Talk About Camera Envy... police investigators

chrisburke · Nov 3, 2008

So my church got broken into last night.. long story short.. thousands of dollars in tech equipement, the thieves stole 6 bucks from a "world vision" jar, and 4 kool aid jammers..

well i went over to the church to look around to see what was stolen, and started taking pictures for the OPP (ontario provincial police) with my D50, and my sb50 as well to make sure for best lighting... after speaking with the officer for an hour or so, and giving her my SD Card, who walks in... the evidence specialist... with a beautiful camera... Nikon D200, Nikon SB 900 and a AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 f3.5-5.6.... i know there is better gear out there... it was just beautiful.. and they had 2 of them... it was so pretty.

table1349 · Nov 3, 2008

chrisburke said:
So my church got broken into last night.. long story short.. thousands of dollars in tech equipement, the thieves stole 6 bucks from a "world vision" jar, and 4 kool aid jammers..

well i went over to the church to look around to see what was stolen, and started taking pictures for the OPP (ontario provincial police) with my D50, and my sb50 as well to make sure for best lighting... after speaking with the officer for an hour or so, and giving her my SD Card, who walks in... the evidence specialist... with a beautiful camera... Nikon D200, Nikon SB 900 and a AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 f3.5-5.6.... i know there is better gear out there... it was just beautiful.. and they had 2 of them... it was so pretty.

Nikon is what the FBI uses and a lot of departments in the USA followed suit. Canon is also another big company in forensic photography. Both companies have developed specialized software and hardware to ensure that the photos are not tampered with or even retrieved by an unauthorized person.

usayit · Nov 3, 2008

gryphonslair99 said:
Both companies have developed specialized software and hardware to ensure that the photos are not tampered with or even retrieved by an unauthorized person.

That's cool.... I kinda thought that many of these agencies still relied on traditional negatives for better authenticity. Guess I was wrong...

table1349 · Nov 3, 2008

usayit said:
That's cool.... I kinda thought that many of these agencies still relied on traditional negatives for better authenticity. Guess I was wrong...

Digital is very much the wave of the future in forensic science. Things like AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) are based on digital. The quality of digital with a good printer is as good as film when it comes to forensic work. Remember were not doing artsy stuff, just showing an accurate depection of the scene at the time of the photo.

The biggest plus with digital for the average officer is being able to look at the LCD and see if they actually got the shot or not. There were lots of rolls of film that were useless in the film days because the person taking the photo screwed up somehow. Way out of focus, under exposed, over exposed. Sometimes grossly one way or the other.

The final problem with film is cost. Fewer films being made, mass processing machines are harder and more expensive to come by and the chemicals are getting very expensive to buy. A 20TB server is a lot cheaper to buy and maintain.

stsinner · Nov 3, 2008

I know it's cool to have the most expensive stuff, but if you read the reviews and listen to ....... Ken Rockwell, the SB-800 and 900 are a waste of money, unless you have a need for the excessive power and the extra features, which he says nobody uses.. Maybe I'd like to own one for the wow factor, but as for functionality, I have yet to have a bad exposure from my SB-600.

chrisburke · Nov 3, 2008

stsinner said:
Maybe I'd like to own one for the wow factor, but as for functionality, I have yet to have a bad exposure from my SB-600.

i totally agree... I have no need for an 800...it was just impressive.. my, with my piddly little sb 50.. seeing that i druled a little

Tolyk · Nov 3, 2008

the 18-200 ? For forensic work? Ewww.. that lens has horrible optics

Village Idiot · Nov 4, 2008

stsinner said:
I know it's cool to have the most expensive stuff, but if you read the reviews and listen to ....... Ken Rockwell, the SB-800 and 900 are a waste of money, unless you have a need for the excessive power and the extra features, which he says nobody uses.. Maybe I'd like to own one for the wow factor, but as for functionality, I have yet to have a bad exposure from my SB-600.

Ken Rockwell's a joke.

stsinner · Nov 4, 2008

Village Idiot said:
Ken Rockwell's a joke.

Why would you say such a thing?

Braomius · Nov 4, 2008

lol at this story XD

Village Idiot · Nov 4, 2008

stsinner said:
Why would you say such a thing?

Ever read his articles?

Like the SB600 vs. SB800 comparison I just finished reading. He's a hypocrite. He say's that the SB800 basically just has all these useless added features on it so Nikon can take your money and that no one should buy it and everyone should buy the SB600. Then he goes on to say that the SB800 is the only Nikon flash that has commander mode built in and is the only flash in Nikon's lineup that can control the other SB's.

As far as I know, there's a lot of Nikon people that use multiple flashes and have to use the SB800/900 to control them because they don't have a Nikon camera with commander mode built in.

Just like in one of his old old old articles he was saying that FF sensors were pointless and going the way of the dinosaur and now he's all about FF sensors and the quality you can get from them.

Big Bully · Nov 4, 2008

People can change their minds... Right?! Especially in one article.
Are you trying to tell me that you expect people to maintain their position throughout the whole article..

COME ON!!
lol

fightin14 · Nov 4, 2008

I am an Arson investigator and I use a d200 with an 18-200 nikon lens and it works great. In the past 5-10 years digital photos have become excepted in court there is really no questions about tampering. Digital cameras have been a great investigation tool especially when you are on a tight budget. I do some work with the local sheriffs office and they use p&s so i typically take the pics for them. Also I can not imagine why in the hell that investigator needs a sb900 for that line of work.

Big Bully · Nov 4, 2008

fightin14 said:
I am an Arson investigator and I use a d200 with an 18-200 nikon lens and it works great. In the past 5-10 years digital photos have become excepted in court there is really no questions about tampering. Digital cameras have been a great investigation tool especially when you are on a tight budget. I do some work with the local sheriffs office and they use p&s so i typically take the pics for them.

Thats cool! Talk about a fun job!

manaheim · Nov 4, 2008

Disneyworld uses Nikons. When I was there last the standard issue was a D70S with something like an 18-70 lens and a SB600. Decent little setup. I struck up a conversation with one of the photogs who was taking pictures at the "Bippity Boppity Boutique".

stsinner said:
I know it's cool to have the most expensive stuff, but if you read the reviews and listen to ....... Ken Rockwell, the SB-800 and 900 are a waste of money, unless you have a need for the excessive power and the extra features, which he says nobody uses.. Maybe I'd like to own one for the wow factor, but as for functionality, I have yet to have a bad exposure from my SB-600.

Ken is just a bit over-opinionated. He probably does it intentionally because he ticks off tons of people so people like us wind up talking about him.