Michael Andrew's Blog, page 28

Crawl

Pretty well done. A little slow at times, but fantastic at high tension moments. CGI was pretty good, enough to be believable. It will be a classic. I would recommend seeing it in theaters if you like these types of films

How Night Sight Works in Googles Pixel 3 Phones

The images coming out of Googles Pixel 3 cameras are just jaw dropping, especially the ones shot with their night sight feature. How in the world did they figure this out, and how does it work in plain language? Thats the topic in todays Maven Nation Photography Podcast!



DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Google or the Pixel 3 product. I have not received a free Pixel 3 phone (nor would I) and have not been asked to create this video by anyone, its just an interesting topic I wanted to share with you.



Thank you to the engineers at Google for publishing this fascinating article: "Night Sight: Seeing In Dark On Pixel Phone"



If you are struggling to learn you camera, theres a good chance I have a tutorial on it! I break down complex ideas into simple to understand language:



Michael's Training Videos



Michael's Maven ND1000 (10 Stop) Filters:



MAVEN 100X100MM ND1000 FILTERS



Michael's Maven ND64 (6 Stop) Filters:



MAVEN 100X100MM ND64 FILTERS



MAVEN 84X84MM ND64 FILTERS



**On PRE-ORDER FOR $99 THROUGH JULY 15TH. REG. PRICE WILL BE $150**



Michael's Camera Straps:



Maven Camera Straps:



SKINNY

Black





WIDE

Black:

Blue

Army Green

Orange

Desert Camo



#GooglePixel3 #Pixel3NightSight #NightSight

I’ve been in my workshop developing several new...

I've been in my workshop developing several new photography products- the first are two photography ND filters, one at 10-Stops, the other at 6-Stops.

The word ND means Neutral Density, or that the filter doesn't introduce any color cast.
Here's the hard truth: I've only seen a couple brands that you cannot tell has shifted any color. There are some pretty overpriced & awfully performing filters out there. One famous brand name filter is charging $130 for one of the worst performing filters I've ever seen. It's a total ripoff and shouldn't even be classified as an ND filter, but there is no governing body that regulates ND ratings.
I got sick of it and decided I would:

1. Develop a test that anyone could do to grade their ND filters.
2. I would produce ND filters better than even the big brand name companies.

My recent YouTube video will demonstrate the test (it's in my profile) and also show how my new filters compete against them (here's a spoiler: it wasn't pretty for them)

And if you are still reading this: There are links on that video for $50 off . The 6 stop ones are in stock, with the 10 stop ones coming shortly.
Don't buy those crappy ND filters unless you are paying less than $30. When you go for a high grade one, get the BEST. I'm proud to put my name on those! (And yes, Maven is a registered trademark for photography products) ☺️
#ndfilters #maven #mavenfilters #mavenndfilters #vu #nisi #ice #cokin #lee #hitech #zomei #nd #landscapephotography
More cool video & products coming soon!

10 Stop ND Filter Color Shootout | MAVEN vs Lee NISI Haida VU Cokin HITECH ICE B&W

"You get what you pay for" is a saying we have all heard and it is somewhat true with ND filters. If you are paying very little for an ND filter, chances are it is not going to be very high performing. This is usually the case from my experience.



But what if you pay a lot for a filter? Does that guarantee that filter will be high performing?



Unfortunately, there are expensive filters out there that are not very good, and many photographers are not even aware of it. As far as I know there is no regulatory body or performance rating that governs ND filters.



I realize I will likely be attacked by many for creating a filter specifically to do well in a color cast test and then testing it against the big boys, however "ND" should be as close to neutral as possible and what you are about to see will shock you. I also wanted to provide hard evidence that yes, there is a difference, and yes it can be measured.



You can download the images I used in this test as well as the spreadsheet here: https://bit.ly/2XPsPoR



You are welcome to scrutinize & criticize my results. I will take all honest feedback sincerely, and improve the test (or the filters if possible), but as of right now, Im pretty proud of my first filters!



Table Of Contents:



03:04 - Myth & True Advantages of Nano Coated Filters

03:48 - Filters Used In Test

04:50 - Methodology of Test

08:00 - Adjusting for 10 Stops

09:45 - Viewing Results in Camera RAW

10:30 - Boring Nerdy Stuff (How to quantitate color cast numerically)

17:48 - Filter Scores



If you are a pure beginner to filters, I think a basic Cokin P filter kit (that comes with adapters and filters) are a good place to start. See the link on the bottom of this description for a good, inexpensive kit.



Michael's Maven ND1000 (10 Stop) Filters:



MAVEN 100X100MM ND1000 FILTERS



MAVEN 84X84MM ND1000 FILTERS



Michael's Maven ND64 (6 Stop) Filters:



MAVEN 100X100MM ND64 FILTERS



MAVEN 84X84MM ND64 FILTERS



**On PRE-ORDER FOR $99 THROUGH JULY 15TH. REG. PRICE WILL BE $150**



PRIVACY and DISCLOSURE:

* Michael The Maven is a participant in the B&H & Amazon affiliate program that provides an advertising commission if you purchase through our links.

* If you purchase something from my affiliate links, I will get a small commission with no extra cost to you.

* Everything stated here is my opinion, and I sometimes make mistakes. I will never recommend a product I do not either use, truly love or think would be the best fit for the situation (often

determined by budget).



Filters Used in Test:



Lee Big Stopper - $129



ICE- ($40)



VU $235



Formatt HiTech - $122.58



Haida- $76



B+W XS Pro - Nano - $189



Cokin Nuances - $180



NISI (Kit) - $499



#NDFilters #BestNDFillter #10StopNDFilter



Generic Cokin P Filter Kit

Spiderman - Far From Home

It was GREAT! Highly recommend it. So funny and yet loaded with action. Marvel has it really dialed in. I really appreciate that they are writing weaknesses into their heroes, so much more interesting! Go watch it!!

Fuji XT30 vs Sony A6400 Epic Shootout Comparison - Which camera to buy

Sony A6400 Crash Course Training Tutoria



Fuji X-T30 Crash Course Training Tutorial



Sony A6400 Free Tutorial



Fuji X-T30 Free Tutorial



A6400 Cold Shot Mount:



Michael's training videos



ALL MAVEN ND FILTERS ON SALE FOR $99 UNTIL JULY 15TH

(ND1000 Filters size Z will not be in stock until July 15th, Size P Aug)



Michael's Nano Coated ND1000 100x100mm Cokin Size Z($150)



Michael's Nano Coated ND1000 84x84mm Cokin Size P($150)



Michael's Nano Coated ND64 100x100mm Cokin Size Z($135)



Michael's Nano Coated ND64 84x84mm Cokin Size P($135)





Table of Contents:



02:03 - Sports

07:14 - Buffer

13:01 - Face Tracking

14:32 - Low Light Focusing

15:07 - Dynamic Range

17:01 - High ISO Stills

17:44 - Moire

18:07 - High ISO Video

19:18 - Rolling Shutter

19:43 - Thermals

21:02 - Portraits

23:40 - Conclusion



PRIVACY and DISCLOSURE:

* Michael The Maven is a participant in the B&H Photo Video affiliate program that provides an advertising commission if you purchase through our links.

* If you purchase something from my affiliate links, I will get a small commission with no extra cost to you.

Everything stated here is my opinion, and I sometimes make mistakes. I will never recommend a product I do not either use, truly love or think would be the best fit for the situation (often

determined by budget).



Sony A6400



Fuji X-T30



Sony Lenses:

24-70 f2.8



70-200mm f.28



Fuji Lenses:

16-55mm f.28



50-140mm f.28





#FujiXT30 #SonyA6400 #XT30vsA6400

PRODUCT ADVISORY - EYELEAD Sensor Stick (Sony Version)

I published a video a few months ago and had about 3-4 people ask about the Eyelead Sensor stick as an option. It actually has many positive reviews & videos by respected websites and photographers. I found a serious problem with it. DO NOT USE IT!



If you are looking for training on your camera, check out my training videos here:



Michael's Training Videos:

https://canontrainingvideo.com



MAVEN SENSOR MAGNIFICATION LOUPE EXTENDER - This is made specifically for the Carson Loop



My 6 Stop ND Filters are now available:

Michael's Nano Coated ND 100x100mm Cokin Size Z



Michael's Nano Coated ND 84x84mm Cokin Size P



Michael's Paracord Camera Straps:



Maven Camera Straps:



SKINNY

Black





WIDE

Black:

Blue

Army Green

Orange

Desert Camo





Dust-Aids Wet KitThat I used to remove the gunk: https://amzn.to/2NhTR4e



Carson SM-44 4.5x SensorMag Magnifier



Eyelead Sony & Leica Sensor Cleaner (DO NOT BUY THIS!!)



#EyeleadSensorGelStick #EyeleadSonySensorDamage #SensorCleaning

Why Do Lights Flicker on Instagram Stories? (Or Any video for that matter...)

My friend Darren Natoni recently asked a GREAT question on Instagram when he noticed lights flickering in his Instagram stories. Its a little complicated, but this is my full answer and should make sense after watching this video.





Check out Darren on IG: https://www.instagram.com/darrennatoni/?hl=en



His wife Danielle (Many of you will recognize her from some of the famous beach body workout routines: https://www.instagram.com/daniellenatoni/?hl=en)



If you enjoyed this video and want to learn more about your camera, check out one of my many training videos: https://www.canontrainingvideo.com



Maven Camera Straps:



SKINNY

Black





WIDE

Black:

Blue

Army Green

Orange

Desert Camo





#WhyLightsFlicker #VideoLightsFlickering #LightsFlickering

Anna

Being that Lucky Besson has made some of my most favorite films, like the Professional and The Fifth Element (Luc Besson Filmography, I wanted to give "Anna" shot.



As much as I hate to say this Anna felt like a movie I had seen many times before maybe Red Sparro, maybe atomic blonde, with a dash of Cinderella, it is that kind of a movie. If you enjoyed those films you'll probably enjoy watching this the theater. It is definitely not as bad as Rotten Tomatoes hasn't rated (30% last time I checked) and it probably could have been better. (I would put it more in the 55-60% range.



SPOILER ALERT: - There were some interesting twists and turns, the film does a great job of misleading the viewer, but here is something I had a really, hard time with: Empty Handguns. Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time on the range can feel the weight of a loaded gun, vs the weight of an empty gun. You would expect this perception to be even more precise for a trained assassin. There were literally two "jobs" Anna was on that she did not recognize this, even more troubling the second time when she had been warned about it after the first. It kinda ruined it for me! There was one amazing fight sequence (in the restaurant), lots of background, but felt a little slow in places.



A definite rental if you like action movies.

Beginners Buyers Guide to ND Filters

So, you are in the market for an ND filter? You have come to the right place! ND filters, also know as neutral density filters are designed to reduce the exposure of light.



Why would you want to do this? There are many applications, however the most common is when you are shooting in daylight conditions and you want to use a longer exposure or a wider aperture. Landscape photographers will often use many second exposures, or sometimes videographers want to use wide apertures to get a shallow depth of field, but they cannot because the image would over expose. Of course there are many other times to use ND filters, but whats with all this terminology? What does it mean?



You have come to the right place, let me break it down for you!



Maven ND 64 100mm x 100mm Z Pro



Maven ND 64 84mm x 84mm Cokin P