Advanced Mode features

Auto-Magnify

When the adapter is in Advanced mode, if you turn the focusing ring of a Canon EF mount or Contax N lens, the viewfinder automatically enlarges for ease of manual focusing.

This feature requires the AF/MF switch of the Canon EF mount lens to be set to the MF position and also requires a Canon EF mount lens that supports distance information. Virtually all Canon lenses introduced in the last 20 years support distance information, but a number of notable lenses, such as EF 35/2, EF 50/1.0L and EF 50/1.4, do NOT support distance information and do NOT support auto-magnify MF assist on a Sony NEX camera body.

All Contax N lenses report distance information, as do Contax 645 lenses (optional NAM-1 adapter required) with the sole exception of the Makro Planar f/4 120mm.

Auto-Magnify MF Assist is disabled when the Speed Booster or Smart Adapter is in Green Mode.

NEX camera bodies in camcorder form factor do NOT support Auto-Magnify MF Assist.

MF Assist can still be actuated manually when using lenses with no distance information support or when the Speed Booster or Smart Adapter is in Green mode, or on a NEX camera body in camcorder form factor. Consult your camera body's owner manual for details.

Using Focus Peaking Without Auto-Magnify

Note: your camera body may not support Focus Peaking, or the menu items may differ from what is described below. Consult your camera's manual for information specific to your camera model.

Find “Peaking Level” in your camera body's Setup menu and choose the desired level of focus peaking. To use focus peaking, set either the lens' AF/MF switch to MF or set the camera body to MF.

You may want to use Focus Peaking alone but turn-off Auto-Magnify MF Assist, without turning off the capability to manually activate MF Assist. If your lens does not support distance information, then there is no Auto-Magnify to begin with. Otherwise, putting the adapter in Green Mode would turn Auto-Magnify off.

Turning Off Auto-Magnify on Original Smart Adapter (Mark I)

If you have the original Smart Adapter (Mark I), there is no Green Mode. If your lens support FTM (full-time manual focus), turn on focus peaking in the camera's Setup menu as usual and configure the camera to MF (with the Camera menu on most NEX models – consult your camera's owner's manual for details). Set the lens' AF/MF switch to AF. Now focus peaking is available with manual focusing but MF Assist is no longer automatic. You may still manually activate MF Assist by assigning it to one of the Custom Keys in the Setup menu.

If your lens support distance information but not full-time manual focus, you will not be able to turn off Auto-Magnify with the above procedure. However, you may still turn off Auto-Magnify by configuring the Metabones Smart Adapter in Green Power-Save mode. Focus peaking is available and MF Assist is activated by an assigned Custom Key.

I cannot turn-off Auto-Magnify!

Problem: I want to use Focus Peaking alone without Auto-Magnify getting in my way. If MF Assist is turned off using the camera's Setup menu, it cannot be activated altogether. What I want is to activate MF Assist only when I manually press a button.

Resolution: there are 2 possible solutions.

  1. MF Assist and Focus Peaking are turned on in Setup Menu, camera body set to MF in Camera menu, and AF/MF switch of lens set to AF (only possible with lenses supporting full-time manual focus), or

  2. configure the Metabones Smart Adapter in Green Mode.

Settings Effect On/Off

On some NEX camera bodies, there is a “Live View Display” item in the Setup menu. If it is set to “Settings Effect On”, aperture changes immediately take effect in Live View mode. What you see in the viewfinder always reflects the depth-of-field of the final image.

When set to “Settings Effect Off”, the camera sets the aperture automatically in Live View mode but the viewfinder does not display the depth-of-field of the final image. Under most low-light conditions such as indoors, the aperture is usually wide open until the shutter release button is half-pressed. When the shutter release button is half-pressed, the lens stops down to the chosen aperture and the viewfinder reflects the depth-of-field of the final image.

When the Metabones Speed Booster / Speed Booster ULTRA / Speed Booster ULTRA II / CINE Speed Booster / Contax N-E Speed Booster / Smart Adapter II / Smart Adapter III / Smart Adapter IV / Smart Adapter V / CINE Smart Adapter / Contax N-E Smart Adapter is configured to be in Green Mode, the Live View aperture is always wide open. The lens is not stopped down until the shutter release button is fully depressed, or when movie capture commences.