Lately the news of the Metabones “speed booster” adapter have been all over the www, and if it fulfills half of what it promises things will be great for crop sensor fans everywhere. :)
The speed booster is essentially a focal length reducer, which in turn increases the aperture and condenses the data picked up by the sensor resulting in higher detail. (Note will only work with SLR lenses) The first speed booster is for Canon EF to Nex mount, but more adapter types are in planning and will be available soon according to Metabones.
For more info, check out the product page here: http://www.metabones.com/info/105-info/154-speed-booster
So let`s see, that’s
- Lens speed (aperture) improves by 1 –stop (an f4 lens would become f2.8 etc…(Note max aperture is f0.90)
- Focal length is reduced by 0.71 factor. (135mm lens would become ~95mm etc (effectively making your NEX nearly full-frame once corrected for the 1.5 APS-C crop sensor)
- Adds automatic Aperture control for A, S and P modes.
- Adds image stabilization when available on the lens.
- Adds Auto focus (but reportedly very slow)
Wow!, that quite the feature list.
The downside? a 600$ price tag.
Hopefully this is because of the prime glass used in the creation, because everything really depends on it with this adapter.
But hopefully we will know soon enough, as I have already ordered mine yesterday (^_^')/
This will make my [canon 135mm f2 L] into a [143mm f1.4 L] with working aperture and better IQ on my nex6...
And the hunt for a good [canon 70-200mm f2.8 is] used on eBay/yahoo auctions have begun (#_#)/ potentially becoming a [canon 74-213mm f2 IS L] lens *drool*
For more info, check out Phillip Blooms excellent article, sample pictures, video and hands on experiences with the adaptor:
http://philipbloom.net/2013/01/13/speedbooster/
Have a look at his video using the adapter here below;