Check out this Digital Camera Conversion link, he did a great job. Also if you want more of a full spectrum camera conversion then leave out the step with the film negative. If you need to use your converted camera or camcorder for regular daytime shots then you will need to get an infrared block filter to block the infrared for those shots. Also to grab more of the ultraviolet light range you will need to remember that glass lenses filter some of the ultraviolet out, some say to use quartz lenses (UV pass filter), however the UV pass filter will block out some of the regular light which if you want full spectrum this will not help. There are UV intensifier systems yet they are very costly or you could consider an ultraviolet light source (black light) and of course they come in LED and bulb style. By using an ultraviolet light in conjunction with the infrared light and whatever ambient light is available you get a full spectrum effect.
The Ovilus first of all can speak out loud. The Paranormal Puck when on a computer running Windows will display text on the software screen. If you have never heard of these tools you might be asking what is the purpose of speaking tools? And here is where some of the controversy comes in to play. Most will ask questions and hope the devices respond appropriately. The modern Ouija/spirit board concept however, with these devices no human contact is needed which means nobody is physically influencing the results. The speech part of this is where the maker stresses the importance of not misinterpreting the words heard. The devices come about the responses from varying energy levels. Basically an energy level of 1 will produce word #1 all the way up to word 512. The words do not seem to have a paranormal slant to them to stack the odds for the devices. The words were mixed several times then placed from 1 to 512 (not alphabetical). This set up helps as to not allow the highest energy level of 512 which could have been zoo to never come up. The maker provides the list of words that are installed on the device (available at his site). The devices do have the capability of truncating words which if done just right would create words that are not installed on the device ( a phonetic speech). The devices also have a non-repeat code written into them as not to repeat the same word if the energy level does not change. There are also no microphones on the devices so there is no way for the devices to hear your questions. The Ovilus also has a dowsing rod format which will light up either the left lights or right lights depending on the energy direction. The Paranormal Puck does not have the dowsing feature however, it does have computer based software which will record the energy changes which may coincide with something you may have experienced. The Paranormal Puck also has a computer based video capture feature in which if an event occurs it will trigger the capture.
Some may say how can you set an energy level for a certain word and a spirit understand that word correlates to that energy level. Well nobody really knows, nor does the maker but you have to start somewhere. Perhaps these are not spirit responses but earth responses to our energy or perhaps our own psychokinesis type of effect.
The maker wants to make sure that you are aware of the potential chances of getting speech and of the possibility of getting just verbal nonsense by posting the odds on his site. When you go to purchase a device from him you will go through several agreement checks just so you are aware of what you are getting and not to be misleading. Either of these devices could be a useful part of your arsenal, but again consider where you may be using them and if you will have a computer with you for the Paranormal Puck. Click Digital Dowsing to see more. There will be some new features added to these devices so keep your eyes open. YouTube has a couple of user videos showing these devices in action. P.S. Some people are asking what was this infrared video paranormal word thing on Ghost Adventures! It was a custom device from Digital Dowsing which is like the Ovilus or Paranormal Puck just applied to the live video footage which may help with things that may be seen at the same time as responses are given from the device, in a way an all in one paranormal device. ALSO Digital Dowsing has stopped production of these physical devices as to focus on software based paranormal ghost hunting tools such as the iOvilus app for the iPhone and iPod touch. We do not give this app a thumbs up yet!
Are you feeling dizzy or nervous? Perhaps you feel some heavy presence is watching you! It may not be paranormal! When investigating the paranormal one thing you should consider is a gas detector. Gases can cause feelings of nausea, light headed, nervousness, dizziness, headache, drowsiness, hallucinations (from combination of gases), and one of the main feelings we don't want which is DEATH. If you are going to purchase a gas detector you have some options in price and from single gas to multi-gas detection. If you head to your local hardware store you will find some basic battery powered carbon monoxide detectors (portable) to AC powered (plug in) styles from $20 - $80. If you are looking for multi-gas detectors this is where you are going to fork out some cash, anywhere from $150 and up depending on how many gases the meter detects. Now when ghost hunting certain gases are not going to come into play as they do not cause immediate obvious symptoms such as radon which has been said to cause cancer. There is also the consideration of where gases rest such as low lying propane or higher flying gases. As always, consider what you need the detector for and if you don't want to fork out the money for a multi-gas high end meter you could always hire a qualified inspector. Here are some links for gas detectors; AllGasDetectors.com, CanarySense.com, Lowes.
How to Choose an Infrared Light Source
This has been the dilemma for those of you that just want more infrared light for your camcorder or cams. Whether you want to make night look like day in a large dark forest or just brighten up an average size room without others noticing, you will need more infrared light. There are infrared LEDs which start at 850nm then there are lightbulb based with filters (like our mag light filter where you would convert a regular flashlight to an infrared flashlight). With the infrared LED lights you get a long battery life and can get them configured from as few as 1 LED up to around 140 LEDs. Then you have the filter based lightbulb variety which come in krypton to xenon, with xenon being brightest. With the flashlight lightbulb based many are adjustable to spotlight or floodlight. With the spotlight adjustment you could easily point the light at a specific point some 50 feet or more. The drawback to the lightbulb based setup is first buying or creating the filter then the filter does produce a faint red glow as well as the short battery life. The lightbulb type has a full range of infrared light where the LEDs are set in their specified nanometer wavelength. Another drawback to the LED based for now is the lack of a spotlight type effect. Be aware that infrared LEDs should start at the 850nm range which are invisible to the human eye, lower than 850 will start to become visible and can have a super faint orange glow. If you go to a higher range like a 950nm then it is more likely that your camera will not see the light as well. Whichever you choose be it LED or Lightbulb filtered keep in mind the power source you may need. The Sony HVLIRM contains its own battery power and can be mounted to the hot shoe or a mounting bracket, some people will use 2 of these to get the amount of light they need. Both the lightbulb and LED styles can increase your cameras vision drastically so choose wisely and check out our article on what you need to create a filter. Please remember just because you can't see infrared with your eyes doesn't mean you should look at it, long term exposure could cause damage as does any light.
Lets talk about infrared night vision video cams and recording systems. Since times are tight you have to ask how much money do you want to spend, then consider the different scenarios you may need the cameras for (one room or multiple, short or long range). There are wireless in the true sense which transmit the signal wirelessly to a base station. Due to the high possibility of false positives from interference such as static, ghosting of images and the issue of distance and reception (of which we have tested), we do not yet recommend true wireless transmitted cameras, so stick with the hard wired type which will also require a power source. There is also the option of purchasing multiple infrared camcorders of which you can check out our "Infrared Camcorders" article.
Starting with the basics of picture quality you'll need to understand that 420 lines of resolution is standard TV quality resolution and 520 lines is technically considered the low end of high definition up to full 1080. Then you will need to consider how many infrared LEDs are on the camera. Around 15 IR LEDs will give a basic brightness to the scene or you may opt for an infrared illuminator of the pre-made variety or the home built conversion which we discuss in our "Infrared Boosting" article. Remember more infrared light will help to illuminate objects in the distance, however too much light in a confined space or pointed at reflective objects will be like shining a flashlight at your own eyes (blinding). There are fixed focal length and adjustable focus cameras depending on your needs. You can connect most of these cameras to a VCR, DVR, or computer with software and video capture card. A VCR will give 1 line recording while the DVR or computer will record multiple cameras at the same time. The DVR or computer setup will usually allow for instant playback of footage while they are still recording as long as you have a monitor attached and the ability to see all the cams on one screen. So what's right for you? Consider this breakdown when shopping around, and take a look at eBay as they have many different types to choose from.
You're thinking about purchasing a camcorder with infrared night vision! I would like to say that there are numerous brands out there, however there aren't. There is an array of people that will convert your camcorder to be able to see infrared more clearly, but they will be permanently converted so say good bye to regular color family video footage. KJB makes a small IR camcorder that stores video at about 15 fps onto a 2 Gig memory card. This camcorder is fine for basic stealthy footage. If you are looking for more quality then you'll want to look at pretty much the only consumer grade night vision camcorders out which are from Sony. They range in price based on quality and features from as low as $240 to over $1,200. On one end you have mini DV to the other end being HD hard drive based. With mini DV you have to deal with purchasing tapes that give about an hour of recording time on high quality (which is the only quality we recommend) as well as rewinding and forwarding through the footage. Next there is DVD which gives the ability to skip from section to section in a flash yet you get about an hour of record time on the disks. Then there is the hard drive and mini DV with HD. Unfortunately Sony no longer offers a consumer grade Standard Definition hard drive camcorder with infrared. You will have to fork out the cash for their HDR-XR200V or HDR-XR500V if you want the awesome convenience of a hard drive camcorder. A hard drive camcorder can give you anywhere from 7 to 20 hours or more of high quality footage based on the size of the hard drive. The hard drive models store tons of footage and give the ability to review any part of the footage as well as delete footage on the spot. These camcorders work with MAC on IMOVIE 08/09 and PC with most software. So if you're looking into night vision camcorders keep these thoughts in mind and happy camcorder shopping! Perhaps next time we'll touch on the huge world of night vision cams and DVR systems. If you don't want to spend the money on a nightshot equipped HD hard drive camcorder you could always convert a non-night vision HD model for almost half the price. The drawback to converting is that it is pretty much permanent and if you want to use it for regular video footage you will then need to purchase an infrared block filter to place on the front of the camcorder.
P.S. What are "STATIC NIGHT VISION CAMS" ? Static night vision X cams are just night vision equipped camcorders set in one spot for recording.
Someone recently mentioned in regards to ghost hunting, a bug could not set off a motion sensor, of which I beg to differ. So lets talk about some of the different types of motion sensors and which types might benefit the Paranormal Investigator. There are active sensors such as radar, laser, and sonar. These project themselves at a target and wait for the field to be entered or disturbed which creates a distance change in the field from the original target position to the sensor. These types of sensors are best for detecting physical objects entering the area (probably not the best for detecting ghosts which could be transparent to these sensors). Then there are the passive sensors such as infrared and video software which detect a measurable amount of change in their field of view. Infrared will detect the rapid change in heat within its sight. Video software based motion sensors will detect a percentage of change in pixels from the previous video frame to the next, which then triggers the recording device. From the perspective of ghost hunting the infrared and video are probably the most suitable as many report temperature change and/or visual mists and shadows. Motion sensors come in many shapes and sizes as well as a range of angles of detection and can trigger many different devices and it all becomes personal preference from here as to which task you need it to perform. I have personally seen sensors respond to leaves and other debris as well as not respond at all. So motion sensors can give false positives as well as a decent size bug being able to set off certain sensors. As with any tool in the paranormal field you should not rely on them 100%, however if another device also recorded the incident during your ghost hunting then more validity has just been brought to the table. Hopefully this will help ghost hunters choose your next motion sensor.
Motion Sensor Trick
So now that you know a little more about motion sensors here is a trick for infrared sensors. If you need to limit the angle of detection on the sensor from say 180 degrees down to 30 then use a couple layers of solid color non-transparent tape (Duct Tape) and cover the outer sides of the sensor only exposing enough of the center area of the sensor for your desired field of detection. This helps eliminate false triggering from things that may be in the peripheral vision of the sensor which may be good for hallways and small rooms.
