Kevin Randle: Why Aren't There High Quality UFO Pictures Today?

[Paul_Exeter]

This is a must-read article and tackles the thorny question as to why we don't have HD UFO photos now we have HD cameras in our pockets:

"The most exciting of these sorts of cases took place in August, 2013, as several Americans were in Canada hunting. It was about 9:40 p.m. when, as they were traveling back to the main lodging, they spotted some unusual lights flying low and slow approaching them. There was no sound and the lights were difficult to look at. The witness pulled out his camera, a Sony Cybershot, but was unable to get it to stay on. He said that it would only stay on for one or two seconds and then would turn off.

The UFO approached to within four hundred feet and flying about 250 to 300 feet. It was as big as a house. There was what one witness called a plume of plasma and a cascade of sparks from the rear. The craft was made of shiny metal with a luminous finish and was in the shape of a dog bone or like a set of barbells.

Keeping with one of the bad traditions, one of the hunters fired at the UFO. He thought that the technology, whatever it was, would be impervious the lead slug from his rifle.

Now, one of the other witnesses picked up his Sony HD camera, and it stayed on. He hit record, but the screen was black though the UFO was still visible to the unaided eye. He picked up his cell phone but it was hot and the battery was dead. They all continued to try to record the incident, but found batteries were dead or something else was wrong. They video would not record, though they were able to record sound.

There is much more to the sighting. A full report was made in The MUFON Journal of March (No. 575) and concluded in April (No. 576) issue. The important point here is that the witnesses attempted to use multiple cameras including those in cell phones and failed to get a clear image."

http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2023/09/why-arent-there-high-quality-ufo.html

 

[Mythopoeika]

This is a must-read article and tackles the thorny question as to why we don't have HD UFO photos now we have HD cameras in our pockets:

"The most exciting of these sorts of cases took place in August, 2013, as several Americans were in Canada hunting. It was about 9:40 p.m. when, as they were traveling back to the main lodging, they spotted some unusual lights flying low and slow approaching them. There was no sound and the lights were difficult to look at. The witness pulled out his camera, a Sony Cybershot, but was unable to get it to stay on. He said that it would only stay on for one or two seconds and then would turn off.

The UFO approached to within four hundred feet and flying about 250 to 300 feet. It was as big as a house. There was what one witness called a plume of plasma and a cascade of sparks from the rear. The craft was made of shiny metal with a luminous finish and was in the shape of a dog bone or like a set of barbells.

Keeping with one of the bad traditions, one of the hunters fired at the UFO. He thought that the technology, whatever it was, would be impervious the lead slug from his rifle.

Now, one of the other witnesses picked up his Sony HD camera, and it stayed on. He hit record, but the screen was black though the UFO was still visible to the unaided eye. He picked up his cell phone but it was hot and the battery was dead. They all continued to try to record the incident, but found batteries were dead or something else was wrong. They video would not record, though they were able to record sound.

There is much more to the sighting. A full report was made in The MUFON Journal of March (No. 575) and concluded in April (No. 576) issue. The important point here is that the witnesses attempted to use multiple cameras including those in cell phones and failed to get a clear image."

http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2023/09/why-arent-there-high-quality-ufo.html

Huge magnetic and microwave interference, perhaps?
Magnetic induction might explain the hot battery in the phone. Dangerous, too.

 

[BS3]

Here we have a story of a MUFON investigator who went to the property of a man who claimed he was being plagued by UFOs, and to her great shock saw UFOs (and an 'entity'). In this case we are told the two investigators "fumbled with each camera, four in total, and found none of them were working. The batteries, though fully charged before arrival, were now completely drained. [They] moved to the other equipment, all of which also failed"

https://medium.com/on-the-trail-of-the-saucers/encounters-in-a-cornfield-6bd0a39af74

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

Here we have a story of a MUFON investigator who went to the property of a man who claimed he was being plagued by UFOs, and to her great shock saw UFOs (and an 'entity'). In this case we are told the two investigators "fumbled with each camera, four in total, and found none of them were working. The batteries, though fully charged before arrival, were now completely drained. [They] moved to the other equipment, all of which also failed"

https://medium.com/on-the-trail-of-the-saucers/encounters-in-a-cornfield-6bd0a39af74

And many have reported that while driving, if a UFO comes close, their car will die.
Won't start again until the UFO moves away.

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

This is a must-read article and tackles the thorny question as to why we don't have HD UFO photos now we have HD cameras in our pockets:

I believe one of the reasons there are not many clear UFO shots is because they move so quickly that it is almost impossible to get your phone out, turn it on, get the camera on, and then aim for a good shot, by which time it could have flown off. Not that easy.
Also, many of them are reported to be 'spinning' or 'rotating', which may not make for the clearest of photos. And some people are stunned at the sight, forgetful of the camera in their pocket.
The few clearest shots available are also scrutinized for decades, such as the McMinnville, Oregon photos made by Paul Trent. Those photos were even featured in Life Magazine, yet suspicion still remains about the Trents, who were simple farmers.

 

[RaM]

When I have seen something interesting I trend to not want to take my eyes off it only after curse myself for not getting a pic

 

[Kondoru]

Would a digital photo count as evidence?

 

[ChrisBoardman]

Maybe it is because they were all faked in the first place. You just can't throw a button up into the air anymore.

 

[kesavaross]

And many have reported that while driving, if a UFO comes close, their car will die.
Won't start again until the UFO moves away.

The military uses EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) devices to disable anything near by that needs electricity/RF/etc. If the military has that technology then it's reasonable to assume a UFO has the same or better.

 

[BS3]

One other thing to consider is that while a light in the sky can look pretty spectacular to the eye, it's often really unimpressive when a photo is then taken; ever tried taking a picture featuring the moon with a smartphone?

Add to that the psychological effects of seeing a UFO and what that could do to perception and it's not surprising most modern UFO pictures end up looking like small, unimpressive blobs of light.

 

[Electric_Monk]

Also worth noting that while camera phones/etc. will capture images in HD resolution, they're not actually very good quality cameras. Tiny lenses are easier to make in higher quality but they let in tiny amounts of light, so hardware and software make up for it. It can be hard enough to take a good picture with a high quality camera if it's some tiny thing in the distance, requiring high ISOs or whatever. The smaller the sensor (and phone sensors are tiny) the less photons it will have per pixel as the resolution goes up, also requiring higher sensitivity just to make it fit in your pocket.

Along these lines Samsung were recently caught with the camera software in their phones outright faking pictures of the moon - if the phone thinks you were taking a photo of the moon (dark background, white spot on it, it's night time where you are) it was just outright taking a photo of the moon it had on disk and pasting it into your photo. People were able to take detailed photos of "the moon" through walls from inside their house, and such.

A lot of debunkers latch onto "everyone having an HD camera in their pocket" as an amazing gotcha for literally everything, but really they're not in the same league as actual professional cameras and it's a lazy argument.

 

[eburacum]

The witness pulled out his camera, a Sony Cybershot, but was unable to get it to stay on. He said that it would only stay on for one or two seconds and then would turn off.

Now, one of the other witnesses picked up his Sony HD camera, and it stayed on. He hit record, but the screen was black though the UFO was still visible to the unaided eye. He picked up his cell phone but it was hot and the battery was dead. They all continued to try to record the incident, but found batteries were dead or something else was wrong. They video would not record, though they were able to record sound.

There is much more to the sighting. A full report was made in The MUFON Journal of March (No. 575) and concluded in April (No. 576) issue. The important point here is that the witnesses attempted to use multiple cameras including those in cell phones and failed to get a clear image."

Just like the Skinwalker crew; they are depicting equipment failure as a significant piece of evidence, when it is the exact opposite. These witnesses have a lack of evidence, and claim that this lack is also evidence in itself.

 

[eziofan]

So what happens with alien 'abduction' cases which happen in the heart of big cities? Do all the electrical devices within a certain range of the UFO stop working? Think we would have heard of that by now.

 

[BS3]

Just like the Skinwalker crew; they are depicting equipment failure as a significant piece of evidence, when it is the exact opposite. These witnesses have a lack of evidence, and claim that this lack is also evidence in itself.

Well, it could be significant if the failure was shown to consistently happen at the same time as the UFO event.

However, it's probably often similar to the many cases of broken car or radio components reported after UFO sightings and which were afterwards shown to have already broken for mundane reasons. No doubt in these cases the problem simply wasn't noticed until the UFO sighting gave it some 'context'.

 

[eburacum]

Another problem is the fleeting nature of UAP events. Sometimes you get a very short period of time to take a photo, and the electronic camera on your phone just won't play ball. A few years ago I saw a 'hay devil'; a mini-tornado in a hot hayfield, with clumps of straw flying around in a comparatively leisurely fashion. By the time we had our phones ready to take the picture, all that was left was a few clumps of straw slowly settling back to earth.

Only yesterday I saw a really peculiar cloud, a heat-related thermal arcus cloud forming underneath a cumulonimbus stack. It looked like an upside-down funnel sucking up air in an updraught, like Gabriel's trumpet in the sky. By the time I got the phone camera ready it looked significantly less impressive (see below).

Another problem with electronic cameras is that they often have a delay built in; I tried to take a few snapshots of dolphins leaping out of the sea one time, but the delay meant that all I got was a few tails disappearing back into the water.

 

[RaM]

I believe in UFO,s don’t know what they are but believe still find it hard to accept sightings from others just as I don't expect other people to believe me, I get that people need to see these things in person to many fakes about nowadays too believe anything on the news or net

 

[catseye]

Mobile phones are, apparently, liable to random malfunctions - see my attempts to take pictures at Castlerigg, where there are black pixellated patches across the picture. No UFOs apparent.

 

[RaM]

Apparently one phone was programed to recognise when you tried to take a pic of the Moon,
and substitute a already loaded one,

 

[Tunn11]

People tend to over estimate the size of bright objects in the sky. Ask what part of their outstretched hand they would need to cover a full moon. See how many get it wrong.

Spoiler

The end of your little finger will do it easily

There may be something to be said for taking old manual film cameras on any investigations. The film could still fog but the camera mechanisms are not reliant on electronics (Old Zenits etc.)

 

[charliebrown]

I do know that several of my wife’s friends tried to take a picture of the last super blue moon (next one is January 2037) with their cell phones and their pictures came out horrible.

A long time ago I did see a picture of the classic disc shaped UFO captured on their cell phone which was fair.

This UFO was lurking near a private airport, and was taken by accident without the person having any knowledge of the UFO.

 

[Sid]

People tend to over estimate the size of bright objects in the sky. Ask what part of their outstretched hand they would need to cover a full moon. See how many get it wrong.

Spoiler

The end of your little finger will do it easily

There may be something to be said for taking old manual film cameras on any investigations. The film could still fog but the camera mechanisms are not reliant on electronics (Old Zenits etc.)

Also the films themselves needed to be developed with care, I remember quite a number of times when the Chemist' Shop messed up a film with there auto-developing in store devices!

 

[brownmane]

So what happens with alien 'abduction' cases which happen in the heart of big cities? Do all the electrical devices within a certain range of the UFO stop working? Think we would have heard of that by now.

Would anyone look at this? I haven't followed much about UFOs as it is not a topic I am really interested in.

But if, with my limited knowledge of UFO events, these generally happen more at night (my assumption), how would you know? At least in a personal investigation?

I don't know that I've had a power interruption (at night or when I'm not home) unless my dishwasher light is blinking. No, my stove is older than the hills and I don't have a microwave one, and my alarm clock has battery backup, so without my dishwasher, I don't know. I certainly don't know the time it's happened.

Maybe with a large power interruption it would be easy to note. But with a brief and possibly very localized one?

Maybe utility companies would be able to give that info, but would it be attainable from them?

 

[eziofan]

Would anyone look at this? I haven't followed much about UFOs as it is not a topic I am really interested in.

But if, with my limited knowledge of UFO events, these generally happen more at night (my assumption), how would you know? At least in a personal investigation?

I don't know that I've had a power interruption (at night or when I'm not home) unless my dishwasher light is blinking. No, my stove is older than the hills and I don't have a microwave one, and my alarm clock has battery backup, so without my dishwasher, I don't know. I certainly don't know the time it's happened.

Maybe with a large power interruption it would be easy to note. But with a brief and possibly very localized one?

Maybe utility companies would be able to give that info, but would it be attainable from them?

When the electricity supply is interrupted where I live the air is filled with the sound of house alarms going off. Cant imagine we are alone in this. Think someone would have noticed this somehow....

 

[brownmane]

When the electricity supply is interrupted where I live the air is filled with the sound of house alarms going off. Cant imagine we are alone in this. Think someone would have noticed this somehow....

But the thing being, would someone investigating have easy access to information such as this?

People affected by the outage would know of the outage, possibly, but they may not be involved in the UFO incident.