Unpredictable color shifts: what's happening here?

[jamesjems]

<p>I was shooting outside last night in low-light conditions. Sometimes with the camera in Manual, other times in Aperture priority. But with the motor drive turned on. Can anyone explain what's going on with the freakish color shifts?</p><div></div>

[jamesjems]

<p>The only thing I can think of is different colored artificial lights cycling so fast that I pick up a different dominant light on the ice. Some of these shots, like 058, I can see it's actually getting more and more reddish the farther down the frame it goes. Is the color space shifting so fast – faster than the follow shutter is closing – that I can see a specific flood light cycling on and another coming off? This is the only thing I can think of. That, and that it was about -12ºF when I shot the game. Thanks.</p>

[chrisnielsen]

<p>It's the cycling of the lights at 60Hz (or 50Hz, I forget) and the color temp changes as it cycles. Normal.</p>

<p>I heard you can take a shot at 1/60th which you can use to set your WB as it will average out all the color shifts. Won't be perfect but will be better than what you have there.</p>

[phule]

<p>Yet again cameras reveal what is really going on; what our eyes and our brains average out. :)</p>

<p>This is indeed the flickering of the lights. There's a ton of good information in this thread over on sportsshooter.com:</p>

<p>http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=20873</p>

<p>Pay close attention to the link to the animated GIF made by Guy Rhodes in his post about half-way down the page</p>

 

[jamesjems]

<p>Great answers, you two, and Rob, thanks for the link to Guy's explanation. It was what I figured it was: discharge lighting. Tough to work around that won in an available light situation. The mystery, if it ever was one, is solved.</p>