wandering white balance

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howdy. new to this and i've got a problem. i'm shooting a scene which requires a 1/500 shutter speed and the white balance is changing even though i'm on manual. the book says under flourecents (which is of course what we have) you need to shoot 1/50 or 1/60 depending on the lights. my question is: can you get around this in a higher shutter speed with any type of settings or white balance tricks (like the folders or weird colors for white). i am shooting with a combination of flourecent and incandescent against white tile and can use any ideas anyone has.
thanks
keith
 
The problem with fluorescents is that they flicker. Your eye doesn't perceive it, but the camera will. I don't think there's anything you can do about it, although some ballasts are better than others.
 
What do you mean the "white balance is changing even though i'm on manual"??

what issue's are you having: a flicker or white balance issue's???
 
its not a flicker, the color goes from dead on white to blue then back at a slow steady pace. but not like a flicker. i went back and relit the space without the flos and the problem is gone so i figured that was it. it was the flourescent light that was in the warehouse so i'm sure it was the worst possible light for the shot but i did like the sickly glow it gave the set. i guess thats what magic bullet's for.
thanks
-k-
 
ryan brown said:
What do you mean the "white balance is changing even though i'm on manual"??

what issue's are you having: a flicker or white balance issue's???
Click to expand...

I've seen this too. Not at all sure why it happens, but something about the way fluorescents emit light causes some sort of constant cycle that changes the color of the light. Even if you're manually setting your white balance, the colors will slowly change back and forth from white to blue.
 
ryan brown said:
What do you mean the "white balance is changing even though i'm on manual"??

what issue's are you having: a flicker or white balance issue's???
Click to expand...

Sorry, I'm the one who used the word "flicker". What I meant to say was that fluorescents have a rapid cycle during which they change color and intensity. A high shutter speed makes the camera collect its light during only a short part of that cycle, and it's unlikely to be the same part of the cycle in every frame.

Anyway, that's my understanding of it. I'm pretty sure Barry explained it on a thread somewhere.
 
nope. manual. shot it today using incandescents and it was fine. turned on the overhead flos between shots and it came back. shoot more, learn more.
thanks for the input everyone.
-k-
 
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