One of the most sought-after tools in video production these days is the Metabones Speed Booster, a tool which absolutely lives up its claims of making your lenses faster and wider, thus eliminating the dreaded crop factor from small sensor cameras like the Panasonic GH4, while giving you an additional stop of light. One of the problems that most low-budget filmmakers have with the Speed Booster, however, is that it's not inexpensive by any stretch of the imagination. At $490 for the BMPCC Nikon version (and even more for the Canon EF adapter), you're shelling out half the price of the camera just for an adapter. Luckily, Fotodiox Pro has just released the Excell+1 Micro 4/3 adapter for Nikon and Canon FD lenses at just a fraction of that price.

First, here's the launch video from Fotodiox that introduces the Excell+1.

And here's the chart from the video that shows how the Excell+1 effects the focal length on different formats.

Croppercapture58

In spite of the incredible price, there are some drawbacks to the new Excell+1 adapter. First and foremost is the fact that you're limited to Micro 4/3 as your base format, while only having the ability to adapt Nikon or Canon FD lenses to your camera. For people who are heavily invested in Canon EF glass, or for people who are shooting on formats other than Micro 4/3, the Excell+1 is not for you -- that is, unless Fotodiox continues to release new versions of the adapter with new mounts and formats.

At this point, we have no idea as to whether or not the internal elements of the Excell+1 are of similar quality to the Metabones Speed Booster, and whether or not there's a difference in image quality between the two products. There are some other lower-priced Speed Booster-like products out there, though quality can vary pretty significantly. At first glance, this seems like an excellent product at an almost unbelievable price, but there's no way to know for sure until we see how the quality of the Excell+1 stands up to competing products.

While it's available from B&H for $160, the Excell+1 will run you only $140 direct from Fotodiox.

Links:

lensesnikonmicro43adapterlensadapterspeedboosterm43fotodioxexcell+1fotodioxpro
Cinematography & Cameras