Jump to content

RJ jinfinance Focal Reducer


Pascal Garnier
 Share

Recommended Posts

I subscribed to Metabones' waiting list for the Speed Booster FD to M4/3, but since I had no idea when it would become available again, I ordered a Focal Reducer from RJ/jinfinance on ebay.  

 

Received it today and shot a few tests with a Canon FD 24 2.8 (supposedly one of Canon's best and sharpest FD lenses) on my Pana G6, mainly to check how the Focal Reducer would perform in corner sharpness and chromatic aberration.

 

I can confirm that corners are less sharp and there's a very light purple fringing in the extreme corners, BUT it is only really visible when zooming in to 1600%.  There's no vignetting whatsoever and I didn't see the dreaded blue/purple center spot.

 

I can imagine that for professional still photographers and pixel peepers this Focal Reducer is a waste of money.  

 

For HD video however :

- it performs adequately with no noticeable side effects,

- it makes your lenses wider (important with the 2x crop on Panasonic M43's) comparable to the field of view of APS-C sensors,

- and improves low light performance (compared to my regular FD>M4/3 adapter I had to close down 2 extra stops with the Focal Reducer to keep the highlights from crushing).

 

I will see how the Focal Reducer performs on the GH4 once I have it.

For now, all I can say is that it's an essential piece of kit for anyone shooting with FD lenses on a M4/3 body in low-light.  The adapter's construction is solid (all metal) and costs 25% of Metabones' version.  For the work I do (doc, weddings and music videos) this is more than sufficient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

- it performs adequately with no noticeable side effects,

- it makes your lenses wider (important with the 2x crop on Panasonic M43's) comparable to the field of view of APS-C sensors,

- and improves low light performance (compared to my regular FD>M4/3 adapter I had to close down 2 extra stops with the Focal Reducer to keep the highlights from crushing).

For now, all I can say is that it's an essential piece of kit for anyone shooting with FD lenses on a M4/3 body in low-light.  The adapter's construction is solid (all metal) and costs 25% of Metabones' version.  For the work I do (doc, weddings and music videos) this is more than sufficient.

 

Thanks for the hot tip which sounds like a must buy.  Out of interest, what 'regular' FD>m43 adapter do you use/recommend?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-FD-FL-Lens-To-Micro-4-3-M43-M4-3-Adapter-GF1-GF2-GH2-GF2-GH2-G2-G3-DC156-/190699589038?pt=UK_Photography_CameraLenses_Lens_caps_hoods_adaptors_ET&hash=item2c6694cdae

 

do not buy the ones with the silver ring , they have tiny screws on the silver ring that rip out with the weight of your lens and my entire lens fell off the front of the adaptor .....not good

 

the one above is well built and works very well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ andy : I bought this one : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360845797671?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649.  Not sure the one you posted has the same optics (from other tests there seem to be significant differences between various manufacturers, so I can't vouch for that one).

 

@ shotbyshaun : use the FD adapter andy suggested, looks like the ones I use.

 

@ Sean : compression ratio is 0.71, I just measured by overlaying a still from the Focal Reducer and one without.  So my 24mm 2.8 becomes a 34mm 2.0 (24*2*0.71) with this adapter.  My 50 f1.4 a 70 f1.0.

 

The best thing about this is that my Sun 24-40 3.5 zoom becomes a 34-57 2.8.  Not the perfect range, but still way more usable for run&gun shooting.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

andy, you forgot to factor in the x2 crop factor of the G6 !

 

24mm FD becomes 48mm on the G6 with a regular FD adapter.  With the focal reducer you multiply 48 with 0.71, which gives 34.

I dont think it terms of full frame as I dont shoot full frame , I shoot m4/3

so a standard lens for me is 24mm and I think forward for telephoto and backwards for wide

 

so 24mm with a speed booster like this is a 17mm in my head, so it wide angle

 

 

I understand now that you think in terms of full frame - everyone does this different ,

 

I stopped thinking full frame when I shoot micro 4/3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, every single manufacturer, reviewer and blogger mentions 35mm/full frame focal lengths when discussing lenses.  Which makes perfect sense, since it provides us with a standard everyone can relate to and convert to for their own camera.

 

Noone would call the picture I posted wideangle, and rightfully so.  Just like noone calls 18mm fisheye (which you would, according to your logic).  The only thing that does is add more unnecessary confusion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I shot on film for 15 years all through the 90s and early 2000s ......16mm and super 35mm Arri and Aaton Cameras so I never used full frame as a referance

we never talked about Full frame so I still dont..... a 24mm lens is a 24mm lens in my head .

 

anyhow the new FD to m4/3 adapter looks great I will be getting one asap

thanks for posting this useful info , they also make a C/Y , M42 and EOS to micro m4/3 adapters too with the same glass

 these are all very cheap and usefull to have

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, every single manufacturer, reviewer and blogger mentions 35mm/full frame focal lengths when discussing lenses.

 

This isn't true in my experience...or else I'm reading different blogs.  You're not going to find much FF references in cinematography magazines for instance.  And since this particular site is about filmmaking on photography equipment, having dual context-understanding between cinema and photography focal lengths is important.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • EOSHD Pro Color 5 for All Sony cameras
    EOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs
    EOSHD Dynamic Range Enhancer for H.264/H.265
×
×
  • Create New...