Green tint with Fluorescent lighting and shutter speeds?

[dude163]

Hi all

I was at another kids party this weekend and I noticed that saying they had fluorescent lighting every few shots would have a greenish cast to it , is there a certain shutter speed or trick to eliminate this? I believe its due to the fact that Fluoro lights flicker and the camera is catching it mid pulse.

Or if there is no magic fix is Fluorescent lighting just something that doesnt work out well for portraiture and skin tones ?

cheers

Robert

 

[Hosermage]

Just a guess, but I think AC is 60 hertz? so shutter speed faster than 1/60 second?

 

[dude163]

Thats what I was thinking, because a lot of my shots were 1/60th or 1/45th of a second

 

[Bob]

Most fluorescent lighting is pretty horrible, but there exist some bulbs with a very high color rendering index.
Even though the bulb phosphors persist in-between peak oscillations, the peaks can often be seen.
Shoot at 1/60 (or 50) or SLOWER to minimize the effect.
High persistence bulbs are good enough so that it does not matter that much.
As to your last point, color rendering and skin tones, etc all depend on the quality of the bulb used.
Usually I see the worst in places such as schools, train stations, and other places which purchase lamps with only price as the critical dimension.
-bob

 

[dude163]

Bob, I agree, it was at the bowling alley and I could detect the flickering with my eyes never mind the camera, so they obviously went for the cheapest lights

the ONE time I didnt drag my flash unit along with me