Metabones Speed Booster at DVinfo.net

Aaron Jones Sr. · August 25th, 2014, 06:41 PM

Hello guys, I'm not very experienced when it comes to aperture and F stops. My wife is a Photographer which I hung around long enough to get the video bug. I have the EA50 looking to grab a Metabones Speedbooster which is a good way to share some of my wife's lenses. Sh shoots straight Canon all the way. She has a Tamron 80 to 200mm f/2.8 lens I want to try and use and i will try and replace it for her with an equivalent Canon lens.

So my question to your experienced fellas, what exactly is the advantage of the speed booster. I have read the description on it which states, "Increase maximum aperture by 1 2/3stop. (with a maximum output aperture of f/0.74)". A beginner like me, I'm not sure exactly what that means. What it is translating to in my mind is that my 2.8 will get faster to approximately 1.8. If that is the case Does that mean it will focus faster? Will I get a better low light result? Excuse my ignorance just trying to learn the technical side of my cam to have a better output hopefully.

I have a 50mm Prime lens that I enjoy the DOF and I'm able to digital zoom through along with my stock servo zoom lens. I think I'm ready to explore some canon options where I can get more of a professional output.

Jody Arnott · August 25th, 2014, 06:54 PM

From my understanding, basically the Speedbooster increases the amount of light that gets to your camera's sensor which means you can achieve a slightly faster aperture. This will improve low light performance slightly, and also allow you to achieve a slightly shallower depth of field.

It doesn't really have anything to do with focusing speed. The term "faster" and "slower" is used in relation to the aperture. Lower f stop = faster (more light enters the lens, i.e. f1.8). Higher f stop = slower (less light enters the lens, i.e. f16).

Keep in mind that not every lens is fully compatible with the Speedbooster. I have had issues with my adapter, the auto iris is very inconsistent and auto focus often does not work at all.

Check out the compatibility list before you buy: http://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_SPEF-E-BM1

Chris Harding · August 25th, 2014, 07:10 PM

I backed away quite quickly after Jody's issues too as the Speed Booster isn't cheap and you don't want to buy something and find out it doesn't work.

The rules are simple here ..if you REALLY need to make a lens faster then the Speed Booster is OK but rather use it in totally manual mode and also use it with genuine Canon lenses and not "Canon Mount" lenses and you won't have an issue.

Personally I find it much easier NOT to buy a speedbooster as 3rd party lenses are cheap and easy to find .. I just use dumb adapters so have no issues as there is nothing to go wrong. If you wife has an impressive array of top quality genuine Canon lenses then buying a Metabones makes sense. Otherwise just use a dumb adapter with Tamrons. Sigma's etc etc ...

Chris

Aaron Jones Sr. · August 25th, 2014, 07:42 PM

Thank you Jody Arnott & Chris Harding you guys rock!! That was exactly the information I was looking for. I guess the issue I'm having s trying to find Sony Zoom Lenses that has a decent f stop. My 50mm is great for certain purposes. The DOF is very dramatic, but again it is a prime lens (SEL50F18 - Sony E-mount 50 mm f/1.8 OSS Lens). It has it's draw backs. It does not auto focus on moving objects that well. So I'm trying to become more of a manual guy. The manual focus it ok but once Zi get the footage home I find that I was not focused as well as i thought by looking through the viewfinder. It seems i will have to learn to use the eyepiece in order to see what I'm focused on consistently. I find that the peak can be alittle deceiving. maybe i should try changing the peak color from white to red...

Jody Arnott · August 25th, 2014, 08:07 PM

If you're after a zoom lens with a wide aperture, check out the Sigma 18-35 f1.8.

18-35 isn't a lot of zoom but it's just enough to easily reframe your shot without having to move, and the depth of field at 35mm is just awesome.

The downside is that it has no stabilisation, and it doesn't work well with my Metabones adapter. Auto iris is inconsistent, and auto focus doesn't work at all.

But in saying that, I don't use auto focus anyway, and I'm trying to teach myself to stop relying on auto iris :)

Chris Harding · August 25th, 2014, 08:19 PM

Hi Aaron

I second the Sigma that Jody uses and I use ONLY dumb adapters ..I would rather have to twist a ring and know where it is than have an auto adapter that changes aperture for no reason!! That would be scary at weddings!

This is what I use on my EA-50's but just realise I mainly do weddings.

Tamron 28-75 F2.8 zoom for Church ceremonies
Tamron 17-50 F2.8 zoom for other ceremonies and commercial stuff
Tamron 10-24 F3.5 for Realty shoots and wide angle stuff
Sigma 18-35 F1.8 for really low light stuff

I sold one of my Sony 18-200 lenses but still have one servo lens that is good for sports. I have a Nikon 35mm F1.8 and I used to have the Sony 50mm F1.8 but find primes too tricky at crowded weddings especially 50mm

All my non Sony lenses are Nikon mount simply cos I have Nikon still camera bodies so it makes sense to have lenses I can use for both photo and video.

Chris

Chris Harding · August 25th, 2014, 08:25 PM

Ok regarding the peaking I find that yellow is the best for me and I use the medium level setting. If your DOF is small then make sure that you also push the expanded focus button before satisfying yourself that you are in focus .

Aaron Jones Sr. · August 25th, 2014, 09:55 PM

Jody, that sigma sounds great. I think I have read somewhere on this board before where someone had high ratings on that lens. Do you use Cannon or Nikon mount?

Chris, thank you for the run down on your glass strategy. I do weddings as well. I'm trying to get better at my out where I do not have to commit to a lot of editing. With my limited glass right now I find that I have to do a lot of color grading to get a more presentable look. What is even harder for my currently is that my second cam is a AX2000 and I use it as the cutaway cam. Matching the footage is quite the chore sometimes. Actually what I'm trying to do is get a glass strategy together so that I will have a better output. I don't charge too much right now as I'm still learning the trade. My wife is actually the headliner as the photographer as she is sort of a celebrity on Facebook with her images and the way she edits. Her photography actually wins the work and then they say, "Oh you do video as well", and then hire us for both based on her reputation. So I'm trying to learn and get up to speed where I can dazzle my clients with a good out of footage.

That being said, the more i think about it I think I need to break away from trying to share my wife's glass and develop a strategy like you have to that i know exactly what my output will be and get my edit down to a one day edit. I like the lenses you guys have mentioned as i hear those lenses ringing on multiple threads here. I will start to testing some out to see what I can produce with them.

Jody Arnott · August 25th, 2014, 09:59 PM

Aaron, I use Canon mount.

Chris uses a "dumb" adapter as he mentioned, but he uses Nikon lenses if I recall correctly.. but I don't think that is possible for Canon lenses as there's no way to control the iris from the lens.

Someone may correct me on that.. but I'm fairly sure us Canon users need a smart adapter that can control the iris.

In an ideal world we wouldn't need adapters. And one of the reasons I just purchased a Canon C100 is I got fed up with having to deal with my Metabones adapter. Life is a lot easier with an EF mount camera ;)

Steve Bobilin · August 26th, 2014, 01:02 AM

This dumb adapter does control iris for canon EF mount.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...G&Q=&A=details
Sort of—it has its own iris.

Chris Harding · August 26th, 2014, 07:51 AM

My lenses are Nikon, yes but I thought that all dumb adapters for Canon had a manual aperture ring that adjusts the iris when the lens barrel doesn't have one?

It certainly looks like the adapter Steve has linked to will do the job?

Chris

Aaron Jones Sr. · August 26th, 2014, 04:27 PM

Reading the reviews on the Commlite AF Adapter is pretty interesting as they are all consistently saying the auto iris works great but the AF does not an there is a little play on the NEX side of the adapter. The review are here - Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Auto-Focus Mount Adapter EF-NEX for Canon EF to Sony NEX Mount

I looked up the site and there is a compatibility list for Canon lenses - Commlite (Hongkong) technology Co.,LTD

Just looking at all the options and maybe I can decide on a good glass strategy.

Reading one of the reviews from Amazon from the above link the guy says that there are two different types ( http://www.amazon.com/review/R2JV0BB...94&store=photo ). One with the Full Frame square opening (ie. A7, A7R), and one with a Circle opening for APS-C Size sensors 9(NEX 3,5,6 or A6000).

i know the EA50 is a APS-C size sensor but wouldn't it be a good thing to have the Square full Frame opening though?

August 25th, 2014, 06:41 PM	#1
Aaron Jones Sr. Major Player Join Date: May 2013 Location: Flint, Michigan, USA Posts: 394	Metabones Speed Booster Hello guys, I'm not very experienced when it comes to aperture and F stops. My wife is a Photographer which I hung around long enough to get the video bug. I have the EA50 looking to grab a Metabones Speedbooster which is a good way to share some of my wife's lenses. Sh shoots straight Canon all the way. She has a Tamron 80 to 200mm f/2.8 lens I want to try and use and i will try and replace it for her with an equivalent Canon lens. So my question to your experienced fellas, what exactly is the advantage of the speed booster. I have read the description on it which states, "Increase maximum aperture by 1 2/3stop. (with a maximum output aperture of f/0.74)". A beginner like me, I'm not sure exactly what that means. What it is translating to in my mind is that my 2.8 will get faster to approximately 1.8. If that is the case Does that mean it will focus faster? Will I get a better low light result? Excuse my ignorance just trying to learn the technical side of my cam to have a better output hopefully. I have a 50mm Prime lens that I enjoy the DOF and I'm able to digital zoom through along with my stock servo zoom lens. I think I'm ready to explore some canon options where I can get more of a professional output.

August 25th, 2014, 06:54 PM	#2
Jody Arnott Major Player Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Hamilton, New Zealand Posts: 747	Re: Metabones Speed Booster From my understanding, basically the Speedbooster increases the amount of light that gets to your camera's sensor which means you can achieve a slightly faster aperture. This will improve low light performance slightly, and also allow you to achieve a slightly shallower depth of field. It doesn't really have anything to do with focusing speed. The term "faster" and "slower" is used in relation to the aperture. Lower f stop = faster (more light enters the lens, i.e. f1.8). Higher f stop = slower (less light enters the lens, i.e. f16). Keep in mind that not every lens is fully compatible with the Speedbooster. I have had issues with my adapter, the auto iris is very inconsistent and auto focus often does not work at all. Check out the compatibility list before you buy: http://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_SPEF-E-BM1

August 25th, 2014, 07:10 PM	#3
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Metabones Speed Booster I backed away quite quickly after Jody's issues too as the Speed Booster isn't cheap and you don't want to buy something and find out it doesn't work. The rules are simple here ..if you REALLY need to make a lens faster then the Speed Booster is OK but rather use it in totally manual mode and also use it with genuine Canon lenses and not "Canon Mount" lenses and you won't have an issue. Personally I find it much easier NOT to buy a speedbooster as 3rd party lenses are cheap and easy to find .. I just use dumb adapters so have no issues as there is nothing to go wrong. If you wife has an impressive array of top quality genuine Canon lenses then buying a Metabones makes sense. Otherwise just use a dumb adapter with Tamrons. Sigma's etc etc ... Chris

August 25th, 2014, 07:42 PM	#4
Aaron Jones Sr. Major Player Join Date: May 2013 Location: Flint, Michigan, USA Posts: 394	Re: Metabones Speed Booster Thank you Jody Arnott & Chris Harding you guys rock!! That was exactly the information I was looking for. I guess the issue I'm having s trying to find Sony Zoom Lenses that has a decent f stop. My 50mm is great for certain purposes. The DOF is very dramatic, but again it is a prime lens (SEL50F18 - Sony E-mount 50 mm f/1.8 OSS Lens). It has it's draw backs. It does not auto focus on moving objects that well. So I'm trying to become more of a manual guy. The manual focus it ok but once Zi get the footage home I find that I was not focused as well as i thought by looking through the viewfinder. It seems i will have to learn to use the eyepiece in order to see what I'm focused on consistently. I find that the peak can be alittle deceiving. maybe i should try changing the peak color from white to red...

August 25th, 2014, 08:07 PM	#5
Jody Arnott Major Player Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Hamilton, New Zealand Posts: 747	Re: Metabones Speed Booster If you're after a zoom lens with a wide aperture, check out the Sigma 18-35 f1.8. 18-35 isn't a lot of zoom but it's just enough to easily reframe your shot without having to move, and the depth of field at 35mm is just awesome. The downside is that it has no stabilisation, and it doesn't work well with my Metabones adapter. Auto iris is inconsistent, and auto focus doesn't work at all. But in saying that, I don't use auto focus anyway, and I'm trying to teach myself to stop relying on auto iris :)

August 25th, 2014, 08:19 PM	#6
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Metabones Speed Booster Hi Aaron I second the Sigma that Jody uses and I use ONLY dumb adapters ..I would rather have to twist a ring and know where it is than have an auto adapter that changes aperture for no reason!! That would be scary at weddings! This is what I use on my EA-50's but just realise I mainly do weddings. Tamron 28-75 F2.8 zoom for Church ceremonies Tamron 17-50 F2.8 zoom for other ceremonies and commercial stuff Tamron 10-24 F3.5 for Realty shoots and wide angle stuff Sigma 18-35 F1.8 for really low light stuff I sold one of my Sony 18-200 lenses but still have one servo lens that is good for sports. I have a Nikon 35mm F1.8 and I used to have the Sony 50mm F1.8 but find primes too tricky at crowded weddings especially 50mm All my non Sony lenses are Nikon mount simply cos I have Nikon still camera bodies so it makes sense to have lenses I can use for both photo and video. Chris

August 25th, 2014, 08:25 PM	#7
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Metabones Speed Booster Ok regarding the peaking I find that yellow is the best for me and I use the medium level setting. If your DOF is small then make sure that you also push the expanded focus button before satisfying yourself that you are in focus .

August 25th, 2014, 09:55 PM	#8
Aaron Jones Sr. Major Player Join Date: May 2013 Location: Flint, Michigan, USA Posts: 394	Re: Metabones Speed Booster Jody, that sigma sounds great. I think I have read somewhere on this board before where someone had high ratings on that lens. Do you use Cannon or Nikon mount? Chris, thank you for the run down on your glass strategy. I do weddings as well. I'm trying to get better at my out where I do not have to commit to a lot of editing. With my limited glass right now I find that I have to do a lot of color grading to get a more presentable look. What is even harder for my currently is that my second cam is a AX2000 and I use it as the cutaway cam. Matching the footage is quite the chore sometimes. Actually what I'm trying to do is get a glass strategy together so that I will have a better output. I don't charge too much right now as I'm still learning the trade. My wife is actually the headliner as the photographer as she is sort of a celebrity on Facebook with her images and the way she edits. Her photography actually wins the work and then they say, "Oh you do video as well", and then hire us for both based on her reputation. So I'm trying to learn and get up to speed where I can dazzle my clients with a good out of footage. That being said, the more i think about it I think I need to break away from trying to share my wife's glass and develop a strategy like you have to that i know exactly what my output will be and get my edit down to a one day edit. I like the lenses you guys have mentioned as i hear those lenses ringing on multiple threads here. I will start to testing some out to see what I can produce with them.

August 25th, 2014, 09:59 PM	#9
Jody Arnott Major Player Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Hamilton, New Zealand Posts: 747	Re: Metabones Speed Booster Aaron, I use Canon mount. Chris uses a "dumb" adapter as he mentioned, but he uses Nikon lenses if I recall correctly.. but I don't think that is possible for Canon lenses as there's no way to control the iris from the lens. Someone may correct me on that.. but I'm fairly sure us Canon users need a smart adapter that can control the iris. In an ideal world we wouldn't need adapters. And one of the reasons I just purchased a Canon C100 is I got fed up with having to deal with my Metabones adapter. Life is a lot easier with an EF mount camera ;)

August 26th, 2014, 01:02 AM	#10
Steve Bobilin Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 53	Re: Metabones Speed Booster This dumb adapter does control iris for canon EF mount. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...G&Q=&A=details Sort of—it has its own iris.

August 26th, 2014, 07:51 AM	#11
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Metabones Speed Booster My lenses are Nikon, yes but I thought that all dumb adapters for Canon had a manual aperture ring that adjusts the iris when the lens barrel doesn't have one? It certainly looks like the adapter Steve has linked to will do the job? Chris

August 26th, 2014, 04:27 PM	#12
Aaron Jones Sr. Major Player Join Date: May 2013 Location: Flint, Michigan, USA Posts: 394	Re: Metabones Speed Booster Reading the reviews on the Commlite AF Adapter is pretty interesting as they are all consistently saying the auto iris works great but the AF does not an there is a little play on the NEX side of the adapter. The review are here - Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Auto-Focus Mount Adapter EF-NEX for Canon EF to Sony NEX Mount I looked up the site and there is a compatibility list for Canon lenses - Commlite (Hongkong) technology Co.,LTD Just looking at all the options and maybe I can decide on a good glass strategy. Reading one of the reviews from Amazon from the above link the guy says that there are two different types ( http://www.amazon.com/review/R2JV0BB...94&store=photo ). One with the Full Frame square opening (ie. A7, A7R), and one with a Circle opening for APS-C Size sensors 9(NEX 3,5,6 or A6000). i know the EA50 is a APS-C size sensor but wouldn't it be a good thing to have the Square full Frame opening though?