We are all getting it, SPAM from companies that sell 'wonder sprays' that claim to hide your number plate
from a gatso by over exposing the film, you know the ones.
I am fed up with the SPAM and some of you are as well from
what I gather.
I have spoken to two of my police contacts that have tested
some of these sprays and they assure me that they have little
effect to the image when they use certain filters on the negative.
I have not tested them, but if I were to the contacts I have
spoken to would be the ones to test them anyway, so I have no
reason to not believe what they say.
It was also pointed out that if they can prove you have made
an effort to "pervert the course of justice" they
may come after you.
It also worth noting the so called 'wonder sprays' have no effect on Laser operated camera systems as they don't
use any kind of flash, and as we know it the hardest system
to spot sometimes is a safety camera van. We can all spot a
Gatso camera.
Some number plate sprays will wash off over time as well and
can be polished off as well. I have not tested it but I would
put money on a pressure washer effecting the coating as well.
How do you know when the spray becomes ineffective?
Buy with caution, if company's SPAM they are trying to make
a quick buck in my eyes. I have taken a look at one site and
you can see that they are very careful not to admit to too much.
Videos on the site are poor quality and some look doctored.
This would be hard to prove though without seeing the original.
Take a look at the image below and look at the last image,
I can see lettering can you? Remember this is a web image as
well, that I have taken off one site and re-saved it after adding
the pixels, so you do get quite a lot of image quality loss,
yet you can still make out 35 and Z without looking hard.
If I was given the original negative I bet I could read the
lot very easily without enhancements.
Notice how they do not say the plate is unreadable they say
it shows night glow. Night glow is an effect as you can see
where the surrounding area is underexposed based on the effect
of one very bright surface reflecting too much light. Most modern
camera light metering systems will produce this effect. However
they will expose the bright part either correctly or slightly
over. Detail will still exist in the bright area, this detail
can enhanced by filters.
Above: The Camera Shy plate
in daylight producing the
same effect (Night Glow) due to all the reflective parts on
the police rider and bike.
This was a test conducted on a Gatso Camera in daylight.
