Metabones Reveals Fifth-Generation Smart Adapters

It has been five years since Metabones first revolutionized the adapter industry with its original EF to E Smart Adapter, marking the first time Canon EF-mount lenses could be adapted to another camera while maintaining electronic communication. Now, the company has just announced its fifth generation of smart adapters, beginning with the EF to E T CINE Smart Adapter, EF to E T CINE Speed Booster ULTRA, EF to E T Smart Adapter, and EF to E T CINE Speed Booster ULTRA. These adapters permit Canon EF/EF-S mount lenses to be used on Sony E-mount cameras, including the recent PXW-FS7 Mark II, with full electronic communication and support for the latest features. The Speed Boosters have the added benefit of optics that will increase the apparent field of view by 0.71x and increase the maximum aperture by 1 stop, effectively compensating for the crop factor of APS-C cameras.

Beyond the simple improvements to operation brought by new programming and the high-speed 32-bit processor, these fifth-generation adapters now feature rubber gaskets to protect the camera mount from dust and moisture entering, an LED light to show users the adapter’s current mode or status, and a dedicated switch that will control the in-body image stabilization of select Sony cameras. Also, the CINE models sport a positive-lock lens mount that holds your larger and heavier lenses more securely.

This list of improvements is on top of a plethora of features already present from previous generations of adapters, including autofocus, auto exposure, image stabilization, aperture control form the camera body, saving Exif information, and more. Phase-detect AF systems on the a7R II, a7 II, a6500, and a6300 cameras are supported, as well, for rapid focusing. The adapters are even capable of smooth iris with select adapted lenses, enabling manual focus on focus-by-wire lenses, and can auto-magnify or activate auto APS-C capture on full-frame cameras. There is even a programmable function button for rapidly accessing a commonly used feature or setting. Additionally, these adapters use felt flocking to prevent internal reflections and they come with a removable Arca-type-compatible tripod foot.