Why Do LED Lights Flicker on Video?

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My friend Darren Natoni recently asked a GREAT question on Instagram when he noticed lights flickering in his Instagram stories. Its a little complicated, but this is my full answer and should make sense after watching this video.

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#WhyLightsFlicker #VideoLightsFlickering #LightsFlickering

[iamdavid]

I always wondered about this as I watch a lot of car related videos. Thank you.

[nikolacvjetinovic]

The best animation and explanation I found on the internet because I encountered a problem when shooting at 24fps during a 1/50 shooter in Europe, and I also noticed that only 1/30 does not flicker!! Thanks!

[Ravindra.Dubey]

Superbly explained! You have described the entire phenomenon in a truly simple way. The great thoughtfulness in the animations is remarkable. Of course this is not meant for advanced physics lessons but from a scientific point of view you have touched almost every important aspect here. Thank you so much Michael for this Great video. Cheers

[bvburnes]

Here's the head scratcher though. As I understand it Diodes only pass current in one direction and can't tolerate voltages over 5v. The power from the mains in the US is 120v AC so it is stepped down to 5v and passed through a bridge rectifier and a voltage regulator to feed 5v DC to the silicon-based components in the device. So I wouldn't expect to ever see AC on the light emitting Diodes. Been trying to figure this out fur a long time; any insight is appreciated!

[AwkwardHypernerd]

The effect is more noticeable when you’re filming in slow motion.

I’ve actually needed to use traditional lightbulbs in order to get better slow motion footage

[ganjamozart]

I love your channel. Highly informative and immune to camera tribalism as your technical grounding cuts through the BS.

[TheJavo]

That little light may be an LED operating with AC ( very rare ) because you would not have frequency on DC therefore no flickering because it would be constant as you said in the beginning

[jeffsnelling]

The led light on cars flicker as well with video. As you know this is DC voltage not AC. Do you have an explanation for this?

[coraf.]

Ok thanks. Also the naked eye sounds funny to me lol

[bewaretheclaw]

I noticed this on new cars with LED lights, I though it was some kind of security feature for theft or identification purposes. Thank you so much for clearing this up!

[kommulasrujanroha]

so how do we avoid flickering of LEDs, when we want to shoot a slow mo shot? should there be a light with a higher frequency signal? i mean more than that of the camera?

[Schwermetall]

Very good explained. But don't forget that modern LED light don't necessary work with 60Hz because of the electronic inside.

[TheDegbring]

I don't have my headphones with me right now, so I cant watch the video with sound, but on 1:39 to me it seems there is an error. The light should be the brightest, when the electron is moving, so right at y = 0 and be the dimmest, when it the electron is not moving, so y = max or y = min. It may be, because he tried to oversimplificate this though. I still think this should be mentioned

[thunderpiperfilms]

You're somewhat right... It does happen at night! It is also based on the shutter, yes. But, it is also the LED itself as well... The led going through it's cycle.

[jamo]

Surely these lights have a full bridge rectifier in them? Otherwise do they have two sets of LEDs with anode and cathode reversed?

[foreignangxl]

So how do I make it flicker when recording?

[shmirdonkin]

Wouldn't a boat powered lamp be on DC?

[ProfessionalReferences]

But it is still a mystery why some lights do this while others dont..
I know it has something to do with electricity but why ther's no way to know about it in the description on the box?
I want to get a strong light to shoot with high shutter speed but all the strong and chip light are flickering

[peterosoro]

I saw this phenomenon today and thought it's caused by AC current, the only thing that I couldn't figure out why I can't see with my eyes. Thanks for the explanation, couldn't be any better

[ChickentNug]

Why is it that when its dark out and im tired, i can see more flickering than during day. I can see it with my phone and fluorescent lights it seems. Does the refresh rate of your eyes lower when its dark?