Camera for Ghost Photography?? Help!

[nyxpooka]

Hi experts!! Please no judgement! My team and I need reliable point and shoot digital cameras that have certan features. Hope someone can help.

Camera must be:
Over 12 megapixels (the more the better?)
Low light effective
Strong flash
Lightweight
Affordable
Have excellent background detail or ability
Be VERY enlargeable (we use a software program to do this).

We start shooting pics rapidly an hour before sundown, outdoors, with obstacles, no tripod, and our subjects are normally 30-40 ft away (but can only use zoom a few minutes, of course).

We are now using insignia cameras which are no longer made, but are very effective. However, we do want better cameras badly! Open to any suggestions at all!! Our whole team will benefit from this!! Thank you very much..

Sincerely,

Kirsten
Team Leader

[TCav]

Most if not all compact cameras have flashes with guide numbers from 10 to 12, which makes them useless for subjects that are 30-40 feet away, especially if they're ethereal.

I suggest you go with something with a large maximum aperture so you have as much light gathering capability as possible. Sony's RX100 II has an f/1.8-2.8 lens over a respectable zoom range that would probably work well for your purpose. It also has a relatively large 20MP sensor that will deliver images with lower noise than those from comparable cameras. It's $600.

[VTphotog]

Ghostly manifestations are usually associated with cold or hot spots, so I would recommend you look for thermal imaging cameras, or digital cameras converted to infrared. I believe there are a few cameras made for forensic use that respond to Infrared and ultraviolet, which should be useful in your endeavors.

[TCav]

Originally Posted by VTphotog

Ghostly manifestations are usually associated with cold or hot spots, ...

I've been thinking about this a little, and don't think that IR is a good idea.

If ghosts create cold spots, in IR they would appear darker than the background, but in visible light, they should appear lighter than the background. The combination of darker in IR and lighter in visible light could cancel each other out and render them invisible in the resulting image.

[VTphotog]

Possibly, a multispectral image would render the ghost as well as the background. These have been used to find text which has been erased and written over, as well as showing features which are invisible to the naked eye.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multispectral_image

[TCav]

Perhaps, but that would require a camera that ONLY captured IR, which, in such a case, the image of the ghostly cold spot would be darker than the background.

In truth, I was intrigued by the confluence of technologies that would render the image of a ghost as invisible.

[nyxpooka]

Thats great advice. Thanks!

Originally Posted by TCav

Most if not all compact cameras have flashes with guide numbers from 10 to 12, which makes them useless for subjects that are 30-40 feet away, especially if they're ethereal.

I suggest you go with something with a large maximum aperture so you have as much light gathering capability as possible. Sony's RX100 II has an f/1.8-2.8 lens over a respectable zoom range that would probably work well for your purpose. It also has a relatively large 20MP sensor that will deliver images with lower noise than those from comparable cameras. It's $600.

[nyxpooka]

Infrared hasnt been very successful, unfortunately. Would like to try UV sometime...

Originally Posted by VTphotog

Ghostly manifestations are usually associated with cold or hot spots, so I would recommend you look for thermal imaging cameras, or digital cameras converted to infrared. I believe there are a few cameras made for forensic use that respond to Infrared and ultraviolet, which should be useful in your endeavors.

[nyxpooka]

I will have to look into that.
Very intriguing...i have a video camera that is full spectrum but i havent used it much. I need a full spectrum light to go with it.

Originally Posted by VTphotog

Possibly, a multispectral image would render the ghost as well as the background. These have been used to find text which has been erased and written over, as well as showing features which are invisible to the naked eye.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multispectral_image

[TCav]

Originally Posted by nyxpooka

Infrared hasnt been very successful, unfortunately. Would like to try UV sometime...

You might have to go back to film for UV photography. Digital image sensors are not sensitive to UV light.