Z5 Camera Flicker Issue

[Redfern]

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_N4g...

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?

[AceZ3]

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.

[xavinux]

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.

[Redfern]

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.

[xavinux]

Hi @Redfern

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

[Lord_viridis · Accepted solution]

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.

[Uliwooly]

@Viridis

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

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

[Redfern]

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.

[Lord_viridis]

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.

[Acelryss]

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!