Lighting issue... help?

DGMPhotography

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So I was photographing an event (without flash) and kept having really inconsistent lighting in my photos. I checked my settings and everything was manual (i.e. settings weren't changing between photos). And I also looked away from the camera to see if the lights were flickering or something, but that wasn't the case either. I tried some different SD cards too and no dice.

Any idea what could be causing this? I'm stumped.

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Fluorescent lights and AC voltage. They're constantly cycling. You can't see it with your eye, but it's happening.
 
Fluorescent lights and AC voltage. They're constantly cycling. You can't see it with your eye, but it's happening.

Oh really???

That's so interesting!
 
There's a similar problem with Mercury(?)/Sodium(?) vapor lights used in various sports venues. I've seen it in tennis and ice hockey facilities. You'll either get light or no-light between shots, but also can get color shifts from frame to frame. Weird shades of red or green randomly appear in the shots.

If your shutter is open long enough (1/60th or slower) then you won't see the effect. Of course you'll be dealing with camera shake or subject blur.
 
Yeah, I was thinking maybe a slower shutter speed might help, but then you have motion blur.

Any other ways to counter this? I know the best solution is probably flash, but you don't always have that option.
 
The older fluorescent lights flickered at twice the supply frequency when new, but more as it nears the end of life. Using a shutter speed of less than 1/100 (or less) will give more consistent results. Bumping the ISO to get above the flicker synch isn't an option, as the fluorescent doesn't maintain a consistent temperature like an incandescent bulb, and the flicker acts like multiple flashes from a strobe causing banding in some cases. If you want consistent color and faster shutter speeds you have to use a speedlight.

Footnote: The new T8 bulbs and CFL's operate at substantially higher frequency (25-60 KHz) which is beyond perception of the human eye. I've used some CFL's for lighting with no noticeable effects, but not T8's.
 
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Yeah, I was thinking maybe a slower shutter speed might help, but then you have motion blur.

Any other ways to counter this? I know the best solution is probably flash, but you don't always have that option.

shoot in raw and fix the WB and exposure during editing.
 
A D500 has a Flicker feature to compensate for this.
Could always buy a new camera :)
 
A D500 has a Flicker feature to compensate for this.
Could always buy a new camera :)

Thus far, this has been the single biggest improvement I've noted with the new D500. The number of keepers from indoor sports shooting has gone up dramatically because I don't lose frames to the cycling lights anymore.

Genius addition by Nikon
 
I learned something new! I never shoot indoor lighting other than stage lighting, good one!
 
A D500 has a Flicker feature to compensate for this.
Could always buy a new camera :)

I didn't know it did that! That's cool. No wonder it's such a great sports photo.
 
Think your d750 has the flicker reduction feature 60Hz for the US, and 50Hz for continental Europe, p408 in your user manual (not sure if its for the lcd screen, or if it times the shutter for the peak 'light times'). I know I have it on my D7200.
 
Think your d750 has the flicker reduction feature 60Hz for the US, and 50Hz for continental Europe, p408 in your user manual (not sure if its for the lcd screen, or if it times the shutter for the peak 'light times'). I know I have it on my D7200.

As I understand that's for video on older cameras.

Only the d5 and d500 link it to the shutter for still photos.
 
Think your d750 has the flicker reduction feature 60Hz for the US, and 50Hz for continental Europe, p408 in your user manual (not sure if its for the lcd screen, or if it times the shutter for the peak 'light times'). I know I have it on my D7200.

As I understand that's for video on older cameras.

Only the d5 and d500 link it to the shutter for still photos.
Not sure tbh, might only work in Live view mode, but I will have to double check this. Using a ss of 60 (50), or 125 (100) will probably be the best way to combat this if your camera does not have the anti flicker mode.
 

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