Having a Lighting Issue with Video (Nikon D5200)

<p>Hi! I am experiencing a strange problem while shooting video with my D5200. Basically, when I'm shooting the video, everything looks fine. However, when I play the video back on my computer, there's a constant flashing/strobing effect on my video clips. Sometimes it's subtle and in a small area, and sometimes it's very obvious and unpleasant in a large area. It seems like the camera is constantly adjusting to how much light is available. For instance, if I go from shooting towards the ground to up into the sky, it flashes like crazy, especially around the clouds (an issue with white balance, maybe?). I'm not sure what could be causing this. I'm using the basic 18-55mm lens to film. I don't zoom in and out while filming; I just keep it at a fixed length. I switch between shooting manually with the lens and shooting automatic. <br>

Before my D5200, I had a D5100, and I never had this problem while shooting video. But I always used a 35mm lens. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.<br>

I'm been searching around the web for more information on this issue and how to fix it, but I can't find anything. I'm worried that it might be a faulty camera/lens (I bought mine refurbished), but I'm hoping it's just an issue with my settings or maybe just the fact that I'm not using a great quality lens. I'm basically just looking to get rid of the flashing/strobing effect on my video clips. <br>

Thanks for any advice!</p>

<p>Not familiar with this camera but it sounds like it's "hunting" for proper exposure when things change. First thing I would try is to be sure you are in total manual mode. Manual shutter, manual aperture, manual ISO, manual white balance, manual focus. <br /><br />Lens quality has nothing to do with this.</p>

<p>'strobing' sounds like the exposure is 'bounce' changing +/- every couple of frames. That's not normal!</p>

<p>+1 Craig. Go fully manual. </p>

<p>Can you give a few more details such as resolution, frame rate, shutter speed, aperture etc ?</p>

<p>I don't quite understand how it can look OK on the back LCD screen and not on a computer screen? LCD screen refresh rate maybe? Could this actually be a computer problem?</p>

<p>I've seen this exact same symptom on a D3200 and a D600 (I would characterize it as more of a "pulsing" in the exposure value than as a "flickering" - flickering would be more like the artifacts you get when you're using a shutter speed that gets tangled up with the 60Hz cycling of something like fluorescent lights, etc). The solution is, indeed, to manually set the exposure so that the camera isn't hovering on the edge of making a change (to aperture, shutter speed, or ISO) during the shot. <br /><br />Video is hard. There's a reason that professionally shot material essentially always involves the camera operator choosing an exposure and sticking with it (and fine-tuning as needed along the way). Certainly there are auto-exposure video cameras that can produce very usable results, but there are always compromises. There's something about the way Nikon's DSLRs attempt to handle certain metering conditions that makes for odd behavior when the cameras are left to the own devices in certain light/subject-matter situations.</p>

<p>Fluorescent lighting does that. It is entirely evil.</p>

<p>Some LED lighting can have some nasty effects, too.</p>

<p>Fluorescent flickers, and so does LED. Hold out your forefinger and wave it back and forth in a room lit by either and you'll see a stroboscopic effect. If your shutter speed is too high you can be capturing the strobe effect. Cut it down to around 1/30th or so and the flicker -- at least from fluorescent and LED -- should go away, although some of the other factors discussed could still be an issue.</p>

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<p>For instance, if I go from shooting towards the ground to up into the sky, it flashes like crazy, <strong><em>especially around the clouds</em></strong></p>

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<p>Come on guys, I don't really think the OP is illuminating clouds with fluorescent or LED lights......:-)</p>

<p>That's not to say fluorescent and AC powered LEDs don't cause flicker, they most certainly do, especially if you find a shutter speed : AC frequency harmonic.</p>