Micro 4/3 Speed Booster For Low Light Video

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Last month I wrote about my new Panasonic G7, and how I was having good success in low-light video.  I’m using an old inexpensive manual Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 lens, along with an Fotasy FD – M4/3 adapter.

At our last night-time gig, I had to position the camera really far away for the 100mm focal length to fit the entire band in the frame.

So in preparation to video our Halloween gig, I purchased a different type of adapter – a Focal Reducer Speed Booster With Optical Glass Lens Adapter for Canon FD to Micro 4/3. This is an inexpensive version of the Metabones Speed Booster.

Canon FD 50mm wide open with Speed BoosterThis type of adapter reduces the focal length by a factor of 0.71x, and increases aperture siimilarly.  So this Canon FD 50mm lens is equivalent to a 100mm with the micro 4/3 crop. This makes it challenging to frame a wide shot, unless you get really far away.  But this speed booster reduces that focal length to 71mm.  And the maximum aperture f/1.4 is boosted to around f/1.0.  That’s crazy!

It’s a bit tricky to mount the lens to this speed booster adapter. If you get it on there but the lens manual aperture ring doesn’t adjust the aperture, you’ve done it wrong!

Adjusting Aperture on Canon FD 50mm with Speed BoosterI can never remember how to get it on there properly, so I’m writing down the steps here:

  1. Rotate the adapter position to Open
  2. Line up red dots on the adapter with the lens, and twist it on.
  3. Rotate the adapter position back to Lock.
  4. Now, the lens manual aperture adjustment works properly

 

I used this Speed Booster with the Canon FD 50mm, and my Panasonic G7 for the back camera in this video.  The camera was mounted high up on a microphone boom stand, using this OnStage CM01 adapter, positioned about 20 feet from the band.