Davide DB

Yes, PAL as broadcast standard is basically gone in most of Europe, because over-the-air TV is now almost entirely digital (DVB-T/T2) and no longer bound to the analog PAL encoding scheme. However, 50 Hz as a timing convention hasn’t completely disappeared, because it’s tied to the European mains electricity frequency (50 Hz) and the legacy content ecosystems built around it. Here I'm speaking about PAL but it applies to NTSC as well. Modern digital broadcasts in Europe are usually 50 fps (progressive) or 25 fps for TV programs, because decades of production workflows, cameras, and archives are built around 50 Hz. Live sports in Europe are commonly shot and broadcast at 50 fps, so TVs still need to handle 50 Hz perfectly. Films are usually 24 fps worldwide, but in Europe they were often sped up slightly to 25 fps for broadcast or streaming (unless the service uses the original 24 fps). But this is, again, another funny story. Even cheap TVs in Europe support 50 Hz, 60 Hz, and often higher refresh rates like 100/120 Hz. The panel itself may be 120 Hz (or a multiple), but it will accept input in 50 Hz and 60 Hz and match the content timing to avoid judder. Gaming consoles and PCs in Europe default to 60 Hz for most things now, but they can output 50 Hz if needed. But gaming is completely another story. Computers and smartphones don’t care about PAL; they run at 60 Hz or higher (90 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz, etc.). When they play 25 fps or 50 fps video, the player software or display hardware uses frame rate conversion to match the screen refresh rate. There are different behaviors between Apple and Android devices though. So, the bottom line is that PAL as a format is dead, but 50 Hz as a video timing is very much alive in European broadcast and video production and decades of PAL material are at 25 fps, and conversion to 60 Hz introduces artifacts unless handled carefully.Last but not the least: now LEDs are replacing other light technologies but a classic incandescent light bulb turns on and off 50 or 60 times a second, based on the power frequency. If you don't use a frame rate that is a multiple of the power frequency, you get bad flickering. A modern TV panel is natively 120 Hz. At the beginning of the transition from CRT to flat panels, in Europe all TV panels were 100 Hz because multiplying 50 Hz to 100 Hz is a perfect 2:2 ratio. Simple, no judder. On the other hand, 120 Hz wouldn’t evenly divide by 50 Hz and would require more complex frame interpolation or uneven pulldown. USA and other NTSC countries went directly to 120 Hz for the same reasons: 60 Hz × 2 = 120 Hz (perfect) and 24 fps film content fits perfectly into 120 Hz with 5:5 pulldown (24 x 5). Then on the mid-2010s, panel manufacturing globalized. It became cheaper to make one panel type for all markets and technology was able to handle more complex and smart timing conversion modes. In the end, European started using 120 Hz panels. If the monitor/tv panel is not able to run (refresh rate) at the source video frame rate, the display has to “stretch” the video’s frames to fill the refresh cycles. This stretching is called pulldown and some methods create uneven motion known as judder. If the refresh rate is an exact multiple of the frame rate, life is easy: just repeat the single frames many times. The strange case is 24 fps on a 60 Hz monitor/display. 60 is not a multiple of 24. To fit 24 fps into 60 Hz, normally it was used a 3:2 pulldown: Frame A: show for 3 refreshes Frame B: show for 2 refreshes Frame C: show for 3 refreshes Frame D: show for 2 refreshes Over 1 second, it works out mathematically (24 fps > 60 refreshes), but motion looks slightly uneven: Some frame intervals are 50 ms, others are 33 ms, so panning shots feel jerky. This unevenness is judder. High-end TVs avoid judder by Matching refresh rate to the source (e.g., 24 Hz mode for films). Using motion interpolation to create in-between frames (smooth, but sometimes unnatural). Using 120 Hz panels to fit 24, 25, 30, 50, and 60 fps all without ugly cadence issues.Then there are other complicated techniques that I don't know enough about. Modern monitor have technologies like v-sync and others. I have always filmed at 25p and 50p, and now I have an archive with this frame rate. Also, because I make many videos with other enthusiasts like me, we have all always filmed with these frame rates. When you create a video project with your favorite editor, the first thing you have to set is the framerate of the timeline and the project. If you mix 50p, 60p, and 30p together, based on the project's settings, the software will have to apply some pulldown techniques, to bring bak everything to the framerate of the timeline. It's impossible not to create visible imperfections in the moving subjects or panning shots.

25p or 50p doesn't matter if you don't want to slow down the video. If you want to do a 50% slow motion, then choose 25p. This way, if you select a clip or a portion of it and use the retime function at 50% (specifying that you want the clip to change its duration based on the slow motion percentage), your clip will become exactly twice as long and it will be slowed down by 50%.

I can't film at 120p and I normally film at 50p (PAL country). But honestly, even if I could, it wouldn't make sense unless for special use cases (spoiler: blackwater/bonfire). Generally I hate videos that are all put together in slow motion on a 24/25p timeline. Personally, I find them deadly boring and they make me think that the cameraman doesn't have a steady hand and needs this trick to hide mistakes. In other cases, it's just a trend. Pay attention: there are tons of underwater videos that tell about vacations and liveaboards where the scenes between one dive and another, whether they show the fun on board or the preparations for the dive, are all in slow motion with background music (strictly chill-out or epic). By now, it's a real cliché and when I see white rich people smiling and laughing in slow motion on a boat deck, I skip the video. (No offence). IMHO, 50/60p can sometimes be a lifesaver when the shot is too short and magically those good 3-5 seconds become 6-8. This can happen in wildlife shots with subjects that are difficult to film, or because you simply messed up the shot and you absolutely need that clip. 100/120p is usually used for slow motion in sports shots, but almost no one uses it as a default. There are few popular cameras that offer it without compromising on crop or quality. In underwater filming, I can't think of a good example except Blackwater/Bonfire diving where the organisms move frantically. All of the videos you see are in slow motion at at least 50/60p, and 100/120p is a godsend. Let's hear other opinions

If Dave didn't print it, it means that it can't be done 🤣🤣🤣

Great article, Ben, congratulations. A great Actioncamepedia chapter 😄

The UK's seas have had their warmest start to the year since records began, helping to drive some dramatic changes in marine life and for its fishing communities. The average surface temperature of UK waters in the seven months to the end of July was more than 0.2C higher than any year since 1980, BBC analysis of provisional Met Office data suggests. Scientists and amateur naturalists have observed a remarkable range of species not usually widespread in UK waters, including octopus, bluefin tuna and mauve stinger jellyfish. The abundance of these creatures can be affected by natural cycles and fishing practices, but many researchers point to the warming seas as a crucial part of their rise.

IDK if it worths spending money for tech diving. Deep down you need light, so if you shoot video with your main rig, ok. Otherwise you would get noisy sh***y images. 800 iso is the normal limit for these cameras

AOI lens is rated 60 m Good idea. BTW there's the new DJI Osmo 360 which seems to even better of Insta for several aspects. AFAIK flr these cameras there aren't underwater housings capable of tech dives.

Hi Ilan, Welcome aboard!

Hi Sam, Welcome aboard!!!

Welcome aboard! We hope you will enjoy the forum

https://waterpixels.net/forums/topic/2667-sony-announced-the-ultimate-compact-camera-today-but-pricy-sony-rx1r-iii/#findComment-18121

The opening post in this thread worths a read: EOSHD ForumSony RX1R vs RX1R II vs RX1R III hands on with the latest...Here at a camera store in Berlin we have the 3 musketeers. 2012 vintage RX1R OG, the one without the AA filter. It's very nice and I can't understand why it only goes for $900 used. Because it's got a

Hi Roman, Give a look at the Seafrog option. It's an housing for a popular commercial model which is sold on Amazon Prime too (here in Italy). So you could just try it on your desk if it has all the features you need.

When your vacation doesn't involve sun and sand... 😇 A big hello from Berlin to all the German forum members!

In a major breakthrough, scientists have finally identified the cause of a devastating marine epidemic that has killed billions of sea stars along the North American Pacific coast since 2013. The culprit is a bacterium, Vibrio pectenicida, which is in the same family as the one that causes cholera in humans. For years, a lack of knowledge about marine animal diseases made it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the widespread die-off. This disease, which affects over 20 different species, causes the sea stars to develop lesions and lose their arms. The discovery by a team of Canadian and U.S. researchers now offers hope for understanding and potentially addressing this significant ecological crisis. AP NewsScientists say they have solved the mystery of what kille...Scientists have solved the mystery of what killed over 5 billion sea stars — also known as starfish — off the Pacific coast of North America.

Thanks for your effort. I look forward to see the turtle clip. IIRC 😉 you should have a Lee Dark Salmon gel which appeared to be very promising in the land test. When do you plan to test it? P.S. Rosco 3310 is EOL so we need another champion

How does the build quality seem to you? What about the batteries? Its compartment and type of closure? And the controls? Basically, I'm asking you for a dry pre-review (an initial assessment without using it in water). 🤣🤣🤣

Terrific photos Wolfgang!!! Thanks for sharing

https://waterpixels.net/forums/topic/2654-youtube-quality-issue/#findComment-17905

Here's another tidbit to add to my complaint about Vimeo. Yesterday, a new member posted links to some videos on Vimeo.... If you're not a Vimeo member, you can't watch the video because the user forgot to set the age rating. This is a very common oversight if you're not careful on their convoluted publishing page. We've become a bunch of bigots, and their lawyers are terrified that a video might upset the viewer, who, meanwhile, is bombarded with garbage on social media. But even if you have an account, you're not out of the woods yet! If you're in Europe, you can watch the video, but if you like the creator, you can't view their other videos because their account icon isn't linked. Ok, you're not one to give up easily, so you try searching for them using the search bar. No luck there either, because for us Europeans, the search bar is limited to finding OUR videos. The only alternative is to search for it using Google's search engine. At that point, you can see their profile, but to navigate from one video to another, you still have to use your browser's navigation functions because all links have been removed from the page. An naive person might think that a European user pays a lower subscription fee, but no: all these tortures are free. I hope that in December, the moment I cancel my subscription, Vimeo definitively fails.

Fantastic write-up and a huge thank you for putting in the time and effort to create this comparison! Color is very subjective, but I've always thought that, out of the box, Canon's colors and their white balance (WB) underwater are subjectively more beautiful than other major brands, almost perfect as a starting point. Initially, Sony's colors were the worst, but in recent releases, Sony finally has excellent color profiles for underwater shooting too. A few technical points I'd love to discuss: For your custom white balance, were you setting it at depth using a slate? Getting accurate warm tones back can be tricky, and your results with the R5 II look great. Noise on the R5 II: Your finding about the R5 Mark II being the noisiest at base ISO 800 is interesting. If I understand correctly you were using SRaw/CLog 2? RED Color Science: Your comments on the RED's color science underwater match what I've heard from others. It provides a very clean, neutral starting point but requires a more experienced colorist to bring out natural water tones and skin tones compared to Canon's out-of-the-box science. Did you use RED's IPP2 pipeline in Resolve, and which LUTs, if any, did you use as a starting point? The 1DX II: It's fascinating to see the old 1DX Mark II still holding its own, especially on noise. That Motion JPEG codec is ancient but very robust. Its performance here is a testament to the idea that a high-bitrate, intra-frame codec (even if it's 8-bit) can sometimes be easier to work with than a more compressed 10-bit format if not exposed perfectly. It would be interesting to see a more in depth head-to-head comparison between the RED Gemini and the Canon R5 Mark II, both shooting in RAW. 😇 Thank you again for you test

Welcome aboard Jero! It's great to have another video aficionado join this crew of shutterbugs! 😉 I hope you will enjoy the forum