I recently added a couple prime lenses to my tool kit, the 35L (few months back) and now the 85L and was surprized at what happened with just fluorescents as a light source.

I hope someone can educate me ...
and appreciate your time for pixel peeping,
paul

It is likely to be the camera body's problem, not the lenses. But to be sure, try to use a third and fourth lens (prime or zoom) and give it a try.

Paul,

I don't have either of these lenses, but what you are seeing is the color change that happens throughout the cycle of the light. I am surprised that you are not seeing it 1/100-1/125 shutter speeds. If you notice, it is much worse the higher the shutter speed. Your fluorescent lights cycle @ 60hz, so a shutter speed of 1/60 is required to ensure no color shift as the shutter opens and closes across the sensor. This is the wonders of shooting in fluorescent lighting.

HTH,
Leo

Could it be related to the shutter speeds? The fast primes allow you to shoot at fast speeds, and the samples where the coloring doesn't occur were shot at relatively slow speeds. At fast speeds, the shutter doesn't open and close in one instance, but rather acts like a slit that travels across the frame.

Perhaps the fluorescent light produces color shifts over time and this, in combination with the fast shutter resulting in different parts of the image being exposed at different moments, would explain what we're seeing here? At slower speeds, the image would be exposed as a whole, and WB could compensate for the color shifting.

Just a wild guess, take with appropriate amount of salt.

Leo Hursh wrote:
Paul,

I don't have either of these lenses, but what you are seeing is the color change that happens throughout the cycle of the light. I am surprised that you are not seeing it 1/100-1/125 shutter speeds. If you notice, it is much worse the higher the shutter speed. Your fluorescent lights cycle @ 60hz, so a shutter speed of 1/60 is required to ensure no color shift as the shutter opens and closes across the sensor. This is the wonders of shooting in fluorescent lighting.

HTH,
Leo

Ditto.

About $3k in new lenses and you don't know about cycling lights......

*Facepalm*.

Hahaha, no, all in good fun. Your lenses are fine, it's just the cycling of lights. You'll notice inconsistent temps in gym's too because of light cycling.

Thanks for asking this question and posting your photos...I have often wondered why this happens, but the 60-90 Hz refresh rate explains the lighting very well. I've gotten the same type of samples, and looking over my photos taken in my office(flourescent lighting) and the occurances and speeds for the shutter, they were all relatively high(+1/250 and faster, less evident at 1/100-1/250, and non existant at slower than that...) I guess just like having a television in a picture, sometimes with the shutter speeds up there, you get funked exposures...Thank you....

You'll also get different color when shooting in gyms. Many will have different color temp lights and the color will change as you follow the action. They'll also cycle so you can have different colors in the same series, even when using a custom white balance.

it's your shutterspeed...

big country wrote:
it's your shutterspeed...



thanks to all, for your responses....

Nothing wrong with your lenses & camera. Shutter is fast enough to catch the bullet so does the 60 cycle rate.

You now have the photographic proof on why some people become moody under bad office lighting.

Went through that a long time ago; I couldn't figure it out on my Rebel XT until I posted on a forum and they told me "Oh that's fluorescent lighting's refresh rates causing the discoloration." Back then I shot in a martial arts studio and tried to get fast shutter speeds to freeze the action, but the light was flourescent so I got the bands.

One place I shoot at you can see the colour flicker in live view mode if you look at white areas of the arena.

It's the cycle of the lights. I get that crap when I shoot action at the JuJitsu school. I need 1/160+ to get the action, but the stupid lights! ARGH