Dealing with LED flicker?

[dputt88]

I am having a lot of trouble with LED flicker when shooting videos of my tank. I shoot videos on my phone (Galaxy s8 active). I know that this is due to the frequency of the current powering the LEDS being similar to the frame rate which my camera records at (i.e. 60 Hz and 30 fps)

I have tried working with the issue in shotcut by using multiple layers offset by a frame each and ascending opacity but that doesn't seem to do anything for me.

Anyone out there willing to help me sort this out? I think I'm just doing something wrong in shotcut. Also is there a way to fix this without having to use an editor?

 

[dantimdad]

What kind of LED is it?

They shouldn't have that low of a refresh rate.

I have done a lot of videos and not seen flicker.

 

[dputt88]

Reef Breeders

 

[revhtree]

I've never had a flicker issue when recording with my iphone so not sure! Maybe @Reef Breeders could help!

 

[dantimdad]

@revhtree is right. At this point I would let @Reef Breeders help.

 

[dputt88]

so i may be wrong about the frequency of the current and the frame rate as i did read briefly about pulse width modulation (PWM) which is a common technique of dimming that preserves the spectrum of light being emmited by the diode and create a perception of dimmed light by creating on/off cycles (i.e. a diode set at 50% would be on 50% of the cycle and off 50% of the cycle). where as older anolog methods of dimming which diverts some current away from the diode for dimming can lead to lower quality light being emitted from the diode.

maybe @reefbreeders can clarify, do you fixtures use PWM for dimming, and if so is this what is causing issues when recording videos?

also for those more familiar with PWM and LED dimming, can this issue be fixed by adjusting the intensity of each channel? maybe I can create a custom profile for my fixtures just for shooting videos where the intensity of the channel results in a PWM pattern that doesnt interfere with the frame rate of the camera.