screen is flickering in manual mode after firmware update

[dr.oh]

Dear all, 

this morning I realized something weird after I installed the firmware update. If the X-e2 is in manual focus mode (no electronic shutter activated, independent of manual exposure preview and with manual focus assistant set to standard) both displays are flickering and black bars are running from top to down over the screens when I am in a room with light coming from fluorescent tubes. In autofocus mode everything is fine (tested with the 35 and 23 mm). With normal daylight everything is fine in manual focus mode. And on a first view it was also fine in a room with normal light bulbs. However, if I go closer to a light bulb and focus directly on the bulb are next to it I get the same flickering / "running" screens. Again it appears only in manual focus mode! It looks like when old computer screens are recorded and shown on TV.

Any idea ?

 

dirk

[milandro]

I tried to replicate your experience with my X-E2 ( with the new firmware). I don’t have a fluorescent tube but I do have some compact fluorescent lamps.

My screen didn’t flicker  in manual or automatic, but your tube might be flickering at a slightly slower rate interfering with your screen.

 

A fluorescent tube is not a continuous light source, you might be experiencing an interference between the video rate and the flickering of the tube. Also pointing your camera at a television might give you some interference effect.

[dr.oh]

Dear all,

I posted the question also in another forum and it turned out that I am not the only one that discover the issue. Interstingly it appears that it is not only restricted to fluorescent tube light. It is also happening with normal room light when the light is visible on the screen. By chance I was focussing onto my window during the day. If I focus on the glas everything was fine. If I focus on the window frame it was flickering. When I switched off my room light - everything was normal. Some people said the effect is much stronger when you turn on manual focus support (highlights). It is also independent of the objective and other display settings such as manual exposure preview settings. And of course I was using the non-electronic shutter! Weird.

[milandro]

Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. I didn’t say that you were imagining things.

 

What you are experiencing is real and it is called banding and very well known among film makers.

 

I have made some experiments with different light sources and I did have some very light banding with one other, older, fluorescent bulb as I said I don’t have a tube to try this on.

 

The phenomenon of “ banding” occurs with certain type fluorescent light or light that is not continuous like television or computer monitor might be. 

 

This video explains better ( he talks of computer light source but it is the same principle).

 

[dr.oh]

Thanks a lot for your comment. The reason why I posted my observation was that it appeared to that extend only in the manual focus mode making it impossible to set the focus manually. And I got puzzled because I have never experienced banding on the displays in the two years I was using my XE2s before updating the firmware yesterday to 4.0. 

Anyway, thanks for your help.

[milandro]

cheers! 

 

Perhaps you simply had never tried that particular combination but it is a phenomenon that is always been there and affected videocameras ever since they existed.