MetaBones Speed Booster Adaptor

[artington]

The statement from Metabones refers to ALPA and not to Sony Alpha

Thanks for that clarification artington. That puts paid to my vision of a Samyang 24mm T&S lens on my NEX and Alpha 580. What a difference one letter can make. Shame on Metabones for not making a speed booster for A-mount lenses.

That is so but the beauty about 24mm T&S is the wide field of view and vast DOF which would not be the same if it was 36mm equivalent, as would be the case used on a 580. So you can get the Samyang with a Canon mount and use it via the Metabones Speed Booster on the Nex and get the 24mm field of view and huge depth of field in tilt mode. If you are shifting the lens for architectural verticals correction the wider the lens the better because you can then photograph taller buildings so you really would not want to shift it on the a580. For landscape and architecture the 24mm equivalent is undoubtedly the way to go which means either the a99 or an adapted Nex.

[alphaomega]

That is so but the beauty about 24mm T&S is the wide field of view and vast DOF which would not be the same if it was 36mm equivalent, as would be the case used on a 580. So you can get the Samyang with a Canon mount and use it via the Metabones Speed Booster on the Nex and get the 24mm field of view and huge depth of field in tilt mode.

I agree with that and all you are saying. I used to have Mamya 50 mm tilt & shift lens (and that would be around 35mm in 35mm speak I guess). It yielded wonderful results. Sold off all Mamiya stuff when A700 appeared. I just thought that in view of the investment I would actually get two T&S lenses for the price of one. Canon's range spans 17, 24 and 45mm. I could find a 35mm useful in certain situations where 24mm would be too wide. Shame on Metabones to provide for so many non Sony lenses and not cover Alpha mount as well.

[artington]

Another review, this time from DPR. The main interest for me is that, for the first time that I've seen, the crop factor is actually stated - and ir's not 1:1 but 1:1.07-09. Close enough to FF. The review also notes that while AF is possible on later Canon lenses it is too slow to be practical, so this device is essentially for manual shooters.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/266719 ... ed-booster

[alphaomega]

Artington stated

The review also notes that while AF is possible on later Canon lenses it is too slow to be practical, so this device is essentially for manual shooters

It is fair to state that Metabones do state on their Web site

■Firmware version 14 or above is required. There is no firmware download but firmware update is a factory service procedure. Firmware version 14 is our first attempt at autofocus and we anticipate further improvements and bug fixes in future versions. Therefore, we advise existing Mark II Smart Adapter customers to wait for our next firmware release before sending in your adapter for firmware update. If you should require an update right away, please email Metabones and send your Smart Adapter back for a firmware update. There is a nominal shipping/handling charge of $50.

http://www.metabones.com/sony/buy-eos-nex-adapter
So they are aware of the AF problem and are trying to address the problem. Interesting that DPReview refers to the problems of using a PDAF designed lens on a contrast detect AF system in NEX-6 without mentioning the hybrid CD/PDAF system employend by the NEX-6

[alphaomega]

Further to the discussion above regarding the Metabones Speed booster for NEX, SAR have pointed out that Metabones have a Q&A section where the following comment can be read

Will there be Speed Boosters™ for Canon FD, Minolta MD and Sony Alpha lenses?

We will be looking into Canon FD, Minolta MD and Sony Alpha in the future. We do not have an estimated date yet. Disclaimer: this shall not be construed as a commitment to ship - we are not done prototyping any of these yet but we will conduct testing to decide if these lenses are free of interference issues with the optics of the Speed Boosters™ before we will be able to turn them into actual products.

http://www.metabones.com/speed-booster-questions
So there is still hope that an Alpha version will see the light of day sometime in the future. Regarding the MD bit, I have an idea the Minolta had tilt and/or shift lenses once upon a time for MD. Is that correct?

[artington]

So there is still hope that an Alpha version will see the light of day sometime in the future. Regarding the MD bit, I have an idea the Minolta had tilt and/or shift lenses once upon a time for MD. Is that correct?

Yes

http://www.rokkorfiles.com/35mm%20Page%201.htm