2025 Poster Session

The Crime-lite® AUTO (Crime-lite) is a full-spectrum forensic imaging camera developed by Foster + Freeman Ltd. for crime scene investigations. The Crime-lite captures images between 350 – 1000 nm using repeatable parameters with nine internal LED illumination sources (ultraviolet 365 nm, infrared 860 nm, visible light, and six color-specific visible light wavelengths) and nine internal filters (365, 415, 530 nm bandpass; 420, 455, 495, 550, 590, 780 nm longpass). The illumination sources and filters are controllable by a touchscreen interface to create 55 combinations. The Barbara Goldsmith Conservation & Preservation Department at New York University Libraries purchased the Crime-lite to fill a need for efficient and repeatable non-visible light image capture by non-imaging specialists. 




We explored the Crime-lite’s capability to create multi-band images (MBI) typically used in the cultural heritage field by producing MBI sets using three setups: 1) the Crime-lite with internal illumination sources and internal filters; 2) the Crime-lite with external illumination sources and internal filters; and 3) a modified DSL (Canon Rebel XSI) with external illumination sources and external filters. Each MBI set consisted of six images (Visible light image (VIS), Ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence image (UVF), Ultraviolet-reflected image (UVR), Infrared-reflected image (IRR), False color UV image (FCUV), and False color IR image (FCIR)) of the same commercial standard imaging targets and a mock-up of blue pigments and drawing media. The same external illumination sources were used with the Crime-lite and modified DSLR for image sets 2 and 3 to facilitate comparison. However, the filters were specific to each camera; the Crime-lite’s internal filters and five external filters (X-Nite CC1, X-Nite 330 C, X-Nite 850, Peca 918, Tiffen 2e) added to the lens of the modified DSLR.




When operated with internal and external illumination sources we found the Crime-lite produced comparable MBI sets to the modified DSLR. Additionally, we easily captured visible-induced infrared luminescence (VIL) images to detect Egyptian blue, as well as color contrast images, using the internal illumination and filters of the Crime-lite; two imaging types we could not capture with the modified DSLR and illumination sources we had available for the study. The largest difference we observed between MBI sets captured by the Crime-Lite and modified DSLR was when we compared images across cameras, however, both cameras produced usable reference images. Images captured with the Crime-lite have associated metadata recording illumination, filter, and camera settings which is a benefit to the user when documenting their imaging parameters.




Key advantages of the Crime-lite are its efficiency, portability, ease of use, high image quality, and repeatable parameters for image capture. The user-friendly interface and the integrated controls for both illumination and filter changes allow for the capture of common MBIs used in the cultural heritage field (VIS, UVF, UVR, IRR, VIL) in under ten minutes with minimal training for the user. This makes the Crime-lite a pragmatic alternative to the typical modified DSLR MBI capture workflow and a welcome addition to our documentation tools.