New Gear - IR Glowsticks

If you have been reading this blog lately, you'll know I am trying to improve my IR capabilities in the field. The more controlled IR(Infrared) light I have, the better my HD video will be.

I had an idea the other day... I thought to myself, would standard green glow sticks help in illuminating a hallway? Sure. Why not, right? Well, I went online, scouring the internet for the cheapest and largest quantity I could get my hands on.

Then, I found them....

IR(Infrared) glow sticks.

Bingo. Exactly what I needed.

I bought 25 - 6 inch long IR glow sticks. They are listed as .74 cents a piece if you order 25 or more. Shipping is around $10 for UPS Ground. Expiration date is like 4 years. Used mainly by law enforcement and the military. Seems absolutely perfect for paranormal investigations.

I plan on using these alongside my 2 Creepy Hollow IR's and Sony SR-11 HD camcorder on the next investigation and beyond.

Now, my reason for using these are as follows:

1. They last around 6+ hours. Same amount of time as a 9 volt battery on my IR floodlight, but cheaper.
2. They can be placed anywhere you can hang/drop them.
3. They will not interfere with your night vision during an investigation. We can not see IR without night vision.

2 second review:

They suck. Don't waste your money. They barely light up in the IR spectrum. They should be used as a marker tool if anything. I am probably going to return them and get some standard green glow sticks. I was going to publish a video to show how they worked, but it is not even worth the effort.

Anywho, the owner(Jim) just offered to take them back hassle free. I told him to just send me the green standards. They are a bit cheaper, which is a bonus. I will have them by Friday.

Lesson learned: If you are planning to light up the IR spectrum, use an illuminator.

On a positive note, I have 1 confirmed investigation, and 1 "maybe" coming up in August. Stay tuned for more...