We had some school activity this weekend. So I took some pictures using RAW, uncompressed, silent shutter mode and no flash.
I saw during the shot that these stripes came up in the display but thought there was something to do with the fluorescent light in the ceiling and that it only showed up in the preview. But I was wrong. Even on close-up you can clearly see the stripes. Shot at f/4 and 1/160s, iso 5000 and 6400
I normally never use silent mode but since there was a speech I found that handy. And didn't switch back afterwards to normal and noisy shutter.
I normally do landscape so I haven't seen these stripes before. But I haven't been using silent shutter outside.
After I posted this I did a few test shots using regular light bulbs. Same banding but it disappears when the shutter is at 1/30s or lower.
This is a common issue with all cameras with silent shooting or electronic shutters. It has to do with the frequency of fluorescent light. Fluorescent light and artificial light actually flickers repeatedly (something like 59 or 60 hz) but our eyes can't see it. A sensor however, can. You can mitigate it by using slower shutter speeds in artificial light. I find that slower than 1/100 usually gets rid of the problem.
Frequency of oscillation. No diff than taking a picture of the TV screen above vs. below that oscillating frequency.
Oscillating lights (i.e. fluorescent, etc.) are not allowed in equipment machinery rooms with rotating equipment. The oscillation can produce a stroboscopic effect that can "sync" with other frequencies to render the appearance of a moving object as stationary, or moving in a different direction / speed than it actually is.
The point of mentioning ^ ... it is a VERY REAL issue. Ours is the same issue, just a different application.
If you're on 50Hz, then I'd say you need to be under 1/25 (sync cycle), if you're on 60Hz, then under 1/30 to guarantee a complete two cycles occur. Visually, most folks can't see much less than 1/10, so the 1/50 or 1/60 appears continuous, when it really isn't.
I never had this issue with the Fujifilm X100. But it seems plausible with the frequency. We have 50hz so below 1/30 it seems OK. Last night I tried with halogen lights and the acted the same as fluorescent due to the same frequency. Oh well, another consideration to remember. So no silent shutter for me unless I am on the street.
Thank you all for the answers.
ArticShooter wrote:
I never had this issue with the Fujifilm X100. But it seems plausible with the frequency. We have 50hz so below 1/30 it seems OK. Last night I tried with halogen lights and the acted the same as fluorescent due to the same frequency. Oh well, another consideration to remember. So no silent shutter for me unless I am on the street.
Thank you all for the answers.
Well you wouldn't because the X100 has a diaphragm shutter not an electronic one
