The unfulfilled dream of x-ray vision remains a compelling fantasy, adolescent or otherwise, as proven by a recent maelstrom of interest in a particular consumer electronics product. In a manner said to be completely unintended by its manufacturers, a Sony camcorder equipped with an infrared night vision function can apparently see through clothing.
That's one step better than x-ray specs, kids, since you get everything down on tape for later...and Sony should have seen what they were missing -- which was the strange things that might happen if someone used the NightShot feature in broad daylight. Sony must have assumed, logically enough, that people would only have need for infrared illumination at night.
But it's bad business to count on consumers being logical. In a discovery that was first publicized by a Japanese men's magazine, it so happens that in a well-lit setting, in certain instances, a NightShot camera can seem to penetrate fabric, revealing the underwear of fully clothed individuals, or making people in swimwear appear virtually naked. Of course, the NightShot is only a harbinger of the prurient progress that tomorrow holds in store. Sony may not have intended to design a camera that turns people naked, but you better believe somebody else eventually will. Newsweek(1999)
All currently manufactured Sony camcorders will shoot a white washed-out picture in daylight situations when in Niteshot mode without an IR filter! For a brief period a few years ago, some Sony handycams/handicams could shoot in daylight when in 0-Lux Niteshot mode. Then, some users discovered the ability to see through some fabrics in certain situations (The infamous X-Ray effect). When Sony found out, they changed the camcorders so that when you are in Niteshot mode, the aperture is forced to full open and slow shutter speed. The result is that if you try shooting in daylight situations when in Niteshot mode, your picture will be completely washed-out and overexposed. Further, even if you use neutral density filters to compensate, the depth of field is very shallow meaning that your focus will only be correct in a narrow range. Also, the slow shutter speed will blur moving objects.
Don't be mislead by others selling normal camcorders with the Niteshot feature. Unless the camcorder has been re-enabled, the you may not be able to shoot outdoors in Niteshot mode will be with the addition of neutral density filters depending on the light and your particular model camera. Make sure when somebody tells you the camcorder is "modified" that you understand if it was modified to shoot Niteshot during the day or modified by Sony NOT to shoot during the day!
Modified Cameras:
These camcorders retain full functionality in regular mode and looks absolutely identical to the normal camcorder meaning you can use this just like a normal camcorder in regular situations. However, when you want to shoot in Niteshot mode, you just move the Niteshot switch, and the camera shoots in Niteshot mode in daylight with aperture and shutter control turned on in full automatic! When in Niteshot mode, this camera does not turn on the invisible Niteshot illuminator.
Sony Modification - Concerned about negative publicity associated with the so-called X-ray effect, Sony disabled daylight infrared recording on its entire product line permanently beginning in 1999.
It did so by disabling aperture control while in NightShot mode (effectively setting the aperture to wide open, which rendered infrared recording in daylight impossible due to over-saturation of the CCD and complete whiting-out of the image). However, the very few Sony NightShot CCD-TRV65 video cameras which were manufactured in 1998 have full aperture control making it the only outstanding daytime infrared recording camera, making it a true collectors item.
