By site editor Dan Chung:
As reported on EOSHD.com, Metabones have unveiled an upgraded version of their extremely popular Speed Booster for Sony E-mount and Fuji X-mount cameras. The Speed Booster Ultra is said to use a new optical design and tanatalum-based optical glass to create an image that Metabones claim is even better than the original. Like the original it has a magnification of 0.71x and therefore reduces the crop factor of APS-C and Super35 sized sensors to something much closer to stills camera full-frame. This allows you to get that ‘full frame’ look using cameras like the Sony FS700 and FS100 if you crave it. As the light is concentrated onto the sensor there is also an increase in maximum aperture of the lens by about 1 stop – hence the name.
If as Metabones say the corner sharpness and distortion is improved and vignetting reduced, then this should be a great adapter. The Canon EF to E-mount adapter is available to buy now for $649 US from the Metabones website. Manual versions are said to follow later.
This from Metabones:
Speed Booster ULTRA
Sharper corners, less distortion, reduced vignetting
New optical design: advanced 5-element/4-group optical design incorporating ultra-high index tanatalum-based optical glass to achieve extraordinary optical performance with improved corner sharpness, distortion and reduced vignetting.
Like the revolutionary original Metabones Speed Booster announced in January 2013, the Speed Booster ULTRA has a magnification of 0.71x, and so it effectively reduces the crop factor of mirrorless cameras with DX-sized sensors, such as Sony E-mount and Fuji X-mount cameras, from 1.5x to 1.07x. However, the new ULTRA design makes very effective use of exotic materials at the furthest limit of glassmaking technology, and as a result is well corrected for use with virtually all fullframe SLR lenses regardless of exit pupil distance. Thus, the Speed Booster ULTRA performs extremely well with professional-grade f/2.8 zoom lenses such as the 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms by Canon and Nikon to produce 17-50mm f/2.0 and 50-142mm f/2.0 high-speed zooms, respectively. Similarly, high-speed fixed focal length lenses such as a 50mm f/1.2 will be transformed into a 35.5mm f/0.9 lens with excellent contrast and resolution from the center all the way to the edges of the image. (More information can be found in the press release here)
Key Features:
• Increase maximum aperture by 1 stop.
• Increase MTF.
• Makes lens 0.71x wider.
• Advanced 5-element/4-group optical design incorporating ultra-high index tanatalum-based optical glass by Caldwell Photographic in the USA (patent pending)
• Electronic integration of aperture diaphragm, controlled by or from the camera body.
• Partial autofocus support for late-model (post-2006) Canon-brand lenses.
• Powered by camera body. No external power source required.
• High performance 32-bit processor and efficient switched-mode power supply.
• The tripod foot is detachable and compatible with Arca Swiss, Markins, Photo Clam ball heads.
Disclaimer: we are NOT licensed, approved or endorsed by Sony or Canon.
