Speed Boosted S9?- L-Mount Options

[Ninpo33]

Coming from years with the trusty GH5 and GH5s combo, I'm missing my Metabones Speed Booster options and want to start playing around on cheap Lumix S cameras now that the prices are dropping like crazy. 4k/60p and Super 35 modes with the speed boosters and my various vintage glass sounds like a fun project. 

Questions;

1. What ever happened to the Metabones Speed Boosters for L-Mount? There are product pages buried on the site but did they ever actually go into production?

Mandela effect? 

https://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_SPNFG-L-BM1

2. I read something about some of the flange/clearance distance not working and hitting the shutter? If so, does the S9 now offer the option for a Speed Booster in S35 mode or is it still too compact to allow for the optics? Sigma FP is OK because of no mechanical shutter?

https://kipon.com/product/ef-l-af-0-7/

https://laowacine.com/product/0-7x-focal-reducer-for-probe-lens/

With the new batch of Mark ii Lumix S camera's I'm hoping cropped 4k/60p will be a thing of the past but since I will be scooping up used first gen models for cheap B and C cameras, I would like some options for adapting/boosting my vintage glass. 

 

[Ninpo33]

Wow, not a single comment? No one is speed boosting down to S35 on their older S cameras? 

[eatstoomuchjam]

It's a pretty niche use case.  🙂

[IronFilm]

31 minutes ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

It's a pretty niche use case.  🙂

I think it's popular with people who shoot a lot of high speed frame rates with their Panasonic L Mount camera, where it does it in S35 mode 

[eatstoomuchjam]

1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

I think it's popular with people who shoot a lot of high speed frame rates with their Panasonic L Mount camera, where it does it in S35 mode 

Saying something is popular with a niche group (high frame rates) of another niche group (Panasonic L mount camera owners/shooters) does not make it less niche.  😉

[Ninpo33]

Yeah I know it’s niche, that’s why I posted here LOL.
 

Coming from GH5 where I had access to my whole Contax set on a metabones with an extra stop of light, it’s been a bummer not being able to take advantage on L Mount. I can make do with my adapted Sigma 18-35mm for S35 modes but I would love to have the extra light gathering and wides back. 
 

My main curiosity that no one‘s been able to answer is why Metabones has pages devoted to several L mount speed boosters, but finding them used is nearly impossible at this point.

 

 

[eatstoomuchjam]

2 hours ago, Ninpo33 said:

My main curiosity that no one‘s been able to answer is why Metabones has pages devoted to several L mount speed boosters, but finding them used is nearly impossible at this point.

I doubt anybody here can actually answer that, but if I'm guessing I'd say that the difficulty in finding them used relates to the reason they're unavailable new.  They probably sold barely any of them in the first place which is why they aren't making more.

[BTM_Pix]

I’d say that they are rare enough to suggest that they might not have actually been released at all!

Plenty of online retailers list them but none in stock and suspiciously not a single review.

I had exactly the same issue when looking for their Leica R to L mount speedbooster.

Bear in mind though that when you look at the detail both adapters were reasonably restrictive - particularly the Nikon version - in terms of the lenses that you could put on them so this may have contributed to them not selling in sufficient numbers to make it worthwhile continuing beyond the initial batch.

I do actually have an L mount speedbooster but it is the Kipon BavEyes for 645 lenses and they also do them for Hasselblad V mount lenses, so medium format down to full frame is the whole extent of what’s available.

The only real options for faster than your 18-35 is to pick up the Sigma f1.4 APS-C primes which are excellent but a marginal gain for the additional outlay.

I have the Metabones C/Y to E mount speedbooster which works well so the other option is to change bodies to a Sony APS-C to use your Contax selection.

The only APS-C bodies in L mount were the Leica T/TL/CL (I wanted the R to L speedbooster for my Leica T) but these are now discontinued so it doesn’t look promising in terms of Metabones or anyone else looking to develop speedboosters for L Mount.

It could change if Panasonic or Sigma release an APS-C body but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.

Of the two, Sigma are more likely to as they already have the lenses to support it and that full frame Foveon looks to be so problematic for them to achieve that an interim APS-C version may be a possibility.

[Ninpo33]

12 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I’d say that they are rare enough to suggest that they might not have actually been released at all!

Plenty of online retailers list them but none in stock and suspiciously not a single review.

I have spoken to people that owned them at this point so I know they actually did release them. No word from metabones themselves after several emails so I wonder about the state of the company at this point. 

As for L mount, Besides Metabones, Laowa has one for their probe lens and Kipon now has a Canon EF one with autofocus. The main issue is the optics hitting the mechanical shutter from what I understand so maybe that’s part of it. 

I also have the Kipon M645 to L for my Mamiya glass so that’s been fun.  

Because I’m also looking at the Fuji XH2s I’ve been rethinking the options for Super 35 and my various lenses. At this point most likely I’ll just continue to deal with the 1.5x crop on LUMIX stuff and focus my attention elsewhere. 
 

Thanks for the feedback. 

 

 

[BTM_Pix]

42 minutes ago, Ninpo33 said:

Kipon now has a Canon EF one with autofocus. The main issue is the optics hitting the mechanical shutter from what I understand so maybe that’s part of it. 

Wow, that one had passed me by as it appears on their website in their shop but not under their product listings in the 0.7x section.

I’d guess that as they state it only works with the FP/L and BM6K that it might also work with the similarly mechanical shutter free S9 as well.

If so that would be a good option for people looking to shoot the higher frame rates offered in crop mode on the S9, albeit it at the expense of a much bigger overall form factor with having to use EF lenses and the adapter instead of the native L mount lenses.

Although foregoing the electronic aspect and just using the EF mount as a bridge it does also offer good options to then mount F, C/Y and R etc.

Good find.

 

 

[Ninpo33]

Yes, that was actually what sparked this original post and the title including the S9 in there. I also noticed it’s curious that it’s not listed on some of their product pages. I did just see one sell on eBay for pretty cheap though so I’ll keep my eyes out. I messaged the seller and he said he tried it on the S5 and it definitely hit the shutter. But he used it on the sigma FP with no problems.

[BTM_Pix]

2 hours ago, Ninpo33 said:

that was actually what sparked this original post and the title including the S9 in there.

Oops, so you did.

In my defence, I am an old man now!