Beginner Why are there so any frame rate options around 24p?

[Tom Pinchenzo]

So I have the option for 23.98, 24, 25 and 30... I imagine 23.98 vs 24 is like compatibility with standard formats or something, but why is there 25, and then 30? Surely there's very little difference between these? And what should I choose?!

 

[4wd]

25fps is for PAL regions and though you can use 30fps you will get more strobing from lights as our power alternates at 60 hertz so tends to sync with the fps in a bad way,.
24fps is the traditional film movie rate and the argument is that for a cinematic look you might want to use that.
23.98 is some kind of technical default, they discovered that in the US to remain synced with their 50hertz power, for TV programmes they actually needed that tiny adjustment and it just stuck as an option)
The key thing is be aware of what you recorded in and don't switch part way through unless you must because you can end up with jumpy footage.

 

[Giblets]

25fps is for PAL regions and though you can use 30fps you will get more strobing from lights as our power alternates at 60 hertz so tends to sync with the fps in a bad way,.
24fps is the traditional film movie rate and the argument is that for a cinematic look you might want to use that.
23.98 is some kind of technical default, they discovered that in the US to remain synced with their 50hertz power, for TV programmes they actually needed that tiny adjustment and it just stuck as an option)
The key thing is be aware of what you recorded in and don't switch part way through unless you must because you can end up with jumpy footage.

I think you will find that the UK has 50hz power supply and the US has 60hz.

 

[hunnymonster]

24 FPS is the nominal speed for film (as in cinema, although very old monochrome was cranked around 18 FPS which is why silent films have people walking fast - shot at 18, played back at 24 on modern equipment - they would originally have been exhibited at the speed they were shot at)
25 FPS is the nominal frame rate for PAL (and SECAM) TV - look at the article on Wiki about PAL TV to see why this isn't actually the case.
30 FPS is the nominal frame rate for NTSC TV

Europe overwhelmingly has 50Hz mains (so lights flicker at 100Hz which is harmonic with 25 FPS)
North America overwhelmingly 60Hz mains (so lights flicker at 120Hz which is harmonic with both 24 & 30 FPS) - there used to be an area around Niagara that was 25Hz because of the old hydro generators but I think that's gone now

For various technical reasons the actual frame rates of TV are a midge's whizzer less than the nominal value (it's something like 24.97 & 29.97 FPS a potential source of the slow pulsing of the lights)

When you watch a movie on TV in PAL regions they simply sped the frame rate from 24 to 25, so the movie ran 4% shorter, and the soundtrack was 4% higher pitch. Which drives people with perfect pitch mad.

In NTSC because jumping from 24 FPS to 30 would make everyone sound like Pinky & Perky they employed a technique called 3:2 pulldown where they take 4 frames of original and turn it in to 5 frames of output typically by doubling one frame in five...

Now, way back in the day your European TV would be built to European standards so it accepted a PAL (or SECAM) signal at 25fps. If you presented other than a 25 FPS signal, you either got no picture, a rolling picture, a monochrome picture depending on the TV. As technology progressed and VCRs became a thing with people buying tapes from other regions the manufacturers saw a reason to make VCRs and TVs to handle that (VHS recorded NTSC & PAL differently to the tape as well as the frame rate being different)

Now we have multistandard TVs that will take any signal and handle it... Probably upscale it and present it on a screen with a refresh rate of 100Hz or more.

 

[Tom Pinchenzo]

24 FPS is the nominal speed for film (as in cinema, although very old monochrome was cranked around 18 FPS which is why silent films have people walking fast - shot at 18, played back at 24 on modern equipment - they would originally have been exhibited at the speed they were shot at)
25 FPS is the nominal frame rate for PAL (and SECAM) TV - look at the article on Wiki about PAL TV to see why this isn't actually the case.
30 FPS is the nominal frame rate for NTSC TV

Europe overwhelmingly has 50Hz mains (so lights flicker at 100Hz which is harmonic with 25 FPS)
North America overwhelmingly 60Hz mains (so lights flicker at 120Hz which is harmonic with both 24 & 30 FPS) - there used to be an area around Niagara that was 25Hz because of the old hydro generators but I think that's gone now

For various technical reasons the actual frame rates of TV are a midge's whizzer less than the nominal value (it's something like 24.97 & 29.97 FPS a potential source of the slow pulsing of the lights)

When you watch a movie on TV in PAL regions they simply sped the frame rate from 24 to 25, so the movie ran 4% shorter, and the soundtrack was 4% higher pitch. Which drives people with perfect pitch mad.

In NTSC because jumping from 24 FPS to 30 would make everyone sound like Pinky & Perky they employed a technique called 3:2 pulldown where they take 4 frames of original and turn it in to 5 frames of output typically by doubling one frame in five...

Now, way back in the day your European TV would be built to European standards so it accepted a PAL (or SECAM) signal at 25fps. If you presented other than a 25 FPS signal, you either got no picture, a rolling picture, a monochrome picture depending on the TV. As technology progressed and VCRs became a thing with people buying tapes from other regions the manufacturers saw a reason to make VCRs and TVs to handle that (VHS recorded NTSC & PAL differently to the tape as well as the frame rate being different)

Now we have multistandard TVs that will take any signal and handle it... Probably upscale it and present it on a screen with a refresh rate of 100Hz or more.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply! So I should just stick with 24 then??

 

[hunnymonster]

If 24 FPS works for you and you're happy with it - carry on - there is no "right" answer any more.

25 FPS will theoretically consume 4% more space but your movie will be 4% smoother motion (given that both 24 & 25 FPS are both higher than the normal range of human flicker fusion rate, that's academic)

 

[TimHughes]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply! So I should just stick with 24 then??

Stick with 24 if you want the classic cinematic look.

It can be a lot of motion blur though so go to a higher frame rate like 30 if you want more of a “video” look or 50 or 60 for sports or if you want to use slow motion.

Not forgetting to change the shutter speed to match, normal double the frame rate so 1/48 for 24 FPS to 1/120 for 60 FPS.