This post is an adaptation of an upcoming YouTube video I plan to publish soon. I will share the video here once it is live.
As a freelance videographer, I shoot a lot of event coverage, which means I rely heavily on slow motion for b-roll. I've used 60fps and 120fps, but when I first noticed the 48fps option on my LUMIX camera, I didn't see the point.
Then I tried it, and I realized it solved a problem I didn't even know I had.
My love for 48fps comes down to two things: flexibility and "fiddliness."
Flexibility
In event work, you're often capturing unpredictable, one-chance moments, and it's not always clear whether a shot will look better at real speed or in slow motion.
I edit on a 24fps timeline. If I shoot at 24fps, I can't get smooth slow motion without some visual trickery. If I shoot at 60fps, I get great slow-mo, but real-time playback can look jerky since 60 is not divisible by 24.
48, however, is.
With 48fps on a 24fps timeline, I can play clips back at real speed with no issues, and I still get a clean 50% slow motion when I want it. Unless I'm shooting fast action like sports, that 50% is more than enough. It's perfect for letting simpler moments breathe just a little longer.
That flexibility doesn’t just make editing easier. It also solves a sneakier problem, one most of us don’t think about until we’re already in the middle of a shoot. I call it "fiddliness."
Less "Fiddliness"
I think of "fiddliness" as the friction between the tool and the task: diving through menus, adjusting settings, double-checking buttons. It's any moment when the camera demands more attention than the scene you're trying to capture.
I've been caught by it plenty of times. I'll think I switched to 60fps, only to realize I was still in 24 and missed a perfect slow-mo opportunity. Or I'll be flipping settings while something worth capturing is happening right in front of me.
Custom buttons help, but 48fps simplifies everything. Set it once, forget it, and stay focused on the action.
I once heard someone say, "Complexity will always find you, so seek simplicity whenever you can, and only introduce complexity when it's necessary." That's exactly the philosophy behind shooting in 48fps. Less time managing the camera, more time shooting.
Caveats
No setting is perfect. On my LUMIX, for example, 48fps applies an APS-C crop. You also capture less motion blur and less light since the shutter speed is double what it would be at 24fps.
If real-time footage looks too crisp, I can usually fix it in DaVinci Resolve with its motion-blur effect. It's surprisingly convincing.
Everything's a trade-off, and most of the time it's best to use the settings you know you need. But in event coverage, you don't always know what's coming. 48fps gives you flexibility without the "fiddliness," and a little extra breathing room to stay present and capture moments as they happen.