Cameras 

By: Kevin McBee

Texas Panhandle Paranormal Investigations

Just a few words about cameras both digital and 35mm. I believe that good quality photos can be captured by both types of cameras. There are a few hazards though that you have to be mindful of first. I prefer the use of 35mm over digital for a couple of main reasons and they both have their places in the equipment list of any paranormal investigation team.

Today, most cameras have a built in flash attached to them. This is nice since it only takes one set of batteries to run the camera. The draw back to this is the position of that flash. Normally it is very close to the lens which will create false positive photos by flooding the lens area with an abundance of light. If there is moisture, dust or any environmental pollutant near that lens it will reflect it back inside and make it look like something it is not. This is especially true of digital cameras since they are the most typical today and the manufacturers build them that way. There is a few things you can do to help reduce those false positives from plaguing you. First try and get a camera that has a flash that is situated at least 3 inches away from the lens. Second, use a detachable flash that can be mounted away from the lens. Even diffusing the light or directing it in another direction is helpful. Most digital cameras have setting where you can turn the flash off. That is not always practical when shooting in a very low or no light situation. The good news is most have a night shot function while the high end cameras even have a true NIGHT SHOT which only uses infrared light on that setting. Both of these seem to work better at reducing the false positive photos.

35mm cameras have an issue with the flash also. The investigator on a budget may not be able to afford the digital camera so in-turn they buy the disposable camera from the local retail store. These cameras have the flash mounted very closely to the lens as well and so you get anomalies also. Not as much as the digital, for varying reasons, but you will get them. The other issue is the film itself and the processing at the local film drop off. First only purchase film that has not expired. Bad film will ruin your paranormal investigation experience when the pictures return with all sorts of funny lines and colors that should not be there. Once you get that film you need to make sure it is kept at a normal room temperature. Condensation from film going from one extreme temperature to another will ruin that experience also.

I have experimented with different speeds of film and setting on my NIKON camera and lenses. I have used 200 speed film all the way up to 1600 speed. Cheap film from the local retailer to high end specialty film from the local camera shop. For the money, I recommend something in the middle. The 400 speed film and a flash works great in almost any environment and I get the store brand from mainly Wal-Mart. Basically, it is the same film as the national brands and a little less expensive. Oh, by the way, don’t forget about the processing. I found that if you talk to the person processing your film and ask them not to adjust the picture properties you will get better results. Also, having the film processed and only put onto a compact disk (No prints) is also cheaper. Again, talk to the person who you want to do the developing. They can be of great help to you so you get what you want.

Did I mention I use a detachable flash? I use one on a pistol type mount so that my flash and camera are together but the flash is actually almost a foot away from the lens. My flash is also directional from straight ahead to target up to pointing straight up into the air. I usually keep my flash in the area somewhere in between the two. This allows the light to diffuse naturally around the subject and greatly reduces the glare off of other objects. I have had some rather interesting pictures of light anomalies using this technique.

Each person has to decide what type of camera they wish to use and how much money they chose to spend for either type. I would suggest doing your own research and determine how much time you want to spend evaluating your pictures and the total cost out of pocket. Either way can be rewarding and fun as well as being expensive.

HAPPY HUNTING