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1/50 vs 1/40 Shutter


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Lately I am seeing an increasing number of people shooting at 1/40 rather than 1/50. Personally, I have always gone to 1/50 as my standard. It defies my understanding of shutter speed but some people swear that 1/40 looks better. Which do you guys prefer? 1/50 sometimes suffers from banding under fluorescent lights; how does 1/40 hold up in this respect?

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IMO, the '1/50th rule' is a greatly overrated rule.  And taken far too seriously in the dslr film making world.  I have no problems with shooting 1/25th of a second if I need the extra stop of exposure.  for those pedantic about following a rule, but not with the fortune of shooting with controlled lighting or an alexa, 1/40th is gonna yield much better results than 1/50th IMO

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SOMEONE DO A TEST AND POST! I'd try but it's pitch black and raining outside.


Well horse c-ck. i've tried to attach a link to a video with it, but it won't show. So go to Vimeo and watch Romanlegion films' videos. They all look great. Super nice guy also. Not sure if all of his videos use 1/40, but the majority of them do if I recall. He'd tell you. There is a noticeable difference for the better to my eyes though. I'm a big fan of motion blur in the cinematic look. I hate the stuttery high shutter stuff.
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So go to Vimeo and watch Romanlegion films' videos. They all look great. Super nice guy also. Not sure if all of his videos use 1/40, but the majority of them do if I recall.

 

I'll check them out. Maybe I will get around to doing a test. And I will have to see if I can find some overhead fluorescent lights to recreate the banding issue I had on my last shoot.

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Thanks for sharing. Both of these look pretty good to my eye. I'll see if I have time to shoot a comparison when I get home from work today.

these also are't the BEST possible quality because it would have taken me HOURS to upload.

Where I currently live suffers from below average internet speeds.......even in 2013 this is still an issue?

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these also are't the BEST possible quality because it would have taken me HOURS to upload.

Where I currently live suffers from below average internet speeds.......even in 2013 this is still an issue?

 

I don't know where you live, but I think I'd rather live there. Less strip malls, fewer curious police officers, and more things to point a camera at.

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Worse thing that could happen is some types of footage look a little smeary.  Looking at Roman Legion's videos I'm not too worried.  I've been following his stuff on VIMEO a while now as having some of the best looking available light GH2 footage featuring people and never dug through the notes enough for it to register as 1/40.

 

Makes sense, in a way, it might "feel" better for people, versus the BBC 1/50 sampling of motion.  The extra light it gives you is a nice bonus either way.

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Well its not an option if you are shooting in PAL territory, then you will probably get issues with flickering street lights or computer and tv screens if that is in your footage.

 

If you just shoot outside in natural light conditions, its an option. Curious to see footage, i have never questioned the 180 degree rule, but maybe thats what should be done...

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Well its not an option if you are shooting in PAL territory, then you will probably get issues with flickering street lights or computer and tv screens if that is in your footage.

 

If you just shoot outside in natural light conditions, its an option. Curious to see footage, i have never questioned the 180 degree rule, but maybe thats what should be done...

 

It's no different than a real 180 degree shutter which would be 1/48th over here (lights and electricity being 60Hz).  Shuttering out flicker when shooting at 24FPS instantly puts your footage into soap opera land, like you were making some kind of Hobbit film or something.   

 

A little flicker sometimes doesn't bother me like playing fast-n-loose with the shutter, introducing temporal discontinuity with the rest of the film.  It drives me insane when I'm watching something otherwise cinematic only to have a shot or scene intercut that's the temporal, visual equivalent to having a girlfriend that always farts during sex.  

 

It could be a coincidence, the 1/50th being ~172 degrees, but it's not uncommon, historically, for British DPs to shoot on film close to this when shooting 24fps.  I've never read any official Panasonic explanation for why they chose to do this and not a true 180 degree shutter for 24fps but perhaps they have DP tradition there that's closer to the UK, even though their TV standard was closer to our's.  

 

They drive on the wrong side of the road too ;)

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So what would be my benefit, shooting 1/40th? A stop more light? You feel motion to be more cinematic?

 

I live in europe, here all lightning is 50hz. So when i shoot with a different shutter every streetlight looks like a machine that is about to beam that during sex farting girlfriend right into my living room, with my grandparents (they are dead) on the couch, 

 

I would not mind flickering tv or pc screens, as that is nothing i really film. But every outdoor lowlight shot would be a real pain in the ass. During daylight, it might make sense and i will try it, not sure how it intercuts with 1/50th footage though.

 

I must admit, that i 99% shot 1/50th, i tried other shutter speeds sometimes, but after those flickering lights i stopped, maybe i have to try again.

 

And damn driving on the wrong side, ffs i would piss my pants if i had to do that.Almost got run over by cars several times on my last trip to london.

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  • 3 years later...

Thread resurrection.. have just googled this and very impressed by the footage at 1/40.. flicker is an issue of course. There was always something that bugged me about the panasonic motion cadence - Canon's seemed better at this along with colour.. this is seeming to help my gx7 footage already though. The movement seems to flow a bit better.. 

 

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