There have been a handful of blog posts and traditional media reports this week about the anti-invasion of privacy methods that Eclipse, the world’s largest privately owned yacht, employ. Between the fact that Eclipse is so incredibly large – she measures anywhere from 509 to more than 550 feet, depending on who you believe – and she’s said to be owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, it’s no wonder that the rumor mill has been in overdrive. But the reports about a laser system to be used to thwart paparazzi just take the cake for me.
In case you missed them, the reports, which seem to have originated with a story in The Times in England, all claim that Eclipse is equipped with photo-eclipsing technology. As the stories go, there are infrared laser scanners onboard that, when the paparazzi or some other too-active photographers point their lenses toward the yacht, will detect the electronic light sensors in the cameras and immediately overwhelm the cameras. The result will essentially be a white-out, ruining not just the photo but likely the cameras themselves.
Considering The Times has had a few stories about the yacht (and others, for that matter) that aren’t exactly correct, I mentally dismissed the concept as soon as I read about it. But because a number of Web sites have picked it up, the concept has gone viral, in a big way. (Do a Google search for the yacht name, and a bunch of articles about the subject come up first, all published within the past few days.) So, I decided to do a little digging, and I’ve come to the conclusion that this so-called anti-paparazzi technology does not exist, at least on the scale of what is being discussed. In addition, according to one photographer I spoke with, who consulted a photographic expert herself, even if it did, it would ruin more than just the photo. To be that powerful, it would end up blinding the photographer looking through the lens.
Considering a legal battle on a colossal scale would ensue if a camera were ruined, imagine the legal hot water that Abramovich and his crew would be in if a photographer, paparazzi or otherwise, were blinded.
Megayacht owners may be accused at times of being pretty focused on themselves, but they haven’t taken leave of their senses. More than likely, if Abramovich does indeed have some type of photo-thwarting technology onboard, it’s the same devices that his other yachts have: plain old really bright lights.
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