Jim Pascoe

You're talking about wedding videography - but it already happened to wedding photography some years ago.  The market is saturated with wedding photographers now and making a living from the business is getting harder.  Prices have been driven down and customers expect me and my wife to spend 12 hours at their event rather than the 5 hours we spent ten years ago.  More pictures, more editing time.

Things change and you cannot put the genie back in the bottle I'm afraid.  With weddings the vast majority of couples are not clued up enough on the difference between okay and good.  That is where we have to market ourselves - showing that we are better.

I started making short films alongside shooting stills at weddings two years ago.  It's damned hard work - I use GH2's with MF lenses mostly.  I'm not in competition with decent videographers - 90% of the weddings I used to photograph did not have a videographer anyway.  I was looking for a way to make a bit more money from weddings.  This has worked, but we still struggle now to get enough bookings.  Weddings are not the cash-cow they once were that's for sure.

Just to add that I'm not arrogant enough to think I'm anything special.  If someone new can do the job as well as me that's my problem.  You will not stop new people coming to an industry when the technological barriers are dropping.  Look at design and printing too......

Jim

When the new Metabones adaptor was launched in August I immediately ordered one to go with my new Olympus.  There was a review of the adaptor here and it was fitted to the GH4.  However it quickly became apparent that the adaptor would not fit the Olympus cameras, so I cancelled my order.  A replacement 'S' model is now out and I wonder if any of you have tried it on the E-M1 yet?

Jim

Hi there all - First post here, I wanted to share what I just experienced an hour ago when I received my Canon EF Lens to Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster; I ordered directly from Metabones, it took them 5 days to send it, for starters, which felt bit lousy for an 1-3 day express delivery. The item arrived in thin cardboard box, luckily the retail box inside was in somewhat OK condition.

However, when I opened the box which contains a plastic case, there was some dust inside the case, which didn't really give good first impression. Then, the lens caps both had noticeable amount of dirt / dust. The item itself too had some dirt and grime on it, dust on the metal parts here and there. Not hard to see with bare eyes and my point being is that lenses don't usually come in this condition when you buy new stuff.

Then, the side switch (not the lens release) frame is somewhat loose, I can push it around with fingernail and feels cheap / broken, rattling free. When I opened the lens caps, there was more dust inside the caps, too. Not much, but enough that it's not what I'd expect when I check some lens or optics for the first time. Then I noticed that the plastic shim / cover on the micro 4/3 side was loose, it had ripped off from grasp of the tiny screw that holds it in place, I think.

Finally, the lens itself seems to be somewhat dirty, it has some residue on it, not sure if the photos show it correctly, but it looks to my eye really oily / dirty. Never seen anything like that on a Canon lens (for example), for sure.

I've attached a few photos, check the link below to see them.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/diz36d625c6l47m/AAAV5UTUhBWmjGXGSyOsJXb2a?dl=0

I've ordered one adapter directly from Metabones earlier, it was all ok then, no problems like this at all. Seems like their quality control has slipped or someone has had a bad day or something?

Anyway, has anyone else had similar problems or experiences with Metabones? I feel bit cheated when I get stuff in this shape and paid 599 usd + shipping and taxes (almost 150 usd).
 

I already contacted them about this issue.

Looking at your picture No6, the hex bolt on the left looks as if somebody has tightened it with too small a key because the edges look a bit burred over.  Perhaps it was a review copy?

I had similar problems with my lens turbo on the E-M5. It fit fine on the Panasonic G6, but at first wouldn't go on the Oly E-M5 at all. It seemed to sit in the mount snugly, but I couldn't turn it at all. Eventually I noticed that it wasn't quite sitting flush in the mount. On the side opposite the red dot, there was a tiny gap, less than a mm. By first pressing hard on the lens turbo towards the sensor (ie along the axis of the lens) to close this gap, I eventually found I was able to turn it. It did grind a bit the first time I put it on. If you leave it on a while, take it on or off a few times, it seems to be ok.... On the plus side, when it does go on, there's no wobble at all.

 

Examining the two mounts, I can't really work out what it was that was causing the problem on the Olympus. It doesn't seem to be anything critical though. So far.... (mind you, I'm using a second hand $300 E-M5 and a $140 lens turbo so it's not like I have a $2000 investment to protect)

 

So yeah, it seems that Olympus mounts are a bit tighter somehow than Panasonic ones.

Just to be clear - I think the new Speedbooster is totally incompatible with the E-M1.  The protruding prism prevents the adaptor being mounted at all - or so I read.  I had to cancel my order last week which is a great shame.  If anybody knows differently please let me know.

Jim