New FinePix S3 Pro UVIR Digital SLR photographs in the Ultraviolet and Infrared Spectrums

Just how important are these advances? Mike Brooks, a well-known consultant to law enforcement agencies who checked out a late prototype of the FinePix S3 Pro UVIR put it this way. "Capturing and displaying the alterations in a forged document, or the information hidden in an obliterated one using IR photography is now easier by leaps and bounds. With IR films, the amount of light required often meant exposure times measured in hours; with the FinePix S3 Pro UVIR typical exposure times range from 1/250 at f/16 to 1/4 sec at f/16. And with mirror lock-up and Live Preview, you can focus easily via the LCD even when you mount dark IR or UV filters over the lens to capture critical details. With more precise focusing plus the instant feedback of digital, you now have the ability to take sharper pictures in less time. Even more important, you can judge which filter is most effective in specific applications in real time, which can literally save you weeks."

Brooks continued, "The enhanced image quality is another great advantage of this camera – it has the ability to capture mid-tones, which is crucial with the contrasty subjects we commonly shoot and it provides a wider exposure latitude than other D-SLRs. The software also makes it much easier to display comparison images, a key element in law enforcement. Having a factory-made UV and IR camera of this caliber available at a competitive price is nothing less than a great step forward in forensic photography."

While UV and IR photography are not really like the "X-ray vision" of comic books that lets you see through solid objects, both UV and IR can be used to reveal sub-surface details that are invisible to the naked eye. In a recent example provided by Brooks, police used differences in reflectance made visible only with IR photography to positively identify a charred body in a gangland murder. It revealed the victim's prison tattoo, which was invisible under ordinary light.

In a similar manner, both UV and IR photography can corroborate the presence of gunpowder, show altered signatures and the difference between similar-looking inks on a document, or make bone fragments stand out in a plowed field. Medical researchers and police investigators use IR and UV photography to find injuries below the skin. They can even determine whether an assailant wearing a specific ring punched someone, or if a set of two-week-old, no-longer-visible bite marks were made by an alleged perpetrator's teeth.

Infrared photography is also a great tool for nighttime surveillance with "invisible" IR flash or under IR-rich sources such as common street lamps – the same basic principle used in night-vision glasses. And since different plants reflect light in different shades of color or gray under IR, it can be used to detect illegal plants such as marijuana or opium poppies growing in a farm field.

With its digital capabilities, the FinePix S3 Pro UVIR makes the evidence-gathering process more efficient and accurate for investigators. The FinePix S3 Pro UVIR has a live CCD previewing feature, a significant aid to the forensic photographer. This feature enables manual focusing while dark filters are attached to the lens as well as pre-capture verification.

Moreover, FinePix S3 Pro UVIR carries the same photographic technologies that have made the standard FinePix S3 Pro such a respected camera. These include Fujifilm's unique, double photodiode (6.17 million S-pixels and 6.17 million R-pixels) Super CCD SR II image sensor for a dynamic range 400% greater than cameras of single-pixel design. This wider dynamic range contributes to the capture of finer detail, a paramount factor in the gathering of key evidence. Another performance benefit of the Super CCD SR II sensor is its high signal-to-noise ratio.

Along with the FinePix S3 Pro UVIR, Fujifilm will bundle its HyperUtility Processing Software. This program provides investigators with side-by-side image comparisons along with metadata analysis, a useful tool when examining images of blood stains, documents or other forms of evidence.