Digital cameras' are one of the basic pieces of equipment to have. Due to the technology of digital equipment, it is able to capture things outside of the human realm of site, mostly in the Infra-red range of light.
(*to test this theory out--take your T.V. remote control and point it at your eyes and press the channel change button, all you will see is your self holding the remote control---NOW... do the same thing but this time look at remote control looking through a digital camera and you will see a little light show up--the same theory works in an Investigation*)
Upside of digital is ability to see instantly any evidence and there is no film processing fee and it is also easily downloadable to a computer. The down side is because its digital, it can be easily manipulated using computer programs.
Some groups and experts wont even count digital stills as evidence because of this.
I suggest using a digital camera with 4 mega pixels or higher and a memory card of 256 megabytes. this allows you to to take a lot of pictures.
Prices may vary on this from about $15 and up/ plus add the cost for a memory stick and any accessories
pawn shops
online
wal-mart or any decently stocked department store
35 mm camera
Since the invention of cameras, people have reported anomolies on pictures taken. Some decent 35mm have an IR settings in there apeture setting. For night pictures you'll want a flash attachment.
The upside of using a 35 mm is the picture itself is harder to debunk because you get a photo and negative that experts can look at and analyse. The major drawback to using a 35mm (or any "filmed" camera is cost of processing the pictures and price of film.
We generally use ours in the daylight preliminary walk throughs along with our digital cameras and EMF meters. ***If using a "filmed camera" when you have the film processed make sure to put a note to devoloper to include all pictures. They may discard pictures with anomolies on it.***
prices vary from about $5 and up
pawn shops
online
wal-mart or any decently stocked department store
Video Cameras
This group includes types such as 8mm, super hi-fi 8, camcorders(digital), Infra-red, night vision, thermal Imagining.
These capture in motion. As with the digital camera, a digital camcorder will pick up things in the Infra-red range of light. The price range on this type of equipment vary greatly, from a pawn shop super-8 to a high tech thermal imaging unit which cost into the $1000's ( the thermal imaging unit used on some of the T.V. shows runs between $5K and $7K)
Prices are any where from $25 and up minus the extras, depending on what type, brand, and where you shop
pawn shops
online
wal-mart or any decently stocked department store
EMF meters
EMF stands for Electro Magnetic Field. It is widely believed that the appearance of an anamoly will cause disruptions in the magnetic field, indicating the presence of a "ghost" or "spirit". I would like to note also, if used in a house, or a building, ect...-it will pick up the presence of wiring, fuze boxes, ect...
We generally will try and find these spots, and take a base reading, so that we can avoid, if possible, any false readings.
Elecrtro Magnetic Field can at times cause physical effects on people such as disorientation, nausea, hallucinations, causing some to claim that they have paranormal activity, when in fact they may have a high EMF reading due to wiring, placement of fuze boxes, ect...
****as an experiment, I took our EMF meter and went under one of those high wire high voltage poles, even though the wires had to of been 75 ft or more above me, my meter pegged out and the further away from them I went, the lower the reading was observed****
for some more info on this click this>>>PDF
Expect to pay at least $30 and up.
Most hardware stores and even most electronic stores do not sell this Item.
You may need to find a specialty shop or buy one online.
Compass
A compass works about the same as an EMF meter. In a compass, the needle will point to "magnetic North". If there is a disturbance in the magnetic field the compass needle may swing wildly, or point in a different direction other than magnetic north. The drawback to a compass is, any area where there is a high iron content in soil, or around things like iron fences ect.. can cause the compass to give you a false reading.
Prices are about $4 and up
pawn shops
online
any sporting good store or camping supply store
wal-mart or any decently stocked department store
VOICE RECODER
These can be analog or digital. (I recommend digital). It can be anything from a tape recorder to a small digital voice recorder. When using a cassette player it may be a good idea to us an external microphone so you don't pick up the machine noise itself. With a digital recorder this isn't too much of a problem. I feel in our group, this is one of the "must have" pieces of equipment.
These are used to pick up EVP's (electronic voice phenomenon). EVP's are classified as A, B, C. ect...
Class A: EVP is a message that can be heard without headphones and that people can generally agree on its content. Class B: EVP requires a headphone to distinguish message content and not everyone will agree on the message.
Class C: EVP requires headphone, often needs amplification and filtering and will seldom even be heard by others.
Prices range from about $25 and up
pawn shops
online
wal-mart or any decently stocked department store
INFRA-RED NONCONTACT THERMOMETER
Used to detect changes in ambient tempatures. A sudden drop in temp. may indicate a presence ( the theory is a presence may use energy to manifest itself including the heat of a specific area)
Prices range from about $25 and up
Online is your best bet
MOTION SENSORS
Will pick up the movement of solid objects as well as Infra-Red movement
Prices range from about $15 and up
Hardware stores
radio shack
online
wal-mart or any decently stocked department store