Inexpensive fluorescent lights flicker at the same rate as the AC power line frequency. In Japan, power line frequency varies: 50hz in Tokyo and East Japan versus 60hz in Osaka and West Japan. If you're in a 50hz region, you should set your shutter speed to 1/50 second to minimize the strobing effect of power line flicker. In a 60hz region, use a 1/60 second shutter.
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Stable 35Mbps low-light MJPEG patch with in-camera playback
- Thread starter Lpowell
- Start date
In a 60hz region, use a 1/60 second shutter.
I appreciate your quick reply. I just tested your advice. It works perfectly for both video and photos. However, for my wife it won't work because she prefers the Full Auto setting. Furthermore, what of people who don't even use this GF-1 firmware hack? Does this color-banding problem not exist on the stock Panasonic firmware? (I'm not able to test that at the moment.) If the horizontal lines appear even on the stock firmware, then anyone taking video would not be able to adjust the camera properly to get a proper video setting at 1/60s shutter, right? (In such a case, it would be a Panasonic problem, but I am curious nonetheless.)
Yes, but it's not a flaw in the firmware. It will happen with any video camera, whenever the shutter speed is not synchronized with the flicker frequency of the lighting.Does this color-banding problem not exist on the stock Panasonic firmware?
Thank you again for the reply. The main reason I went to all this trouble of testing and reporting the problem is because I've never experienced it on any of my other cameras, neither my SD digital cameras (Canon PowerShot series) or my SD MiniDV 3CCD camera (Panasonic PV-GS400). So I am led to wonder why I am only seeing it on the Lumix GF-1. Furthermore, before even posting here, I did a search on this forum but I couldn't find anyone else reporting a similar problem. Even Googling for it doesn't pull up much, although I Googled again just now and find one "banding" report here, but others in that thread say they've not had the same problem:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&thread=34126682&page=6
So is it really something that all cameras have? Or is it more pronounced on the GF-1? And again, I'm shocked that more people haven't spoken about this, if the problem is so widespread.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&thread=34126682&page=6
So is it really something that all cameras have? Or is it more pronounced on the GF-1? And again, I'm shocked that more people haven't spoken about this, if the problem is so widespread.