600D video smoothness issues

Baluardo

Baluardo

Well-known member
hello guys,

I just started using the 600D for filming in my documentary style productions. I am generally blown away by the overall quality of what I am getting.
I am just puzzled by a little thing:

When playing back the clip either on my computer or camera LCD screen, sometimes there's a 'hesitation' like a duplicate frame, a hiccup in the motion smoothness. It is not motion strobing because of the progressive, it is an occasional 'seam' in the general movie smoothness.

Please look at the sample movie 3 here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos600d/page15.asp
About half way the film, you have one of those 'weird frames'. This is exactly what I experience.
I looked extensively here and on the internet, but nobody complains about this, only about strobing. I find it quite annoying if you are relying on this for professional use.

- is this a known thing? if yes, how to prevent it? And when does it happen exactly?
- Do other filming DSLR (other brands too) have the same issue?

Thanks!
ciao, Andrea
 
What SD card are you recording to? I've seen some weird issues with class 4 and even class 6 cards with lots of motion and lots of detail in the image.

On a side note, you can't judge anything off Vimeo. They have a very poor codec for motion. I can see the issue in the example you posted, but I wouldn't attribute that to the camera. Did you watch the original file? I didn't download it to see if it was there too.

I have a T3i and use class 10 cards and have never had that sort of issue.

Here's hoping you find it. That would be very annoying.

Cheers,
Pete
 
That is exactly why I did this shot early on
with my new T3i. Shoot a subject with lots
and lots of movement and see if there are
any dropped frames, tearing or pixelization.
At least in this ( sorry for the long boring
scene ) shot I saw no problems.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wilcalint#p/u/19/Q1oGKL0bjuc

The full up 1920p MOV files from my T3i, when
they contain lots of movement, can be a HUGE
challenge for your editing computer. I use
a Linux based i7 2600k ( overclocked ) 16GB DRAM
Nvidia 400 series video board. With this system
I can easily, with no skips or bumps, use the
raw MOV full definition files from the T3i in
my NLE ( OpenShot ). I use Class 6 or higher SD Cards.
 
SD card is a 16GB, class 10. I was recording in fullHD 25fps. I was in automatic exposure mode, AF (quick).

>On a side note, you can't judge anything off Vimeo. They have a very poor codec for motion. I can see the issue in the example you posted, but I wouldn't attribute that to the >camera. Did you watch the original file? I didn't download it to see if it was there too.

I did not download the original file of the sample I quoted, but the hiccup that you see in that web clip looks exactly like the problem I experience occasionally.
I watched the clips either on the camera's LCD and using media preview on my really powerful mac machine (not sure of the hardware specs): in both cases the video looks smooth all the way except for the 'hiccup' occurences (that happen in the same spots either on the LCD and on the computer).

I shot much more material with it, even though didn't have time to check it on the computer yet, but I can tell the problem happened again and maybe it is related to strong motion of big objects in the field of view.. I guess I have to analyze my material better.
When the hiccup happens, I can also see it live while shooting. then I play it back and the hiccup is still there. I *think* i even hear a tiny mechanical noise when it happens. could it be the AE?

Andrea

PS I will analyze the material and upload something.
 
Exposure was in full automatic mode. It looks like that in this way ISO, aperture and the shutter speed are all dynamically changing according to the light conditions. I was pretty pleased with the resulting images so I didnt bother changing that. Would you suggest another operating mode?

In fact, I did not format the card before using it. I know somebody made some tests on it before I used it, so it could be that something previously recorded on it and then deleted, before I used it. Is this important?

thx
Andrea
 
well I just uploaded a sample, if some of you wants to try to understand what is going on here:
http://www.baluardoproductions.com/andrea/MVI_0368.MOV
there is a very obvious 'hiccup' at sec. 9-10.

laying this clip on a sequence in FCP (no transcoding), it appears that in that spot 4 frames are the same.
Now, is this normal? is this something wrong with my model? should I try other brands of SD? format the card? or what?

thanks,
Andrea
 
Bruce,
thanks for the suggestion. but the lens i've used does not have a stabilizer. And I understand the camera doesn't have a built-in image stabilizing system..

I am still really surprised I am the only one experiencing this problem...

Andrea
 
Agreed, I cant say if thats the issue as I have never shot in anything but manual, Try manual mode to see if it fixes the issue, if not, return it if you can.
 
Ok, I will run the following tests then:
- format SD card first
- manual mode
- different SD cards brand/capacity

honestly, if I find out it's the automatic mode, I am going to be disappointed. That mode is very useful when shooting unplanned stuff in unknown locations / rooms.

I will let you know

thanks
Andrea
 
From Phantom Video: Hey wilcal, what NLE you running in linux?

I am a volunteer developer for:

http://www.openshotvideo.com/

Do note that this thing cannot hold a candle to all of the
commonly used NLE's in the Mac and Windows world.
Big push now to put a color correction filter into the next
major release. One advantage is that I use the 64-bit
OpenShot version on Mageia 1 64-bit OS and 16GB DRAM
so I have absolutely no problems at all with file sizes.
Also I can import the Canon MOV files directly into
OpenShot and cleanly edit from there. Previews
in OpenShot are clean just like the final output file.
I'm gonna try and get as close to the trolley vid presented
in this thread. That's a very good challenge for any
DSLR and editing machine. Lots of moving pixels.
 
After analysis of a lot of material I shot, I can tell you I had a 'dropout' in about 1/4th of the clips I shot.
I had used two different SD cards: both 16GB, class 10, one Fujifilm and one ADATA (I used the latter much more, but also in the Fuji I had at least 2 dropouts). I didn't format the cards before using them.

In the end, I think it is the Automatic Exposure. Every time there is a dropout, at the same time the Iris is adjusting to a more open position. This may happen moving from a darker room to a lighter room, or even when somebody with a dark tshirt passes too close to the cam causing iris change. Not all iris changes cause the dropout, though. And it only happens when the iris opens, not when it closes.
I did not run other tests yet. I want to try the manual exposure, and the formatting.

- But I still wonder: Am I still the only one who noticed this problem or there is still something wrong with my cam/cards/procedure/lens?

:)Andrea
 
Ok, found on the manual, page 284 (under Playback problems):

'The movie has still moments.
- During autoexposure movie shooting, if there is a drastic change in the exposure level, the recording will stop momentarily until the brightness stabilizes. If this happens, use manual exposure.'

In fact, I realized you can also see it freezing live in the LCD while you shoot (actually, you don't even have to hit the record button). And yes, it does not happen with manual exposure.
Hopefully some other clueless user like me will read this thread. And BTW I think this should be well clear before purchasing this camera.

Now, I wonder if other brands/models have the same or similar problems..

Thanks all of you for your answers.
Ciao,
Andrea
 
Oh, as an add-on,
it is still possible to safely keep the ISO automatic and the camera will use that to adjust exposure (within some limits). A small workaround for when automatic exposure IS needed.

Andrea
 
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