Metabones Speedbooster

[JAKEBAB]

Why does brandons blackmagic pocket cinema camera have a wooden hand grip but when u look at blackmagics site it's different?

[AlexCo]

That is a cage for the camera.

 

http://www.viewfactor.net/products/blackmagic/contineo-bmpc-cage.html

 

 

Why does brandons blackmagic pocket cinema camera have a wooden hand grip but when u look at blackmagics site it's different?

[Redheadsrule13]

Awesome video Brandon!!

 

Question: since this device causes the image to hit a smaller portion of the sensor, does this mean that in order to get say a 1080p recording you have to have a sensor that is capable of greater than 1080p?  i.e if we were talking about a say 10 megapixel sensor, doesn't this device only cause the image to hit say maybe 3/4 of the sensor? So you would really only end up with a 7.5 megapixel photo?

 

Sorry if I misunderstood how the device works, I definitely am not a camera expert by any means.

Yeah. I'm also wondering about this. Does it also mean that you're going to be getting black bars around the edges of your images since there isn't any light hitting the sensor there?

@nicklmg Don't know Brandon's username. Can you ask him?

[Celmor]

"Do people read these" in the Intro?
Well, I read it...

[AlexCo]

This adapter makes it so that light that would normally EXCEED the size of the sensor, instead FILLS the frame of the smaller form factor sensor:

 

I.E. Converting a Full Frame 35mm lens to a Micro 4/3rds sensor size. (Effectively 1x crop factor to 2.0 in some cases....)

 

So you would never use this adapter and have an image cast too small to fill the entire sensor, as it will not mount to full frame cameras etc.....

 

Alex

 

Yeah. I'm also wondering about this. Does it also mean that you're going to be getting black bars around the edges of your images since there isn't any light hitting the sensor there?
@nicklmg Don't know Brandon's username. Can you ask him?

[Redheadsrule13]

This adapter makes it so that light that would normally EXCEED the size of the sensor, instead FILLS the frame of the smaller form factor sensor:

 

I.E. Converting a Full Frame 35mm lens to a Micro 4/3rds sensor size. (Effectively 1x crop factor to 2.0 in some cases....)

 

So you would never use this adapter and have an image cast too small to fill the entire sensor, as it will not mount to full frame cameras etc.....

 

Alex

Riiiiiiiiight. So it's specifically an adapter that allows you to use a larger lens than the given camera would otherwise support.

[TheProfosist]

Riiiiiiiiight. So it's specifically an adapter that allows you to use a larger lens than the given camera would otherwise support.

yea but those have been around for a while. This actually makes is even more advantageous to do so now.

[Brandon Y Lee]

Yeah. I'm also wondering about this. Does it also mean that you're going to be getting black bars around the edges of your images since there isn't any light hitting the sensor there?

@nicklmg Don't know Brandon's username. Can you ask him?

 

Awesome video Brandon!!

 

Question: since this device causes the image to hit a smaller portion of the sensor, does this mean that in order to get say a 1080p recording you have to have a sensor that is capable of greater than 1080p?  i.e if we were talking about a say 10 megapixel sensor, doesn't this device only cause the image to hit say maybe 3/4 of the sensor? So you would really only end up with a 7.5 megapixel photo?

 

Sorry if I misunderstood how the device works, I definitely am not a camera expert by any means.

 

Sorry I should have clarified in the video. It is in the second graphic that shows the lens circle you can see that what actually happens is the light that enters the lens (which is a full frame circle size) is focused on to the smaller sensor of my Blackmagic Camera (which is 16mm in size) so while yes it focuses more light onto a smaller place, the light still covers the entire sensor within my blackmagic. 

Hope that helps  

[oferguson]

Loving these camera videos from Brandon. Would love to see more of them... maybe one or two a week. There isn't anyone who does these kinds of reviews for camera gear, they are all either really long or not of the same quality. Defiantly a gap in the market

[Omon_Ra]

Loving these camera videos from Brandon. Would love to see more of them... maybe one or two a week. There isn't anyone who does these kinds of reviews for camera gear, they are all either really long or not of the same quality. Defiantly a gap in the market

 

Not trying to diss LTT or anything, but as far as cameras/gear reviews go, there are a LOT of camera-specific reviewers out there that put out great content. I will say a lot of the videos are pretty long-winded (15 minutes seems to be 'short') but there is a fair amount of sample footage and in-depth/technical discussion that sort of forces the play times to where they are, but to say there's a gap in good camera gear reviewers isn't quite accurate. SpeedBoosters have been out for almost 2 years (the first ones released in the spring of 2013, IIRC), and LTT is just now doing a review on one. Granted, it's one of the better video reviews I've seen for the SpeedBooster, but I think most people who follow camera tech (m4/3 in particular) are already aware of and/or own one. Where I think LTT can find a niche is in condensing and simplifying a lot of the jargon for people who are just getting into photography/videography, or those (like me) who are in the field, but aren't really interested in pixel peeping and the rather anal-retentiveness of all the details, and just want to know what it's like to work with, and if it's good or not. Don't get me wrong, I really like the camera content Brandon and the rest of the LTT crew have been doing, but there certainly isn't a lacking of quality, gear-specific reviewers out there.

[evinta]

Yeah ahh thanks nick.

 

I kinda lost my wallet...

 

...

 

Anyways seriously thanks, i didn't even know these existed! I am seriously going to consider investing in these. And Linus f-stops aren't advanced!

[Wixy]

Hey, so with a canon 760D (APS-C) and my EF mount lenses, there is nothing i can do to make this work?
EF lenses will fit on the SB, but the speedbooster will not fit on my camera? And in that case, why? It seems (as far as i understand optics) as if it should be possible to make this work on a canon APS-C. Do you think it will come in the future maybe in that case?
I'd like to do this to make APS-C come closer to fulll frame "wideness" and to get more light in ofc.
Any enlightenment would be appreciated since ive googled for hours and i dont get any wiser on the subject than this.
@BRollTheIntern

 

[AkiraDaarkst]

On 2/21/2015 at 2:25 AM, Redheadsrule13 said:

Yeah. I'm also wondering about this. Does it also mean that you're going to be getting black bars around the edges of your images since there isn't any light hitting the sensor there?

@nicklmg Don't know Brandon's username. Can you ask him?

 

43 minutes ago, Wixy said:

Hey, so with a canon 760D (APS-C) and my EF mount lenses, there is nothing i can do to make this work?
EF lenses will fit on the SB, but the speedbooster will not fit on my camera? And in that case, why? It seems (as far as i understand optics) as if it should be possible to make this work on a canon APS-C. Do you think it will come in the future maybe in that case?
I'd like to do this to make APS-C come closer to fulll frame "wideness" and to get more light in ofc.
Any enlightenment would be appreciated since ive googled for hours and i dont get any wiser on the subject than this.
@BRollTheIntern

 

 

On 2/20/2015 at 8:31 AM, TheProfosist said:

Do they make one to go from canon ef to ef-s? I ask because that's what would most interest me.

 

On 2/20/2015 at 8:32 PM, 907rider said:

Awesome video Brandon!!

 

Question: since this device causes the image to hit a smaller portion of the sensor, does this mean that in order to get say a 1080p recording you have to have a sensor that is capable of greater than 1080p?  i.e if we were talking about a say 10 megapixel sensor, doesn't this device only cause the image to hit say maybe 3/4 of the sensor? So you would really only end up with a 7.5 megapixel photo?

 

Sorry if I misunderstood how the device works, I definitely am not a camera expert by any means.

 

Ohhh... the amount of ignorance...

 

The Metabones Speedbooster is two items in one package.  First, it's a lens mount adapter.  For example, allowing Canon EF and EF-S lenses to be mounted on Sony E-mount camera bodies.  Secondly, the optical element inside the adapter acts as a telecompressor which focuses the larger image circle produced by lenses designed to cover larger sensors to focus onto (make the image circle smaller) a smaller sensor.  Without a telecompressor, mounting a lens with an image circle for a larger sensor onto a camera with a smaller sensor means much of the scene seen by the lens is cropped off, the sensor inside the camera sees only a center portion.  The telecompressor also has the effect of increasing the light reaching the sensor by 1-1.5 stops on average.  If the optical element inside an adapter did the reverse, expanding the image circle instead of compressing, the light reaching the sensor would be darker instead of brighter.

 

Because it is a physical piece of hardware that gets attached between the camera body's lens mount and the back of a lens any lens mount adapter increases the flange distance.  All lenses are designed to work for a specific flange distance, Sony A mount lenses for A mount bodies, E mount lenses for E mount bodies with 18mm flange distance, Nikon F mount for F bodies with a flange distance of 46.5mm, so on.  Mounting a Nikon lens which is designed to work on camera bodies with a flange distance of 46.5mm on other camera bodies with different flange distance (without a proper adapter that corrects for the flange distance) would mean there would be a focus shift and infinity focus would not be possible.  This is why you don't usually find Canon lenses to Nikon body adapters, because Canon EF and EF-S systems have a shorter flange distance.  If you want to mount a lens for a shorter flange distance on a body with a longer flange distance, the lens mount adapter also needs to have a corrective optical element inside (and this corrective element doesn't necessarily have to perform the job of a telecompressor either).

 

These are just brief explanations of how and what a lens adapter and telecompressor does.  If you want to know more, go do some research or read articles and discussions on forums like Creative Cow and other places where expert Togs and DPs hang out.

[AkiraDaarkst]

On 2/24/2015 at 6:09 PM, oferguson said:

Loving these camera videos from Brandon. Would love to see more of them... maybe one or two a week. There isn't anyone who does these kinds of reviews for camera gear, they are all either really long or not of the same quality. Defiantly a gap in the market

Except many of the people who do reviews on cameras and camera gear have more knowledge and perhaps years of true professional experience than him.

 

There's a big qualitative difference.  For example their review of the Ursa Mini camera vs. a review of the same type of camera by someone who has worked full time as a cinematographer.

 

LTT's Ursa Mini review

 

Philip Bloom's review of the Ursa Mini, about 4 times longer yes but it's also 1000 times better, but better detailed and you get the professional opinion of who actually works with various sorts of cameras in real life.

Quoting what LensRentals has to say about the Ursa Mini cameras, everytime I see someone praising the Ursa Mini cameras without ever mentioning any of it's potential flaws, I just have to mention this.

https://www.lensrentals.com/rent/video/cameras/blackmagic/blackmagic-design-ursa-mini-4.6k-ef

Quote

 

WARNING:

We cannot recommend this product for professional work. We reached this decision after repeated failures in the field, experienced both first-hand by LR-folks and second-hand via rental clients. Though it might work much of the time, it is our opinion that this product’s performance is too unpredictable to be trusted on high-value projects. Use for casual testing or try-before-you-buy purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact us. support@lensrentals.com | 901-754-9100

 

 

On 2/26/2015 at 1:16 AM, Omon_Ra said:

 

Not trying to diss LTT or anything, but as far as cameras/gear reviews go, there are a LOT of camera-specific reviewers out there that put out great content. I will say a lot of the videos are pretty long-winded (15 minutes seems to be 'short') but there is a fair amount of sample footage and in-depth/technical discussion that sort of forces the play times to where they are, but to say there's a gap in good camera gear reviewers isn't quite accurate. SpeedBoosters have been out for almost 2 years (the first ones released in the spring of 2013, IIRC), and LTT is just now doing a review on one. Granted, it's one of the better video reviews I've seen for the SpeedBooster, but I think most people who follow camera tech (m4/3 in particular) are already aware of and/or own one. Where I think LTT can find a niche is in condensing and simplifying a lot of the jargon for people who are just getting into photography/videography, or those (like me) who are in the field, but aren't really interested in pixel peeping and the rather anal-retentiveness of all the details, and just want to know what it's like to work with, and if it's good or not. Don't get me wrong, I really like the camera content Brandon and the rest of the LTT crew have been doing, but there certainly isn't a lacking of quality, gear-specific reviewers out there.

 

[Omon_Ra]

1 hour ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Except many of the people who do reviews on cameras and camera gear have more knowledge and perhaps years of true professional experience than him.

 

There's a big qualitative difference.  For example their review of the Ursa Mini camera vs. a review of the same type of camera by someone who has worked full time as a cinematographer.

 

How can you not consider Brandon's time at LTT 'true professional experience?' If you get paid for what you do, you're a professional. Just because he's not shooting feature lengths or stuff like that does not discount his opinion. The LTT audience is much different than that of Phillip Bloom or other 'hardcore' reviewers; a lot of people who watch LTT are generally noobs when it comes to cameras and gear. Their use cases, needs and wants of the gear are going to be vastly different than a cinematographer looking to rent (or even buy) a camera for working on an indie film, let alone a bigger studio production. I personally would rather have someone like Brandon give his input on the gear because his shooting style (run-and-gun, small to no crew, 'low budget') and situations are more aligned with the type of work I do. When it comes to camera gear, reviewers do little to sway my purchasing decision, unless there is a common negative across all reviews. After all, it doesn't matter what you shoot with, it's how you use it.

 

As an aside, I don't know why, but I can't stand Phillip Bloom. It's like he has a subtle arrogance or something about him that makes me want to throw bricks at my screen. His work is great, and his reviews aren't bad at all, but the way he talks to the camera...I wish he would just remain working behind the camera.

[AkiraDaarkst]

1 hour ago, Omon_Ra said:

a lot of people who watch LTT are generally noobs when it comes to cameras and gear

This is obvious.

 

1 hour ago, Omon_Ra said:

If you get paid for what you do, you're a professional.

We pay interns and apprentices at the studio, yet we don't consider them professionals.

 

1 hour ago, Omon_Ra said:

Just because he's not shooting feature lengths or stuff like that does not discount his opinion.

True, but compared to someone who has more experience and more knowledge (along with first hand experience) of a multitude of equipment?  He labels himself a gear guru?

 

1 hour ago, Omon_Ra said:

run-and-gun, small to no crew

I also work often as a one-man-show shooter, but I find people with vast experience have better opinions about gear than those with limited experience.  Philip Bloom, among others, are some of the people who are capable of helping people get an idea of what to expect from something (camera related of course) on the market.  People like him, when they discuss about a certain piece of gear they also mention potential bugs or flaws of that gear.  I don't hear Brandon mentioning the things that can go wrong with a Metabones adapter, like how there's a small chance it can fail on the job and it takes a bit of time and frustrating effort to get it working again.  His review video sounds like everything is perfect with a Metabones adapter.

 

So yes, there are a lot of camera noobs on this forum, and I'd like them to get all the facts instead of just getting the highlights.

 

Here are good reviews of the metabones speedbooster, along with a comparison with what may be it's nearest competitor.

 

http://www.4kshooters.net/2015/04/26/metabones-vs-commlite-canon-ef-to-sony-e-mount-adapter-test/

[Omon_Ra]

48 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

People like him, when they discuss about a certain piece of gear they also mention potential bugs or flaws of that gear.  I don't hear Brandon mentioning the things that can go wrong with a Metabones adapter, like how there's a small chance it can fail on the job and it takes a bit of time and frustrating effort to get it working again.  His review video sounds like everything is perfect with a Metabones adapter.

Genuine question: how can it fail? Mine is a Canon FD to micro 4/3, and the only moving part is the tang thing that 'unlocks' the FD lens aperture control. Everything has been perfect with mine since I bought it on launch and I've never had it fail in all the time I've used it. I suppose if you have one of the ones with the electronics in it, that's a different story. And again, for me, that has no relevance to me and my setup, so why would I concern myself with that?

 

This is why I hate camera reviews, reviewers, gear heads and the like. Everyone is so far up each others' asses as to 'who knows more,' or 'I did this so my opinion is better than yours,' or 'I spent $##,### on my gear, so it's obviously better than yours.' Your studio may not consider your interns or apprentices as professionals, but to someone who doesn't work in the field at all, they're more professional than them. EVERYONE has to start at the bottom of the totem pole, so to disregard anyones opinion at any level of their profession is just arrogant. Like Einstein said, 'It's all relative.'

 

I don't work on big shoots, so to get a cinematographer giving me his opinion on a camera in his scenario of a mid to large sized budget production doesn't necessarily help me in my decision of buying a camera as I doubt I'll be using it in that type of situation. I'm not saying you should disregard Bloom and others of his calibre (and above) and the advice or opinions they give, but hearing multiple reviews from various levels of experience gives you a better idea of the overall usefullness of the gear. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to, worked with, and taught that buy some camera because 'so-and-so reviewer said it was awesome!' but they can't do anything but shoot in auto mode and then wonder why they can't get the results like in the review. What good were those reviews that person watched/read if they can't even use their camera? People get so hung up on reviews and what this person thinks about something, that nobody considers how they will use the gear in practicality.

 

I find the camera/camera gear 'community' to be some of the most arrogant, pretentious group of people. Obviously you want to get good gear and not waste money, but your gear doesn't mean shit if you can't frame a shot, focus, get proper exposure, etc. Cameras and gear are just tools, the real talent is in the person running the camera. What you're expounding is like saying the guy who does occasional home repairs or projects has no right to give a review of a hammer; the only person worthwhile hearing that hammer review is from a contractor that has been building houses for 15 years. In film school we never talked about what gear this auteur-director (or their cinematographer) uses/used (sometimes..but only in how it affected their aesthetic, not in the 'quality of the image,' ease of use, etc), but how he/she tells the story, paints with light, etc.

[AkiraDaarkst]

46 minutes ago, Omon_Ra said:

I find the camera/camera gear 'community' to be some of the most arrogant, pretentious group of people.

I think you're having a hard time differentiating them from pride and confidence.  While there may be a few people in the community who are arrogant (I see nothing wrong with being arrogant if you have the experience and knowledge to back it up) and somewhat pretentious, many of us are not.  We have pride in our work and capabilities and have confidence we can get the job done.

 

None of the electronic lens adapters are perfect, sometimes they stop working during a shoot and require resetting or restarting something.  Sometimes the electronic adapters just bug out completely.  The physical adapters themselves, sometimes they take a small beating and something inside gets bent or misaligned.

I really don't care whether you concern yourself with what can possibility go wrong with lens adapters, but it's helpful for "noobs" to be aware that things are not perfect.

 

51 minutes ago, Omon_Ra said:

Your studio may not consider your interns or apprentices as professionals, but to someone who doesn't work in the field at all, they're more professional than them. EVERYONE has to start at the bottom of the totem pole, so to disregard anyones opinion at any level of their profession is just arrogant. Like Einstein said, 'It's all relative.'

Well while interns or anyone who just finished school and starting at a new job may sometimes have good ideas and insights, they just haven't built up the experience.  I remember one assignment where I had the intern pack the lighting kit.  He's been with us for a couple of months and I told him what we needed to pack.  We arrive at the location and stuff were missing from the bags he was supposed to have packed.  Luckily I'm the kind of person who likes to be prepared so I had packed a spare set of lights on my own and the accessories we needed were there.  If I hadn't done that, the job that the client was paying us to do would not have gotten done and it would have been a stain on our studio's reputation that nothing could ever erase.  This kind of foresight comes from experience, and because I have that experience I am confident I can get the job done.  I've seen fellow DPs I work with panicking even with minor problems while I'm relaxed and getting the work done.

 

55 minutes ago, Omon_Ra said:

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to, worked with, and taught that buy some camera because 'so-and-so reviewer said it was awesome!' but they can't do anything but shoot in auto mode and then wonder why they can't get the results like in the review. What good were those reviews that person watched/read if they can't even use their camera? People get so hung up on reviews and what this person thinks about something, that nobody considers how they will use the gear in practicality.

A lot of reviewers or reviews are pure rubbish.  Most of what you might have seen are reviews done by inexperienced people.  You'll rarely see someone with experience giving bad reviews.  Also reviews should not be done to tell people what to buy or get, but instead inform what the pros and cons can be and the experience the reviewer had using that product.

 

1 hour ago, Omon_Ra said:

but your gear doesn't mean shit if you can't frame a shot, focus, get proper exposure, etc. Cameras and gear are just tools, the real talent is in the person running the camera

While this is quite true, it also doesn't mean shit if you don't have reliable gear.  And while I have had experience working with talented interns or apprentices, many of them (even if they attended film school or photography school) don't have the real world experience yet to be given a task on their own.  Schools usually teach the theories and give few practical experience.  It's working on the job where better experience is gained.  A couple of months ago I was working with another crew (had nice cameras, knew how to use them, knew how to properly frame shots, get things in focus, expose properly, I didn't pick this crew, someone else did so I trusted them to have the experience), but were careless when checking and preparing the location to be filmed.  We assigned them to film some scenes on their own, end of the day when reviewing what they shot, there were stuff in the frame that they should've removed.  One scene where we had our talent walking up the steps of a church, there was an empty water bottle on the steps that someone had left and that film crew didn't see it.