22 replies to this topic

[octapulse]

Hello, I was wondering if using my phones camera/camcorder, plus apps for detecting EMFs and also a digital audio recorder were ok to start out with? I know that these can never take the place of tried and tested equipment, but maybe ok to hold me off until I can obtain the epuipment I need?

Also, I noticed that my camera/camcorder can shoot in alternative settings such as negative, incandescent and florescent. Would any of these settings be an advantage towards capturing something?

I appreciate any comments, feedback or suggestions.

Thanks

Edited by Willow, 23 August 2011 - 10:54 AM.

[CaveRat2]

Phone / cameras do not have sufficient resolution to obtain any really useful data. There is too much possibility for false positives to make anything captured on them reliable as evidence. While the pixel count is often sufficient, lenses simply aren't large enough to capture sufficient light to work with. For that you need at least a mid price digital or film camera.that provides a means of taking pictures in a manual mode. (Shutter or aperature priority.) Same thing applies to audio captured on phones / cheap voice recorders. Beyond simply being able to say "That's interesting", there is not much point in trying to capture evidence using that level of equipment. Better to save up till you can afford decent equipment than waste it on toys.

As for taking negative images, incandescent, etc., these are simply filters applied to the original image. No real advantage to shooting in these modes. However when analyzing your photo sometimes you can see things in them you might otherwise miss. But almost all photo programs have the ability to convert to these modes after the fact. So I generally just shoot any pix in standard mode and do any adjustments later during the analysis phase. That way you always have the original to fall back on if you want to try something different.

[Shadowperson]

Yeah, even an Android phone doesn't have the range or blur resistence needed. They may be the greatest cell phone to come out, but they just need to be a cell phone when investigating.

Just get yourself a cheap digital camera, 8mp minimum, from walmart and maybe a voice recorder. Those will hold up better in the evidence department than a cell phone.

[ARFFire]

Android is great, with that said, check out your local pawn shop. They might have some great cameras for cheap.

[Moody98]

I use my iPhone for ghost hunting and it works great. I use te ghost hunter m2 app and I get good results at cemeteries and where I live. I've used the video camera and captured an orb that seemed to float in the sky for one minute. I think the results you get are more about the skills of the ghost hunter rather than anything else.

[barb_s13]

I really like some of the ghosthunting apps for Android. Here are my top three:

1. Ghost Radar Classic (uses flux algorith to produce words supposedly spoken by entities)
2. Entity Sensor Pro (measures EMF, records and saves EVPs, has additional flashlight and camera features)
3. Haunted Sites Free (lists haunted locations, uses gps technology to find locations near you and you can leave and read reviews of sites.

[WeirdFresno]

I imagine you could perhaps use an Android phone (or iPhone) for some EVP work, but I wouldn't trust the camera to do any photo or video work. The lens quality is of far less quality than that of a good camera.

And I have to question the validity of some of the apps out there that claim to turn a smart phone into an EMF detector as that I doubt the phone has the proper sensors to be able to do this (that and a cellphone is a source of EMF itself). I think these apps are nothing more for entertainment purposes only.

[CaveRat2]

The audio recorder in all these phones is comparable to their video capabilities; poor at best. Just like voice recorders they fall far short of the minimum specs for EVP work. I have posted this before, but again, the minimum specs for any digital recorder doing EVP work are:

1. Must record using 96 KBPS or higher.

2. Must convert to digital using a 24 bit A to D conversion process.

3. Must record using a non-lossy format, i.e. PCM, NOT CELP. The final format must also be noncompressed, that is a WAV file not MP3 format.

4. Should record in stereo to allow for redundancy or spatial analysis of the result.

5 Should allow for the use of external mics to acheive sufficient separation between channels. (Not required but if spatial analysis is to be done then separation.is neccessary.)

Any recorder that fails to meet or exceed these requirements is not sufficient for EVP work and cannot provide reliable data.

[barb_s13]

CaveRat, on Aug 22 2011, 09:58 AM, said:

The audio recorder in all these phones is comparable to their video capabilities; poor at best. Just like voice recorders they fall far short of the minimum specs for EVP work. I have posted this before, but again, the minimum specs for any digital recorder doing EVP work are:

1. Must record using 96 KBPS or higher.

2. Must convert to digital using a 24 bit A to D conversion process.

3. Must record using a non-lossy format, i.e. PCM, NOT CELP. The final format must also be noncompressed, that is a WAV file not MP3 format.

4. Should record in stereo to allow for redundancy or spatial analysis of the result.

5 Should allow for the use of external mics to acheive sufficient separation between channels. (Not required but if spatial analysis is to be done then separation.is neccessary.)

Any recorder that fails to meet or exceed these requirements is not sufficient for EVP work and cannot provide reliable data.

That's great information, thanks so much!

[Jason_CPAPS]

CaveRat,

I see you post these specs alot. GV will not allow me to send you a message. Just curious what do you think of the zoon h2?

[CaveRat2]

You can't send a PM because GV blocks that feature until you have 30 posts... Spam control, nothing personal.

Anyway I have tested the H2 in my lab and when used in its HQ setting it will meet the minimum requirements. If it is used in lower quality settings it fails the tests. I also recommend you use external mics instead of the internal ones because of the spacing issue if you intend to do spatial analysis. The internal phased microphone will give a simulated stereo effect but it is not the same as separation derived from physical distance between mics. Otherwise it is OK.

[Gaelin]

I have been using ghost radar classic on my iPad for a year or so and have had some very interesting results with it, but I don't consider it to be a credible or reliable tool, just an entertaining way to interact, kind of like a ouija board; fun, but not reliable.

[barb_s13]

Do you shut off your wifi or put it in airplane mode? I do that with my android phone and/or Kindle when I use it, but yes, the jury's still out on this one.

Mine keeps repeating certain phrases, even proper names, like "Ann Bronwyn," who I have no idea about - it's pretty strange. Sometimes it stays silent for long periods of time; othertimes, it won't shut up!

It's a pretty interesting device, though. Have you tried the Entity Sensor yet? I prefer the classic Ghost Radar to that, but it's pretty cool, too.

[freyjasdottir]

If you are out for kicks and giggles, go ahead and use your phone and have fun. If you are looking for some sort of proof and are trying to be scientific about your work then use a real camara and recorder.

[barb_s13]

I absolutely agree with you - although our group is quite serious and scientific minded, we like to check out the latest stuff. I guess you could say we like some "kicks and giggles," too! So, we do bring the best equipment we can afford to use, but we also try new things, as well.

My friend has an iPad2 and she used an app called the Ovilus - while I had my Ghost Radar going. We got some laughs from it, but no one took it very seriously.

When I checked my audio recordings (I use an awesome Sony IC-SX750 Linear PCM), we picked up quite a few EVP (again!). I use Sound Forge to analyze audio and I love it. I agree with you that it's important to be serious, but you have to have some fun along the way, too - or else things get pretty boring.

At a recent investigation, I was walking around being light-hearted and making a couple jokes here and there. Upon checking my EVP, there is another voice in the background chuckling! This leads me to think that many spirits also have a sense of humor!

We recently were contacted by a company that produces a thermo-reactive paper called "Ghost Paper," (aka Ghost Pad), and we plan to test it out. That's one of the fun things about investigating; you get to try new things along with your tried and true stuff.

And who knows, some of these things may also lead us to new technologies, new devices, that actually work quite well!