by Demand:
In 1998, Sony released a camcorder that could “see through people’s clothes,” then immediately recalled the 700,000 devices it allegedly sold.
Rating:
What’s True:
It is true that in 1998, Sony released a camcorder with infrared night vision capabilities. Under certain circumstances, it seemed to be able to “see clothes” – in the sense that the camera could detect the silhouette of a person’s body under their clothes. Sony stopped shipping the cameras to modify the feature.
What is False:
However, there is no evidence that Sony recalled hundreds of thousands of camcorders because of this or announced that they were doing so.
For a long time, there has been a rumor online that Sony launched a camcorder in 1998 that could see through clothes. One viral post from Reddit 2020 claimed that “in 1998, Sony released a camcorder with night vision so powerful it could see through people’s clothing. Sony issued an immediate recall. The post was related to a 2016 article published by Fossybytes titled, “When Sony Accidentally Launched Camcorders That Could ‘See Through’ People’s Clothes.”
Another post from Reddit claimed, “Sony has changed its NightShot camera, but it hasn’t recalled camcorders already on the shelves,” and X (formerly Twitter) post said, “In 1998, Sony camcorders could see through clothing due to an infrared feature meant for night vision. This led to a massive recall, which marked a significant event in the history of technology.”
Social media users shared the same rumor on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, and the November 2023 post reached more than 1.3 million views.
It is true that Sony released its “NightShot” camcorder, which, in certain circumstances (for example, if the materials were very thin fabrics), and with a special filter, could detect the outline of some people’s bodies under their clothes and show. However, we found no evidence to confirm the claim that 700,000 of the cameras were immediately recalled after users discovered the unintended feature. Instead, Sony announced that it had stopped shipping the unsold devices until modifications could be made.
We found several news articles from 1998 on the subject. For example, in August 1998, the Washington Post published an article entitled “UNDRESESSED IN A FLASH? THE CAMERA COULD MAKE PORTRAITS LESS THAN ONE.” He pointed out that Sony stopped shipping its Handycam camcorders until modifications were made:
This month, the Japanese electronics giant halted shipments of its Handycam camcorders pending modifications, after a Japanese magazine revealed that the cameras’ infrared “Nightshot” feature, intended to capture night images such as sleeping children and nocturnal animals. an unintended bonus under certain conditions during daylight hours: the ability to see through clothing. The modified models will not allow the function to be used in daylight, but many original versions are still on the shelves at local stores.
“Under certain conditions, you’d think you’d see something but you wouldn’t,” added Steve Uhrig, president of SWS Security, a Maryland company that manufactures surveillance systems for government agencies, in an interview with the Post. “Infrared rays can penetrate through lightly woven clothing and reflect back, but not in real detail. You will see something large and dense on the other side of the clothing. It is the same illusion as the X-specs ray.” Follow the article (emphasis ours):
Sony first discovered the potential of its product when Takarajima, a popular Japanese magazine, reported in July that the camera, in in conjunction with a cheap filter and specific circumstances – as a subject with tight, light clothing – allows the viewer to see underwear or peek under bathing suits when the Nightshot feature is activated.
Sony officials are careful to admit that there may be some truth to it. “Engineers in Japan tried to replicate what was done in the news story,” Sony spokeswoman Dulcie Neiman said. “In certain very special circumstances — depending on the daylight, the type of clothing, the texture, the colour, the thickness, how much clothing is worn, the distance from the person to the camera — that the reporting capability could be replicated.”
The New York Times published an article on the rumor in December 1998 in which he claimed that “it had only the tiniest grain of truth: in skilled hands, during the day, under the right conditions, with just the right fabrics (gauzy)., perhaps an image of a body could be produced underneath.
Sony was just a little embarrassed; what the company had in mind with the No Lux feature, its news release said, was to “record nighttime activities, like a new baby sleeping.” Although 400,000 units were sold, Sony changed the infrared transmitters on new cameras to remove even the remotest possibility of intrusive videotaping.
A CNN Money article from August 1998 titled “Sony’s naked cam scam?” he explained that the claim about the camcorder’s ability “to be used to film more of their subject than meets the eye” seemed to be “based more on titillation than substance.” He pointed out that Sony said the camera’s night vision was offered for photographing wildlife at night and other night scenes. He added that Sony has confirmed that “with a special lens, and under very specific circumstances, its NightShot cameras can apparently see through clothing”:
In bright sunlight, with that “special” lens, the infrared camera didn’t reveal anything that the naked eye couldn’t see.
“It was nothing,” said Steve McFradden, B&H sales associate. “He was meant to see in the dark, not see through clothes.”
CNN also reported that “Sony has modified its NightShot camera, but has no plans to recall the roughly 400,000 units already shipped to the US”:
Those 400,000 are of increasing interest. “I talked to a lot of people and they didn’t buy the camera for that reason,” McFadden said. “But they asked a lot of questions and were very curious about it.”
We found a video published by The Associated Press titled “ JAPAN: SONY VIDEO CAMERA REPORTS HAVING X-RAY VISION.” The description said that “the camera can – with the help of an inexpensive filter – see through people’s clothes,” adding that Sony says that the special feature has been removed from new versions of the camera. The article pointed out that Sony learned of the potential of its product from an article in Takarajima, Japan’s best-selling men’s magazine:
The magazine reported that a filter costing less than seven US dollars enables Handycam users to see under certain types of clothing during the day when the camera’s “night shot” mode is activated.
The article was accompanied by a dozen photographs which he said were taken with the camera using different colors of clothing, wet and dry, on female models.
Sony had no plans to recall camcorders, spokeswoman Dolcy Nyman said in an interview with Wired. “Any television station has the equipment that can replicate this effect, as does anyone with a professional camcorder,” Randall Herron, a photography equipment vendor specializing in infrared surveillance and video equipment, told Wired . “Any blouse or tight clothing, if you hit it with enough light, you’ll get a silhouette of what’s underneath; that’s basically what you get with these Sony camcorders.” The article reported that Sony said it had changed the NightShot feature so that it could not be turned on when ambient light levels are high enough to make the feature unnecessary. “The new cameras will only show a blank white screen when NightShot is enabled in daylight,” he reported.
Phil Petescia, who worked as Sony’s marketing manager for Handycam in 1998, contacted us via email and confirmed that Sony did not recall the cameras:
We didn’t remember the cameras. They could record through thin black clothing whether the person was wearing white underwear (or had very light skin) under certain settings enhanced with an additional lens. I went to Macy’s in Paramus and bought every black swimsuit they had and we tested it.
We stopped shipments while rework was done, which prevented that arrangement. However, we stopped a TV ad that we had recorded (still floating around the internet) of a person sneaking up in the dark with a cat and a dog taking horribly. We felt it was a little too risky. Breck Eisner, Michael’s son, directed that commercial.
In February 2024 we investigated a similar claim about whether full-body imaging machines used by the Transportation Security Administration show a person’s private parts whenever they walk through a scanner.
Sources:
AP. https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=ad99e1a3930185817a1275d284408e3b&mediatype=video&source=youtube. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Dapcevich, Madison. “Do TSA Full Body Scans Show … Everything?” Snopes1 Feb. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/tsa-full-body-scans-private-parts/.
News, ABC “Cameras Let Voyeurs See Through Clothes.” ABC news, https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126782&page=1 . Accessed 17 April 2024.
Nickell, Joe Ashbrook. “Look, Look Me.” Wired. www.wired.com, https://www.wired.com/1998/08/see-you-see-me/. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Patton, Phil. “PUBLIC EYE; Seeing in the Dark.” The New York Times3 December 1998. NYTimes.comhttps://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/03/garden/public-eye-seeing-in-the-dark.html .
Sony’s NightShot Is Being Tested – Aug 14, 1998. https://money.cnn.com/1998/08/14/technology/camera_pkg/. Accessed 17 April 2024.
Tiwari, Aditya. “When Sony Accidentally Launched Camcorders That Could ‘See Through’ People’s Clothes.” Fossbytes28 Jan. 2016, https://fossbytes.com/sony-accidentally-launched-camcorders-see-peoples-clothes/ .
“NO LOCK ON? PORTRAITS COULD BE TAKEN ON THE CAMERA.” Washington Post2 March 2024. www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/08/15/undressed-in-a-flash-camera-may-take-revealing-portraits/540d587e-c68a-42b4-af73-1b4df6954d35/ .
