Always with us with great advice. RIP David

This video was one of the main reasons I bought my Metabones Speedbooster EF 2 years ago for my Panasonic GX8. I just love the thing. I have a Sigma 18-35mm F1.8, and It becomes 1.2, a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 becomes 2.0.... simply amazing. I also bought tons of vintage lens and cheap adapters for canon EF just to see and they work great. Thanks for all the great videos you produce. It helps us a lot!

Wow I have learnt so much about this in just a couple of vids! Rescued all my PK mount lenses and I can tell you that I'm a happy camper indeed!!! I had them in the closet for ages and never thought that I would ever use them again. I was even about to give them for free... Glad I saw this! Thanks for sharing

Hi David , I do love your take on equipment, as like yourself I’ve been a professional forever, it feels. When I came to MFT I watched your vids, and the approach I’ve found infectious, as we grappled with mix of old school and new school... And by coincidence I too live only yards from the gates of your favourite location. Keep it up mate, you’re far better than a chat at the pub !! All the best, Gary

You are by far my favourite camera reviewer on youtube. I really enjoy watching your review, continue the good work.

This review made me buy the cheap 3rd party boosters for my m43. to test it out my self since I dont have a friend who have their SpeedBooster. but I will surely buy the Metabones later when I got my money, I still have my Canon FD lens after I moved from EF-mount to m43 system, thanks for your review mate!

Excellent and thorough review per usual David - really appreciate your Micro43 reviews as I shoot both Oly and Lumix bodies (as well as Pentax) - this is a very useful piece of kit that is tempting to buy in K-mount configuration (if they make it) to use my Pentax/Rokinon glass on m43 bodies.

This was not a new review, but very useful for me in May of 2020. I appreciate your your detailed information, examples and photos. This was a very well done report. I appreciate your efforts very much. Well done!

Fantastic tips and tricks, David. Especially for photographers who mastered the trade long before digital era and are in possesion of some considerable value in antique lenses. Young generations would probably not understand what you are talking about.

I feel like this Metabones adapter highlights one of the best features of the MFT system and the one I love the most. The mind boggling amount of glass that can be adapted and used on cameras it was never intended for. Vintage lenses have a quality that is hard to quantify and very desirable to some. I'd love to hear more about the vintage lenses you have, as for someone who was too young to really experience the analog age, they are a completely different world.

It really gives a new dimension to MFT cameras. I'm so happy I once decided to go with GX7 rather than with G6. Although I have Camdiox focal reducer for Canon FD. It might be not the same quality as Metabones... 1/4th of the price. But now I know if I want better I'll get Metabones. Great review!

I love your idea, David. Since I discovered the far less expensive speed boosters, such as the Viltrox, among others, buying a vintage long zoom is that much more appealing. As you say, the Panny 100-300mm at a paltry f5.6 for $600 has some competition now. And then there's the new Olympus 12-200mm f6.3 for $900 ....

This is an outstanding thorough review, you know Mr thorpe sometimes I have to dig through countless videos to find a reviewer who takes it serious enough to get up from the table and shoot outside. I can tell that like me you dont try to shoot and edit a review in one day, sometimes Ill shoot footage for a month till I have what I need to do a proper review. by the way Im using a focal reducer made by Roxsen I got it for about $92.00. it is so flawless I emailed the company telling them how much I benefit from it they sent me one free to review. I have a Helios 44-2 that rarely leaves My Lumix and the reducer is what allows me to see the swirly bokeh that otherwise would be cropped from the edges. feel free to check out my review of that lens using the focal reducer if you like. youre right the new lenses have a place but some of the older ones have a rendering quality and character that can be used artistically. Respect

Nicely done ... I have a few nice old Nikon lenses and do not have an issue with stills glass rings on video cameras. I've used them on 35mm lens adaptors on a Sony EX3 ... nice images.

Still grateful to you, David.

oly 35mm It's quite a big thing to do, swapping over to a completely different system. I tend to write down a list of pluses and minuses, giving myself a few weeks to make sure I have all my thoughts down. Personally, I've never regretted going to MFT and the cameras that have appeared subsequently have underlined the correctness of my decision. I'd never try to persuade anyone, the things that motivate me may mean nothing to another photographer. One certainty, though, if I had been entirely happy with my DSLR I wouldn't have given a thought to changing as I don't with MFT. It's not that I don't look occasionally and the Sony and Fuji and so on are blindingly good cameras but they don't offer the blend of attributes that I am looking for.

leftnose I can't reply to you directly on KZfaq comments for some reason so I'll hope you see this. It's the Panasonic DMW-EC1. It helps shield the viewfinder in very sunny weather, especially if you wear glasses.

A lot of film makers use the Metabones adapters. If you use Metabones adapter and just take off the lens and put another lens on the Metabones adapter will always keep the sensor clean. It been nice if they made cameras like this with the adapters built onto the camera body.

Another quality video David, well done and thanks.

Hey David, another good video. Thank you for taking the time to explain this. One nitpick: while you were discussing the math for the 50mm focal length, the video was showing some the math from another lens. Just a bit confusing to dimwits like me.

Thanks for there review, will rent one and try it on my old Olympus film lens.

Being an absolute newbie in the world of photography, I find your videos among the best tools in understanding the subject. I got a used, in mint condition, E-M10 mk1 and your channel has become my go to place for m34 stuff ever since. Thanks!

Another great review from Mr. Thorpe. Great job. You could be a great mentor. Keep it up! :)

I love the look of my Nikkor 135mm 2.8 AI on the GH4 with the Lens Turbo ll. Those old Nikkor's are fantastic.

BTW David, I did separate into paragraphs below. Where did they go?

Aura Qualic You're welcome! I haven't tried the cheaper ones but I'd think the main difference would be in the corner edge performance.

Hello again David! I'm researching these, and am delighted to see you've posted this. However, I do have a little (huge understatement!) something to add that you might find helpful. In truth, for the MFT system the 2x "FF equivalent" needs to be applied to both the focal length and the aperture. That Nikkor 200mm f/4 lens performs optically (depth of field, angle of view, and even (in a more complex way) light transmission, like a 400mm f/8 on MFT with a glassless adapter. The Metabones .71 formula is: 200mm x .71 = 142 x 2 = 284mm equivalent, f/4 x .71 = 2.84 x 2 = f/5.68. So that lens acts like a FF 284mm/f5.6 on MFT bodies with the Metabones. By the way, the same 2x equivalency applies to native MFT lenses. A Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 is equivalent to FF 40mm/f3.4. (See Tony Northrup for more details: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nJuqgZl_u96RmI0.html)So who cares? Well, first off this helps to clarify why MFT sensors have low light performance issues. It can also help someone decide whether or not to buy the somewhat expensive Metabones. For example, the Olympus 40-150 f/2.8 performs like a FF 300mm f/5.6 at the long end. Would someone rather apply the US $450-$650 that the Metabones would cost and get something specifically designed for MFT in that case? I would say the answer is yes, unless like you they already had a 200mm FF lens to mount on it. Even though an adapter (and especially a speed booster) does open up a big, wide world of additional lenses, in the main, investing in the fastest current design MFT lenses one can afford makes the most sense for the most people, no?However. . . many videographers using the GH4 find the Metabones coupled with the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 Art lens (FF 25-50 f/2.5) a fantastic combination, and though I don't own it, I've seen the results and have to agree. And if you want to see a speed booster that does even more incredible things, check out the Aputure DEC LensRegain. Cheaper than the Metabones, and it comes with both focus and aperture remote control! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jbuPfLqEzMWdcoU.html

It’s been 3 years since you made this review, and yr opinion about metabones on mft still resonates strongly especially considering GH5, MB, and sigma 18/35 f1.8 combo is almost industry standard for a lot of Gh5 shooters! The other lens of choice is the voigtlanders. Have you done an update review or comparison of newer native mft lens vs mb + vintage lens? Has mb compelled oly & panny to build faster sharper native lenses? Cheers still persuasive video! 🎥👍

GREAT VIDEO! MAN YOU KNOW YOUR STUFF, FANTASTIC!!

Great straight forward informative review. Thanks!

Very helpful video; thank you. I do use some old lenses. Zeiss, russian made zorki 4 (a copy of rangefinder leica) I do agree that those old lenses have a quality to them that is different from current modern offerings. I can't describe it, but you did that well in your video.

Very well put together video. You just sold me on thr g9, and a speed booster. But just to make sure, I can put full frame lenses unto an mft camera with the speedbooster?

Okay, if there is ever a K-mount compatible Metabones, this becomes a game changer in terms of investing in MFT. I can keep and use all my Pentax lenses.

While the Metabones is a bit pricey, I have invested in a cheap Chinese alternative that does the job for me for around third of the price. Combining that, with bargain vintage lenses from Ebay - and now I've got a wide collection of old FD lenses that I adore. The beauty of it, is that M42\Sigma\Pentax lenses are also easily adaptable for the FD mount, so I got a couple of these as well. I've got used to the manual focusing with the GX7, which while not being very hard, does require a bit of skill. Upgrading to the GX9 with it's superior stabilization and a bump in pixel density - shooting an old lens adapted to the camera became pure joy that never fades away. Not once I've lost a full evening changing lenses and taking the same picture to see the difference in quality, depth of field and feel of the picture to experiment and understand which lens performs better for which situation. Thank you David for your review, back in the day - it has opened my eyes and provided the knowledge for this amazing experience :)

do you have a video on the metabones xl speed booster? I would like to see your take on it for stills

Thanks for that. I have the meta bones for my A7s. And it's a bit glitchy (with update) sometimes have to turn cam on off 3 times before it works. And I was considering getting the speed boosted mb for my gh4 too. So nice to see that version doesn't suffer from the same issues. (Ps. On a7s the auto focus with MB is too slow to be worth using. )

A good friend's father told us "never sell your gear"... you can always get more money. You can't get your gear back.

If I may ask a 'desert Island glass ' question David, if as a 'general amateur use / landscape' photographer you were only allowed one lens and a metabones, which combination would you choose. I'm considering an upgrade to the GH5 from a Lumix FZ70.

really good review, I love using my older lenses this would be amazing to own. Definitely on the wish list.

I use the first generation Metabones .7 adapter with my fast Nikon primes, including a Nikon f/2.0 135mm DC lens. Defocus control and the fast aperture allows creative shooting indoors with shallow depth of field and lovely bokeh. The new, more expensive Ultra version of the adapter is sharper. The main negative about the F/G mount to Micro Four Thirds adapter is arbitrary numbering on the aperture control. I presume that's a limitation of a device that works with lenses that have different aperture ranges. It makes aperture setting guesswork. I suppose one could set the meter to manual to measure the f-stop increments, but I haven't resorted to that just yet. Manual focusing with my Panasonic bodies isn't idea with wafer-thin depth of field. I had hoped my GX8 with its focus-peaking feature would help, but that feature is poorly implemented and is often invisible, despite setting it to its coarser value that makes it more apparent.

The newer canon telephoto lenses are also really nice although still very expensive, the 1999 300mm f/2.8L IS is still €2500 but so extremely sharp

I purchased the Metabones Canon EF/ Micro 4/3 Speed Booster XL-BL from B&H Photo in April of 2016. My application was using the Panasonic GH-4 and the Speed Booster with the many Canon lenses I had accumulated. The unit worked well most of the time, but the GH-4 would occasionally show the “Lens attachment failed” error screen when I attached a different lens. I thought it was the lens choice, but noticed that all but one of the lenses I had were original Canon units. On 09/29/2016 the GH-4 firmware was updated to version V25 and the Speed Booster interface problem began to occur much more frequently. I continued to think it may have been due to my inexperience with the GH-4 camera functions, so I tried to learn about and attempt almost every combination of camera and lens settings. Nothing worked. On 12/07/2016 the Speed Booster firmware was updated to version V2.5, and on 12/08/2016 the GH-4 firmware was again updated to version V26. Now EVERY lens I try to attach gives the same attachment failure error message. I can only use the combination if I place the lens inside the Speed Booster mount but only turn enough to secure it without actually connecting the contacts of the lens and the Speed Booster. Of course this won’t allow any lens communication with the camera, but will still allow the use of the lens as a completely manual unit. I have tried both the Green Power-Save mode (default) and the Advanced Manual Focus mode on the Speed Booster and I still get the same results. I find it almost unbearable that I purchased this unit mainly for the ability to use my Canon lenses on the GH-4 like I use them on my Canon bodies, i.e. with full control of the lens focus functions. I can’t believe a $650 unit designed to do this, heralded as the best unit of its type available in the marketplace, only lasted for a few months before failing completely. Of course I am beyond the 30 day period usually given for a return window. I could never give this unit more than one star, and would seriously love to give it much less than one star, if that were possible. I have never been as disappointed with a seemingly serious photography product as I have been with this Metabones unit.

Brilliant as always - Thanks

Way with words!! Like it. Great review

***** I can't reply directly. While it is expensive it's in line with tele-converters from Nikon and Canon etc. This stuff isn't made in large numbers and so will always be dearer than regular equipment.

very nice review, love you articulation. Cheers!

So, using this with the Zuiko OM 180mm f2 would be the bomb... imagine that razorthick depth of field in those ultrasharp portraits

Interesting; I'd never have thought of using one.

Just to be sure, this metabones nikon version does NOT support both autofocus and image stabilization (VR). Am i right?

David hello could please help me? I purchased a Panasonic GH5. The plan is to pick up a Panasonic H-NS043 LEICA DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm F1.2 ASPH LUMIX G for the GH5. My main focus for buying the GH5 and this particular lens is for making videos (vlogging). Question: putting a speed booster along with the 42.5mm F1.2, would that improve the photo/video quality of that lens or with such a lens would it be redundant using a speed booster? If a Metabone Speed Booster will give an even better cinematic photography effect (stills & 4k video) which type of speed booster should I purchase? XL 0.64x Adapter for full-frame Canon EF-Mount Lens to Micro Four Thirds-Mount Camera??? Thank you very much for you help. Much appreciated. Garfield

Great Review. One thing that concerned me about the metabones is the electrical tape they use on the rear element to keep it from shorting the contact pins in the camera body. I can see that tape coming off eventually. I find it to be a very low budget solution considering that every else about the adapter has a topnotch build quality. What are your thoughts on that?

Hi David, quick question. I'm just getting going with photography and have an m43 camera. Would you suggest getting this + old full-frame lenses, or simply using the money to buy native m43 lenses? I basically would like a decent fast prime for landscape photography, and a long zoom (which this option seems very good for).

Excuse my ignorance - but does the focal length change when on a micro four thirds body? For example if I put a canon 200mm lens on the metabones - would it still be a 200 mm but with a faster aperture?

do you recomended using a 75-300 mm (for Canon) on an olympus em-1 for flying birds? focusing will be fast enough or not so good?

Older lenses have less glass elements which manipulates the light much less than the newer lenses that have more glass elements, which is why the older lenses put out richer colors.

Alguien es español que me explique lo del video?

I picked up one of these for my GH2, and I absolutely love it!

If that's the ED-IF 300mm -- that's a spectacular lens. Really great. Better than the four or so other 300mm classic Nikkors on a range of levels.

Hey David, that 300mm nikkor you got is one beautiful specimen of a lens, but it does have one major downfall: It's one of those old lenses containing thorium which is radioactive and can cause serious damage to your eyes if held closely, so please be careful with it if still in your possession my friend.

Great Video ...Thanks. I sold my MetaBones for my BMPCC and wish I had not!

Great video, subscribed :-) I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I just got a GH4 for mainly video use, now i don't own ANY glass at all. So the two options I'm looking at is either getting the Metabones Speed Booster along with the Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS Lens, Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8 and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 which would cost a total of $2,076 OR i could go with MFT lenses, the Voigtlander 10.5 f/0.95, Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 and the Voigtlander Nokton 42.5mm f/0.95. Assuming the 10.5 Voigtlander will cost at least $999, that would make the MFT lenses come to $2,998. That is $900 more than the Speedbooster and the 3 EF lenses. Which option would you go for ?? Would you advise the speed booster for someone who doesn't have any lenses or would you suggest getting Voigtlander glass which even with the speed boosters help, none of those EF lenses i listed will drop to 0.95 like the MFT lenses. Your advice would be really appreciated, thank you.

Great review !!

I'm shocked! I always associated adapters with glass in the middle with poor quality. If only it wasn't so damn expensive. Speaking of adapters have you tried using the old Olympus DSLR lenses with an adapter? They work fantastically. The optical and build quality are excellent and the AF is quite snappy (with my EM-1), and the 12-60 and 50-200 offer a range not available in native mft.

Hi David, thank you very much for sharing! I wasn't aware of the issue with the Olympus. I have an Olympus PEN e-P5. With that it wouldn't be a problem, would it? Best Ralf

I ended up getting this for my GH4, but the control on the aperture control placement on the speed booster is a bit annoying.

awesome video! if i have a Nikon Ai-s NIKKOR 135mm F2.8 and Lumix G7 , would I pick up the nikon F mount or the Nikon G mount to m43 ? I can't find the answer for what mount the AI-s takes ... Thanks in advance !

David, Great video and I'm now a subscriber. I use a SB on my GH4 with a cine lens. I'm always confused about the relationship between the aperture ring on the cine lens vs the aperture ring on the adapter. Should I be using one and not the other? If so, which one to use and where do I leave the other set?

Thanks for a good video. Have you compered the Metabone to the Viltrox EF-M2 Auto Focus Adapter Speed Booster? The Viltrox is much cheaper but is it much worse? I have the Panasonic gx8 and I want to use some good canon or Nikon lenses with long focal length E.g. canon 70-200 f/4 or f/2.8. Thanks! /Jon

Thank you for another informative and entertaining review, David. IM 8)

When you put on a lens with an adapter., you are supposed to enter the focal length in the settings. I plan to use a Nikon 35mm full frame with a speedbooster on my X-T30 .What lens focal length do I enter? Do I have to change it due to speedbooster?

I have somehow managed to turn off the focus feature shown at around 4:50 of this video on my GX8 and don't know how to get it back. Can you help?

So if I have got this right I can get one of these for my canon FD lenses and with a conversion factor of 0.71 my 300 f4 would become 300 * 0.71 * 2 for micro four thirds

Man I wish I didn't sold my 22mm 2.4 ISCO MC... a kind of 1 kg lens, even without the aluminium focusing body. Now with a M65X1 FEMALE THREAD TO NIKON F and a Speed booster NF to M-4/3, I would have a pur 16.5mm @ 1.8. Please David, sale this thing back to me : you know it's no good, don't you ?

Thanks for the video. Would there ever be any point on adding this to a 8-18mm micro four thirds f2.8 lens?

so I'm confused................please help I have a Olympus OMd 5 I also have a bunch of NIKOR f mount lenses but i onl see G mount speed boosters So my question Will the G mount to micro 43 work with my Camera and older F mount lenses? Thanks for your videos Regards Rick

Hello David I’m curious, Do you still adapt your old Nikkor lenses with the metabones speed booster after the new lenses that have come out for the mft system in the years since this video . I just picked one up at a bargain price and look forward to using it and my old Nikkor glass on my Olympus camera . Kind regards Clive

also worth mentioning... some of the metabones 'keep' the IS of lenses working... I have one for Canon EF, and ... haven't played with it much, but man, it's so cool to put my 300/F2.8L IS on it :) ... and... to be able to use all my Canon glass.... Only slight drawback, the IS is on ... all the time... I think I never shoot video with the 5DmkIII again (allthough that ML RAW is quite something, but... way to cumbersome to use in post production, apart from the uge files).... I think Canon is loosing a lot of customers now for their video market... And... even if there is a 5DmkIV with 4K, let say end of the year... it has to be pretty spectacular to beat this GH4 or A7s... to justify the probably 2-3x higher price... I am wondering if I should buy a metabones for my Nikon manual lenses (bought for the GH2) to... those lenses are lighter then my Canon zoom lenses.... and... the Nikkor 300mm/F4.5 is waaaaaay easier to handle ofcourse then the 'beast' 300/F2.8 lens :)

Hi Dave! Recently purchase a used GX7 (Body only) No lens. Which version/Model number Metabones did you buy for your GX7 please?

Good review!

Great review. If only I had some old lenses.

Thanks for your video. New to photography and have the Panasonic gh3 and Olympus 75mm 1.8 for portrait work..if I wanted to add even more creamier bokeh to the background would this product help, hinder or not do anything in that respect or would a teleconverter be better for even more blur? Cheers!

David, i'm trying my best to understand these speed boosters. I'm hearing from people that they impact image quality and distort the original lens!?!?? And that if you're planning on having your film shown on a big cinema screen then to avoid????

Will this work on the Panasonic 100-400 zoom?

sir what i understood from is that it is excellent for a7rii bc it makes 50 f1.4 30s f( less than 1.4 ) that much appreciated for many am i correct on this ?

Regards from Stockholm! I've been using a Canon HF-G10 for years since 2011. I thought it was pretty good - until I saw what a GH5 can do. Even though the "5" is "old" now I still see it as legitimate choice in late 2019 and price for used versions here in Sweden has begun to be under 1000 usd also. But, I find myself confused by Speedboosters. As I understand it, in order to use full frame lenses, I need to purchase the XL 0.64 Metabones, the 0.71 as I understand, will not give the best result with full frame lenses. So, if that is correct, are Canon lenses more advantageous then Nikon lenses? The reason I ask is that, if I have understood correctly, the electronics don't translate well to the camera even with the XL Ultra for Nikon lenses, but they do with the Canon lenses. Is that correct? I've seen a Finish guy (Joo Works) get very good low light results with the GH5 and the Nikon 50mm and I'm leaning towards Nikon because of that. But, I don't have any bias towards either Canon or Nikon, I'm more pragmatic and am interested in what works best and communicates best with the camera. I've purchased my native lenses already, I chose used Leicas, the 8-18mm which seems to work very well in small rooms and the 12-60 f2.8 as an general purpose lens. I'm hoping to grab a GH5 after Christmas. But, since it gets soooooo dark here I the winter, I need to research the best low light possibilities. I rented a GH5 back in September and was pleased with the results, but it's clear that night filming with only street lighting is something of a challenge! Any advice you can give would be most welcome. All the best from 60 degrees North!

I guess you'd look at one of these as a new lens purchase @£300+ giving you a gateway in some bargain great pre digital glass ,doesn't seem so bad then 👍

Hi, which model of Panasonic you used?

You do realize that you are on micro 4/3 and and your 212 mm is actually a 424 mm lens?

Hello David! Very nice and informative Videos! Speedbooster says Nikon G... What's up with that?

What a great option

So if this is possible, why isn't it possible to make a native MFT lens with the same equivalent aperture and depth of field as a full frame camera? I've seen those f0.95 manual lenses but why isn't there a native prime with autofocus? With with a wide angle 10.5mm or 16.5mm f0.95 lens would that compete in low light performance indoors of full frame?

Hmm. Slap a Vario Sonnar T* 24 -70mm f/2.8 on there and get a zoomed Nocticron. As a bonus you won't have to go to the gym. "Get to de camarah!" :-)

When converting a full frame lens to a micro 4/3 camera, is it focal length x .71? For example, 50mm full frame x .71 = 35.5 mm micro 4/3? Thanks!

I need This one for my gh5

The metabones are ridiculously expensive, I wonder how good the likes of Zhonggyi or Fotosy speed boosters are?

Got auto focus?

The real problem is price with Metabones speedboosters even on adapter models without electronics..

Why would anyone use a speebooster for shooting long telephoto with a micro 4/3rd ? Would it not be far more logical to use these lenses to get a 600mm telephoto instead of a 200mm ? Of course 9 years ago there was no 200mm 2.8 Panasonic Leica -- that might be the explanation ?!

+humanfish_is_Youtubing Can't reply directly but thanks!

Hi, not sure if its relevant for you on the nikon MB speedster version, but I just discovered an issue on mine IF you remove the rubber USB plug cover - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fsVlqb17ytjFk4U.html