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.
A big thank you to Taj for submitting this. There are many new camera companies offering very expensive, basic, non-stabilized handheld DSLR camera rigs, several hundreds of dollars and in some cases thousands of dollars. Save yourself some major money by taking the time to construct your own: 
Cost Effective DIY Camera Rig
Im back in Arizona for a few days, not sure how long I will be here, but I have a tremendous amount of work to get caught up on.
I really do need to get back into my 365 postings (for my second year). Not only for myself, but to get the word out on the new program we will be starting sometime soon.
Ive always been in awe of the Phoenix Airport. It is totally loaded with awesome architecture, perfect for a 365 shot!
Several websites are reporting that the new firmware for the Canon 5Diii are now available through unofficial channels. Apparently someone sent a camera in to Canon and they returned it with the new firmware on a thumbdrive and the user decided to share.
UPDATE
Canon has officially announced it: Canon 5Diii Firmware Update 1.2
The firmware will:
1. Allow for clean HDMI out (some are reporting that there is no audio with this feature)
2. Allow for better focusing when shooting with extenders.
3. Fixes AF Assit Speed with a Speedlite
Canon 5Diii Firmware Update 1.2
While it appears that Pain and Gain will be the number one movie this weekend, I would strongly recommend you not watch this movie, ever. Michael Bay’s film attempts to be this clever dark comedy & the truth of the matter is the story behind it is very real, and the murders perpetrated by Donnie W & the Rock’s characters were also very real. I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say it was absolutely brutal and the epitome of senseless greed.
Whenever there is a terrible crime, I cannot help but to wonder how the press provides millions of dollars of free advertising and marketing for what will eventually become a number one hit when retold by Hollywood. This causes conflict for me, because I believe in freedom of speech, but what I am not in favor of is how the media will make someone “infamous” and names/faces of criminal’s become so ubiquitous that someone will always try to make some money on it. I am absolutely against criminals profiting from their crimes directly, whether it is financial or in recognition.
There is also a very fine line between historical movie/documentary/re-enactment, but I definitely feel trying to make a dark comedy about real criminals who had real victims is absolutely in bad taste.
Boycott Pain & Gain. If we do not support these types of movies with our money, Hollywood will stop making them.
Magic Lantern is working on a solution that would allow for RAW video shooting through the Canon 5Diii & Canon 5DII . The way it works is essentially unlocks the 5Diii’s ability to shoot at higher frame rates per second.
Great explanation by Luke Neumann of Neumann films:
Im almost thinking the Canon 7D would be a better platform for this because it has dual digic 4 processors instead of the one in the 5Dii.
If Magic Lantern can figure it out….it could really be a game changer.
