Green and Advanced Modes
A Tale of Two Modes
Your Metabones E-Mount Speed Booster or Smart Adapter has two different operation modes. Each mode supports a different set of features. You select the operation mode when you mount the lens. The following table summarizes the differences between the two operation modes if your camera is modern (2015+) and supports PDAF (phase-detection autofocus).
*Tip: for using the VENICE, FX and FS series cameras, it is recommended to switch to the Advanced Mode.
| Green Mode | Advanced Mode |
| Still photo: fast phase-detection autofocus | Still photo: fast contrast-detection/phase detection autofocus. Contax N lenses may not autofocus properly in Advanced mode. |
| Excellent compatibility with virtually all AF lenses | Autofocus works with most lenses but compatibility is not as broad as in "Green" mode |
| No Eye-AF function, except on A1, A7 III, A7 IV, A7R III, A7R IV, A7 V, A9, and A9 II or the newer models. | Eye-AF on all supported cameras (including FX9) |
| AF-C up to 10fps with A9 and up to 3fps with A7 Mark III (LO drive mode) | AF-C up to 10fps with A7 Mark III (HI+ drive mode) |
| Slow, disruptive single-shot video AF or no video AF at all | Continuous video AF with phase-detection AF near the center of the frame |
| Full PDAF area of the sensor may be used, even though edge and corner PDAF points may have difficulty locking with some lenses | Small central PDAF area |
| May have difficulty locking with long telephoto lenses under less-than-ideal shooting conditions (good lighting, high contrast and small focus movements required) | More even performance across different shooting conditions when using long telephoto lenses |
There is no "right" setting, but based on customer feedback most users prefer "Green" mode for still photography with modern cameras (2015+) equipped with PDAF, and "Advanced" mode for video. Use "Advanced" mode if you want extra AF features or 10fps continuous AF-C with A7 Mark III.
For legacy cameras (2014 or before), or for cameras with no phase-detection autofocus (e.g. A7S II),
| Green Mode | Advanced Mode |
| Slow contrast-detection autofocus | Fast contrast-detection autofocus with most Canon EF mount lenses. Contax N lenses may not autofocus properly in Advanced mode. |
| No AF-C support | AF-C may have unsatisfactory performance and/or accuracy and may suffer from excessive hunting, depending on lens - use AF-S or DMF |
| No auto-iris function on FS and VG camcorders | Auto-iris on FS and VG camcorders |
We recommend users of legacy cameras or cameras with no PDAF to use the "Advanced" mode.
These are the additional differences on all camera bodies.
| Green Mode | Advanced Mode |
| LED on adapter is blue (on CINE Smart Adapter, CINE Speed Booster ULTRA, Mark V and Speed Booster ULTRA II) or white (Contax N-E Smart Adapter, Contax N-E Speed Booster | LED on adapter is red (on CINE Smart Adapter, CINE Speed Booster ULTRA, Mark V, Speed Booster ULTRA II, Contax N-E Smart Adapter, Contax N-E Speed Booster) |
| Emulates a Sony LA-EA1 or LA-EA3 lens adapter for A-mount lenses | Emulates, on a best-effort basis, a "native" E-mount lens |
| Video AF is always slow contrast-detect and requires half-pressing shutter release button to activate | Continuous video AF possible but performance may be unsatisfactory with some lenses; for most lenses, motor noise may be picked up by the camera's internal mic and an appropriately placed external microphone is required for video work, even though some of the newest Canon lenses have quiet motors for iris and focus. |
| Some functions are unavailable |
DMF (direct manual focus) Eye-AF Zoom position W-T indicator Distance display (with a lens capable of transmitting distance information) Auto-magnify (requires distance information from lens) |
| Max aperture of lens shall be f/8 or better for AF to function. | Will attempt to AF at a max aperture of F/11 or F/16 by contrast detection but performance and accuracy will suffer from significant degradation. The combined max aperture of lens and any Canon EF Extender attached must still be F/8 or better for AF to function, but a Sony teleconverter (Mark V/CINE Smart Adapter only) or Kenko Pro300 may be stacked on top. |
| Stop down when you fire the shutter | Stop down as you turn the aperture dial (if "LiveView Display" is configured to "Setting Effect ON") |
| Aperture movement kept to a minimum | Frequent aperture movements with increased tick noise from the aperture |
| With a variable aperture lens, the aperture changes whilst zooming but the iris remains constant. For example, if an F/4-5.6 lens is set to f/8 at its widest zoom position, the aperture will gradually become f/11 as you zoom to the tele end. | A variable aperture lens would mimick a constant aperture lens using iris movement. For example, if an F/4-5.6 lens is set to f/8 at its widest zoom position, the aperture remains at f/8 at any zoom position, but the iris opens up as you zoom toward the tele end. |
|
Lower power consumption |
Higher power consumption |
| Servo zoom of EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (Nano coating) + PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter + Metabones CINE Smart Adapter using PZ-E1's rocker switch only | Servo zoom of EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (Nano coating) + PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter + Metabones CINE Smart Adapter controlled from camera body or from PZ-E1. Smart Adapter IV/V do not support servo zoom control from the camera body. |
| Servo zoom of CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 L IS using the lens' rocker switch or zoom buttons only | Servo zoom of CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 L IS lens controlled from camera body or from the lens |
In "Green" Mode, battery power is conserved by reduced aperture diaphragm movements. The aperture diaphragm will not stop down until the shutter release is fully depressed or the movie capture button is depressed. Image stabilization is not activated until the shutter release button is half-pressed or movie capture begins.
"Green" mode is activated by default for Smart Adapter II, III and the original Speed Booster. The original Smart Adapter (Mark I) supports only the Advanced Mode.
Changing Mode Temporarily
Choose the other operation mode by first turning on the power of your Sony E-mount camera and either
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attach the Metabones Smart Adapter onto the Sony E-mount camera body first, and then while depressing the Wide-Open/Custom Function (WO/CF) button of the Smart Adapter or depressing the Wheel Dial of the eND Smart Adapter, attach the Canon EF mount lens onto the Smart Adapter, or
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attach the Canon EF mount lens onto the Metabones Smart Adapter first, and then while depressing the Wide-Open/Custom Function (WO/CF) button of the Smart Adapter or depressing the Wheel Dial of the eND Smart Adapter, attach the Smart Adapter onto the Sony E-mount camera body.
The operation mode is reset to default when either the Smart Adapter or the Canon EF mount lens is detached.
Changing the Default Mode Permanently
- With no lens attached, turn on camera body.
- While holding down the WO/CF button on the adapter, attach lens.
- Without ever releasing the WO/CF button, switch off the camera's power.
- Repeat to restore the default mode to Advanced mode again. With Mark I, Mark II, Mark III and the original Speed Booster, you may make the switch for only about 10 times. After that you can only make temporary mode changes. A firmware update will fully restore the capability to permanently change the default mode. There is no restriction on the number of default mode changes with Mark IV, Mark V, CINE Smart Adapter, CINE eND Smart Adapter, Speed Booster ULTRA, Speed Booster ULTRA II, CINE Speed Booster ULTRA, Contax N-E Speed Booster ULTRA and Contax N-E Smart Adapter.
Changing the Default Mode Using Metabones App
- You may change the default mode of Mark IV, Mark V, CINE Smart Adapter, CINE eND Smart Adapter, Speed Booster ULTRA, Speed Booster ULTRA II, CINE Speed Booster ULTRA, Contax N-E Smart Adapter and Contax N-E Speed Booster ULTRA using Metabones App. Mark I, II, III and the original Speed Booster does not support Metabones App.
- Download Metabones App from the Metabones web site. It is available on the Support/Download page or any Speed Booster ULTRA/Smart Adapter product page.
- Run Metabones App and follow the on-screen directions.
- There are 2 separate mode settings which can be set independently, one for newer cameras (mid-2015+) and one for legacy cameras (early 2015 or before).