Whilst the Luminol reaction is relatively easy to see with the human eye, it is not so easy with the camera. When we used traditional film we would do the following
400iso colour film
2 -
F2.8
This was very hit and miss, sometimes the images would contain too much light resulting in the luminol reaction becoming almost invisible. Since the introduction of digital the process has become very much easier but there is one new technological problem. This is ‘image noise’ and the quantity varies considerably between the different camera manufacturers.
The images above were photographed with two professional DLSR cameras, one is a Pro Nikon and the other a Fuji S2. Which do you think is which???
The Fuji is on the left and the Nikon on the right
During training courses we will teach you how to photograph this reaction using the
latest digital technology. We will also provide recommendations as to the cameras
best suited for this application. At present we are recommending the following:-
Fuji S2 or S3 Pro (yet to test the S5 later this year)
24mm fixed lens (not zoom) as we need F 2.8
Digital Enhancements
If the Luminol reaction is week it is possible to significantly enhance the ‘effect’ using digital technology with Image Pro Plus software. We are able to extract the channel containing the Luminol Reaction, enhance it and ‘add’ it back to the original image. Look at the following example:
