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| Equipment 101: |
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Because we deal with such a wide range of investigations, the aim of this article will be to provide a good initial and practical understanding of the basic equipment we may use. |
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Cameras- 35mm and Digital. We use a variety of cameras to document baseline readings and possible paranormal evidence. Each type of camera system has it's own good and bad points. When dealing with 35mm film you will obviously have a cost in deveolping these, and making sure that the lab delivers all exposures you take regardless of image quality. You will need to know your own gear when it comes to settings for your camera while photographing paranormal evidence. Too long of an exposure, flash duration and position, and even the environment can cause you to have false positives. Digital cameras have long been known to be notorious for taking pictures of orbs. While some of these pictures are compelling, the majority can be explained and duplicated. Digital cameras have a tendancy to better capture dust and water vapor in the atmosphere, these appear as orbs and are considered false positives. |
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Audio Recorders - Analog and Digital. Both of these types of audio recorders hav ebeen used very successfully to capture EVP's. Carefull use and good recording techniques can make all the difference here. Analog recorders have small motors inside that wind the tape. The sounds from the motors and internal gears can be picked up when recording and cause a false positive. It is a good idea to ALWAYS use abrand new tape and an external microphone with a cable long enough to ensure minimal to no feedback. Digital recorders hav ebecome increasingly popular these days and are a good choice for investigations. Some good tips here would be again to know your own gear, settings, recording times, etc. You may also find that you will get a better recording if you leave the recorder somewhere stationary instead of carrying it around. This can again cause false positives, bumps, coughs, clothing rubbing together, etc. are all examples of this. |
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Video Camcorders. The uses for a good camcorder are many. Night vision is usually a definite must have feature. These can be used to both caprure interesting phenomena and back up readings captured from other means. For example, if we are filming a room and have all entrances or exits covered and no one is currently inside the room, and have a meter or recorder of some kind set up in the room, and video tape an anamolous action taking place that can add another element to our evidence. It is important to make sure where you are recording supplies a good view of all the items you want monitored. Be very careful of false positive footage resulting from flashlights, reflections, car headlights, street light glare, etc. It can be a good practice to use several camcorders to record different angles of the same shot. You can have a stationary camera getting a long shot, while you carry a camcorder to get walking shots and close ups of different items. |
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Infrared Thermometers and Thermal Imagers. These are invaluable tools in examining extreme temperature changes. Those hot spots and cold spots we might feel while on an investigation can be documented and further explored as to where they might come from. While the non-contact thermometers are normally easier to operate, they are limited in that they usually only read the temperature of a very small spot. In some units this spot may become larger the further away you are shooting, be aware this is not an ambient temperature measurement.
Thermal Imagers may be considered the catch it all tool, but they have flaws also. The biggest of these is TRAINING. When using a thermal imager you can ‘see’ lots of things that are not visible by other means. Just because you find a colder spot in the air that may be shaped like a cloaked figure, be cautious during your reviews. The most common false positives that we see are temperature reflections. This is when an object has a smooth surface, glass, polished stone, wood, etc. and is reflecting a heat source off of itself onto another object. The appearance of this reflection can be very unusual at times.
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Equipment 101
