WVNY/ABC22 Transparent "Flying Saucer" on Weather Camera — Dark Bokeh?

[Mick West]

[Source: WVNY Twitter]

The shape of this UFO is not entirely uncommon, a horizontal-oriented diamond is sometimes seen when distant lights are out of focus. For example, in this "UFO" video of a plane, which is just the out-of-focus lights - an effect called "bokeh"
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/ex...fo-burwell-fen-uk-c-130-landing-lights.11959/

What's unusual here is that the shape is dark and slowly moving. Is this a case of "dark bokeh"? I'd never really thought about such a thing before, but of course, it's quite possible. Like here:

I put a fleck of electrical tape on the window then took photos with different focus settings using a triangular aperture. When focussed up close, we see the familiar bokeh effect in the background. But with the background in focus, the fleck becomes a "dark bokeh".

Interestingly it needs to be underexposed to really show up. This matches the WVNY footage, with a relatively bright sky but everything else black. I also had to back away from the glass a foot or so, which suggests something like a spider on a web. However there's a lot of possible configurations, and it will be camera and situation dependent.



A few more examples of the object in different positions.

 

[jarlrmai]

This is entirely expected, any small (to the camera) thing that contrasts from the background that is out of focus will take on the the shape of the aperture, its just far more often seen and more noticeable with point lights/highlights.

 

[deirdre]

@Mick West

what is this? it looks like a ufo

 

[Mick West]

@Mick West

what is this? it looks like a ufo
View attachment 52630

Lightbulb.

 

[Mick West]

Crunching the levels reveals two other small triangles. These seem to be sensor dust, as they appear in the same position in different shots.

 

[deirdre]

you do have a small reflection triangle from your lightbulb...or is that another bokeh?
why are your triangles going two different ways?

and this other light bulb too..so i guess yea they are bokeh shapes

 

[RTM]

A whole fleet of them! Predictably some of the replies on Twitter are very angry Mick didn't say aliens.

 

[saucerpilot]

https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/weather/sky-tracker-cam/

Bottom video on that page. Date: 2022-7-18. Time: 59 seconds.

It appears this particular shot is from a different camera than the one that features the "ufo". However, you can see the same shape appearing in other ways on other segments recorded on the "ufo" camera.

Segments from the "ufo" camera are interspersed among the videos on that page.

 

[Mick West]

why are your triangles going two different ways?

They are formed by physically different paths of light. One is bokeh, the other is sensor dust.

 

[Mick West]

I downloaded the timelapse from today, and adjusted the levels. We see a similar shape both surrounding the Sun's glare, and the lower left lens flare.

And the exact same things from two days earlier.

 

[Mick West]

This is from three days ago, and did not even need any adjustment.

 

[eb11b]

Mike, You explained how you created the bokeh with electrical tape and out of focus camera but that is stationary. In your other examples you have a stationary bokeh but the one in the news footage is moving. Can you elaborate one what you think would causing a moving bokeh? I am familiar with your triangle bokeh review where the bokeh is likely a airplane. But in this example I think we could agree is not a airplane.

 

[deirdre]

but the one in the news footage is moving.

a breeze? or fidgeting (meaning a live thing moving about a bit)

I also had to back away from the glass a foot or so, which suggests something like a spider on a web. However there's a lot of possible configurations, and it will be camera and situation dependent.

 

[jarlrmai]

An update on the Reddit thread (2.5k upvotes for a out of focus dot) got from the news company says the camera in use was a "Bolin"

https://bolintechnology.com/

No model is given though and the Bolin spec sheets for their outdoor cams do not include information on aperture iris configuration, likely because those specs are not really important for a web/security camera.

 

[jarlrmai]

Okay reading the specs while awake indicate that the camera module in these devices is a Sony model like this

https://intertest.com/products/sony-fcb-ev7520a-30x-block-camera

As yet I am unable to find the specs for the aperture iris

 

[eb11b]

Okay reading the specs while awake indicate that the camera module in these devices is a Sony model like this

https://intertest.com/products/sony-fcb-ev7520a-30x-block-camera

As yet I am unable to find the specs for the aperture iris

https://www.image-sensing-solutions.eu/FCB-EV7520A_08-19_c1.pdf
tech sheet
Says its F1.6 aperture. Does that suggest is one of these types?

 

[Mick West]

https://www.image-sensing-solutions.eu/FCB-EV7520A_08-19_c1.pdf
tech sheet
Says its F1.6 aperture. Does that suggest is one of these types?

No, F1.6 is just the widest the aperture can be. Those are not types, those are the same aperture adjusted to different sizes.

 

[Ulrich]

Mike, You explained how you created the bokeh with electrical tape and out of focus camera but that is stationary. In your other examples you have a stationary bokeh but the one in the news footage is moving. Can you elaborate one what you think would causing a moving bokeh? I am familiar with your triangle bokeh review where the bokeh is likely a airplane. But in this example I think we could agree is not a airplane.

Do we really need that? It could be a piece of dust on glas easily, moving because of wind or something like that.

 

[Mick West]

View attachment 52636
https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/weather/sky-tracker-cam/

Bottom video on that page. Date: 2022-7-18. Time: 59 seconds.

It appears this particular shot is from a different camera than the one that features the "ufo". However, you can see the same shape appearing in other ways on other segments recorded on the "ufo" camera.

Segments from the "ufo" camera are interspersed among the videos on that page.

Nice find! Here's a chunk of that video:

 

[Ravi]

Okay reading the specs while awake indicate that the camera module in these devices is a Sony model like this

https://intertest.com/products/sony-fcb-ev7520a-30x-block-camera

As yet I am unable to find the specs for the aperture iris

Unlikely you can find that. It is an integrated unit (plastic case) in the block. So the iris is hard to see unless taken fully apart.. I was also hoping to see an image of its internals online, but I guess nobody has yet smashed/opened the camera.

 

[jarlrmai]

Unlikely you can find that. It is an integrated unit (plastic case) in the block. So the iris is hard to see unless taken fully apart.. I was also hoping to see an image of its internals online, but I guess nobody has yet smashed/opened the camera.

Yeah I was mostly going that way out of hope, because I am geoblocked from the webcam sites.

 

[Ravi]

@Mick West
Out of curiosity, what F-number did you use for your images shown in post #1?

 

[Ravi]

Yeah I was mostly going that way out of hope, because I am geoblocked from the webcam sites.

In the specs it says "F1.6 to F4.7", f=4.3mm, making it a tiny aperture. These tiny apertures are hard to do with traditional "leaf" type irises: the shape will become triangular or diamond shaped the smaller you go. Therefore in lab conditions, you use replaceable fixed diameter "pinholes", which are perfectly circular.

 

[jarlrmai]

In the specs it says "F1.6 to F4.7", f=4.3mm, making it a tiny aperture. These tiny apertures are hard to do with traditional "leaf" type irises: the shape will become triangular or diamond shaped the smaller you go. Therefore in lab conditions, you use replaceable fixed diameter "pinholes", which are perfectly circular.

Generally it's a 4 blade iris for adjustable apertures that creates these diamond shapes, Mick I think used his triangle lens cover, probably the one from the 'pyramid' debunk to demonstrate an out of focus close dark object against a light sky makes the same effect.

 

[Ann K]

Nice find! Here's a chunk of that video:

View attachment 52642

Considering the obvious blustery weather, could the objects be reflections in a smattering of raindrops on the lens?