Canon 'FD' to NEX - Speed Booster / Focal Reducer

[James Manford]

By Mikaton, basically a copy of the Metabones £400+ speed booster.

Any one purchased one of these for there EA50? does it have a blue spot in the middle? if so, can you give me some feedback on it? does it reduce the f stop by 1? They cost approx £130 to buy in the UK via ebay so i'm definitely interested.

EBAY DESCRIPTION
Shenyang Zhongyi (former Mikaton) focal reducer / speed booster adapter is designed for Canon FD lens to Sony NEX E mount APS-C camera bodies.

APS-C sensors magnifies images by 1.5x. The adapter reduces focal length by 0.72x magnifaction to near 1:1 in APS-C cameras, e.g. 50mm x 1.5 x 0.72 = 54mm.

It also allows more light to enter the camera sensor, can reduce exposure time to about 1 stop.

Suitable for most common Canon FD mount lenses.

Caution: Blue spot occurs when the lens is shot to light sources.

See this problem:

LensTurbo - YouTube

[Chris Harding]

James

After all the issues Steve has had with his Metabones adapter do you really want to jump in and buy a Chinese speed booster that already has a known issue (the blue spot) I still have a totally useless FOTGA adapter on my shelf that is so poorly engineered that it wouldn't even fit on my camera despite lots of modifications. I bit the bullet and grabbed a decent Novoflex from Germany and they are perfect.

You might be lucky and get one in the batch that actually works correctly but I doubt it ...Here they are AUS$200 which is a lot of money to toss in the bin!!

Chris

[James Manford]

You're right Chris ... £125 (cheapest I found). It's still a lot of money, but certainly not £400.

I'm so desperate to give it a go, and get another F stop in one my FD zoom lenses as I currently use it with a normal FD-NEX adapter at f3.5 (which is really f4.5 due to the adapter).

[Chris Harding]

Hey James

Seriously the blue spot would worry me first!! I'm using a non speed booster (Novoflex) which are pricey too from Germany but well worth the price. I just use generic zooms on the adapter and have a Tammy 17-50 F2.8 constant so ceremony and speeches and then my Tokina 11-16 F2.8 (also constant) for wides and both are awesome and plenty fast enough so far wherever I have worked and the IQ is brilliant!

I have a feeling that the lens element in that adapter is not that good ...it's pointless putting a super pro Canon lens on your EA50 and then spoiling everything by sandwiching a low quality piece of glass between them ... the video you posted isn't exactly pristine!! I seriously would look for other alternatives ..it's useless getting a 1 stop gain and poor image quality!!

Chris

[James Manford]

Chris so your manual focus'ing with those lenses?

I see the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 constant, is available on a Sony mount which means you can use the LA-EA2 for auto everything!

Any way you can forward me on to some sample footage of the Tamron and Tokina? any videos you watched yourself before buying those lenses?

[Chris Harding]

Hi James

You are lucky..it's Summer there and chilly Winter here ..yes Perth does get cold enough to halt the wedding season so I haven't used the Tamron at a wedding yet .. Just around the house the Tammy looks a lot sharper than the Stock Sony lens so I'll upload when I do my next wedding with the Tamron.

I only focus ..the EA-50 will run sweetly in auto in a sorta aperture priority mode ...At receptions I simply leave the iris at F2.8 and the camera adjusts shutter and ISO for me very accurately too!! I'm an ex film photog before AF was used on medium format cameras so I have no problem manually focussing at all.

Outdoors I will simply stop down if the shutter speed gets a bit high!! It went to 1/4000 the other day during a property shoot!!!

I have used the Tokina a lot for Realty work and it's a magic lens inside a house..at 11mm you have a massive DOF so you can often lock the lens at 2.5' and just film and everything is sharp as a tack..using the Sony zoom in auto inside houses was a pain for the AF ..it really doesn't like to try and focus on white walls going into white ceilings ..there is not enough contrast for it to work so I would often get fuzzy walls/ceilings ... I actually bought the Tokina for Real estate photography as they like everything super wide and it does an amazing job there ....

I don't want a Sony mount cos with a Nikon mount I have a lens set for my D90 for stills and really AF is not a biggie at all!!

I however do see your issue ..You have Canon lenses so you might as well use them. With weddings however the extra little bit from between F3.5 - F4.5 on the Sony zoom compared to a constant F2.8 makes a massive difference ... At receptions I lock my ISO/Gain at 21db and use a video light as a fill and with the F2.8 it's seldom on or very dim ..with the stock lens I need light all the time.

As Craig has already posted the new Sigma F1.8 constant is very nice but crazy prices here still (best was $1499) My Tamron was under $300 !!!

When I get a minute I'll post a comparison clip around the house between the Tamron and the Sony lenses for you.

Chris

Chris

[Erik Wittbusch]

Again, I'll bring in the idea of the Canon 17-55/2,8 IS.

It's lightweight, has a good focal range, f2,8 constant and on top has image stabilisation which I like very much. It's not a cheap lens but the best bang for the buck incl. IS. I use the Metabones Smart Adapter II, which makes it a automatic lens (no AF!!) including aperture and image stabilization. It's a great piece of gear and I don't have any issues with it, as a lot of my colleagues here too.

I borrowed the lens from a friend, but plan to buy one soon as it is the allround lens, that I was searching for.
I think I'll sell the kit lens then.

[James Manford]

Couldn't resist ...

Just saw this new review of the LensTurbo speed booster. And bought one!

INSANE! - £130 'Lens Turbo' FULL FRAME adapter for NEX! - YouTube

[Chris Harding]

Hey James

We expect a full review and comments from yourself when it arrives ... is this made by the same guys???

Should be interesting and the price is really good too!! Metabones over here are almost $600!!!

Chris

[James Manford]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Hey James

We expect a full review and comments from yourself when it arrives ... is this made by the same guys???

Should be interesting and the price is really good too!! Metabones over here are almost $600!!!

Chris

No worries, i'll give some feedback on this lensturbo as soon as I get it.

May be even a video sample with it on and off.

I'll conduct the test on my EA50 and NEX 5N using my Canon FD f3.5 constant aperture zoom lens which I now hope will drop to f2.5 after this speedbooster is applied !

Let's see what happens. Fingers crossed ...

P.S. yep it's made by the same guys. They do the speedbooster in MANY different mounts.

[Craig Marshall]

I would be vary wary of using any other brand focal reducer as the genuine article provides not one but six optical benefits:

1. Ultra high Speed:
a. Get an extra stop!
b. For example, it will convert an F1.2 lens to F0.90!

2. Field of View is Increased:
a. No crop factor for MFT and APS-C cameras
b. Your 24mm wide angle FF lens becomes a 24mm lens again

3. MTF is Increased:
a. Chromatic aberrations are reduced

4. Physical length is Reduced:
a. The focal reducer is shorter than the ‘dumb’ adapter
b. Your overall lens/camera length is shortened

5. Telecentricity is improved:
a. Moves the ‘exit pupil’ further from the image plane
b. Improves corner illumination and reduces sensor artifacts such as colour variations caused by pixel crosstalk

6. ‘Filter Effect’ is Cured:
a. Solves digital photography’s ‘dirty little secret’
b. Corrects the aberrations cause by the low-pass/infrared/sensor cover glass filter pack when using ‘film’ lenses on digital cameras

[James Manford]

I understand Craig.

But for a fraction of the cost of a Metabones (£125 vs £400), this lens adapter is worth a shot if you ask me.

I can always try and return it with the loss of postage. Or sell it on with a little loss via ebay, so shouldn't be a problem if i'm not happy!

And most importantly ... Metabones hasn't released an FD to NEX adapter yet!

[Craig Marshall]

James, you could be lucky as some Asian clones can be nearly as good as the originals. There are some amateur comparisons of the 'Lens Turbo' with the 'Metabones' available on the net but given the design pedigree of Caldwell and Bittner, the Canadian opticians who calculated the specifications for the Metabones unit, I would be very cautious.

PS: Caldwell and Bittner's current project is to design a complete new range of HD lenses for Panavision's new 70mm digital 'Cinema' camera and that's not a commission which would have been awarded lightly.

[Chris Harding]

That's what I love about eBay! Don't like it? put it back on eBay.

Many years ago, I bought a 'sight unseen' P&S still camera from a lady who was selling off her boyfriend's stuff (and knew nothing about cameras) When the camera arrived, I added batteries and found the sensor was a goner and I had paid $60.00 for a doorstop! However I put it back on eBay and made sure the listing said it was faulty and needed a new sensor chip ...people fought to buy it and it sold for $71.00!!

So James if the adapter works well you win ..if it's terrible, put it back on ebay and you might even make a profit so you will also win.

Even if the seller in based in the UK, the item might still come from China or thereabouts so it will take a bit of time ... China to Australia is at least 3 weeks delivery yet I can get something from the UK in a few days!

We wait with bated breath!! I assume these guys also make a Nikon to NEX ??

Chris

[James Manford]

@ Craig

Your right ... although Caldwell and Bittner spent hard hours grafting the specifications. It only takes another person half as clever to simply plagiarize the original and sell it at a fraction of the cost.

It happens all the time!

If Metabones had a FD to NEX out already, I would of saved up the extra money and bought it ... but they don't. Mitakon already do!

@ Chris

I hope I won't need to put it back on ebay. I'll see if that bluespot problem exists in my shooting conditions. I'm just seriously craving for my Canon FD zoom to perform better in low light!

And yes, ebay does have it's moments! you just never know who's willing to pay over the odds for your item. It's a bit of luck too.

And in regards to the Nikon fitment. Yes they make loads of different fitments. Zhongyi (formerly Mitakon) are actually well known for some awesome prime lenses. Philip bloom's reviewed one of their Hyperprimes I believe that comes in NEX E mount with a F stop of 0.95! Costs around £500-600 in the UK brand new.

Type in keywords: NIKON NEX FOCAL REDUCER in ebay and it should come up.