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Fluorescents in Haiti – HVX200
I just came back from a shoot for a health organization in Haiti in which a few of the shots were done under fluorescent lighting. The electrical system there is nominally 60Hz, 120V, like in the US. The building was usually running on its own generator, so there’s no telling how that affects the general characteristic of the power.
Under the fluoro, I was seeing a sort of slow beating to the light level, at the rate of about 2-3 beats per second. Or, to describe it another way, the light would dip down in level at the rate of about 2 or 3 times per second.
If I understand correctly, the default shutter speed is 1/48. The only shutter speeds that reduced the flicker were either 1/30 or 1/15. I was recording to DV tape with 480 30P, so I chose the 1/30 shutter speed. Was this a wise choice? Any explanations or recommendations out there concerning this slow flicker and how to deal with it?
By the way, due to having to travel very light, we used no external monitor, just the LCD and the EVF, so my perceptions rely only on those methods of viewing in the field.
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4 Replies
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To clarify one thing: I could not see the 2-3 beats per second with my naked eyes–this was only apparent on the camera’s LCD or viewfinder.
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Sounds like fluorescent interference, yes. 1/60 should have removed the flicker too, but if it didn’t, then 1/30 was a fine choice (as long as you were shooting 480p; if you were shooting 480/60i then 1/30 will drop your vertical resolution in half.)
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Thanks Barry. I’ve read your very fine book, but didn’t have it with me to answer this question. Yes, I was shooting 480p.
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1/15 will make moving elements in your footage blurry
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