Frame Rates: 24p 30p 60i

[Valentino Lascano]

When is one frame rate better to use than the other? If I am into shooting live events such as weddings, what frame rate is best?

If I am shooting live action such as a high school football game, does higher frame rate mean I will less blurring during quick movements?

If it seams as though I am new at this - I am. Thanks in advance for the advice and willingness to help out a newb.

[Blake Raidal]

I'll just give you advise on what I know. When shooting fast moving action like footy ALWAYS shoot in 60i. Only use 24p for slow, locked off cinematic stuff.

The only reason for 24p is engineers trying to achieve a film look..... never gonna happen! Because 60i shooting actually captures more light per second it does not shutter and stobe like 24p. The footage is noticeably Different. 50i or 60i is very smooth and video looking although it can be altered to look like 24p in post.

Blurring is a separate beast from the frame rate. Shutter speed determines how long each frame is exposed thus how much motion blur there will be. If you want super slowmo sport shots I suggest shooting 60i- 1/500 shutter speed. In after effects you can convert 60i into 60p then slow it even more.

For normal sport action with little slomos shot at 60i- 1/60 shutter......... Basically the smaller the shutter number the more blur theres going to be. High shutter speeds produce a sharper 'saving private ryan' look.... But because theres little to no blur it looks awesome in slomo.

Oh, for weddings definitely shot 24p it captures a rich full frame which produces good colour. And because there's little movement its perfect for a cinematic style. The footage will lend itself more to a movie look rather than a live sporting event that you watch on TV.

[Bert Smyth]

Originally Posted by Blake Raidal

Basically the smaller the shutter number the more blur theres going to be.

I attended a Canon seminar, and the guy there said you'll always get the "best" image quality shooting 60i.

When we start talking shutter speeds & f-stops, remember we are talking FRACTIONS, so everything Blake said was all good, except what I quoted. Its the opposite. 1/500th shutter speed (smaller number) will have LESS blur than 1/30th shutter speed (larger number). People get this mixed up all the time.