Flicker Adjustments

tkoind

tkoind

Active member
We've been taking a lot of test footage ramping up for our shoot in a few weeks. We are shooting in 24p advanced mode most of the time. The footage is mostly random shot in various inside and outside locations around the city with no additional light.

I have noticed differences in the flicker we see when playing back footage. Most of the daylight shots do not reveal more than the flicker I would expect to see from 24p. But in brightly lit or dimly lit areas the flicker is quite noticable and even has a 1920's quality. While it would be great if that was the intent, it is a little concerning otherwise.

We are still very new to 24p and this camera. Perhaps we have something set incorrectly. We did adjust to the base recommendation we found on this site. What can we do to reduce the bad aspects of flicker while keeping the filmish aspects? Are there settings that we should be trying? Or are we seeing a techinical issue with the camera?

Also if we use a deck or 2nd camera to play back tape recorded using 24p or 24pa from the DVX will that also impact how it looks on a monitor?

Thanks for your advice.
 
Can you define the flicker, you mean thin details (horizontal lines flickering) or strobes at fast moving subjects ?

Ulisses
 
An overall strobe. Especially under brighter light. Looks very much like the flicker you get with a film projector when it is strongest.

I know there should be some degree of filmish flicker with 24pa. But it seems a little too much. So perhaps our settings are incorrect in some way. What do you think?
 
Are you using default F6 scene file ? How is your shutter speed ? Maybe you can post a little footage.

Ulisses
 
Yes we are using the default f6 scene file. We recently reset the camera also. I'm not able to post footage until the weekend. But I will try then.

What shutter speed do you recommend as a starting point for 24pa?
 
You can use the shutter off, what is 1/50 I think, but if you want to smooth things you can try 1/24. Please post some footage from your "problem"

Ulisses
 
when i tested my cam first in 25p mode i made a still wide-shot. i had flicker when i panned around. i then moved the cam 3 meters with Record ON and there was no flicker whatsoever. perfectly smooth image. i then finally believed what Barry says: it is all in how you move the cam. i keep practicing since then (and still wait for Barry´s DVD) and hope eventually i will eliminate it.

these things help:
- slower shutter (1/43 is acceptable, 1/24 is too blurry IMO for normal shooting)
- slow movements
- shoot in THICK mode (F5) if you don´t go out to film
 
We only plan to release on DVD so we will not be going to film. Other than the pull down rate for conversion to film, are there key differences between default f5 and f6 in terms of image quality, flicker etc...?
 
Last night we conducted a few tests. We shot with 24p and 24pa w/ shutter off, 1/48 and 1/24. And I think we sorted the problem out. We shot under incandescent and flourescent light and had no flicker or other problems at all. Went back to the train station where we shot a few days ago and got the same flicker. The only thing we can guess is that it is coming from the weird mix of flourescent lights at the station. We could not replicate the flicker anywhere other than shots in stations or on station platforms. Maybe the lights are flickering and not the camera.

Thanks for the other tips. We got interesting results from trying the suggestions and are happy with the results.
 
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