Metabones Speed Booster – FS100 vs 5D Mark III from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.
That new Metabones Speed Booster adapter created quite a buzz on Internet. But the main question is…how good does it actually work? And finally we have two test to check out.
1) First Andrew from EosHD (Click here) wrote a long review and posted this short list of pros and cons list:
Pros
- 1 stop increase in low light performance
- Full frame look – wider field of view, shallower DOF, attractive vignette and light fall off towards corners
- Extremely good value for money (look at the saving over buying alternative full frame video solution like Canon 1D X / 1D C)
- Protects investment in existing glass
- Match glass between full frame camera and Sony E-mount camera on multi-camera shoots
- Corrects some optical defects in centre of the frame such as purple fringing and coma
- In-camera electronic aperture control for Canon lenses on Sony body
- Micro Four Thirds support in pipeline for March (and electronic adapter in June)
- Turns Blackmagic Cinema Camera into Super 35mm (matching Alexa)
- Every lens now has dual focal length and aperture (use with or without adapter to change crop)
- More creative possibilities
- Excellent build quality
- Very small and light
- Tripod mount
- Infinity focus tuning built into the adapter and straight forward to use
Cons
- Corner and edge sharpness a bit of a struggle with most legacy glass at fast apertures
- Soft corners and edges most noticeable at infinity focus with fast apertures or wide open
- Speed of auto-focus in need of improvement (painfully slow compared to same lens on a Canon body)
- Some lenses are not yet fully supported by the electronics
2) And the second test has been done by Robert from Lensrentals (Click here). And he likes it a lot: “The Speed Booster does what they said it would do, much to my shock and surprise“.
You can preorder the adapter at Metabones directly. Or if you prefer save this search on Slidoo to get notified when it will be available on eBay too.
24 Responses
*Roger from Lensrentals. 😉
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50688709
– It does not work with long telephoto lenses
See post #112 here: http://nikongear.com/live/index.php?/topic/47313-speed-up-your-lens/page__st__100
Why the hell would anyone use it on a telephoto anyway… Just use a shorter, faster lens with a normal adapter and you get better results…
+1
The SB is so much more interresting making wide lenses wider (and faster) than making tele lenses shorter. If a trade-off was needed, the designer made the right choice.
Personally I cant wait for mine to arrive 🙂
OK, my 5D is up for sale.
I have an 5D Mk II and I’m seriously thinking about buying a NEX-6 now to replace. I’m not sure i’ll be able to live without autofocus though (they say themselves that it works really bad and not with all lenses). I wonder how helpful the focus peaking will be…
“I know, like I know the sun is going to rise in the east tomorrow, that you don’t put some more glass between a camera and a lens and get a better image.” as Roger Cicala wrote has been also my opinon so far, but I’m not that sure anymore that I’ll really wait for a Full Frame NEX…
^ I think people are looking at this the wrong way. The image quality isn’t necessarily improved. It is probably worse, BUT only if you look at the same magnification as the APS-C crop size. By looking at the lower full-frame maginification, the image quality appears to be improved. However, if you compared it to an image from a full frame dslr it is most likely slightly worse. Just my thought.
Yes, that’s exactly what has been my initial thoughts and what I still believe it’s true, but practically these days from whatever you choose, whether it’s a cell phone sensor, µ4/3, APS-C, Full Frame, Middle or Large Format – it’s all about compromise. So thinking about the future Full Frame NEX plus the cost for lenses really taking advantage from that, I’m coming towards this Do-I-really-need-this-? question. I’m not so sure about the photography aspect, but for video in FullHD up to 2.5K and probably also up to 4K a magnifying adapter should provide enough Image Quality already.
I would buy that, if it was for M42 screw mount with no electronics and a lot cheaper.
Wouldn´t it be nice, if these guys made a booster with A-mount to A-mount, so we could get some really fast glass, by using the Sony FF lenses on APS-C bodies, like for example the 16-35mm f2,8 Zeiss, which would become something like a 12-24mm f2!
New E mount lens 20mm F/2.8 !!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/913561-REG/sony_sel20f28_20mm_f_2_8_alpha_e_mount.html
Wow good catch you pig
Whoa!
Who cares about this. Where’s the news about the new E-mount Sony 20/f2.8 prancake lens that was announced?
http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/special/20130123_584559.html
“Turns Blackmagic Cinema Camera into Super 35mm” – can’t recall last time I heard such BS.
The claim that there’s an increase in resolution is suspect. Toggle between 1:03 and 1:04, the FS100 and sharpened 5d3 footage, the 5d3 shows more detail across the entire frame and the difference grows the closer you get to the edges – something that’s definitely not the case with the FS100 w/o the booster. Side by side the FS100 will show more detail than the 5d3. Roger’s tests at Lens Rentals says the difference is negligible, but its pretty easy to see there.
So you get almost FF FOV (1.1 crop) and a 1-stop improvement in DOF/light gathering with the same lens, but no matter what EOSHD says you still don’t get the FF look with DR, highlight rolloff and the FF bokeh is still better. This costs $600 + the cost of whatever camera you’re attaching it to … used 5d2’s are down to $1200 or less. If you don’t have a significant investment in Canon FF glass and Nex, I really don’t see the appeal.
I have a 5d3 (still/video camera for paid work), EM5 (backup body/everyday walk around camera) and a Nex 5n (cheap adapted legacy glass/backup camera) – I use $20 dumb adapters for Canon glass and just shoot wide open.
Basically the SpeedBoost is to take the image from a FF lens, optically “compressed” it to a smaller sensor. So, unless the “compression”(glass quality or design) has problem, the “FF boken” should be exactly the same. DR and highlight rolloff quality/quantity is not determined by the sensor size. Sensor design, technology and pixel size all are important factors in determining the DR and highlight rolloff.
For video, it is easy to understand why a FS100 with SB will be as good or superior to a 5D3 (when using the same lens), except AF.
The bokeh isn’t the same, check the samples.
Sony’s current generation of FF sensors are far superior in terms of DR and highlight rolloff to its APS-c variants – and all other APS-c cameras on the planet. Not going to get into a technical argument because I really don’t care, the DR of current FF sensors cannot be matched by a smaller sensor and numerous tests across the web clearly demonstrate that. Period.
Regardless, IF this comes in a version that accepts Alpha lenses, I don’t have to switch over my lens-collection, so it could be a primary system, then maybe later a secondary system. $600 does not seem bad for the advantages it offers.
I agree if people own a bunch of canon glass, buying a used mk2 may be a bit more expensive but offer better results (compared to a nex+speedbooster)
Some more reviews and I’m sold…If they offer that SB in FD mount, Cannot wait to use it with my Canon 55mm f/1.2 😉 ultra low light scenes are coming!