After experiencing a year-long delay, Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera users will soon be able to claim a new third-party lens adapter that will enable the use of Olympus OM lenses with cameras like the OM-D E-M1 and PEN E-P5. While such adapters already exist, the Metabones Olympus OM to Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster offers some performance enhancements, the company claims.
The OM to Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster was first announced in January 2013. Micro Four Thirds users have been anticipating the release of this adapter, particularly after seeing similar products hit the market for Sony NEX and Fujifilm X cameras. The OM to M43 Speed Booster is a SLR-to-mirrorless lens adapter that increases the functionality of several lens features: aperture, image sharpness, and field of view. There’s no mention if autofocusing will be retained.
With this brass-fitted adapter, the maximum aperture of the equipped lens increases by one full-stop, due to the Speed Booster making the lens 0.71x wider than before. More light is then refocused onto the smaller sensor with a crop factor of 1.4x.
While attached, this adapter also boosts the Modulation Transfer Function, or MTF of the lens – this means that the overall performance (field of view, depth of field, focal length) of the lens is increased and will result in higher quality images. The Metabones Olympus OM to Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster will cost between $400-500, and it’s not an official Olympus product; it’s pricey, but it opens up your lens options if you already own a collection of OM lenses, and are trading up to a Micro Four Thirds camera. You can be notified when pre-order is available by visiting the Metabones website.
(Via Pop Photo)
