Welcome to Michael's blog. Michael Andrew, (aka Michael The Maven) is a freelance producer, photography instructor, tech innovator, and when needed, disaster aid specialist. Disclaimer: Michael is a participant in Bhphoto & Amazon affiliate programs that provides an advertising commission if you purchase through links on this website.
Most beginners have a basic idea of what crop factor is and how important it is in calculating the equivalent focal length of different sized sensors. Have you ever wondered how the equivalent focal length compared to a 35mm camera is calculated?
Today will be discussing the geometry & math used to calculate crop factor. it's pretty straightforward once you know it!
I received many questions about the upcoming Sony A7R4 - in the past I usually do not comment on cameras until Ive had a chance to test them. A second question I am asked a lot is why my tests and reviews take so long to get out. These two questions are related.
I believe camera manufacturers have figured out how to leverage and flood youtube with mostly positive reviews about upcoming camera releases, and they do so mainly by holding press events, inviting youtubers to attend, and timing these events directly with pre-release launches of the camera systems. There are very, very few reviewers who attend these events that ever say anything negative about the camera.
Many of those attending these events are not following FTC guidelines in disclosing what is provided by the companies, in some cases, like the A6400, other reviewers are directly paid for a "review".
This is a tremendous disservice to both the youtubers who are attending these events in good faith, not fulling realizing the strings attached, as well as the perception to their audiences.
I will never attend a pre-release launch event as part of the media campaign for a manufacturer. Camera companies are welcome to send me a test model for me to test on my own, but thats about all the involvement I would accept. This is why my reviews are always late, and I realize it costs me subscribers and views, but I also feel free to speak as objectively as possible about the cameras I test.
There is a lot more to this subject, but that is the gist of it.
Im sure the A7R4 will have some amazing strengths, but I believe the weaknesses will be the same as they are in all other Sony cameras I have already tested. Here are my thoughts on what they are!
I know it has been a while since you have heard for me but I have been working hard on a number of exciting projects. I am really in one of the best phases of my life I believe in regards to creativity, so these bigger projects are taking up most of my attention. That said many of you probably do not know that I post to YouTube twice a week including today’s video which is about why I believe Fuji is working on a sports shooting APFC camera & at least one more telephoto prime lens. They had a white paper come out with the XH1 & in it there is a lot of insight and information about what their future plans are & why they mount was radically redesigned to help support the weight of heavy lenses - it just doesn’t make sense they would do so for one lens only. Fuji has already said that we will not see an XH2 in 2019, but suffice it to say something big is coming. If you are into gear and photography tutorials you’ll probably like my YouTube channel the link is in my profile. ☺️ #fuji #fujifilm #fujixh1 #fujixt2 #fujixt3 #fujifilmxt30 #fujilove #fujilovers #fujifilmxt3
I receive questions about Fuji lenses every week and I wanted to give an outline if you are beginner to Fuji systems, about which lenses (with an emphasis on zooms) you should be aware of, and what type of shooting those lenses are best used for. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of great Fuji primes and I talk about a few of them. Primes are typically sharper, smaller and lighter (but not necessarily cheaper), but I am addressing this from a position of what kind of shooting you might be doing, and these are my recommendations based of that.
Feel free to use this as a loose road map when you are planning your lens lineup. Enjoy!
It was fun. If you have seen any of the previews or past fast and furious films, you probably have a good idea of what this is all about. Minus a few minor plot holes, and it works. Id say see it in theaters if you like action flicks.
Got to take the A6400 out on the town at night for some street shooting in Waikiki a few weeks ago. What I LOVE about the A6400: A very compact and small shooting solution. The front facing monitor was a game changer in this situation, but as you can hear from the audio, the on board microphone may not be enough, and as soon as you add the mic, you can't see the monitor, so you will need something (an adapter) to offset the microphone. I also give some basic shooting tips for first time street shooters. Enjoy!
Been getting a lot of questions about ND Filters and what some of the creative ways they can be used. In this video I will show why they are so critical to video/cinematography work, and how ND filters are critical to using wide aperture lenses in bright daylight. I hope you enjoy it!
Hard to describe, but suffice it to say this is more of a ode to past Hollywood times than anything.
There were a lot of things that were amazing. QT is as unique as they come in regards to writer/directors. He takes huge chances, a master of building the tension up, dialogue, composition, color, personalities - so many things well done. But keep this in mind, this isn't a movie in the traditional sense, it is more of a tribute/ borderline documentary to the personality types & stages of different egos of Hollywood past and in that regard it is thought provoking. The ending was a great payoff, but I think the casual movie goer is going to be bored with it at 2 hrs and 40 minutes, unless they are die hard QT fans.
