Cheap “Speed Booster” for M42 (Vintage Russian) Lenses to M43
Photo Moment - August 18, 2018
A few weeks ago I adapted a vintage M42 Russian Helios lens to my Micro Four Thirds LUMIX cameras, but the process was somehow incomplete. Now, we get the rest of the story with this cheap speed booster alternative made by Mitakon Zhongyi.
Products Mentioned In Today's Photo Moment
- Mitakon Zhongyi M42 Lens to M43 Lens Turbo Adapter Mark II — Get Yours Here
- Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95 Lens — Get Yours Here
Videos Mentioned In Today's Photo Moment
Other Links Mentioned In Today's Photo Moment
I just bought a Pixco .7X speedbooster for my Helios 44-2 to attach to a Lumix GH5S. $89 USD. We'll see how well it works. The same one from Metabones was $900.
@@feederbrian9457 as a speedbooster it does the trick. I am finding that on my Russian lenses colours are a little washed out but don't believe that to be the fault of the Pixco.
Any updates after using it? How'd it perform?
Hey, is it possible to adapt from a L39 mount to MFT? I have a couple of old russian rangefinder lenses lying around.
Well, L39 is sometimes referred as M39 as well, it's a bit confusing, but I'm talking about the rangefinder stuff rather than the early zenit SLRS for example. They are not interchangeable although it is the same screw mount.
Oh wait that’s M39 not L39… hmm, gonna have to hit the google!
Talk less and let the lenses speak.
@@photojoseph Yes they have .... and they speak better than any mouth.
Hello, thank you very much for your video!
Does the Mitakon Zhongyi M42 to M43 works for the bmpcc4k ?
thank you
Does the Mitakon Zhongyi M42 to M43 works for the bmpcc4k ?
thank you
Asahi-Pentax Super Takumar lenses are also m42. These lenses, however, had auto aperture control - not a problem since they can be turned off.
That silver lens might have been designed for a non-slr 35mm camera.
35mm lenses will produce a circle of light that is bigger than the MFT sensor and booster make that circle smaller concentrating the light - making the lens faster if compared to result using only the adapter. The tele effect also gets reduced.
That silver lens might have been designed for a non-slr 35mm camera.
35mm lenses will produce a circle of light that is bigger than the MFT sensor and booster make that circle smaller concentrating the light - making the lens faster if compared to result using only the adapter. The tele effect also gets reduced.
Prices are going up thanks to all the videos of vintage and Russian lenses
Great video ! So what will be the result if I put a Helios 44-2 58mm F/2 to my GH5 with this adapter? 58*0.7268*2=84?
With that adapter your image won't be cropped, that's what this video illustrates.
A lens-hood (instead of stopping down) would probably help, too, to remove flare/glare?
@Cain Roberto definitely, been watching on flixzone} for months myself =)
@Cain Roberto yea, have been watching on Flixzone} for since november myself :D
pro trick : you can watch movies at flixzone. Been using it for watching loads of movies recently.
Great video!!!
Got a question. Would this kind of device affect anyhow on GH5 IBIS?
Well actually 2 questions. Can focal reduction be disabled when you need to have a more cropped shot from camera or you need to remove it?
Got a question. Would this kind of device affect anyhow on GH5 IBIS?
Well actually 2 questions. Can focal reduction be disabled when you need to have a more cropped shot from camera or you need to remove it?
@@photojoseph thanks for you quick reply!
It will not effect IBIS (in body). And you can't disable focal reduction; this is physical glass that can't be removed.
This "speed booster" caused short circuit on my GH-4. I had to isolate any contacts, then it worked .
weird! Thanks for letting us know. How bizarre.
Thank's for video. I think by adapter for my black magic pocket cinema camera.
With the GH5 I use a Metabones speedbooster, EF to MFT. Would it work if I fit a M42 to EF on the speedbooster to then adapt the Helios 44-2 to the GH5?
Very useful video as I'm considering getting a MIR-1 37mm Russian lens for my Olympus Pen F.
Like your style too - although I did find it funny that in a video where you're talking about a speed booster, I had to slow you down to 0.75 playback speed to understand you clearly! ;)
Like your style too - although I did find it funny that in a video where you're talking about a speed booster, I had to slow you down to 0.75 playback speed to understand you clearly! ;)
Thanks for this video. Great information.
With the speedbooster's multiplier of .726; on my G85, my 28mm Pentax would be: 28 multiplied times .726 = 20.328 then multiply that by 2 since the G85 has a crop factor of 2, end result would be 41mm. Is that correct?
With the speedbooster's multiplier of .726; on my G85, my 28mm Pentax would be: 28 multiplied times .726 = 20.328 then multiply that by 2 since the G85 has a crop factor of 2, end result would be 41mm. Is that correct?
What screen size did use to have your logo in lower right corner?
PhotoJoseph see that now. Doesn’t show up on everyone’s videos so thought it was something you were doing. Love your content btw
Are you talking about my icon on the lower right corner? That’s placed there by YouTube.
PhotoJoseph lower right. Did you crop and add it?
I do not understand what you’re asking, sorry
Great video sir. I have a BMPCC 4K and a Metabones EF to MFT (.71) adapter. If I buy a M42 to EF adapter to mount a Takumar 50mm lens, will it work with my setup?
@@Nvrr0 I may be wrong, but if you twist the glass of the Viltrox, you should be able to reach infinity just before the elements touch.
Dallas Bagley hey, what I mean is the elements of the takmar a small fling hits the adapter and doesn’t allow it to hit infinity because it touches the ring , if I force it I can reach it but it’s not smooth and I don’t want to damage the lens .my viltrox works with with my sigma for all focus ranges it’s just the adapter to Ed from mtf hits the metal and creates that issue for me
@@Nvrr0 twist the glass on your speedbooster. Elements still touch if not careful, but focus is achieved.
Absolutely not. I have the same exact set up. The only Tak lens that works on my EF speedbooster without the elements touching, is the Super Tak 55mm 1.8.
Dear Joseph, please don't call m42 mount a 'Vintage Russian' because it is #1 wrong, #2 undermining and #3 misleading. m42 was a lens mount standard widespread in analog (film) cameras era, many legendary brands with Zeiss (german) and Asashi (Japan) as prime examples, made top quality glass at that time. most Russian lenses are based on German designs 'acquired' during and after the WW2. That is why #1 and #3.
I agree that new lenses are better (in terms of performance) but some of them (Zeiss's Plannars and Asashi's Takumars) are outperforming low to mid tier glass today. that is why #2
I agree that new lenses are better (in terms of performance) but some of them (Zeiss's Plannars and Asashi's Takumars) are outperforming low to mid tier glass today. that is why #2
he said "vintage Russian lenses"... your point #1, 2 and 3 are all wrong.
@@photojoseph oh, it is vintage, just not Russian.
I don’t mean to call the mount itself vintage, but that it gives you the ability to mount vintage lenses. And thank you for the information!
You should check out a Fujinon 55mm 1.8. They have the same great bookeh, are a tad sharper and really control the highlights better so they don't get easily blown off. Can be found on ebay in mint condition for around 110$ CAD
i got a lens like that if you like it, than its younger brother the helios 77m-4 (50mm f1.8) will blow your mind. amazing piece of glass both of them but the younger absolutle amazing swirli bohke and sharpnes (sorry bad english :D)
Oooooh. There’s so many fun lenses out there!!!
So now you have to try the helios on a m42-mft tilt adapter
Haha… man there are so many cool combinations!!
Hi! it's better to buy Zhongui EF and use additional simple EF-M42 adapter.. I've use different M42 lenses.. there are not big list interesting lenses form USSR made.. Helios 42, Jupiter-9.. and that's all.. try to find M42 Carl Zeiss from DDR.... More-more interesting and better lenses than USSR made
Have you actually tried this, or are you just theorizing? Cause I myself have a lot of m42 lenses that can NOT be adapted to my Viltrox EF focal reducer, cause the rear element of the lens hits the speedbooster when approaching infinity.
Nice informative vid! I tested this adapter some time ago ( http://www.hetspul.nl/blog/the-zhongyi-lens-turbo-ii-m42-m43-adapter ) and I love it.
I almost pulled a trigger on this yesterday. But then I decided to get a m43-FD focal reducer. More versatile because you can then adapt the m42 to the FD mount.
The m43-EF isn't an option because of the budget.
I'd love to have nice fd collection for video purposes. Think they'd give a great, and consistent look, especially with the "speed booster".
The m43-EF isn't an option because of the budget.
I'd love to have nice fd collection for video purposes. Think they'd give a great, and consistent look, especially with the "speed booster".
So did it work out for you? No issues with the short FD-M42 adapter? I read somewhere that the lens can hit the focal reducer glass..
Correct, you can do that, but there are so few adapters to FD that it seems misguided to not go with EF, for which there is a huge range of adapters. The only reason not to go that way would be if you only have fd lenses already.
That would work but then you are immediately limited to only fd lenses, so while the initial cost might be lower (not my experience) long term you might pay more or have to wait for lenses you want to become available.
When I attach a M42 lens to my Gh5, my camera says: lens not attached: am I the only one who has this problem?
@@youcdl Be sure that your adapter is fitting well to your camera. Try to hear the click noise when it tightly fits in. Do not press the lens removal button when you are putting the lens / adapter to your camera.
Of course you do. This is a standard annoyance with Panasonic. The GH5 I have here has it, and I doubt yours is different. "Shoot w/o Lens"
when you insert a manual vintage lens to a panasonic gx85 does the screen show you the aperature and shutter and iso, etc.
Im thinking of getting the gx85. ty
Im thinking of getting the gx85. ty
For the most part yes. What you’ll find is there may be specific features that are unique to Olympus bodies, or work better on Olympus bodies, like stabilization. For example if you put a latest Panasonic lens on an Olympus body, you won’t get as good as stabilization as you would on a LUMIX body. There may be similar situations going the other way. All that said, I own several (older) Oly lenses and use them all with no problems.
OK, great. When using an Olympus lens on a panasonic are they fully 100% compatible? Im thinking of getting the GX85 with the Olympus 60mm macro lens. Ty
Gabriela Lamberti I use this with a G7, and as with all manual lenses you don't see the aperture but do see shutter speed and ISO and also have access to focus aids like magnification and peaking. Apart from not having AF the experience is generally pretty good, some of the videos on my channel could only be achieved with legacy adapted lenses. You'll see what I mean.
It won’t show you the aperture; there’s no communication between the lens and camera. However when you shoot in aperture priority, the shutter speed will adjust as needed in realtime as you open/close the aperture. So you don’t know what the aperture is without looking at the lens barrel itself, but the exposure is always right. It’s pretty great.
A word of advice for those considering this path. The Zhongyi is a great focal reducer but do not buy the m42 adapter unless you want to limit your options.
For this kind of thing, it is far better to buy the EOS (EF) version, since you can adapt many lenses to EF and then mount them to the reducer. By going this path you can use m42, OM, PK, EOS EF and Nikon lens with zero problems, which makes the Zhongyi a great investment. I use this approach for many of my adapters, including teleconverters and tilt adapters.
The other thing to consider is that the Viltrox intelligent reducer isn't much more expensive than the Zhongyi.
For this kind of thing, it is far better to buy the EOS (EF) version, since you can adapt many lenses to EF and then mount them to the reducer. By going this path you can use m42, OM, PK, EOS EF and Nikon lens with zero problems, which makes the Zhongyi a great investment. I use this approach for many of my adapters, including teleconverters and tilt adapters.
The other thing to consider is that the Viltrox intelligent reducer isn't much more expensive than the Zhongyi.
There is an added advantage in that I can leave the cheap EF adapters on each lens and use standard EF lens caps on everything.
Same here, went the EF-M2 route and then cheap adapt to that.
PhotoJoseph yes, they all work perfectly. The only requirement is that the flange distance for the adapted lenses be greater than the flange distance for EF, so an adapter can be fitted between. This counts out FD lenses which can't be adapted to EF easily, and also Minolta lenses.
Interesting! And the depth of the focal reducer is the same for all those lenses? You still get the full focus range on all of them?
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Hi,
Great content in your site! I have a Canon 550D/rebel T2i dslr camera.
I bought a Helios M42 58mm lens for it’s out of focus Bokeh. I am not happy with the field of view, because of apsc sensor of my camera which is giving me a cropped effect.
Kindly suggest, if this adapter you have mentioned will solve the problem in my case? If not, what should I look for my camera?
I know it’s a bit late for this thread, although it would be helpful to know your suggestion.
Thanks a ton.
Sayak
Sayak
Hey Sayak. Yeah, a 58mm lens on an APS-C becomes about a 93mm lens, so it's pretty tight. That wide angle adapter will definitely give you a wider field of view, but you will likely experience the focus issues I described. It's imperfect, for sure. But you didn't buy that lens for it to be perfect ;-) Give it a try and let us know what you think! And feel free to post sample photos along with it!
@PhotoJoseph
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