High frame rates (above 30) look way too "video". Useful for sports and other things with fast motion. Terrible for everything else.
One note...
Video is filmed at 60fps in the US and 50fps in Europe.
Not true. Most older NTSC "video" (US) is shot at 60
fields per second (59.94, actually, but that's getting very nerdy). The equivalent European standard is 50
fields per second. A field is
NOT a frame. A field is half of an interlaced frame (the even or odd lines).
The NTSC standard calls for 29.97
frames per second (fps), broadcast interlaced at 59.94 fields per second. How the video is recorded usually depends on it's source. If it is sourced on film, it is usually 23.976 fps (called 24p) and then
telecined using a 3:2 pulldown technique to match the 29.97 broadcast frame rate. If it is sourced from video (usually now with nice High-Def digital cameras) it is typically recorded at the higher 60i frame rate (59.94 fields per second)
only if it is content that needs the higher frame rate (sports, car racing, and other similar subjects). Other types of content (dramas, sitcoms, etc) are almost always shot at either 24p or 30p. Even though the new HD standards allow for higher progressive frame rates (like 720p60) it is very rarely used. Generally HD footage is shot and broadcast at either (again, NTSC, Europe is the same but the numbers are 25 and 50):
720p30 - most HD content is broadcast at 720p30 OTA.
1080i60 - sports content
1080p30 - some content but generally not broadcast OTA (usually only on digital cable or satellite broadcasts).
The main issue comes up when content with fast motion is shot with crappy video cameras that don't handle motion blur properly. When you are shooting on film the way it works is simple. The "shutter" on a film camera is actually
a rotating pie wedge. It blocks off (and thereby "closes" the shutter) for only a tiny a fraction of a second, but the film is exposed for the majority of the time that it is the "current frame". Therefore if a subject is moving in the frame, it will "blur" in the shot (because it moves during the relatively long exposure). Just like if you set your personal still camera to 1/30th of a second and take a picture of a person running across the field of view. They will "blur" across the frame in the photo. This makes movement on 24p movies shot on film look nice, because it creates a soothing (and realistic) motion blur effect for moving subjects.
However, most cheap consumer video camcorders do not do this. They effectively manage exposure and shutter speed more like an automatic point-and-shoot still camera, and use very high shutter speeds. Therefore, even though the frame is on screen for the full 1/30th of a second, when it was captured the shutter was only open for 1/200th (or less) of a second. This makes managing proper exposure easier (the lens aperture doesn't need to compensate for low shutter speeds as much, and you can hand-hold the camera), but it makes fast motion look jerky and stuttering.
Pro camcorders don't have this limitation and can properly mimic a true film camera even though they don't use a rotary disc shutter. Proper motion blur can also be added back in during Post in the Non-Linear Editor suite (and a good editor will do this).
