Turbo lens / Focal reducer / adapter to m4/3

[kevinparis]

if you are interested in focus reducers, I started a thread yesterday, with some thoughts and a bunch of test shots that may be of interest

https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=61038

not trying to hijack this thread... just sharing some info/opinions

cheers

K

 

[Pawel D.]

@Ulfric M Douglas
I'm using $99 version from eBay with EF mount for M4/3 cameras. It was mentioned in the posts before and here: http://lenscraze.blogspot.com/2014/01/focal-reducer-072x-with-ef-mount-m43.html
Thanks for support! I've emphasized that in the post.

@kevinparis
I've seen that and that is some serious testing. Good job! I think I'm done with taking test shots of my FR and I'll start just shooting with it. Well, that's why I bought it

 

[jcr20190]

hi, i just recieved my lens turbo, i tried it with a takumar 50mm 1.4 and helios 44-2, with an m42 to nikon ai adapter with infinity glass, at f1.4 the image quality looks bad, everything looks soft, but at f2.0 that softness dissapear... helios wide open (f2.0) dont have that problem, also i tried without the adapter for nikon, holding the lens with my hand and image quality looks very good, i think the extra glass of the adapter is the problem, maybe because it was a cheap adapter, i´ve read about someone using the same configuration and getting good pics, here is a pic of what im talking, both were taken using takumar 50mm at f1.4 and f2.0

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[svenkarma]

I didn't see any blue spot at all, even though I recently took a shot pointed directly into the sun. No spots, flares, extra crap there.

Had I known how easy it was going to be for me to get the "blue spot" this afternoon, I would have brought my metabones c/y booster out to see if it behaved better.

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[RnR]

Had I known how easy it was going to be for me to get the "blue spot" this afternoon, I would have brought my metabones c/y booster out to see if it behaved better.

https://www.mu-43.com/gallery/data/500/P1080390.jpg

whoa! What lens(es) are you using on this adapter?

 

[svenkarma]

whoa! What lens(es) are you using on this adapter?

whoa! indeed.

This was a Sigma Pantel 135/2.8 on the camdiox m42 booster.

So I went back this afternoon in very similar weather to yesterday (the sea is just over the ridge in the photo above, so there is a lot of light bopping about once the sun moves from over hills to over water) and with a different lens (Mir 24) on the camdiox I was easily able to get the 'blue blob'. But I put the Sigma + m42 widget on the metabones c/y and was totally unable to produce it.

It's sort of like the difference in the audio world between a Neve pre-amp and a Chinese knock-off. It may have been made in the same factory, and most of the time you won't notice the difference. But there is a difference, and it can become dramatic when you push things.

 

[brianc1959]

It's sort of like the difference in the audio world between a Neve pre-amp and a Chinese knock-off. It may have been made in the same factory, and most of the time you won't notice the difference. But there is a difference, and it can become dramatic when you push things.

FWIW, the factory that produces the optics for the Speed Booster *does not* make optics for any competitor focal reducer. They are completely different designs made in completely different locations.

 

[orfeo]

whoa! indeed.


It's sort of like the difference in the audio world between a Neve pre-amp and a Chinese knock-off. It may have been made in the same factory, and most of the time you won't notice the difference. But there is a difference, and it can become dramatic when you push things.

I disagree, a chinese preamp is nowhere near usable. And the Neve, well it's a reference.
Please don't polute my thread with those bashing and praise to the metabones. There are metabones threads. Here is for the focal reducer M4/3 users. Thanks for your consideration.

Here with 50mm SMC Macro Takumar

View attachment 346906
_1100635 by charlesmusico, on Flickr

 

[Traveller99]

Testing ... concave plane of focus

I received a "new version" RJ Focal Reducer a couple of weeks ago. I did a variety of testing and first I must say I am quite satisfied with the results, at least for the price point.

One thing I noticed is that it seems to make the plane of focus somewhat more concave. I also think this may explain why some test results show very soft edges whereas other test results show half-decent edges. If you test using a flat test subject then the concave plane of focus makes the edge regions softer. On the other hand I did some testing using real-world" scenes, with an object at the center of the frame that I carefully focused on. When I examined the results and I found fairly sharply rendered parts of the scenes in the edge regions, however at a distance slightly nearer than the focused object in the center of the frame. I took shots of the same scene without the RJ focal reducer and the plane of focus tended to be less concave with those shots.

Has anyone else observed this as well ?

 

[Petrochemist]

I've managed to shot a sheet of printed A4 paper with mne which is sharp to the corners. At wide apertures a slight degree of tilt will make the edges look soft.

 

[dweller]

just received one of these from Roxsen on ebay
I made an offer of $84 which was accepted, worked out as £50
arrived in the UK 12 days after ordering
I got a cheap OM to EOS ring to convert

just made a quick test indoors dim light with my zuiko 50mm 1.8 and Vivitar 28mm close focus
I'm impressed by how much more you can get in the frame and the shutter speed pretty much doubled from 30 to 60 all
other settings being equal.

look forward to giving it a good workout - happy with purchase so far

 

[madmaxmedia]

Personally, I prefer lenses with "soul", than insanely sharp, nearly "industrial" lenses. To emphasize that, check my Lucar 50/1.6, which is a projector lens with mad image quality - I love that lens!

Thank you for this! I have a Bell and Howell 2.5 inch (~63mm) f/1.5 projector lens that will focus to infinity when hand held in front of a mirror less camera, but I haven't figured out how to adapt it. Its great to see that someone has done the same thing.

I also have a 50mm f/1.2 Bell and Howell, unfortunately it will not reach infinity focus- you will hit the M/43 sensor before then. I bought them both in a yard sale for $10 for fun, not knowing whether I'd even be able to use them.

 

[mpresley]

I bought the Rokinon 85/1.4 and a Lens Turbo to primarily shoot portraits with... and I've been using it on the GX7 which works well enough. For some reason I just got around to mounting it on my EM-5, what a difference - way better. Even though the EM-5 doesn't have a proper focus peaking feature the stabilized EVF along with either the faux focus peaking or the magnified is much better, especially for this focal length. Here's some shots of an unkept cemetery near where I live. Even if the Lens Turbo is weaker on the edges it still works pretty well I think. I know #3 was shot wide open, the others were stopped down a notch I think.

#1

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#2

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#3

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#4

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#5

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[tubedriver]

Michael, I think it has worked very well. I love the shots that you have shared.

 

[dweller]

Loving my RJ focal reducer. Using f11 like its f8. Taking indoor shots with my 28mm 2.8 like its 20mm at f2. A great buy if you love adapting mf lenses.

 

[dpaultx]

I'd be interested in trying out one of these turbo focal reducer units, but don't seem to be able to find one for adapting Olympus OM mount manual lenses to m4/3 cameras. Does no one make one, or am I just looking in the wrong places?

dp

 

[madmaxmedia]

I don't think there are any right now. Best way is probably getting a Canon EOS EF Lens Turbo, and a OM to Canon adapter.

If you later have Pentax, M42 lenses, you can get the corresponding Canon adapter- many will reach infinity focus with a Canon adapter.

 

[dpaultx]

Thanks for the reply madmax, I guess that's what I'll have to do if there isn't a straight OM adapter. I wonder why that is?

I do also have some M42 screw mount lenses so perhaps I'll consider that as well.

dp

 

[mpresley]

Michael, I thinks it has worked very well. I love the shots that you have shared.

Thanks, I was out on the town (so to speak) Saturday and shot with the EM-5 mounted with the Nikon 55mm f/3.5 AI and the Lens Turbo - I was impressed with how well that combo worked, very sharp and produced a nice 3D look when in portrait range.

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[tino84]

hi, so does anybody encountered "blue spots" with these reducer?