topic Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue in Z Series

Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Redfern — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 13:11:34 GMT

I've noticed a intermitent random black line flicking issue with my Z5's camera... it has only happened twice so far and only stays on the screen for about 10 secons when the camera is first loaded up (not every time though).

Basically flicking black lines appear on the screen and also appear in video playback / photos, but as I say this has only happened twice so far and only lasts for about the first 10 seconds the camera is opened.

Photo example: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMIR00Rj8wyjMwyGSH0KwpqFYD3GDlfe3yM8EQMGYpmHdKVr4VGl7yTMTNZ_N4gfw?key=S1ZMMkx4aEhRdDVtTG1CR2JOQmNIS1R2MTNfLVlB

For an example, i just took this photo and you can see the black lines appearing on the screen. The problem did stop within about 10 seconds and I could take photos without the flicker, but it was just a strange thing to appear.

I do have a SD card in the phone, but photos are being saved to the phones internal storeage.

I tried taking the photo with superio auto and also swapping to manual.. and the flicker initally perssited across both modes.

Has anyone came across this issue before? Or know what I need todo to fix it?

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

AceZ3 — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 13:39:21 GMT

Try to adjust your ISO settings keep it minimal as much as possible. That happened to me too on my Z3.

Got it fixed upon reducing the ISO values, till it does no longer appear on that specific area where I took the photo.

If it's set to "AUTO", try experimenting by taking pictures using high ISO to lower ISO until there is no more camera flicker.

Would appreciate a "kudos" if it helped.

thanks.

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

xavinux — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 13:50:15 GMT

Hi @Redfern

Please ,from your Home screen try the following:

1. Tap the Application screen icon.

2. Find and tap Settings -> Apps.

3. Swipe to the All tab.

4. Find and tap on Camera.

5. Tap Force stop -> Clear data.

6. Restart the phone.

I´m at disposal for any question.

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Redfern — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 13:57:50 GMT

I will give it ago and see if this happens again.

I have been reading up on basically what was happening with my phones camera and i've read in a few articles that the black line flickering can be caused by LED lights, and to think of it one of the two places this has happend is in my front room where I have LED spotlights installed.

The photo i attached above was also inside, where the bar may have had LED lights.. I wouldn't know though.

I'll update this post once I know more etc. I will also try the above solutions and mark as accepted once I know for sure etc.

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

xavinux — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 14:47:56 GMT

Hi @Redfern

Ok, keep us updated. I´m at disposal for any question.

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Lord_viridis — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 22:22:12 GMT

Fluorescent lighting causes this as well as led lighting.
It's the beat effect from the light pulsating through the tubes instead of solid light like incandescent.
Reduce I so and set metering to a different mode to eliminate it.

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Uliwooly — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 01:02:30 GMT

@Viridis

Great answer, here is more info on this @Redfern @AceZ3

https://photographylife.com/light-frequency-issue

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Redfern — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 08:31:01 GMT

viridis i've marked yours as the solution as it does seem to be an issue with certain lighting. Glad this isn't a issue with the phone, althought it didn't happen with my Z1... maybe this lens in the Z5 acts different to these lights.

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Lord_viridis — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 20:40:53 GMT

It didn't happen with z1 too much, but did happen, from z2 onwards it became more obvious as the sensor improvements seemed to make it more sensitive to this issue.
The worst phone I had it on (as in the phone it was most obvious) was a Galaxy S3 which really suffered.

To check if indeed your flicker is due to beat effect, take a burst shot containing 5 or so images. If you notice the tone of each image is different, it's the beat effect.

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Acelryss — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 13:31:28 GMT

Hi, it seems that you have more info than most people here. I hope you can help me. Camera UI is 2.0.0 is there an update?
In low light conditions Z5 photos are much worse than my Xperia Z1. Is there something that I can change?

Thanks!

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Lord_viridis — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 15:59:28 GMT

Yeah, put it down to 8mp for night shots and use superior auto. The key is to hold it still enough for the tripod logo to appear.
Normal low light is higher iso
Tripod is low iso but longer exposure, better, noise free images

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Acelryss — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 18:55:23 GMT

Hi,

Yes the flickering is constant. Make my own test on led monitor... try to type something into a blank screen like Microsoft Word.

Then zoom it... Sensor will go like crazy trying to focus. I think that´s why the low light photos are so bad. Just a guess even so the camera is pretty lame.

Regards

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

BrianSmith — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 13:05:48 GMT

I have sony z5 and I have this problem too ! I see that the camera is very bad and really Im really dissapointed about that ...

Re: Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

Manjinder — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 15:45:22 GMT

Even i am having a problem with my z5 premium camera though i got service from sony and the previous problem is solved but now what i found is that i cannot take snaps with camera hardware button when i am using Whatsapp. Any ideas?