This Sony camera got pulled because it had Superman X-ray vision that could see through clothes!

A retrospective video from @photokyol has surfaced on Instagram, detailing a video camera that could actually see through clothing.

Despite sounding like a futuristic device from a sci-fi flick, the Sony Handycam CCD-TRV65 could be modified to perform a very weak brand of X-ray vision, prompting Sony to fix the production line and abolish the potentially nefarious byproduct, which courted controversy for fear of exploitation.

Sony's best cameras have debuted some pretty groundbreaking technology, from the debut of global shutter sensors in the Sony A9 III to the wholescale introduction of full-frame mirrorless camera systems. However, as you'll see in the video below, when Sony brought night vision to the home market, it got a whole lot more than it bargained for:

This seemingly innocent analog camcorder recorded footage onto an 8mm videotape and was, according to @photokyol, the first home video camera to feature night-vision, via an infrared mode called NightShot. As the Reel points out, the problem was that you could radically change NightShot’s exposure, enabling it to be used during the day.

Somebody then found out that, by attaching a cheap infrared filter, NightShot turned into a very weak brand of Superman’s x-ray vision. And while it certainly couldn’t see through walls, or much at all, it could see through some thin fabrics.

According to the Associated Press, Takarajima, Japan’s largest men’s magazine (at the time), brought this troubling prospect to the fore – and not in a particularly sensitive manner – but in doing so, alerted Sony to the problem, which acted decisively. Good on you, Sony!

Still, the Sony TRV65 does deserve a place in the annals of imaging history for both its groundbreaking night vision capabilities and the aforementioned, unfortunate byproduct.

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