Viltrox speedbooster with APS-C lenses Test
Dec 16, 2018
4
I decided to do something a little different as we have a few threads already about the Viltrox EF EOS M2. I’ve seen a few people wondering how EF Mount APS-C lenses fare with the speedbooster.
I’ve tested the Tokina 11-16 2.8, Sigma 18-35 1.8, and the Sigma 17-50 2.8 here at max aperture, 1/50 shutter speed, and 800 ISO. I have all in-camera corrections turned off and these are all SOOC jpgs.
These tests are far from scientific and I didn’t use a tripod for any of these shots as I was pressed for time. This is mostly a showcase of the extra light gathered, corner performance, and vignetting caused from using these lenses.
Tokina 11-16mm:
Tokina 11mm f2 w/ Viltrox
Tokina 16mm f2 w/ Viltrox
Tokina 11mm 2.8 No Viltrox
Tokina 16mm 2.8 no Viltrox
Sigma 18-35mm:
Sigma 18mm 1.2 W/ Viltrox
Sigma 35mm 1.2 w/ Viltrox
Sigma 18mm 1.8 No Viltrox
Sigma 35mm 1.8 no Viltrox
Sigma 17-50mm:
Sigma 17mm f2 W/ Viltrox
Sigma 35mm f2 w/ Viltrox
Sigma 50mm f2 w/ Viltrox
Suffice it to say I don’t think I need to post how that lens performs without the speedbooster.
For comparisons sake here’s the Canon 50mm 1.8 STM Lens:
Canon 50mm 1.8 no Viltrox
Canon 50mm 1.2 w/ Viltrox
Final thoughts:
Suffice it to say, this isn’t the optimal way to use these lenses or the speedbooster. In a pinch you can get away a few of these lenses at the wide end but it isn’t recommended - by myself at least. I can honestly say that the trade off between 1.8 and 1.2 isn’t worth it, but I’d be willing to go with the f2 option over the f2.8 in an absolute necessity situation with the Tokina.
I’ve used the Viltrox with both the 50mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8 with absolutely stellar results which I can post below if anyone is interested in that.
I plan to follow up with this test with some screen grabs of the 4k mode with these same lenses to see how it mitigates that crop factor. From some very early testing though, while your FOV is much easier to work with, the rolling shutter is still very heavy. But in all honesty, it’s not much worse than the rolling shutter you get with Sony APS-C cameras anyway, so if you can work around the lack of AF then you can get some really solid footage.
Thoughts, questions, criticisms?