Full-Spectrum Photography Flashcards

A full-spectrum camera is set to shoot RAW format during an investigation. What advantage does RAW offer over JPEG for evidence analysis?

Answer: RAW preserves uncompressed sensor data allowing non-destructive post-processing and metadata review

RAW files retain all sensor data without in-camera compression or processing, giving investigators maximum flexibility to analyze the image without degrading the original evidence.

Why do some CPI investigators use a 590 nm full-spectrum cut-on filter instead of a 720 nm filter?

Answer: 590 nm captures a blend of near-visible red, infrared, and partial UV, offering richer tonal variation for anomaly detection

The 590 nm cut-on point retains near-visible red tones in addition to IR, providing more color information than a pure IR filter and making certain anomalies easier to distinguish.

During evidence review, an investigator notices a semi-transparent human-shaped form in a full-spectrum image. What is the FIRST analytical step recommended by CPI protocols?

Answer: Attempt to recreate the image under identical conditions to rule out a natural or technical explanation

CPI protocol requires investigators to attempt controlled recreation of any anomaly before classifying it as paranormal, eliminating lens flare, reflections, or pareidolia as causes.

What is 'chromatic aberration' and why is it particularly relevant in full-spectrum investigation photography?

Answer: It is the failure of a lens to focus UV, visible, and IR wavelengths at the same focal plane, producing color fringing in full-spectrum images

Chromatic aberration is more pronounced in full-spectrum photography because UV, visible, and IR light refract differently through glass, creating colored halos or fringing around subjects.

An investigator uses an unmodified smartphone with a 'full-spectrum' app during an investigation. How should these results be treated?

Answer: With skepticism, because smartphone sensors retain strong IR-cut filters and cannot truly capture full-spectrum data

Smartphone sensors include permanently integrated IR-cut filters that cannot be removed, so no app can enable true full-spectrum capture regardless of marketing claims.

Which environmental condition can cause a full-spectrum camera's sensor to produce thermal noise that mimics anomalies in a photograph?

Answer: Elevated ambient or sensor temperature increasing dark current in the sensor

Elevated sensor temperature increases dark current, generating random bright pixels (thermal noise) that can resemble anomalies, especially in long-exposure night photography.

What does the term 'false color' mean in full-spectrum IR photography, and why does it matter for paranormal investigators?

Answer: Rendered colors that do not match the scene's visible appearance because IR data occupies color channels normally assigned to visible wavelengths

In full-spectrum IR images, infrared data recorded in the red channel creates unnatural 'false color' renderings (e.g., blue sky, white foliage) that must be understood to avoid misidentifying color shifts as anomalies.