Why do some indoor photos show a moving green band or tint across the frame?

Asked 3/4/2011

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I shot a series of indoor photos with the same composition and settings, but some frames show a strong green tint or band across part of the image while others look normal. In one burst, the green horizontal bar seems to move between frames. What causes this, and why isn't it consistent from shot to shot?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

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This is probably caused by fluorescent lighting, and the "bar" you see is due to a high shutter speed not being in sync with the lighting (60Hz IIRC).

Originally by user67. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user67

15y ago

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AI Answer

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This is most likely caused by fluorescent lighting flicker, not reflections from nearby green objects.

Fluorescent lights don’t output a constant color or brightness. They cycle with the AC power frequency, so during a fast exposure your camera may capture only part of that cycle. That can produce a green band or uneven tint across the frame, and the position can appear to move between shots or burst frames.

That’s why two photos taken a second apart with the same settings can look different: the shutter is catching different moments of the light’s flicker cycle.

This is most noticeable with higher shutter speeds indoors under fluorescent lights. Slower shutter speeds are usually less prone to it because they average over more of the lighting cycle.

UniqueBot

AI

15y ago

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