NEWS & OPINION BLOG

EASY TIMELAPSE 1-12-12 by Johnston Blakley

I’ve come to the conclusion that un-manned surveillance requires a few different types/sizes of devices to get the job done.  The device used will depend on the jobs duration, proximity to the Subject/property, time of day, mountable positions, etc, etc, etc. http://www.wingscapes.com has been making easy-to-use (simple dial), weatherproof units for a while and what really caught my attention was their 8 megapixel unit.  I just ordered one. I have a collection of tiny several-hour un-manned surveillance units but I need one that goes long term.  Most of the hunting/trail cams look like hunting/trail cams with all sorts of protrusions on the front of the unit such as infrared, which I definitely do not want and sun-shields over the lens.  The pros of this unit according to the specs are: (have not used it yet but this article shows you my buying process) Flat front with the top of the unit acting as a sun-shield (front needs to have a cover made) It takes only 4 AA batteries Estimated SD capacity at full resolution is 18+ days Variable intervals Variable times of day Photo or Video 1080 Focusable lens instead of focused-from-here-to-the-moon-cheap-lens fixed focus Average battery duration is one month The cons are: The minimum interval is 10 seconds – wish it was 5 seconds or less The maximum SD capacity is only 32 gigs Could be a little smaller http://www.wingscapes.com/timelapse-cameras/timelapsecam8

ULTRA MINI CAMCORDER REVIEW

By techmoan.com This is a killer site for reviews.

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NEW FOR 2012

Happy New Year everyone.  It has been a pleasure seeing people become passionate about Private Investigation and then decide to make a career change.
Thank you for your support of Investigative Training.

COURSE A IS NO LONGER
Instead, the old Course A and B are combined into one 40 hour course per State requirement.
Course B will still be offered to those who have already taken Course A.
Prosperity to all in 2012 and beyond.

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Hey Folks,
I am speaking at the FALI meeting on November 30th.  Making Surveillance Easier will be my focus.  I will be talking a lot about surveillance situations and the tactics and technologies that I use to be successful in documenting the Subject’s activities and figuring out their routines.  Droid phone users will be in for a treat when I discuss unmanned surveillance.

5:00 Dinner / 7:00 Meeting
Place:              Café Aquatica Restaurant and Lobby Lounge
Where:           Holiday Inn in Hollywood Florida (NW Corner of I-95 and Sheridan ST)
Address:         2905 Sheridan Street / Hollywood, FL 33020
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MAKING YOUR SURVEILLANCE VEHICLE WINDOWS SEE-THRU PROOF - 11-6-11

Mike Collins of Assured Florida Investigations, a PI agency owner in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, sent me this tip about fabric clips and black fabric that he uses to darken the interior of his vehicle.

"Johnston, I have a surveillance tip that may help others. 

 I was in an office and noticed people using “cubicle clips” to hold papers on the walls of their cubicles (photos 1-3).  Cubicle walls have a fabric lining over a hard metal and these clips have some needles that slid into the wall fabric and hold the clip in place.  I use those clips in my vehicle headliner along the side windows to hold up a sheer black cloth to add several shades of darkness to my car during surveillances when bright sun is lighting me up.  It blocks the sun from the vehicle and still lets me see out.  The series of photos shows the system.  In the photos showing without fabric and with fabric from the outside looking in, the driver side window is down in both pictures to show the difference (photos 9 &10).  Also, the spring in the clip is not real strong, so a quick tug on the fabric brings it right down when I have to start driving to follow the target and leaves the clips in place for the next time I need them.  I spent a total of $15.00 for the fabric (at Wal-Mart) and the clips (Staples).  I field tested it for most of this year and have found it a great solution when the sun is at an angle that lights up the inside of the car and could give away that someone is inside.

On extremely sunny days, I use a black bed sheet with the clips to cover the window on the sunny side of the car.  It blocks it out completely, but also prevents me from seeing out on that window.  That is only as a last resort with very sunny days at just the wrong angle.

One tip – the fabric needs to cover all of the window.  If it leaves any of the window not covered, it is obvious from the outside there is something hanging in the window. 

 Hope it helps someone-

 Mike Collins

Owner / Investigator at Assured Florida Investigations"

CLIPS WITH LITTLE MOUNTING PINS

CLIPS OVER WINDOW

SEE-THRU FABRIC MOUNTED TO CLIPS

WITHOUT FABRIC MOUNTED

WITH FABRIC MOUNTED

The last two photos say it all. It gives you the security of still being able to see around your vehicle.

Thanks Mike.

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SUPER SIMPLE TIMELAPSE CAM 10-29-11

 This is a super simple way to see when your Subject is coming or going. The major complaint with this device is when people use it for the intended purpose of a dog or cat camera, it gets ruined when the pet takes a drink from it's bowl (although it's supposed to be weather proof). Only 15 hours of battery and no time/date which means that you will need to do your own calculation from when you setup the device. I looked at another pet cam but it did not seem to have the battery power needed.

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CLOUD SPY CAM FROM SIMPLYLOGIC 10-20-2011

I'll let their discription speak for itself. Surveillance will never be the same.

"Transform your phone into an advanced remote controlled wireless security/spy IP camera capable of streaming real time camera video footage from the handset camera over WiFi/3G networks to a remote PC,Max or Linux server anywhere in the world. Additional features include automatic timed camera snapshot and image upload to the Cloud (gmail/picasa) or SD card, motion detection and automatic activation of camera snapshot mode or out-bound video streaming mode, remote control and the ability to control the application features running on the handset from anywhere in the world, power supply monitor automatically emails on power loss/gain and a lot more...

UNMANNED SURVEILLANCE IN ULTRA-HD - 9-15-11 by Johnston Blakley

Your client wants to find out who is coming onto the property and stealing equipment.
Always ready for the task, the next day you set up a video camera and DVR in a weather-proof box up on a tall pole and run a ten thousand mile extension cord to the nearest outlet.  The video camera is wide-angle so you should get every part of the yard.  Yippy, the next night brings results.  Something is stolen so you quickly review the footage.  Yes, there is a shadowy dark figure moving across the property but even on your 1000 inch HD TV, he/she/it is the size of an ant.  You put the footage on your computer and digitally zoom in and in and in and in but the image looks worse….blurry and blocky.
You quickly order a bunch of cameras to place at closer range and a very expensive DVR that will input all of these cameras at once.  You spend the next several days installing the super low light cameras on the yard in covert places with 100000 feet of coax cable running back to the DVR.  Yes this $100000000000 system will catch the thief in the act now.

Or a you can just order a Vello ShutterBoss timelapse/interval photo timer for your high megapixel photo camera (several Nikons have this feature built into the camera), set it to wide-angle and auto (no flash) and you will get much higher resolution and lower light ability than any video camera.  With this much higher resolution you can digitally zoom-in on your computer and get facial or body recognition (assuming no face mask).  Also license tags are much more crisp on a photo camera and the shot has better latitude (darker areas and brighter areas properly exposed at the same time as opposed to the license tag showing just a glowing white)

Unlike other external shutter control devices, the Vello model uses convenient AAA batteries that last and last.  A high capacity battery should be used in the camera and the LCD screen should be shut off to conserve power.  External or grip battery packs can also be used for longer run times.

Click on the link below for more info.

Canon 3-Pin from B&H
Canon single-Pin from B&H

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PUERTO RICO - by Johnston Blakley

This short was a warmup for a film that I wrote and have been shooting this past year. We are almost finished filming Episode 1 and I'm into some heavy editing. I'll keep you posted with occasional updates.

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INFINITY UPDATE 8-6-11

Just an added note that the Manual Mode’s ‘Infinity Priority’ setting (in SCENE SELECTION) has become an essential tool in my filming for the scenarios mentioned in the video but 90 percent of the time I film in the Auto Gain mode which is the candle icon mode in the SCENE SELECTION (only boosts gain when filming in dark environments) The Infinity Priority setting is slower to focus and can focus past a close Subject. I can switch back and forth very quickly so this is no problem.
I never film in the ‘IA’ (auto everything) mode as in this mode the microphone records at auto levels.  I always have the mic sensitivity turned down all the way and the mic’s AGC (microphones automatic gain control) turned off.

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INFINITY PRIORITY ON THE PANASONIC - by Johnston Blakley

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CELL PHONE PHOTOS - 6-24-11

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FALI CONFERENCE 2011

1. President Tim O'Rourke with our American flag 2. Attorney General of Florida Pam Bondi 3. U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill 4. Flags

Great conference this year. The speakers gave some top notch training and I am looking forward to 2012. I'm sorry for the quality of these photos but the room was huge and I had to go into the dreaded digital zoom.

COMING IN 2012

This is a film that we have been working on this year.  Some of the filming for Episode 1 is already done but most of the shooting will be in June and July.  We are in the process of looking for Puerto Rican actors in the South Florida area for Episode 1 and Episode 3.  I’ll put up an e-mail link to our casting director later this week.

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MY UNMANNED CAMERA / DVR - 5-11-2011 by Johnston Blakley

Built in a "Cantex" wire junction box. Top and back holes plugged with caps but lens hole and bottom hole is not.  Ground out a little of the interior for the edges of the battery pack (from Australia Ebay).  I chose a round container as most mounting positions are high and a square box does not look natural tilted downward.   The short L shaped Mini USB to USB cable is a must as I mentioned in an older blog.  I use regular AA batteries for same day recording (looped over the early morning hours of setup – you may want to pre-fatigue the batteries if you do not like the looping or use really crappy off-brand ones) or 8X Energizer Lithium AAs with the loop recording for next evening/morning recording (see older blog).  Stay tuned for more details such as mounting options.

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GOOGLE SEARCHES - May 2, 2011 by Johnston Blakley

I have been told that in order to compete with FaceBook, Google searches are going to be emphasizing newer content as apposed to just relevancy based on your input words.  I’m not sure if this will push older content down on the list or if it will totally ignore older content.  What will this mean for PIs?  I hope that they do not omit older content as I often find Subject information in older posts to blogs or outdated web pages.  I regularly find photos of Subjects from years past.  Hopefully this only means that we have to search through more pages in order to find what we are looking for.  Of course a PI should search a variety of search engines and not rely on any one in particular.  If anybody has more information on this issue please send it on the contact form page and I’ll try to post it for the Investigative Training community.

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SURVEILLANCE CAMCORDER TESTING - May 1, 2011 by Johnston Blakley

Today I picked up a Panasonic TM60 that was the shelf model at Best Buy.  They are completely out of the camera in Florida.  I compared it to the Sony HDR-CX160/B and the Sony HDR-PJ10 (too expensive).  These two Sony cameras are very similar except for the latter having a built-in projector.  Although Panasonic and Sony have several other models, these cameras have what I look for when used for video surveillance.

The telephoto is about the same (25X and 30X) despite the Sony cameras having 30X zoom (the Sony cams start wider angle)

The Sony cams have a microphone input, which is great for putting an empty jack in and turning off the microphone.  (although one would need to shave the jack pin down to a nub in order to not hit the inside of the LCD.  The Panasonic does not but you can turn the sensitivity down and turn off the AGC so that you cannot hear anything short of yelling.  This does not work in full AUTO mode (a mode that I like for auto gain), which is why I’ll probably be putting a switch into the wire leading to the mic.

The Panasonic has a great stabilizer (both modes).  Unwanted swaying movements as well as the small hand vibrations are kept at bay to my satisfaction.
The Sony cam’s stabilizer does a great job of taming larger movements but is not as good with the smaller vibrations.  Having said this, Sony’s optical stabilizer is way better than any camera with a digital stabilizer.  Sony-or-bust people will probably not have a problem with this and will like everything else that this camera has to offer.  I just find seeing hand tremors on the video annoying but this is not an issue with the Sony cams at 20X instead of at full zoom.

I have not yet compared them for low light.

I have not tested the ability of the various time and date stamping programs to read the metadata of the Sony cameras.  Some programs have not been able to read Sony.  Panasonic has no problems with this.

Panasonic also has two new lines.  The 80 and the 90.  The 80 is a step down from the TM60 having a smaller sensor meaning not as good in low light.  The 80 does however have great telephoto but starts wider angle and the image falls apart quicker when entering digital zoom.
The 90 (two models) is a great camera with wider angle than my TM60 and has a mic jack.  I did find the menu to be odd in how it cramps the LCD viewing area.  This camera also has a digital stabilizer on top of the optical stabilizer that works well when your Subject is in one place for a period of time.  This requires the operator to press and hold a touch-screen button for the duration that he/she wants the extra stability.  This is awkward and you probably will not use it very often.  The Panasonic 90 series is also great for Private Investigators who record depositions or accident / fire scenes with the wide-angle lens and mic input.  The Panasonic SD90 or TM90 is my choice for real-estate agents who do virtual tours.  I do real-estate camera equipment reviews at http://virtuallyincredible.com.

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SIT AND STICK…….NOT ALWAYS – Apr 21, 2011

You are conducting video surveillance in a parking lot, waiting for your Subject to leave work.  It’s 5:00pm and people are leaving in droves.  At 5:20pm you see that the parking area is getting a little sparse.  It’s now 5:35pm and your Subject must be working a little late.  There are five cars left in the lot including yours……now three.  The Subject exits the building and walks to his car.  As he gets to his car he sets his coffee cup on the roof and glances at your car.  He gets in and drives past your position a little too slow for your comfort. “Do I follow or let him go….I’ll let him disappear and then catch up”.  You catch up to him a mile up the road but he makes an unusual turn and you decide to let him go.
Your dark window tint is liken unto driving a corvette with flames on the side, therefore you can’t quite “fit in” like other vehicles.  You do have to lean more to the out-of-site or mostly out-of-site positioning.  5:20pm was the time to move to a more distant position or even to a position where you have to wait for departure without the opportunity for film if need be.

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Covert Tripod - 4-45-11 by Johnston Blakley

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UNMANNED SURVEILLANCE UPDATE - 3-18-11

FORGET THE X 2-21-11 by Johnston Blakley

When most PIs buy a camcorder for surveillance they look at the telephoto X value and think that the higher the number the more telephoto range they will get.  They assume that a camcorder with 25X optical zoom will out perform their older camera that had 20X zoom when it comes to filming distant Subject's.  But what if the 25X camcorder started at 28 millimeters in wide angle which is quite wide for a consumer camcorder.  That would mean that the camcorder would bring the Subject 25 times closer than the 28mm wide angle setting.
What if the old 20X camcorder had a wide angle of 44mm.  The Subject would be enlarged 20 times the 44mm.  In other words, everything else equal, the old camcorder would have more telephoto than the new 25X one.

When shopping for a camcorder you must look at the 35mm equivalent in the specifications.

Most outdoor surveillance footage is shot between 500mm and 1200mm.

The Panasonic TM55 that I like so much has a 35mm equivalent of 35.7-893mm.
My old Canon Elura 100 has a 35 mm equivalent of 50.5-909mm in 4:3 mode but to compare apples to apples has a 35 mm equivalent of 44.6-803mm in wide screen mode.
In other words both cameras are in the same optical range on the telephoto end.

The Panasonic has three/four advantages.
1.         It has what they call 35X intelligent zoom which is 10X of digital zoom that is enhanced by sharpening and I think contrast.  I am also wondering if it has sensor cropping.  This gives the camera (over) the 1200mm range that I like - with clear video.
2.         It has a larger sensor 1/4.1 vs Canon's 1.5.  This means that the image will be sharper especially at the telephoto end (and brighter)
3.         It has higher pixel density than the Canon which means that you can go further into digital zoom (digital enlargement) with the image still looking good.
4.         It has only slightly better F values through the zoom rang F1.8 (Wide) / F3.3 (Tele) vs Canon's F1.8 to F3.4.  On some camcorders I have seen F values on the telephoto end of over f4 which is terrible.  Your image will get much darker at full telephoto.

Remember!!!!! Look at the 35mm equivalent in the specifications.

P.S. I should be testing a new Sony next month.

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NEW 2011 Camcorders Feb 10, 2011

Sony HDR-PJ10

Very interesting camcorder. Has a built-in projector.
Very pricey at $698
Discrepancy with sensor size. Is it a 1/4" or 1/5.8" sensor????.  Big difference.
Same telephoto as the Panasonic TM55 / 60 (894mm) despite its 30X zoom vs 25X zoom on the Panny due to the Sony's very wide angle lens.

Panasonic TM80

Big 1240mm telephoto. Small 1/5.8: sensor (low light????)
New stabilizing system - press and hold button to lock onto the target.

Panasonic TM90

Seems to be the next generation (feature wise) to the TM55 / 60
Weak on optical telephoto at 729mm. 21X starts very wide angle.
New "lock-on" stabilizer.

I will test all of these camcorders as soon as I can get my hands on them. 
If the Sony has a 1/4" sensor and the stabilizer can compete with the Panasonics, it could be a phenomenal camcorder.  The price may be a killer especially when you add the $91 extra battery.

If the Panasonic TM80's new noise reduction and low light capabilities can overcome the tiny 1/5.8 sensor, then this could be a great camcorder.

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So you don’t want to learn a big video program but you have a million bazzzzzillion tiny little video clips that you want to send someone without having to do a million bazzzzzillion attachments or uploads or whatever.  Check out this FREE software from All Free Video Joiner at http://www.allfreevideoconverter.com/freevideojoiner/index.html

Quote
·  Merge video of same/different formats to a bigger video file
·  Direct joining without recompression or quality loss
·  Configuration presets with frequently used parameter settings
·  Wizard instructions to operate with ease
·  Compatible with Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista & Windows 7

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How to Buy SD Cards from Amazon (Upper Right)

I buy Transcend 4gig cards and Kingston 4gig cards for my agency.  They are the best bang for the buck and Amazon seems to always have the best price.  The secret is to get the free shipping, which involves purchasing $25 or more in an order.  Because (unfortunately) Amazon has a 3 card max order per brand/card size, I order 3 transcend 4gig cards and 3 Kingston 4gig cards to get me over the free shipping minimum.
I also like to have a few 8gig cards in my SD card wallet for those longer film cases.  Busy agencies may have to do two orders or so per week but with free shipping, no problem.  The Kingston 4gig is now under $6.50/card and I hope that they get under $5 by summer.  Thank you for purchasing your SD cards and office supplies through our site.  It helps offset the cost of the product reviews.

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Update on Testing

Unmanned camera failed.  Great features but……….will only allow for an 80-minute clip per recording.  Looking at another camera for next month.

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Unmanned Weather-Proof Camera Update 1-21-11

Testing the unit today.  Not exactly the same specs as was listed.  It was supposed to record at both 30fps and 15fps and have a 43-degree lens.  This one records at 50fps and I’ll try to estimate the lens but it seems closer to 60 degrees.  Recording at 50fps gobbles up much more memory but I was delighted to see that the “8 gig max SD card” is not true.  I put a 32-gig card in and it works, so I can be as liberal as I want with the quality setting and the memory hogging 50fps should not matter (maybe even better to get license tags if need be).  There are two AA Energizer Lithium 8X batteries in the camera and it is recording right now.  Hoping for at least 10 – 12 hours of battery time.
I will soon order some Duracell Lithium AAs from Australia (can’t get them in America) and we will see which is better duration wise.

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UPDATE

So far I have not been happy with my testing of various tiny, sub $100 unmanned cameras.  Most needed an external battery pack to keep them going over 20 hours, which defeats the “tiny” concept.
In a few weeks I’ll be testing a very small waterproof one that should record smooth motion video for at least 10 hours on two AA batteries.  I hope that Energizer’s US patent on Lithium AA and AAA batteries expires soon as I would like to see more competition from Duracell.  You can order Duracell AA and AAA lithium batteries from Australia and Europe but I have no idea how they stack up against Energizer.

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by Johnston Blakley - 1-13-11

The setup scenarios are too numerous to fit onto this chart.  The far right side of the chart possibilities ("1/4 mile away.....") will probably only happen a few times per year but you should always be trying to locate a setup as "out of sight" as possible rather than the far left "Fitting In". 
Fitting-in in a neighborhood also means fitting-in at the next five locations that the Subject travels to......in your same surveillance vehicles with your same dark tint.  So you don't have dark tint......then it's the same surveillance guy in each location leaning his seat back below the window.  The "Fitting In" surveillance tech is not going to make it through a three-day case without getting made. 
"Oh, I drive a little dark gray Honda Civic. I can park right on top of Subjects."  Having a good surveillance vehicle only gives you a small advantage.  A good, experienced, self-aware surveillance tech is better in a yellow Corvette than Mr. Magoo in the gray Honda Civic who blindly dives into aggressive positions to get every scrap of film.

Vehicles with a lot of side tint such as SUVs or vans should not, whenever possible (or when given an option),  have the sides exposed toward the Subject or the Subject's residence.

So an investigator told me a while back, "I don't know how the Subject made me.  I was parked at the exit to his community 15 blocks from his house.  The problem was the word "AT" in the last sentence.  He was parked in his dark tinted vehicle literally at the exit on the side of the road.....not hidden or a long way from the exit point but AT the exit.  I'll admit to an exception to my rule of not being AT the exit point is when I need to be in binocular range to get license tags of the vehicles leaving the community (so that I don't have to chase every car down to see the tag). When I do this I usually let the Subject's vehicle go a long way and then catch up so that if he/she notices my vehicle he/she won't notice me immediately pulling out after him/her.  Extremely busy intersections can also give some cover for parking closer. (see my video "Surveillance In Paradise" in which I explain how to make note of distinguishing features on your Subject's vehicle so that you do hot have to rely on verifying via the tag. I also explain about canvassing the Subject's community for vehicles similar to the Subject's.)

Vacant Houses
Every investigator looks for these setups but they can be the kiss of death.
I will notice a car parked in a driveway of a For-Sale home five down from my house.  I am always interesting in seeing (and doing background checks on) who may be moving into my neighborhood.   A high density and mixed culture/language neighborhood in a city like Miami may allow for a surveillance setup five houses down from a Subject but for anywhere else I would try for more distance between the Subject's residence and the SV position.

A Setup for Waiting and a Setup for Filming.

Usually my wait-for-activity setup is toward the right side of the chart, as far away from the Subject's residence that I can get while still seeing people/vehicle movement but I always have a few film-from positions in mind (sometimes they are the same position).  They are usually toward the left side of the chart as they often lend themselves to being closer to the Subject's residence, allowing for better filming with fewer obstacles. When I first started as a surveillance tech back in 1995, I was told to just "sit and stick".  This slogan is far too generalized although I agree that most investigators move around more than they should during the surveillance day. 
I monitor the entire neighborhood watching people leave for work which can open up opportunities for closer film positions without interference from a concerned neighbor.  I can take the closer position when I see that the Subject is moving about in his/her yard (sometimes I can only see the end of the driveway/property from my distant position).
Some investigators feel that they would miss too much film by not being closer and seeing the entire property.  I have probably missed many opportunities for film by being cautious with my setup but my approach has gained me much more film as I rarely heat up a neighborhood.  In other words I can obtain film on all three days of a surveillance instead of other investigators getting a bunch of film in the first few hours/minutes of the first day before they have to bail out of the case with neighbors/Subjects in pursuit or on the phone to the police.  I know that those of you who get skimpy one day surveillances from your clients or worse yet, those of you who have clients who want you to break off if the Subject is not active in four hours are more likely to take aggressive positions (make sure that they pay you as an employee per IRS definition).

Choosing surveillance positions toward the right side of the chart does not always require distance.  I've done many surveillances in Miami where parking a few hundred feet from the Subject's front door allowed for great cover.  A busy city often gives you better surveillance setups but harder follows.  A tiny town can make for tricky setups as everybody knows their neighbors.  On the other hand if you lose a vehicle in a small town you have a greater chance of canvassing the area and finding it.

Final Advice

Don't slow down while driving past your Subject's location/residence.
Don't drive past your Subject's residence more than once unless they live on a busy highway.
Don't drive past your Subject's residence if you don't have to.
Don't get out of your car to film when you can film from inside of your car.
You are not just doing surveillance on the Subject....You are doing surveillance on the whole community.

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Sony Bloggie vs. Keychain Camera Low Light Test- 12-30-10

Panasonic Power Accessories - by Johnston Blakley 12-22-10

Our Friends over at "Gomadic" on Ebay, http://stores.ebay.com/Gomadic/_i.html?_nkw=HDC-TM55&submit=Search&_sid=5365525,are selling some interesting items that are great for on-foot surveillance, long-record clinic surveillance, etc.

	The rechargeable pack (with Panasonic tip) almost triples the kit battery.
	The AA battery pack can get you out of trouble should you need to follow someone through Disney all day or just buy a bunch of AA batteries for that 3 day on-foot rural surveillance.  A must have for international traveling PIs.
	The "Car and Home" charger can power from one of those car battery jumping units all day and night. It also plugs into the wall socket. Forget that bulky one that came with the camera.

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Battle Of The Surveillance Camcorders - Dec 15, 2010

It is in HD so you may need to play/pause/wait a minute/play. This Monday at the FALI meeting in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Gander Mountain) I will be playing a much higher quality version. Forgot to mention that the Panasonic was only filming at 9mbps.

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CHEATIN' BILLY

Private Investigator Jhoana met Billy and fell in love. Billy was the greatest boyfriend until he left his cell phone in Jhoana's car. An incoming text message read.................... Time to do some surveillance.

720 HI-DEF VERSION (slower DSL may have to pause for buffering)

STANDARD DEF VERSION (for slower DSL)

QUALITY TIP 12-06-10 by Johnston Blakley

I have seen surveillance video from various PI agencies and have often noticed that the video is compressed way more than it has to be for the space on the disc.  I seem to have an eye for determining this and it’s my pet peeve.  Seeing 5 minutes of milky/speckled overly compressed film on a DVD that can easily hold 2 hours of high quality standard def video really gets on my nerves.  Several DVD rendering programs can automatically maximize the quality of video for the total amount of DVD disc space.  For those programs that do not, you can easily, over time, determine the maximum quality settings for the amount of surveillance video (high quality will gobble up more space – low quality settings will gobble up less space) as the program will give you error messages if you are using a quality setting that is too high for the available space on the disc.
Of course some of you video quality freaks out there are probably providing clients with “near original quality” video on thumbdrives.  I am still waiting for thumbdrives to get a little cheaper but I do like the idea that you can make them “Read Only” and we wouldn’t be seeing client-made copies and copies of copies of DVDs at depos and trials.  In other words with thumbdrives we can be the gatekeepers of all duplicates and can charge appropriate rates for duplicates.

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FALI MEETING IN FLORIDA

I’ll be speaking (or should I say demonstrating) at the FALI meeting Area 10 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on December 20th, 2010.
Location – Gander Mountain 100 Gander Way, West Palm Beach, FL 33403
The topic is “Surveillance Camera Systems” and I’ll be speaking for about an hour assisted by Judith White, an expert on minuture surveillance DVR/cams.
The word “Systems” is because I will be demonstrating a complete SD card surveillance workflow - from filming in the field to post surveillance processing.
The demonstration will include:

1. Various main surveillance cameras.  I’ll pit Panasonic against Canon and Sony.
2. A demonstration of various indoor cameras including the Sony Bloggie and some very compact DVR/cams
3. A début of a few month of research on inexpensive “leave and retrieve” unmanned cameras for both outdoor and indoor environments.
4. A video-processing program that is perfect for the various SD card formats such as AVCHD; including non-pre-rendering time and date (just pops up). (Part 4 is an overview and not step-by-step)

I would also like to give a brief “pros and cons” of sending your clients film on DVDs vs thumbdrives.

People arrive for dinner at 6pm (closer table) and the meeting starts at 7pm. Come as a member or come as a guest.

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Huge Discount on the Panasonic HDC-SD60 at B&H until tonight!

CLICK HERE Also free shipping 11-28-10

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Happy Thanksgiving 11-26-10 by Johnston Blakley

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Let this be a great season for investigations.
I am working on a new video that should be out in a few weeks or so but I thought I would give those who are processing low bit rate video (often small surveillance cam/DVRs, Sony Webbie and Bloggie) a little tip to make your clients copy better.
When rendering out to a DVD or some other format, choose CONSTANT BITRATE (CBR) instead of VARIABLE BITRATE (VBR).  I have noticed that with variable bitrate, the noise (little speckles) in the video will sometimes fluctuate in intensity.  It almost looks like groups of speckles are convulsing. 
CBR will greatly improve this phenomenon and provide less distracting video noise/artifacts during playback.

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THE CALL by Johnston Blakley

HD VERSION

STANDARD DEF VERSION (below)

Special thanks to Ninoska Martinez and Jhoana Carinao of International Undercover Investigators LLC., Miami for making this short film possible. www.iuiundercover.com

PAIN FREE SURVEILLANCE - 10-18-2010 by Johnston Blakley

NEW FLORIDA TINT LAWS - HB971

Thanks to F.A.L.I. and the attorneys in Tallahassee who made this happen.  Print the PDF and keep it in your vehicle as most police officers will probably not be aware of the change in law...... CLICK HERE

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Making The Bloggie Better – 9-9-2010 – by Johnston Blakley

Surveillance techs who have gone from using the Sony Webbie to using the Sony Bloggie have noticed that they can film in lower light situations and film Subjects at slightly longer distances.  The downside of using the Bloggie is in its rotating lens.  The lens will almost lock into place when rotated 180 degrees and making slight adjustments up or down will result in the lens snapping back into this semi-locked position. 
I have solved this with my Bloggie.  I am not recommending this fix to anyone….just explaining how I did it.
The culprit is a funny shaped washer located under the X shaped speaker on the side of the camera.  I bought some tiny screwdrivers and removed the black screws from under the battery/SD card cover and from under the USB cover on the face (lcd) side only.  (I also removed the battery and SD card) I gently removed the lcd side cover starting at the bottom and popping it up toward the top, which straddles the rotating camera (past the silver line).
I then popped out the speaker and with locking needle nose pliers, I unscrewed a tiny nut that is at the end of the axle for the rotating lens (stiff).  I had to hold the lens with the other hand to prevent rotation.
I removed a small spring.
With the pliers I removed the funny shaped washer (has a small extrusion) and memorized the position of the extrusion.  This washer gets very very stiff toward the end and I had to wiggle it a few dozen times.
I turned the washer around and pushed it back onto the axle (divot side out (2)) with the extrusion in the same position.
I replaced the spring and nut.  I tightened the nut enough to get the amount of drag on the rotating lens that I liked.
While I was doing this surgery, I also clipped the red wire going to the microphone, as I do not film with sound. 
I put it back together (after cleaning my finger prints off of the LCD) and now it is great.
P.S.  I also shaved down one of the “ribs” located on the rotating lens as it was catching on hard surfaces while rotating (lens in the 180 degree position).

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LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., August 31, 2010 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announces the new Canon XF105 and XF100 Professional Camcorders for mobile HD video capture in a compact form factor. Canon’s smallest professional camcorders, the new XF105 and XF100 utilize the same Canon XF Codec featured in the Canon XF305 and XF300, introduced earlier this year. The Canon XF Codec is an MPEG-2 4:2:2 50Mbps codec used for exceptional high-definition image quality, full non-linear editing (NLE) systems compatibility and efficient, robust workflow. These camcorders include in-camera features enabling the easy set-up and capture of high-definition 3-D video when two XF105 or XF100 camcorders are paired, as well as Canon’s built-in infrared low-light feature enabling the capture of HD video in complete darkness. Both models record to Compact Flash (CF) cards and feature hot-swappable card slots for maximum performance. Differentiating the two models are industry-standard HD-SDI output and genlock in/SMPTE time code (in/out) terminals available on the Canon XF105. The XF105 and XF100 camcorders are ideal for Electronic News Gathering, documentary and independent filmmaking and event videography.

Official Press Release

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SUNPAK PRO 523 TRIPOD 9-1-2010

UNMANNED SURVEILLANCE UPDATE - 8-23-2010 by Johnston Blakley

So far I have tried several units and there has been no Halleluiah moment.
I'm only looking for tiny micro size (baby finger size) units and deck of card size units.
I don't want motion/sound activation and I do want 20 to 30 fps of smooth video.
I have found a very nice lay-down-configuration finger size unit that will provide 38 minutes of video with time and date.  It is in the form of a lighter and therefore is very well disguised.  This is perfect for a "leave and retrieve" situation where I need to film someone in a small store. 

The other unit that I am testing today is much like a deck of cards in size only narrower.  With the Energizer 8X lithium AAA batteries it has been giving my about 7 hours of recording time.  This is no where near enough time.  My options are to convert the interior AAA battery holder to take AA batteries or use an external 12v battery pack.
This unit is the best so far for unmanned..... save for the lack of battery time.  The 32 gig SD card should easily handle over 20 hours of video and the great thing is that it saves the video in segments and does a quick save prior to the power expiring.  I wish that Energizer had a 16X Lithium battery.

I have found a unit that can use a 64 gig SD card and if the previously mentioned unit does not work out, I will be testing this model.  I'll know in a few days.

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ALERT - 8-22-2010

Was shopping at CompUSA last night and noticed that they have Kingston 4 & 8 gig SD cards (Class 4) on sale cheaper than what I have found on-line.

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COOL GADGET

I noticed that shorter PIs have difficulty reaching their elbows to their knees when stabilizing a camcorder. Check this out at http://armpod.com/ Sometimes I like to crack my tinted window an inch (at night or when filming through a store window) in order to get better video quality. This involves getting the camcorder up higher than my support (knees) can reach. The Arm Pod may be a great tool for relieving shoulder fatigue when raising the camera up high as it is length adjustable and maybe faster than a monopod if you pre-set the length for this maneuver and you can still maintain all of the fast micro adjustments that a hand and wrist provide. Actually the arm cup comes off exposing camera threads and essentially converts it into a monopod. Great for you nighttime-working PIs doing those domestic cases.

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Unmanned Surveillance 8-8-2010 by Johnston Blakley

So now it's the peak of summer and you are sweating it out in your car waiting for the Subject to drive out of the small cul-de-sac where she lives.  You are not able to setup on the tiny everyone-knows-everybody-else-cul-de-sac and upon a drive-by you catch a glimpse of her retrieving mail in a nightgown....at 2pm.  No way to stop and get the film and you are now on day three without any documentation of the Subject.  The heat is driving you mad.  Your mind races from plan A through Z. "Maybe if I had a helicopter/cam, a wireless transmitter camera, rented a bucket truck to look over the houses or rented a room from a neighbor"........................READ MORE

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Window Socks For Surveillance July 29, 2010

More discreet on a darker vehicle.

Had some of these at one time and they are great.  Can not use them now as I have wind/rain guards on my windows.  Obviously, when in a neighborhood, you would slip them over a window on the side of the car that faces away from public view.  A busier area is where you can use them more often.  Waiting hours for someone to leave their workplace and not having to run your engine to air-condition is where these come in handy.  They are also great if you ever have to sleep in your vehicle when it is buggy outside.
They allow for airflow through your car while keeping the vehicle dark inside.  The two mesh layers are about an inch and a half away from each other which is the key for blocking light.  They are hard to see on a black car.

Check them out at http://www.windowsox.co.uk/.  Not sure if they have an American distributor.

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July 19, 2010 by Johnston Blakley

Did a side-by-side comparison of the Sony Webbie and the Sony Bloggie today.
The Bloggie is definitely better in low light situations although it is noisy in low light. 
The Webbie, while in 720p, has a wider angle and the Bloggie has more reach.
The rotating camera in the Bloggie has a stiff holding position while in the half way position which I hate as it makes small adjustments very difficult.  This issue may improve with wear but I think that I will somehow file down the part that causes this.
The Bloggie seams to have better color and slightly better resolution.
The Bloggie takes the cheaper SD cards as well as the Sony cards while the Webbie takes only the Sony cards.
I was not impressed with the Bloggie’s stabilizer but it’s better than nothing.  The Webbie has no stabilizer. 
The dark purple Bloggie actually looks charcoal black which is perfect.
The Bloggie is skinnier than the Webbie but slightly longer.  I’ll take skinny.

Bottom line.  The Bloggie is a better covert indoor camera as long as you can workout or fix the stiffness in the rotating lens.

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