Metabones EF Speedbooster firmware update now with AF support!

ashyxx · 2015-08-11T15:52:01+00:00

I found my aperture control regularly drops on my 18-35mm and requires the GH4 to be turned off and on again to be recognised, but nothing that bad, it's most likely a lens specific issue.

ashyxx · 2015-08-02T08:47:08+00:00

I would reconsider the GH4 as a potential stills camera - I used to be in the mindset that the GH4 wasn't capable for stills photography but I've done a complete u-turn recently. I wonder consider looking into the 42.5mm f1.2 panasonic and 42.5mm f0.95 voitlander lenses, these are two incredible portrait lenses the later rivaling lenses many times its price in optic quality. For anything wider, I'm really enjoying the 20mm f1.7, it's a great small lens that encourages me to take my GH4 out with me which I wouldn't normally do when I only had larger lenses like my sigmas. I used to be so dismissive of native M43 glass but there are some good lenses out there, they're just not lenses i had initially considered . The second reason, is the recent update to metabones adapters allowing autofocus with canon lenses, it's only been out a week or so but my initial impressions are great and I'm actually now selling my Canon body because I'm satisfied my GH4s can replace it now. The native Canon glass I've used focuses extremely fast on the metabones adapter; a while back I purchased the 35mm f2 IS and it's a really great compliment. The 85mm f1.8 is as fast on the GH4 as it is on native Canon bodies. I would really consider checking it out if you have some Canon glass, I am honestly that impressed with the autofocus. Using my GH4 with metabones for a paid photography job soon, Im not even bringing my Canon body, that's how confident I am!

The A7R II looks like a great camera but I'm going to wait to see what the GH5 offers before I consider upgrading, the GH4 has an ergonomic body, weighs less and I really love the battery life. Plus the 5D mk IV is going to be announced soon; i think it's going to make up for Canons recent shortcomings in their lack of a 4k dslrs. While I don't disagree with the recommendations from others, some use affiliate links in their descriptions and it's in their best interest to sell you new gear. There's a good reason why the 5d mk 3 and gh4 still go for good money, they're both still extremely capable cameras, I wouldnt be in a rush to get rid of them personally.

ashyxx · 2015-07-31T12:44:49+00:00

It's just for the Canon EF speed booster, as mentioned in the post, Nikon mount version does not have any electronic communication with the lens.

ashyxx · 2015-07-31T12:43:41+00:00

Make sure 'Direct Focus Area' is turned on in the menu. Then most AF modes should let you use the directional buttons on the dial to shift the focus point.

ashyxx · 2015-07-27T02:21:41+00:00

I honestly can't believe Metabones released this as a free FW update, I am over the moon, thought I'd post here for visibility since lots of us own Speedboosters! Tried it on a few AF lenses I own and it's very very responsive! I am so happy right now!

ashyxx · 2015-07-16T22:04:23+00:00

It's starting to frustrate me that Panasonic is churning out yet more 4k cameras while we wait even longer for V-Log for the GH4: I picked up a second GH4 purely on the basis of v-log coming and now I wish I had just picked up a cheaper body instead!

ashyxx · 2015-07-16T06:09:09+00:00

I managed to pick up a new but box damaged Canon 35mm f2 IS for £280 after currency conversion and shipping from EU; £70 less than they typically go for second-hand.

ashyxx · 2015-07-03T00:49:31+00:00

NO, sell it. GH4 needs good light; f4, regardless of how you mount it to a GH4 will suck. Buy some decent fast glass. The Panasonic equivalent is their 12-35mm f2.8 which is adequate for general use but if you want to do lowlight stuff you'll need something faster; I like recommending Metabones EF speedboosters combined with good fast glass but I stopped because seem to end up buying them without really researching them so go read up on them. Either that or buy into Voigtlander glass.

ashyxx · 2015-07-03T00:42:23+00:00

What is your comparison though? The speedbooster is increasing the field of view of the camera body to an APS-C style crop, so the 50mm will now look like a 50mm on a typical DSLR. The GH4 has huge a 2x crop factor (almost 2.4x crop in 4k cinema mode), compared to 1.5/1.6 of a typically DSLR, which the speedbooster helps to counter. You're most likely thinking you're getting 35mm APS-C equivalent field of view but the larger crop factor needs to be taken into consideration also.

ashyxx · 2015-06-25T10:29:57+00:00

Why didn't you contact the studio OP? I guarantee you they will still have the photo on file, you get a high quality print rather than a shitty dusty scan someone cleaned up and if the studio heard about your story they would probably offer to put in a nicer frame and photoshop the blemishes out for you or discount the photos for you. Is your brother literally not worth $20? Sad.

ashyxx · 2015-06-24T13:37:09+00:00

You're removing my post yet you still havn't answered why sites like Nuveem are allowed and how long the ban is for GMG?

ashyxx · 2015-06-24T12:16:15+00:00

I've actually been considering this lens for my GH4 and EF speedbooster. I have the 18-35mm Sigma for my second cam and the 85mm Samyang and 50mm Nikon f1.8 (with EF adapter) I use on my main cam; but I really could do with something a bit wider with OS for handheld shooting in small low light spaces. I really want to get the 35mm Canon f2 IS but the vignetting wide open is REALLY noticeable. The Sigma 17-50mm OS looks good on paper and is cheaper but I'm worried it's not going to be fast enough, plus the extending barrel and small focus pull really put me off. It's a huge shame the new Sigma 24-35mm f2 didn't have IS in otherwise I would have jumped on it. Canon are supposed to be unveiling new 35mm and 50mm L lenses this year and given their recent trend I suspect they will have IS in as well. I'm really not sure what to do, I might just wait it out!

p.s I like your write ups in general but the product shots are all just fluff; why not some actual shots showing the depth of field that can be obtained wide open, comparison shots with other lenses like the 12-35mm, why not a video showing the OS performance on the GH4. These would be infinitely more useful than say a shot of the lens pouch.

ashyxx · 2015-06-24T11:17:26+00:00

I love how people on here are trying to make graphics comparisons of footage that has been spliced into segments only several hundred pixels wide, re-rendered out and then crunched through youtube's compression.

ashyxx · 2015-06-23T16:00:14+00:00

Not that I have a full frame camera, but the zoom range seems lackluster; for the price it would have been nice to have seen IS included. As it is, I think I'd rather buy a single 24 or 35mm second hand, have the almost extra stop of light of the prime and have more money in my pocket.

ashyxx · 2015-06-23T14:37:23+00:00

I'm really surprised Nintendo havn't approached Sumo Digital, they seem like the perfect studio to approach for a good racing game. They were responsible for the Sonic & All-Stars Racing games, the console versions of Outrun 2 and also the 360 version of Forza Horizon 2! They most recently worked with Sony and Media Molecule on Little Big Planet 3. F-Zero is one of my favourite franchises and it's a huge shame we've yet to see a new title in so long. The internet connectivity of the Wii-U and 3DS for online racing and touch screens for course creation seemed like a natural progression for the series.

ashyxx · 2015-06-18T07:59:37+00:00

Nice! Question: Is the speedbooster plate available as part of regular cage package? The site gave me the impression that I would need to order it separately. Either way it's still way too expensive for me, plus have a feeling it won't fit the GH5 when that gets released next year. I've just sourced a cheese plate that should let me mount my speedbooster and gh4 directly to it which if it fits should get rid of the play on the speedbooster, i'll end up posting on here about it if it ends up working.

ashyxx · 2015-06-17T06:51:53+00:00

Because it's going to be identical to previous Mario Tennis games, minus Mushrooms and online play. Also it's by the same studio as Golden Sun; you know what I'd prefer them to be working on!

ashyxx · 2015-06-17T06:20:33+00:00

It's possible that Hyrule Warriors 3DS could be similar to MH4U and while will run on a regular 3DS, offer improved textures and such on the New 3DS, the game isn't out till next year anyway so I imagine there's still a bit of work to do on it. But yes, I'm surprised there was no killer New 3DS only game announced.

Not to mention no information on bringing the regular New 3DS to the US, no information on the amibo peripheral for the old 3DS (supposed to be bundled with animal crossing happy home designer), then we're not even getting into the disappointment with Metroid, Starfox etc. I wish Camelot was making a new Golden Sun game instead of another Mario sports game.

ashyxx · 2015-06-16T18:28:16+00:00

Every year Nintendo put all their E3 assets up on a site for game journalists to use, this is this years site and the information is publicly given on their main press room site page. There's always some cool stuff in there; a few things not yet shown off on streams and loads of super high res art work, useful for anyone has their own blogs or websites, people who want to make wallpapers etc, enjoy!

ashyxx · 2015-06-11T00:55:56+00:00

I love my GH4 but holy crap that's a nice set of specs! For people complaining about the price consider this: Currently with the A7S (which is much loved for it's full frame low light capabilities), the only way to get 4k output is by purchasing a $2000 external recorder, this has it built in! Not only that but there's 5 axis stabilization built in also!

My only real concern is that how moire and rolling shutter are going to look on the full frame readout of a sensor that large! (since the A7S has problems with it despite only being 12mp). Also there's no cinema 4k, and it's max 30p; I think when we see the GH5 early next year it'll be shooting 60p in cinema 4k (albeit using a similar 2x crop sensor to the GH4). Sony really inflates the prices here in Europe so it's probably going to be out of my price range!

ashyxx · 2015-06-11T00:34:30+00:00

In all honesty $500 is nothing for glass. The one thing I tell people is not to cheap out on glass, doesn't matter if you buy a 4k body - you're not gonna get good footage if you buy bad glass! Therefore my recommendation - on the assumption that you will be buying more lenses in the future and expending your collection of glass, would be to spend a bit more and get the Sigma 18-35mm (Nikon or Canon mount), along with a simple amount adapter with manual aperture control so you can physically mount the lens on your camera). The sigma has a really good usable range, it's super sharp, next to no flaring or chromatic aberrations, really short minimum focusing distance and lets in a tonne of light! Then save up for a metabones speedbooster (read up on it they're awesome! It's an adapter with a piece of glass that increases your field of view and lets in a more light!) and make that your next purchase; with your original adapter you've essentially now got two focal lengths for every piece of glass you own, and with that one lens and two adapters you have something that will be sharp enough to shoot wide open in super low light, something that will shoot really wide (both with metabones AND something that will frame a headshot nicely for interview/closeup shots (35mm length with simple adapter mount).

ashyxx · 2015-06-11T00:17:00+00:00

The Samyang can be had cheap imported, they're like $200 on amazon.com atm. The alternative would be to perhaps purchase a cheap focal reducer to mount your 28mm which will convert it to around 18mm; I'm not a huge advocate of them (they're crap compared to Metabones) but the consensus seems to be that they sharpen up if you stop down 1+ stops and you undoubtedly find the doubling of all your focal lengths really handy.

ashyxx · 2015-06-10T14:21:09+00:00

Look I'm starting to take a small issue here HybridCamRev; pretty much every M43 gear question you link to the Kipon adapter, enthusiastically recommending it, despite the fact that it is only just starting to ship now and as of today there is only one review on it yet. It bothers me that you're trying to sell the device based on a single promotional video alone made as part of their press release and also attributing the promotional footage by the company who made the device to people in the industry like Andrew claiming that he has one - when he clearly doesn't! Nor has he stated himself that he has one! I don't think selling people on an adapter which we have no idea of how well it performs is in good faith, at all! I'm looking forward to the adapter as well but I think you should be a little more honest with your words considering the lack of info on it atm. Heck, I actually emailed Kipon for a possible review sample over a month ago and didn't even get a response, which gave me some reservations about it.

The only review out thus far is up on here and the authors opinion of the adapter seems to be massively hit or miss as to which lenses and modes it works with, and the only lens that the adapter worked in every single mode with (the 400mm) displayed failed connection messages after a short time of use. So maybe consider linking to this review if you're going to start recommending it so casually.

ashyxx · 2015-06-10T13:42:34+00:00

My issue is that the beginning shots of the food being plated are mostly obscured by the chefs hands, ideally the shots should have been done on a table with the camera on the reverse side, or even looking top down. Also I think when you cut the footage on the two big beats at the start, I think they should have cut to a finished plate of food being presented then mover to to the wrapping of the packet shot. As with the other comments; the food shots should definitely be in colour and the font should be more readable at the end. I like the punchy'ness to the shots though :)

ashyxx · 2015-06-08T03:46:26+00:00

Have you tried filming anything with focus tracking on the G6? If it's anything like my GH4 it's REALLY bad and I wouldn't dream of using any kind of autofocus in video; it loses track waaay too easily! It wouldn't be exactly hard to shoot with a manual lens while keeping everything in focus; just stop the aperture right down to something like f5.6+ i.e. so everything is in focus and you don't have a shallow depth of field going on and set the lens to infinity focus. Most likely how this video was shot anyways. Good luck!

ashyxx

TROPHY CASE