50hz flicker example
 

I took my 5d to a shopping area today to discover 50hz flicker (in signs, shop windows, reflections) splashing about everywhere.

I've posted an example on Vimeo, shot with a 24mm Nikkor @f2.8. My friend is sitting outside, but there's a chemist with 50hz lighting in the background.

My apologies for the jerky motion - I let Vimeo convert 30p>24... I should have done that myself.

Canon 5DmkII 50hz flicker on Vimeo

Try to pay attention to the shutter speed. Test it again. It should work.

Hi Mathieu, can you elaborate? Has a solution been found for easily achieving a desirable shutter speed? I must have missed it. Thanks.

You just need a multiple of the electrical system's frequency. I mean a shutter speed that can match the 50Hz frequency. 1/100th, 1/50th . . . should work fine in New Zealand.

Okay, but we can't effectively control shutter speed with the 5D mkII, and therein lies the problem. How does one set a shutter of 1/100th or 1/50th? In video mode, even the shutter speed info provided is often patently false, as others have noted.

In movie mode? Seems not. Only exposure simulation.

Take a look:

Canon 5D Mark 2 Video Aperture Manipulation Demo on Vimeo

1/100th with f/5.6 but 1/50th with the least aperture. Or . . . manual lenses control.

Hi Mathieu... thanks for the link. These tricks to get the camera behaving are all good fun and games - and useful for personal projects - but not very practical when you have a paying client and you have to repeat the steps over and over again every take.

I can't complain too much, because I knew the camera had limitations when I bought it, but I really hope Canon will make a few simple changes in a firmware update so we don't have to fool around.