How can I reduce minor exposure flicker in a time-lapse sequence?
Asked 9/13/2015
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I’m shooting a time-lapse and the individual frames have very small, random exposure differences (around ±0.05 EV). When played back at 30 fps, this becomes noticeable flicker. I’m looking for a way to automate fixing this in post, and I’d also like to know what causes it and how to prevent it when shooting.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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In your case you are adding artificial lighting into the mix and that seems to be where the vast majority of the flickering is coming from.
Some light sources powered by alternating current can vary by more than a stop between the peak and the trough of their AC cycle. And since metering is done at a different instant than exposure, a conventional meter can't accurately predict the state of the lights in their cycle when the shutter is opened.
The conventional solution is to set exposure manually and use a shutter speed that is long enough to include an entire cycle of the peak and trough that the lights go through. For lights running on two phase 60Hz alternating current, a shutter speed of 1/120 second is usually sufficient. For lights running on 50Hz, 1/100 second will usually do.
If you have access to the fairly new Canon EOS 7D Mark II, there is a feature introduced on that model that may help if you absolutely must use faster shutter speeds. The Anti Flicker mode senses the frequency and timing of the lights as they flicker and times the shutter to only release when the lights are at their peak.
I haven't tried the Anti-Flicker feature in terms of time lapse video, but I have found it extremely useful in shooting night sports in outdoor settings under the flickering lighting typically used at high school and community sports facilities. Not only does it give more consistent exposure and color temperature from frame to frame, but it also allows me to shoot at 1/3 to 1/2 stop faster shutter speeds because the lights are always at their peak when the shutter opens! Anyone who has ever tried to shoot at 1/500 to 1/1000 second under 60Hz lights know what I am talking about: half the frame is brighter and fuller spectrum and the other half is dim and brown as the lights were falling off (or ramping up) during the time the slit between the shutter curtains was transiting the sensor.
Another preventative measure would be to use a white or black background that could be blown out or crushed to give a constant level to much of the frame.
Update: For existing files that demonstrate this issue, you would need an application that allows very precise fine-tuning of exposure/brightness/saturation/etc levels. 0.05EV is 1/20 stop. Perhaps software created to grade video frame-by-frame would be the best option.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
10y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this is a useful time-lapse question. Small frame-to-frame exposure shifts are very visible as flicker.
Based on the answers, a likely cause is artificial lighting powered by AC mains. Such lights can vary significantly within each power cycle, so metering and exposure may catch different points in that cycle from frame to frame. The best prevention is to shoot in full manual exposure and use a shutter speed long enough to average a full light cycle: typically about 1/120 s for 60 Hz power or 1/100 s for 50 Hz.
For footage already shot, a temporal deflicker/filter in post can help. One answer specifically recommends VirtualDub’s temporal filter, which analyzes changes between adjacent frames and suppresses unnatural fluctuations. It can be effective for mild random flicker like this.
So: prevent it with manual exposure and anti-flicker-friendly shutter speeds under artificial light; for existing sequences, try a temporal deflicker pass in post.
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