Thursday, June 9, 2011

Full Spectrum Cameras

The latest craze in ghost hunting is the use of Full Spectrum cameras and camcorders. 

The rationale for the use of Full Spectrum cameras is based upon the fact that they can capture the entire range of the light spectrum that includes ultraviolent (UV) light and infrared (IR) light. 

Natural lighting is full spectrum but people cannot see UV light below the spectrum and IR light above the spectrum with the naked eye.

It is speculated that entities can only be seen within these two upper and lower ranges of the light spectrum e.g., UV and IR. This is why we only see them out of the corner of our eyes or not at all etc. 

Taking this into consideration it is put forth that Full Spectrum photography will allow the ghost hunter to capture entities that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

The diagram below illustrates the full light spectrum. The center section is what we can see—it is visible light. Full Spectrum cameras detect the entire light spectrum including the two ends of the spectrum:

There are advantages to using Full Spectrum cameras-- when you use them you do not need to use a flash unit this eliminates capturing false anomalies, such as, orbs e.g., dust, moisture, pollen etc. in the air, and it also eliminates false anomalies caused by flash units, such as reflections. 

One major disadvantage to using a Full Spectrum camera is you cannot use them during the day or in natural lighting because they cast a pink glow.



When I bought my Full Spectrum camera the first question I asked is what additional lighting do I need? 

The answer to this is simple since they use UV and IR lighting these lights work well with them. 

Also keep in mind that simple white light sources, such as, flashlights and white camera lights usually include the UV and IR portions as well as visible light—so they work well with Full Spectrum photography.

If you find these light sources too bright to use in the dark while ghost hunting, cut a section of a white cotton T-Shirt and put it over them to act as a filter. 

Also keep in mind that IR flashlights are a great alternative to IR lights. IR lights cost $60.00 plus and their charges only last a short time, unless you get the ones that plug into the cameras’ battery or the ones that you can plug into a wall outlet—these cost over a $100.00 a piece. 


The light pictured above is from Phantom Lites they run on 9volt batteries. I like these lights--seller has them in Full Spectrum, UV, and IR but they cost around $64.00. 

You can find a wonderful IR flashlight for just $6.20 at http://www.dealextreme.com/. But being cheap they over heat so turn them off periodically. 

These flashlights also work well with Nightshot camcorders etc. and they illuminate better than their more expensive counterparts and since they are IR they do not add unwanted light to the room or space you are photographing.

Full Spectrum Photography

Happy Ghost Hunting!

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