Reference
Digital Photography - Images of Fire Investigation
By Mark C. Hughes, P.Eng.
© 2005 Sintra Engineering Inc.
Digital photography has rapidly advanced over the years. So much so that film photography is in danger of going the way of the horse and buggy. There are good and bad things about digital photographs and their implications must be carefully considered before investing a lot of money in new equipment. I thought I would share some comments and my own personal opinions on the subject.
For fire investigators, the issues surrounding digital photography, while significant are relatively straightforward. Will my photographs be accepted in court? Is it more economical to use digital cameras or film cameras? What kind of technology should I invest in? What are the advantages/disadvantages of digital photography? I think you might find some of the answers surprising.
I would start out by saying that I currently still use film photography for work, but I do have a couple of digital cameras and even have a camera on my phone (it takes really crappy pictures!). The reason I still use film photography for investigations is entirely pragmatic. Film photography still has higher resolution than the best digital cameras, film camera technology is very well established (stable), I already have the camera equipment and the negatives provide a robust long term storage medium.
The first question I posed was whether or not digital photographs will be accepted by the courts. If we look to past history for any indication, the answer is probably yes. At the beginning of the last century the admissibility of a new technology (photographs) was an issue. The concern at the time was whether the images would prejudice the judicial system. Eventually black and white photography was accepted within the court system. A similar hurdle was faced with the advent of colour photographs. Again they were eventually accepted. If the pattern holds true for digital photography, it will also be accepted. In general, the courts will accept technology if it is sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the field to which it belongs. With the proliferation of digital photography and as it continues to replace film technology, digital photographs have been and will continue to be accepted in the courtroom.
What about the other issues surrounding digital photographs? Surprising digital photographs are not cheaper provided you actually print out the photographs. The primary advantage is that you can be selective of which photographs you choose to print. When you print digital photographs the costs are very similar to film photography when you consider the cost of the paper and inkjet cartridges. What tends to more commonly happen is that people don't print out their photographs. This can lead to storage issues of the raw digital images. In general people do not regularly backup their computer hard disks. As a consequence, one hard drive crash or a nasty virus and all the photographs are gone. Finally, if you spend $1000 on a film camera today you will have a pretty good film camera for the next five to ten years. If you spend a similar amount of money on digital camera, you will get a pretty good camera today, but it will be ancient technology in five years time because of the rapid development of technology (just look at those 1 megapixel cameras from five years ago).
When deciding on a digital camera, there are a few important things to consider. As all the technology is very small and difficult to repair, make sure the brand you select has a good reputation and check reviews for the particular model you are interested in. When selecting a model, try to get the highest resolution you can afford as it will determine the longevity of your equipment. Optical zoom uses lenses, whereas digital zoom just makes the pictures fuzzier, so worry more about your optical, rather than digital zoom. Finally, a major issue for digital cameras is the speed at which they take photographs, so make sure you are comfortable with how fast your new camera can take pictures.
The main advantages of digital photographs are that you can see if they turned out right away and you can be selective of which photographs you choose to print. In addition, copying and e-mailing digital images cannot be much easier, especially when compared with film photographs. Newer computer programs for desktop computers allow for the easy insertion and integration of digital photographs into documents.
Digital photography is a technology that is rapidly gaining widespread acceptance and is an exciting new trend. Fire investigators who choose to make use of this new technology can use it to their advantage provided they are aware of the some of the potential drawbacks. Good luck with your photographs!
Mark Hughes, P. Eng. is a principal with Sintra Engineering, a Forensic Engineering firm.
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