Viltrox Speedbooster - Compatibility with my Lenses

Hi Folks, Just thought I'd share the results of my trying some of my lenses with the Viltrox EF-EOS M2 Speedbooster...

I tested these lenses on a Canon EOS M2 camera (I also have the original EOS M, but have not tried the Viltrox on this camera yet.

This "test" is strictly regarding whether the lens autofocus worked and whether the 1-stop speed increase was achieved.  The following lenses achieved both working autofocus and the 1-stop speed boost:

Canon EF 200mm 2.8L

Canon EF 70-200mm 4.0L

Canon EF 35mm 2.0 (the old screw drive 35mm 2.0)

Canon EF 40mm 2.8

Canon EF 100mm 2.0

Canon EF 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 USM

Sigma 50mm 1.4 DG HSM

The Canon EF 50mm 1.8 Mark II (nifty fifty) partially worked - it autofocuses but the max aperture is still F1.8 (no "speed boost").

The Canon EF 85mm 1.2 L Mark II did not work - perhaps because of it's focus by wire system.  It reports a max aperture of F1.0, but when trying to focus, the view screen goes very dark and it hunts for focus badly.  If you hold down the shutter button, the viewfinder (rear screen on the EOS M2) is a normal brightness - and you can manually focus the lens.

The Sigma 50mm 1.4 DG HSM was a pleasant surprise.  You get F1.0 and autofocus works.  I find that using the zoom in feature to focus allows the autofocus to work much better with the Viltrox.  This Sigma lens did NOT work at all until I upgraded the Viltrox to the latest v1.4 firmware.  After the firmware update, both autofocus and speedboost were working!  My Sigma 50mm is one of the later models of this lens - older "versions" of this same lens had a crinkle paint finish, mine has the smooth, flat paint finish.

The EF 28-105 USM is a nice surprise.  Its an older lens from my film camera days, but has a ring type USM motor.  It speed boosts to F2.5-3.2 and stays F2.8 until just under 70mm.  The ring type USM lenses seem to work nicely with the Viltrox.

The EF 35mm 2.0 is also really nice for another reason - it has an incredibly short (25cm) minimum focus distance.  Mine is a very sharp lens in the center, even at F2.0 (F1.4 speedboosted).  So you can achieve nice subject isolation, with a sharp subject, against a relatively wide blurred background for context.

The EF 70-200 4.0L - the stabilization also worked as expected.

The EF40mm 2.8 - with the Viltrox and this lens, it is actually shorter (more compact) than the EF-M 18-55 kit lens!  So, you can walk around with essentially a nice small "F2.0" 50mm on your M series camera...

I picked up my Viltrox using Ali Express from their Viltrox store.  Delivery took about 2 weeks to the states.  Paid about $100.  What a great gadget!!  This type of stuff helps make photography fun.

I hope this post helps some folks decide on whether the Viltox will work with their lenses.

Ed Gillis wrote:

Hi Folks, Just thought I'd share the results of my trying some of my lenses with the

The EF 35mm 2.0 is also really nice for another reason - it has an incredibly short (25cm) minimum focus distance. Mine is a very sharp lens in the center, even at F2.0 (F1.4 speedboosted). So you can achieve nice subject isolation, with a sharp subject, against a relatively wide blurred background for context.

I hope this post helps some folks decide on whether the Viltox will work with their lenses.

Thanks for the write-up! Now that I've got my Viltrox I've definitely got my finger on the trigger for either the Canon 35mm f2 or the Tamron 35mm 1.8. I've heard some horror stories about the AF and the VC not working on the Tamron, and I think your post may have swayed me towards the Canon.

Glad that my experience helps. I will caution that the Canon EF 35mm 2.0 has a very noisy autofocus mechanism compared to the more modern ring type USM. So, it autofocuses, but makes a lot of noise doing so. Not a big deal to me, but it may bother some folks.

• EF 100mm F/2.8 IS USM L Marco
• EF 135mm F/2.0 USM L

They worked on the Canon EOS M6 even though I got some vinetting.

Gemma Pix wrote:

Praefos wrote:

• EF 100mm F/2.8 IS USM L Marco
• EF 135mm F/2.0 USM L

They worked on the Canon EOS M6 even though I got some vinetting.

My EF 100mm f2.8 is usm l , the image stabilizer keep on hunting on my m50.

The adapter already use the latest firmware (1.4)

I changed my AF settings to 1-point AF. Otherwise it's hunting in general. With or without (normal Canon adapter) the speedbooster.

Hello,

Thanks for this review. Will this work with the Canon EF 50mm F1. 8 lens?

Thanks,

Great thread, I guess I'll contribute as well.

So far I've tried:

Canon 85/1.2 I - Everything works but aperture can only be set at 1.2, I'm not sure if that's fully open or it's closed down to 1.2 equivalent after the speedbooster multiplication. My 50/1.8 STM also has 1.2 after the speedbooster.

Canon 50/1.8 STM - Everything works, enjoying this combo with my M100

Will keep on updating, still have a couple of lens I wanted to try with the speedbooster.

Tog-meister wrote:

tobicy68 wrote:

Great thread, I guess I'll contribute as well.

So far I've tried:

Canon 85/1.2 I - Everything works but aperture can only be set at 1.2, I'm not sure if that's fully open or it's closed down to 1.2 equivalent after the speedbooster multiplication. My 50/1.8 STM also has 1.2 after the speedbooster.

Canon 50/1.8 STM - Everything works, enjoying this combo with my M100

Will keep on updating, still have a couple of lens I wanted to try with the speedbooster.

On par with metajones?

I haven't used the metabones? so I am not sure about that.

Wayne Larmon wrote:

Tog-meister wrote:

So you guys are liking the performance?

Saw some pretty horrible reviews on Amazon but I guess this speedbooster is getting some love.

I was just looking at Amazon user reviews for the speed booster and saw several to the effect of "don't waste your money on this. Spend $300 and get the real Canon one."

Is there an official Canon speed booster? Or should I maybe take Amazon user reviews with a grain of salt?

Wayne

There has been rumors that Canon will release their own official speedbooster:

https://www.canonrumors.com/patent-canon-speedbooster-for-eos-m/

I don't see the reason for Canon not to do that, it'll be great for EOS M users to have more options.

But I don't think it's available and not sure where that $300 price tag come from, maybe they have released the price already idk.

As for the performance of the viltrox one, I'm pretty happy, at least it even works on old lenses like 85/1.2 and even 55-200 USM is imo better than expected.

It works well in video mode as well at least for my 85/1.2, touch screen dual pixel focus on the 85/1.2 works just like a Canon 70D/80D/SL2 etc, but at a much smaller package, and at a near full frame FOV! Canon APSC DSLRs can't do that unless you put a lens in front of the sensor. I can't complain much. The full frame alternative (5D IV/EOS RP/EOS R) with a 85/1.2 or Sony full frame + 85/1.4 GM with face tracking is much more expensive. Even an A6300 + speedbooster + 85/1.2 is still more expensive.

There were some issues I heard with the older firmware but I heard that it's fixed with the newer firmware. At least I had no problems with mine on my M100 so that's good.

Is the EF 28mm F2.8 IS USM compatible with this speed booster

Thanks,