Written by James Miller
Joining the two passive (Nikon G and Leica R) Speed Booster adapters for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is the long awaited Canon EF to BMPCC Active Speed Booster. Priced at USD659 it should be available by the end of June from Metabones. http://www.metabones.com/products/?c=bmcc
This really is great news for the $995 Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera Being able to use Canon optically stabilised lenses is a delight and I might actually use this camera now.
I know the first thing you may want to try if you have a Panasonic GH4 to hand is putting the EF-BMPCC Speed Booster onto it, don’t. The EF-BMPCC Active Speed Booster should only use with BMPCC. This model is customised to use with BMPCC camera, so it may cause damage of the adapter or the other cameras. It’s not designed to cover the full MFT image circle, but only covers the smaller S16 of the BMPCC.
To prevent anyone from using the BMPCC Speed Booster on the GH4. The GH4 will display “Lens attachment failed. Please make sure the lens is attached correctly”. There is also an etched a warning “For use only with BMPCC” on the BMPCC Speed Booster housing.
Fear not, I’m sure Metabones are actively working on a GH4 version of the EF – Active Speed Booster.
Here is a few test clips using the Canon EF 70-200L II F2.8 IS on the Canon EF – BMPCC Active Speed Booster. Shot in Brighton for a change!
Metabones Canon EF to BMPCC Active Speed Booster from James Miller on Vimeo.
The new 0.58x EF-BMPCC Active Speed Booster reduces the crop factor of the BMPCC from 2.88x to 1.75x, and produces the largest aperture optics currently available, with a maximum output aperture of f/0.74. For example, a 50mm f/1.2 now becomes a 29mm f/0.74 (i.e, by using 50mm lens, the actual focal length in BMPCC is 29mm x 3.02 = 87.58mm), and the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 becomes the world’s fastest zoom lens at 10.5-20.3mm f/1.0 with stunningly sharp performance. (i.e, by using 18-35mm lens, the actual focal length in BMPCC is from (10.5mm x 3.02 = 31.71mm) to (20.3mm x 3.02 = 61.31mm).
Aperture effects on your EF Canon lenses by using the EF-BMPCC Active Speed Booster.
a) EF 85/1.2L attached, camera display = f/1.2, physical aperture (lens + Speed Booster combined) = f/0.74.b) Sigma 18-35/1.8 attached, camera display = f/1.0, physical aperture (lens + Speed Booster combined) = f/1.0.
Whats very handy is the tripod foot is detachable and compatible with Arca Swiss plates. It pops straight on the Kessler Kwik Release System. Great for light weight shooting.
Using with EF-S lenses. The EF-S mount has the same 44mm flange distance as the EF-mount, but the rear of the lens is allowed to protrude a few mm further into the mount aperture and possibly hitting the optics of the Speed Booster. You may be able to mount some EF-S lenses by removing the protective ring protruding from the rear of the EF-S lens.
A few words, well pics from me (Philip) This is excellent to have and I can’t wait until they bring out one for the GH4. I have used this on the GH4 (pre-production) and it kinda works, naturally not sharp edge to edge. Best one I have used for the 4K mode on that camera is the Cinema Camera Speedbooster. The one to use for caution and to use the mechanical shutter is the standard speed booster This is the one they will bring out in EF mount, soon i hope, for the GH4.
This is a simple field of view and exposure comparison between a simple flange adaptor, normal MFT Speedbooster (Nikon mount), Cinema Camera Speedbooster (Nikon Mount) and Pocket Camera EF speed booster. Lens in Voigtlander 58mm at F4. ISO 400. Raw graded simply in Lightroom. As you can see the brightness and field of view difference clearly. The pocket camera speed booster, whilst expensive, is essential for users of this camera. A big reason is using IS lenses is now possible with the speed booster. The Nikon one is passive. With a camera like this with rolling shutter issues handheld on anything other than Lumix lens with OIS is a bit crap. Now it’s more than possible. Plus we have a much larger field of view and a nice big gain in field of view. A simply essential purchase!
