Sony PMW200 and Flickering

[Jos Cuijpers]

I bought a new camera (Sony PMW200) and have problems with light flickering in the image while panning. However, when still images, this is not the case. My presents are pal, HD422/50/720/50P. No picture profiles are put on it. Also on the other settings as HD422/50/1080/50P or interleaced i can see it. Filckering in the image The shutter speed is off, as well as the full auto option. Camera in manual mode. The shutter speed at 1/60 because there is no 1/50 (PAL) option as present in the menu. I also tested to set the shutter speed to 1/100 this does not solve the problem. I film in UDF mode and have the Pal area selected. How I do it, again and again that light glare / flickering in the image during pans. Are there more people who have this problem and if anyone can give me a tip? I would also like to know why the camera menu no shutter speed 1/50 for Pal users is included.
My lowest shutter mode is 1/60 and that is really different from 1/50
Can someone explain this to me.
Apologies for my knowledge of the English language. (NL)
Hope I can expect response.
Thank you.
Jos

[Doug Jensen]

Jos,

As I tried to explain to you in a private email, if you turn the shutter OFF then the shutter speed defaults to the camera's current frame rate. For example, if the camera is set for 50P and you turn the shutter OFF, then the shutter speed will be 1/50th. Or if you set the camera for 24P and turn the shutter OFF, then the shutter speed will be 1/24th. That is why there are no shutter speed settings that match the frame rate. It is unnecessary.

As for your problem with flickering, you don't say where you are seeing it. Is it in your final product being viewed on a real television? Or are you judging it from what you see on the camera's LCD screen? You can't judge anything from that. Post a sample at Vimeo and let other people have a look.

[Jos Cuijpers]

Thanks Doug, now i understand it much better.

To test it i directly connected the camera (HDMI) to an external TV monitor 50P support them. But I also see it in the assembly program Grass Valley Edius. During a pan (left / right) you can see it well. There is a light flickering in the image which will stop when I stop the pan movement. I've tested a lot but filckering in the image I can not get out.

Will upload a short shot on Vimeo so you can watch it.
Thanks for your comment.

[Jos Cuijpers]

Doug i was upload a file direct from the camera.
The password i was send to you by e-mail.

Private Video on Vimeo

Hope you can help me.

[Doug Jensen]

Jos, I'm travelling until June 25th and don't have the right computer or internet connection to judge the video. Perhaps you can take the password off and let other people here at DVinfo view the video and give you feedback. There are a lot of smart people hanging out here that can help you.

[Luc De Wandel]

'Flickering' that stops when not panning could very well be due to over-sharpening. How is your sharpness set?

[Jos Cuijpers]

Hello, i not understand so good!
My english is not so good.
But you can also look a shot file above to see what ik mean.
Mayby you can help me.

[Robin Probyn]

I dont see flickering till the bushes at the end of the pan.. could be detail setting is high ?

[Luc De Wandel]

I just dowloaded the PMW200 manual and realised that detail or sharpness cannot be set separately, so this would be set in pictures profiles. Anyway, it looks more like a 50p-effect to me, panning too fast tends to create this problem.

I exchanged some mails with Jos (in our native language, which is easier), and he's worried more about the stuttering of the pan than 'flickering'. Any suggestions there?

[Robin Probyn]

PC to slow to play smoothly 50 p files.. ?

[Rudy Wilms]

Today Jos told me that dealer had the HD detail set to + 50 so I told him this is too high I gave him my picture profile from my Sony pmw f3 and he told me problem was solved

[Serge Kouper]

Hi Jos, I see exactly what you mean and I've personnaly had the same problem with my PMW200, which is not a problem due to your shutter, or the speed of your pans, it's not even a problem with the camera but as Doug mentionned on What you're watching your footage.
If you plug your cam in a tv set through the hdmi cable you will see how smooth your pans are...
but watching on a computer screen you loose the interlacing and get these "strobed" pictures.
If you make a dvd or a blu ray, and you read it on a real tv, (even flat hd) everything will be alright.

I have installed a matrox o2 mini on my pc to monitor my timeline on a TV (I use premiere pro,) it's smooth on the tv and slightly jerking on the PC.(just like your footage and even more!)
I spent days reading how to get the right size/shutter speed/ frame rate and actually all depend on what you have to do, and on what you will output. Youtube, TV channel, DVD, Blu ray or direct from your pc.
What I learned:
if you endup on youtube, shoot progressive, if you work for a tv, shoot interlaced,
What is smooth?: Shot interlaced, broadcast by a tv channel (or from a blu ray) and watched on a TV.
Progressive is not smooth in the medium speed pans. period.
But progressive is better wrapped in and interlaced container than interlaced played on a computer (not interlaced) screen.
Interlaced is not to be watched on a computer screen.
Ideally, a video is supposed to endup on a tv screen, and not coming directly from a computer.
There is a lot to say about that and others will explain it much better than me.
However some say that the quality is better when you shoot progressive. I'm not sure about that on the pmw200, the best she can do is 720/50p, (or 60p usa) I have not seen yet a 1080/50p (60p) footage but I don't think that is fast enough to stop the jerking during the pans.
Wake me up at 200p/240p please...:))
So far, my default settings are: 1080 50i, shutter at 180 degrees, if I have to end up on a TV screen.