from that market by a court order and a reparation order made.
+1
There’s also something about china being able to sell knockoffs internally. Looks at iPhone knockoffs, BMW and Mercedes knockoffs, etc.
Now that a speed booster exists and people like it there are likely to be more competitors in the near future.
I hope mitakon will make Alpha version of speedbooster. It is really strange Metabones don’t have Alpha mount scheduled, and is not sure to make it in future.
I think it wouldn’t be hard to make fully LA-EA1 like functionality with Alpha mount speedbooster.
Even better would be to see speedbooster with AF like in LA-EA2 directly from Sony. If priced right then we could live without FF NEX. Maybe upcoming hybrid camera is using something like this? Sony is well known from strange solutions.
Probably because A-mount and E-mount protocol are different, because Metabones already have EF=E adaptor, sticking focal reducer into it is simpler…
Well you don’t know how much different A and E protocols are. EF and E are different for sure and metabones could make adapter from scratch. Making of Alpha LA-EA1 wouldn’t be harder because they can use reverse engineering of LA-EA1.
Anyway the most important thing of EF speedbooster is lenses Image Stabilization. With Sony Alpha LA-EA1 like AF is useless in most situations and there aren’t many IS lenses. It is shame that Tamron criples Sony mount lenses. I regret that Tamron 24-70/2.8 VR for Sony doesn’t have VR, and still have same price like Nikon and Canon mounts.
More people will use it with canon or nikon lenses because because sony a. lenses don’t have stabilization
Since there is FF nex coming, they might make medium format => 35mm focal reducer as well.
Oh, wait… there is VG900 already…
That would be cool!
The answer to your second question is simple. Since it is a Chinese company, it will just raise a specific finger to Metabones.
Another good gadget they could make is a combination e mount adaptor with and bellows or variable length extension tube.
This would allow focusing from infinity to macro with a normal lens.
It could be available in canon or nikon mounts as sony mount would not have image stabilzation.
Deluxe models could even have tilt shift capability.
If sony would scale up their best 24mp c size sensor to 54mp full frame of the same quality we wouldn’t. Need this adapter, We could crop to c.
24MP APSC scales to 36MP FF, keeping the same pixel pitch (1.5x Ratio). 50+MP would double the number of pixels and you have a chance of losing out on ISO performance due to a pixel nearly twice as small.
Wrong. 1.5×1.5 is 2.25
2.25X24 is 54 megapixels.
Same pixel density same quality.
It can be done!.
“ISO performance” has nothing to do with pixel size, only with total area of sensor
I always thought it was pixel size, main reason why A65/77 performs worse in high ISO RAW than A37/A57.
Then there’s HTC, look at their claim with their “Ultrapixel” camera on HTC One phone. Exactly the same thing. Larger pixel. How does area of the sensor affect ISO performance? A bigger pixel receives more light and is capable of better distinguishing photons from electronic noise. I don’t see how sensor area has anything to do with it at the same effective F/Stop.
It is pixel size.
A 24mp c and a 54mp full frame sensor have the same pixel size snd would have the same performanc including iso.
Thats why i am specifically asking for sony to make that resolution sensor.
So now that I think of it, I don’t think they can compete with other FF’s if they just scale it up. I mean it will have a performance similar to A77/A65, which is ISO800 before noise becomes a problem. Currently most FF’s are close to ISO2500 and A99 is at ISO1600. Don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Sony’s own 36mp sensor seems like a better sensor for the job. Don’t you think?
For me resolution is more important and i am sufficiently satisfied with the quality of the a77.
Besides the new nex 7n is a little faster and sony can match that in the nex9 at 54mp.
So personally i prefer 54mp.
If sony is only willing to do 36mp at least it will be something and i would consider it a small victory.
My dream camera would be a 81mp square ff, but I believe I would be wasting everyones time even asking for that.
And, you’re completely missing the point of this adapter.
It is for people without FF cameras that have FF lenses
It is for people who would like to gain in the F/Stop range on their APSC camera
It is for people who don’t mind spending 600 for an adapter.
I do understand your point but I really really really really want a high megapixel camera!
Not trying to be negative but what’s that good for? I’m always annoyed by the file handling of my panoramas. If all my photographs suddenly became as unwieldy as my panoramas, it’d be really a nightmare.
You have a choice. You can set the res lower or not use a super high res camera.
But why should it not be made for those of us that need or want it.
Here is attitude.
Image quality is very important and i do not discourage the quest for higher and higher 24mp image quality.
The current best 24mp c image quality is excellent but i need to see more detail in my images.
There is room in this world for both of us.
Many higher IQ cameras are being developed and thats a good thing. There are no reasonably usable super high res cameras out there.
I would really like to see a camera like that made.
It greatly concerns me that so many people say 24mp is enough and no one needs more.
I want sony to know that many of us want and need more.
I have no objection to sony making 100 different 24mp cameras for everone else but make one 54mp camera for me and everyone like me.
I would also hope that other people who want higher resolution would speak out and keep speaking out until sony hears us.
The voices of we don’t need more seem to be drowning out our voices.
Noone is saying that there shouldn’t be a high res camera. I thought we were discussing the adapter and its use 🙂
Admin, any news about the nex 7n ?
Am I the only one a little bit skeptical about the quality output of these adaptors?
Probably, since Metabones adapter has had multiple reviews and multiple tests already. In general, the results were as advertised.
Maybe this will force Metabones to get off their backsides and put a Nikon to Nex speedbooster out there… The only options I see for a speedbooster on the Metabones site is a Alpa, Contax, Canon and Leica.
Patents are for patent trolls and lawyer to make an obscene amount of money without moving a brain cell.
There’s no problem with patents, since Caldwell’s patent only concerns the lens design itself how he managed to get compress the full frame image circle to APS-C with crop factor 1.09 – every other lens design might get patent protection as well, because e.g. no company can get a patent for a 50mm lens itself, but only for it’s construction.
Well, so since I’m only looking forward to Canon FD plus probably Leica-R I’m quite glad I’ll get options to choose from…
As other’s have pointed out Metabones patent (as are all lens patents) protecting their *particular implementation* of this idea not on the general optics of a focal reducer. That’s something the admin here should grok about patents.
Either the Chinese company will make a direct copy (it happens) and Metabones will go after them (and prevent import into the US on patent infrigment grounds).
Or, more likley, the Chinese company will use a different optical formula which may well not be as good.
Wait until they ship and we’ll know when we test them.
There’s an Alpha to NEX speedbooster? o.o Hm, considering purchasing this. Will work well with my future NEX FF purchase ;P
Is it true that some people has problem with zeiss lens ? Metabones just confirm list of working zeiss glass with SB but what about the rest zeiss like 25 f2 ,28 f2 ,50 f1.4 ????
Just some hints to the manufacturers, although Metabones makes a good solution for this purpose, it is not perfect. The limitation of speed booster is that it is a one-for-all solution. It has to deal with different kind of optical design thus the result may be varies from each lenses. Unlike the astronomic scope, the specific reducer is made to produce the best result for the unique design of scope optic. If I were the manufacturer, I may try to produce three categories, such as ultrawide to medium wide, standard to medium tele and tele to super-tele reducer. I think the problem of CA and vignette would be reduced obviously. Of course, an universal solution might be produced to satisfy the general users while the other three types might used to serve the enthusiast. Just my two sense.
I don’t understand the tech very well, but is there a chance we could see something like this for A mount one day? As in A mount FF reduced to a mount apsc?