Andrew Reid

A guest post by director Roberto Miller. Andrew asked me to write a brief article for EOSHD about the experience of making my feature film, Mandorla, now in post, with a pair of GH2s and LOMO anamorphic lenses. I’m happy to do so because, truth is, it’s Andrew and the EOSHD community that inspired me to go the GH2-anamorphic route, which achieved a cinematic look and vibe that I never thought possible for a low-budget indie feature.

Micro Four Thirds becoming Super 35mm is nothing to be sniffed at!   How many of us were calling for a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2 with Super 35mm sized chip?

It is definitely cheap for what it is. Caldwell's other optics are not this cheap to say the least.   Yes it is right to say the relevancy of full frame is compromised, in the video world at least. The AF is rather slow on the Metabones adpater but we don't use that in the filmmaking world. What I wanted was the look.

I think the Speed Booster appeals to every single mirrorless camera owner around. And those with an APS-C DSLR are likely to be extremely jealous and consider swapping. I know a lot of people who shoot Rebel + L glass because they can't afford a full frame camera. Now they can swap systems and not have to sell all their glass & reinvest.   The full frame look is now nothing that is exclusive to a few high end cameras.   The 6D and 5D Mark III will continue to sell well but in video terms there's no even less reason to get one on the basis that the sensor size adds something special.   The 1D C for example is full frame, well APS-H... And that was a big deal. Now, not so much since suddenly anything 4K and Super 35mm sized has the full frame look and a wider aperture.

  Of course, yes. When the adapter comes out. EF in June. Before that, legacy glass + Nikon in March.

  Yes, less shallow if the aperture is stopped down on the NEX 7. If the aperture is physically at the same setting then both will have the same depth of field characteristics. Remember that aperture with the Speed Booster applied is a virtual number to describe the increase in brightness created by the adapter. The round hole in the lens stays physically the same size.   The added bonus is that you can stop down on the NEX 7 if you need extra sharpness and not lose any low light performance.   The purple fringing comes from the Sigma lens wide open not the adapter. Next comparison will use my better glass. I just wanted to show what it looked like at 24mm wide angle and that was the only fast wide I had to hand at the time.

  Yeah and what do you say to those you WILL be shooting awesome films with this adapter and getting into Sundance? I think they should make you watch the films with the edges cut off and a 1.5x crop version just for Mr Sarcastic.

  My prototype just needs to be adjusted. There's a built in adjustment for infinity focus which I will do here http://www.metabones.com/smart-adapter-operation-manual/155-infinity-adjustment-speed-booster-only   On the production models you don't need to do this unless you have a very old dodgy lens that you need infinity on. In other words, the adapter is calibrated at the factory for correct infinity focus unless the lens is faulty then you can adjust it.

Speed Booster at 35mm F1.0 on the Sony NEX 7 With the Metabones Speed Booster APS-C and Super 35mm sized sensors have taken a barrelling charge up to the door of full frame. Does it blow the doors off?

  I would totally rather have the high quality version as well. Why put $$$ worth of optics in front of a cheap knock off?   If something is worth doing then it is worth doing properly.   The reason I like the GH2 and Blackmagic for instance is not that they're cheap knock offs but that the results come so close to really high end cameras.   The pricing of this adapter is a none issue! If a clone springs up and it is even 5% less good I won't buy it for all the tea in china.   You make an interesting point Rich about if goods were manufactured in the US or UK we'd be paying what they actually cost to make. Actually I think we'd only pay slightly more and that big companies would be FORCED to lower their margins. What they're doing today (take Apple, Dell, Canon, Sony, almost anybody big as an example) is simply exploitation. Exploitation of low living costs for their huge gains. It isn't to bring the prices down for consumers, it is to put their margins up.   There's zero reason Apple needs to make 500% margin on an iPhone and have 70 billion or something in the bank. Zero reason for it at all. They're too powerful and it is power built on the back of the weak and disenfranchised.   They could double salaries at Foxconn and raise the price of an iPhone only 10% and still make a nice profit on it.

The optics are by a couple of guys who are working on cinema primes for Panavision's new 70mm digital cinema camera, so you can't exactly say the Chinese will go off and copy it and make one in a big factory. Quality optics are difficult.  

  Indeed there's the 2.3x crop one on the BMCC.   Hopefully they will make 2 versions.   One for 2x and one for 2.3x.   On the GH2, 2x would be a good enough fit. For example a 24mm becomes even a bit wider than 12mm.

It wouldn't be M43 to M43 that would be impossible! This takes a FULL FRAME lens and reduces it down, giving you a brighter image as a side-effect.   It can also take an APS-C lens and reduce that down to M43.   If you take a M43 lens and reduce it down you will have black edges to the image Powderbanks. Also focus would be completely broken.

  You can't have the speed boost on its own. The speed boost is a result of the optics here, of reducing the image circle down to fit the smaller sensor.   Imagine ants under a magnifying glass. The smaller the circle of light projected by the glass the hotter and brighter it is.

  Actually the adapter for micro four thirds would have different glass in it to suit the sensor size, 0.5x instead of 0.71x so your Sigma 20mm F1.8 would be a 10mm (at F1.0??!) and the same 20mm equivalent wide angle on full frame on the 2x crop sensor of the GH3.   The speed gain for the 2x crop sensor will be even greater than for the 1.5x crop Sony E-mount sensors.

  Regarding focus, the focus point on James Miller's video with the bottles is what... half a metre? It would appear they got around any focus issues here.

  Opposite, like on a full frame sensor you will need a longer focal length to avoid vignetting with the anamorphic.

Is it box ticking you want from a camera spend $55,000 and get the F55   If it is an amazing image for $4k you want then this certainly looks the ticket.   I can forgive the lack of ProRes. The add on recorder for CineForm is unlikely to be that expensive and Cinema DNG is better supported than CineForm at present.

It certainly makes me approach the issue of sensor size differently.   I mean...   Imagine if Canon gave us the following camera for $4k....   - Full frame - ProRes - EOS mount - Modular form factor - 1080/60p   Well that is now what the FS100 is with the Speed Booster and Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle

It actually improves the image. MTF chart improve. Metabones claims:   "All other aberrations, including field curvature, coma, astigmatism, distortion, and chromatic aberration are also well-corrected.”

http://vimeo.com/57292607 The Speed Booster will be available from Metabones later at a date TBC Are you sitting down? Sensor size is history. An optical reducer is something I have long thought was possible on a DSLR and wondered why nobody had made one. If your sensor is smaller than full frame, shrink the image that the lens throws to fit over it. That is the principal behind the Metabones Speed Booster which essentially gives you the full frame look and a brighter image all at once on your Sony E-mount camera. Crop factors are a thing of the past. This is revolutionary...  

In a sea of insipid and faceless cameras for the corporate workplace, here is something different. Like the Blackmagic Cinema Camera it is designed for filmmakers who want image quality as close to Super 35mm film as possible but can't afford $15,000+ This is rumoured to be around the $4000 mark and has a Super 35mm sensor, Cinema DNG raw recording and a very compact body with no fan.

Yes we are suffering. Your Canon is crippled because Canon want to protect the ridiculously high margins of their Cinema EOS line. You paid for hardware that does HDMI at 1080p, you get 720p. You paid for true 1080p resolution with no moire, you get moire on the 6D and upscaled 720p on the 5D Mark III.   ScreenPro and others are stating the obvious when it comes to indie filmmaking. It goes on regardless of Canon or camera specs. It is a different argument.   But everyone who has a Canon and shoots their indie project with it could have had it so much better in terms of image quality if it were not for Canon holding back on any serious improvements.   Sure go ahead and party like it's 2009 with your 5D Mark III. Fixed moire and all. Woohoo. Great.   I have moved on.

Someone needs to reassure the team. They seem very jumpy. They have nothing to fear. I will have to email Alex and ask why they are feeling like this.   Sad to see.

3D was oppressive, attention seeking and now 3D is dead. Quietly dropped by all consumer electronics firm if the 2013 CES is anything to go by. Or is it?