The Application of Forensic Imaging Technology to the Field of Cultural Heritage using the Crimelite® AUTO

In 2023, the Barbara Goldsmith Conservation & Preservation Department at New York University Libraries acquired the Crime-lite® AUTO (Crime-lite) and Crime-lite® 42S (42S) to fill a need for efficient and repeatable non-visible light image capture by non-imaging specialists. The Crime-Lite and 42S were developed by Foster + Freeman Ltd. for crime scene investigation.

In this study, we explored the Crime-lite’s capability to create multi-band images (MBI) typically used in the cultural heritage field. This exploration allowed us to determine optimal filter and illumination source combinations corresponding to those used with a modified DSLR to create a seven-image MBI set using the Crime-lite: Visible Light (VIS), Ultraviolet-Induced Visible Fluorescence (UVA), Reflected Ultraviolet (RUVA), Reflected Infrared(RIR), Visible-Induced Luminescence (VIL), False Color UV (FCUV), and False Color IR (FCIR).

When operated with internal and external illumination sources, we found that the Crime-lite produced MBI sets comparable to the modified DSLR. Additionally, we easily captured visible-induced infrared luminescence (VIL) images to detect Egyptian blue using the internal illumination and filters of the Crime-lite, an imaging type 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 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 illumination and filter changes allow for the capture of common MBIs used in the cultural heritage field with minimal user training. This makes the Crime-lite a pragmatic alternative to the typical modified DSLR MBI capture workflow and a welcome addition to our documentation tools.

Poster design and images by Minyoung Kim. 

A version of this poster was presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, May 29-31, 2025, Minneapolis, MN.