R6 4k60 stutter

[disc_count]

Hello, I am having an issue with my recently purchased R6. I'm wondering if it's a settings issue or a camera issue (this was purchased used and has a 90 day repair coverage).

There seems to be a millisecond pause every second or so on certain video clips. I haven't done much recording with this camera yet but this footage was recorded for a project in 4k60 CLOG (not CLOG3) following the 180º rule for shutter speed (1/125).

An example of the effect is most noticeable in the first two clips of this edit (but it can also be seen in the original MP4 files when played in VLC, Davinci Resolve, or Premiere Pro). First clip is 4k60 at 50% speed, second clip is at 100% speed. I can also link to the original MP4 if needed.

https://youtu.be/qiHfD8HlFdU

Is this a settings issue or is there something funky about the camera itself?

[rs-eos]

I don't see any issues.  However, when you created your project in Premiere, etc, what frame rate did you specify? I believe your camera would actually be recording in 59.94 frames per second (or 29.97 or 23.98 for slower frame rates).  So if you dropped the footage into a true 60 fps timeline, things could be off a bit.

For equipment that lets you control the system frequency, you can then typically set things up for exact framerates of 24, etc.  But I don't think that's possible with the R6.

[disc_count]

Hi Ricky, Thanks for the reply. My timeline was in 29.97 so that I could slow some clips to 50% if I needed to (like the first and last shots). The weird thing is that the "freezing" effect is visible on the MP4 clip even before it goes into an NLE. It's rhythmic and happens about once per second - easier to see when looking at something geometric in the footage.

It's not a typical judder from too high of a shutter speed where the whole thing is choppy but rather very smooth for about 1 second then a millisecond hang and then another second of smooth motion, etc. 

[AtticusLake]

First off, nice clips -- lovely smooth movement.

Like Ricky, I can't see anything.  However looking at a clip in YouTube, it's difficult to know what YouTube itself is doing.

I've hit issues similar to what you describe in products I've worked on.  One problem that can happen is when the video frame rate doesn't sync with the refresh rate of whatever panel you're watching it on.  In other words, maybe Ricky and I aren't seeing it because our screens refresh at a multiple of 29.97, and maybe yours is at 25, or 30, or something like that.

One thing you can do -- which I've done in the past -- is load the original camera clip up in an NLE, find a place where there's smooth movement (like one of your sideways dolly moves), and count exactly how many pixels some feature moves between frames.  Use the source monitor so there's no timeline imposing its own timing.  If it's not consistent, then it looks like your camera is at fault.  If it is consistent, then it's something farther down the pipeline.

One thing I've done in the past, to check that a camera is accurate and consistent, is film a swinging pendulum, and then count the pixels it moves between frames.  A pendulum's motion has to be consistent (though not linear), so it will show up any irregularities.

[jaewoosong]

Might be IBIS issue as noted in this thread.  May need to turn it off for panning shots.

Canon R5 jittery video in 4K 60fps annoying problem 

[shadowsports]

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@jaewoosong wrote:

Might be IBIS issue as noted in this thread.  May need to turn it off for panning shots.

Canon R5 jittery video in 4K 60fps annoying problem 

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I think this is highly probable.  The "jello" effect is apparent on the edges of dis_counts" video.      

[disc_count]

AtticusLake, thank you for these suggestions! I just figured out how to change my display to 59.94 Hz from 60 Hz (Apple found a great way to hide it in the settings unless the option key is pressed…classic Apple!), restarted and viewed the edit on YouTube and locally via Quicktime and the original clip locally via VLC. On the 59.94 refresh rate it looked exactly the same to me with the same tiny pause every few seconds. It seems to be how I shot it and I am wondering if the 1/125 shutter speed is the issue since 59.94 and 29.97 do not equally fit the same as 1/60 and 30fps would. 

…but now that jaewoosong mentioned IBIS, that could be it since I remember wanting IBIS to be off and then realizing that it was on after I got home. Maybe I’ll do some comparisons between IBIS on and off when using a gimbal (this was all shot on foot with a DJI Ronin-S). And also maybe some comparisons between 4k60 @ 1/120 and 1/60 as I see a lot of info on 1/60 being better despite the 180º “rule”. I’ll report back with my findings, but until then, I appreciate all the help so far!

[disc_count]

Thank you to everyone who offered advice and potential solutions here!

I figured out the issue: despite doing all of the tests with different Hz on monitors nothing changed, so I checked that off the list and proceeded to try as many permutations of video settings as I could. When watching the footage this time, all of the clips had the issue still. So I decided to airdrop to my iPhone. And the problem was not visible there. I then unplugged my external monitor and the issue stopped on the laptop monitor. So the camera is fine (thankfully!) and there is just some issue with my monitor/cable/dongle.

Thanks again for all the help with this. Glad it was not the newly-purchased camera malfunctioning!

[AtticusLake · Accepted solution]

Great, glad it's sorted!

Sounds to me like the external monitor supports a different set of refresh rates to the laptop.  But the laptop can only generate video at one refresh rate across the system.  So, when the external monitor is plugged in, it changes its refresh rate to match what the monitor supports.  When it's not plugged in, the laptop has a free rein and uses a refresh rate that matches your video.