Metabones® Introduces Canon EF to RF CINE Speed Booster® ULTRA
Vancouver, Canada, November 19, 2021 - Owing to demand from videographers and cinematographers, Metabones® adds EF-RF CINE Speed Booster® ULTRA to its line-up, by adding a patented positive-lock EF mount to the same Speed Booster ULTRA optics by Caldwell Photographic Inc. Speed Booster ULTRA makes full-frame lenses brighter, sharper and wider (note 1).
The raison d'être of Metabones EF-RF CINE Speed Booster ULTRA may not be immediately obvious to some photographers, who may find no use of it. But to the filmmaker in the know, it may be an essential tool to mitigate the crop factor of certain video modes. With an ever-increasing resolution of image sensors, the bandwidth requirements to convert, move and process image data keep going up, generating more noise and heat as a result. Cropping and reading only the central portion of the sensor lessen the load, but leave much of the light collected by the lens unused and wasted. Enter Speed Booster ULTRA. It "condenses" the full-frame image projected by the lens to a smaller cropped area, increasing both the brightness and the sharpness in the process (note 1). Footage has the appearance of the full-frame sensor size, even when shot in a cropped video mode. Wide-angle lenses remain wide angle. The following table lists some examples of video modes, which benefit from the use of Speed Booster ULTRA.
Metabones EF-RF CINE Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x has a multi-function control wheel that can be programmed to control ISO, shutter speed, or aperture. In addition, the wheel can be pushed in like a button. That, in turn, can be programmed to be a depth-of-field preview or numerous other functions. EF-RF Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x has a 'chip' emulation function for fully mechanical manual lenses. The user may preset lens metadata using the Metabones App. To make sure this 'chip' emulation function does not get in the way when not required, it is only activated after pushing the control wheel inward. Since both the lens and the camera speak the same protocol most features are supported with the exception of lens aberration correction, which is automatically turned off. The autofocus speed of the lens is adjusted and optimized for the change in focal length and aperture to ensure the best performance. This is especially important for dual-pixel autofocus (DPAF) in video mode on supported EOS RF mount cameras.
Speed Booster ULTRA
Speed Booster ULTRA uses an advanced 5-element/4-group optical design by Caldwell Photographic Inc., incorporating ultra-high index tantalum-based optical glass to achieve extraordinary optical performance with improved corner sharpness, distortion, and reduced vignetting. Speed Booster ULTRA has a magnification of 0.71x, reducing the crop factor of some video modes to almost full-frame. (Refer to the table above.) The Speed Booster 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 full-frame 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 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.
Metabones EF-RF CINE Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x is available right now for USD529 plus applicable taxes, duties and shipping, from Metabones' web store and its worldwide network of resellers. The existing Metabones EF-RF Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x without positive-lock continues to be available for USD529 plus applicable taxes, duties and shipping.
Note 1: compared to the same lens on the same camera with an ordinary lens mount adapter without optics.
Note 2: neither the lens nor Speed Booster ULTRA is guaranteed to have adequate coverage of RED Komodo's larger sensor. Vignetting may occur. Some third-party lenses may not be compatible with RED Komodo.
Specifications
Product name (Model Code):
Canon EF Lens to RF-Mount T CINE Speed Booster® ULTRA 0.71x (MB_SPEF-EFR-BT2)
Dimension: 29.7 x 81.4 x 89.0mm
Weight: 234g
Retail Price: USD 529.00
Color: Black Satin exterior; Black Matte interior
|
|
|
|
|
|
About Metabones
Metabones®, together with its allied partners Caldwell Photographic and WB Design, is the pioneer and leader of two key technologies which have catalyzed the transition from mirror to mirrorless. Speed Booster® (winner of the 2013 TIPA Best Photo Accessory Award) makes lenses brighter, wider and sharper, and Smart Adapter™ breaks the lens mount compatibility barrier by electronically integrating interchangeable single-lens reflex (SLR) lenses and mirrorless cameras. Metabones® offers a comprehensive range of adapters covering the most popular lens mounts, as well as some rare and exotic ones. "Always at the forefront of innovation without ever setting aside practicality as a professional tool" perhaps best epitomizes Metabones' philosophy.