Imagine back if you will, exactly two long years ago, mid-January, 2013. Just weeks before the Superdome blacked-out during the ¡°Big Game,¡± the mirrorless camera world made an equally memorable step forward with the introduction of the Speed Booster, from Metabones. Based on the terrific success of this line of adapters, we arrive today, announcing the release of a new group of Metabones products including three new Speed Booster ULTRAs, a new Speed Booster ¡°S¡± version, six new adapters and an adapter support system to protect your camera¡¯s mount.
The Speed Booster ULTRAs are available for the following mounts: Nikon F-Mount Lens to Fujifilm X-Mount Camera, Leica R Mount Lens to Sony E-Mount Camera, and Contax Yashica Lens to Sony E-Mount Camera, and have improved on the originals with the inclusion of a five-element / four-group optical design that incorporates ultra-high refractive index tantalum-based glass for reduced distortion and vignetting and enhanced overall sharpness. Like the original Speed Boosters, these ¡°focal reducers¡± not only act as an adapter to mount full frame lenses on smaller-format cameras, but provide an optical scheme that transmits a larger area of light, in its entirety, onto the smaller sensor and, therefore, increases the maximum angle of view by 0.71x and the maximum aperture by 1 f/stop. By condensing all the light from a full-frame lens onto an APS-C sensor, the sensor effectively becomes full frame. Also new is the Canon EF Lens to Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster ¡°S¡± Version, which is designed for Active mount Micro Four Thirds cameras and is compatible with the Olympus OM-D E-M1, E-M5, and E-M10 cameras, as well as the Panasonic GH4, GH3, GH2, and GH1 cameras and the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera. It offers electronic integration of the aperture and supports lenses with Image Stabilization.
A slew of new standard adapters have also been released by Metabones, including the Canon EF Lens to Micro Four Thirds Smart Adapter, which provides electronic communication between camera and lens, bringing automatic aperture function, Image Stabilization support, and transfer of EXIF data from lens to camera. This adapter offers an efficient Green mode, a detachable tripod foot and, like all Metabones adapters, is made of chromium-plated brass on both the lens and camera sides. Solid and lightweight, the Adapter for Alpa Lens to Leica M-Mount Cameras and Alpa Lens to Micro Four Thirds Cameras have also been made available. Each is designed to reach infinity focus and offer a precise fit with no play. The Leica R Lens to Micro Four Thirds Adapter II is the second-generation adapter for this combination and features a removable tripod foot.
For cinema shooters utilizing mirrorless cameras, Metabones now offers PL Mount Lens to Sony E-mount Adapter and a PL Mount to Micro Four Thirds Adapter. Both of these mechanical adapters provide rock-solid connections with the chromium-plated brass contact surfaces and removable Arca Swiss compatible tripod foot with a ?”-20 threaded mounting hole. Finally, the innovative Metabones 15mm Rod Lens Adapter Support features an Arca-Swiss quick-release clamp and utilizes 15mm rods to support the weight of large lenses to avoid placing strain on your camera¡¯s mount. The quick release is adjustable from 1 to 1.9″ to use with a range of Metabones adapters.
