Shutter priority mode at DVinfo.net

Jeff Cook · March 9th, 2015, 08:22 PM

I recently tried flying my canon 6d on my glidecam with shutter priority mode. I wanted to test how quick the camera could change from a sunny setting to a shaded setting. The camera did great. In the past I have just set it to manual and had to adjust my apeture before I went into a shaded area or relocated to a sunny area. Are there any draw back of leaving it in shutter priority mode. My settings were 100 iso 5.6 apeture. Thanks in advance.

Warren Kawamoto · March 9th, 2015, 11:53 PM

If you have fast motion happening within your frame, you'll see a "strobing" effect of the action when in brighter light. This strobing happens because the shutter speed duration shortens as the scene gets brighter. This short shutter duration freezes all motion blur, and these series of frozen frames causes the strobing effect (as opposed to a blurry frame with slower shutter speeds.)

Do not judge your footage with the camera's lcd monitor when looking for this strobing, you need to see it on a big monitor to fully understand what I'm talking about.

Jeff Cook · March 10th, 2015, 09:08 AM

Hi Warren,
I checked my footage out on the computer monitor and yes it does have that Save Private Ryan strobe effect. But It does not look as bad as I though it would. So are you suggesting to stay in manual mode and when I am about to go into a shaded area I should adjust my apeture instead of shooting in priority mode?

Warren Kawamoto · March 10th, 2015, 10:16 AM

For me, the easiest way is to get a variable ND filter for your lens when shooting outdoors. By doing so, you can always keep your manual shutter at 60, and your f stop at 5.6. To adjust brightness of your picture, simply turn the filter ring to get correct exposure...no need to fiddle with any other adjustments. The variable ND filter acts just like an iris, but doesn't affect depth of field or shutter speed. If you can't get a variable ND filter, then aperture priority is ok as long as some strobing is ok with you. Just remember that the brighter it gets, the more jerkiness you'll see.

March 9th, 2015, 08:22 PM	#1
Jeff Cook Major Player Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Fresno, Ca Posts: 214	Shutter priority mode I recently tried flying my canon 6d on my glidecam with shutter priority mode. I wanted to test how quick the camera could change from a sunny setting to a shaded setting. The camera did great. In the past I have just set it to manual and had to adjust my apeture before I went into a shaded area or relocated to a sunny area. Are there any draw back of leaving it in shutter priority mode. My settings were 100 iso 5.6 apeture. Thanks in advance.

March 9th, 2015, 11:53 PM	#2
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	Re: Shutter priority mode If you have fast motion happening within your frame, you'll see a "strobing" effect of the action when in brighter light. This strobing happens because the shutter speed duration shortens as the scene gets brighter. This short shutter duration freezes all motion blur, and these series of frozen frames causes the strobing effect (as opposed to a blurry frame with slower shutter speeds.) Do not judge your footage with the camera's lcd monitor when looking for this strobing, you need to see it on a big monitor to fully understand what I'm talking about.

March 10th, 2015, 09:08 AM	#3
Jeff Cook Major Player Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Fresno, Ca Posts: 214	Re: Shutter priority mode Hi Warren, I checked my footage out on the computer monitor and yes it does have that Save Private Ryan strobe effect. But It does not look as bad as I though it would. So are you suggesting to stay in manual mode and when I am about to go into a shaded area I should adjust my apeture instead of shooting in priority mode?

March 10th, 2015, 10:16 AM	#4
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	Re: Shutter priority mode For me, the easiest way is to get a variable ND filter for your lens when shooting outdoors. By doing so, you can always keep your manual shutter at 60, and your f stop at 5.6. To adjust brightness of your picture, simply turn the filter ring to get correct exposure...no need to fiddle with any other adjustments. The variable ND filter acts just like an iris, but doesn't affect depth of field or shutter speed. If you can't get a variable ND filter, then aperture priority is ok as long as some strobing is ok with you. Just remember that the brighter it gets, the more jerkiness you'll see.