Ever see the cars in our spy photos page and wonder why they look like that? New paint job trends emerge all the time, like gloss-less matte paint finishes, which are becoming more and more popular in recent years. Some companies like to dial it up to 11 with chrome finishes on their entire cars. But there is one look that is always intriguing: car camouflage. No, not the desert or arctic warfare kind, we’re talking about camera-camo.
If you’ve spent even a smidgen of time on our Auto News page then you’ve probably seen one of our
spy photo stories. A recurring trend in these stories is the bizarre magic-eye look on the prototype vehicles that our spies track down.
The truth is that car companies deliberately make their cars look that way so that when and if these prototype cars get snapped by a photographer, certain incriminating details are not visible.
Also, it’s worth noting that the look isn’t even a paintjob at all, but a vinyl application. The pattern on the application is perfect at tricking even the most advanced auto focus system on a camera. That’s because a camera’s auto focus system uses a subject’s colors to figure out its focus.
Dan Suszko from Graphik Concepts sells these vinyl wraps and confirms that it really works wonders to hide body work in photographs. “Car companies want to put an end to one person exposing their product to the world” Suszko said. “It really hides the way things look in low-res images,” he added.
Some cameras auto focus by using something like SONAR, but instead of sound, using infrared light. The infrared bounces back to the camera and the camera’s computers calculate the difference in time, and focus accordingly. However, if the subject is painted black, it could absorb the infrared light that the camera uses, and makes it harder for the camera to calculate the autofocus.
Cars in testing are often spotted in zebra-like looks that would make an active autofocus system struggle. Other cameras like SLRs have another form of autofocus which looks at contrast in the subject, to make its focus adjustment.
Again all the black and white swirls and lines on a prototype car make it nearly impossible for even some of the better autofocus systems to work. Add in the fact that cars in testing are usually on the move and you’ll see it’s not that easy getting those spy photos.
Opinions vary about the different designs of car camo. Brenda Priddy is a legendary automotive spy photographer, her photos appearing in almost every major auto magazine, paper and website. She tells us, “Frankly, I find the new breed of camo (swirly lines and sometimes colorful patterns) very photogenic!” Priddy questions the function of the camo too. “They haven’t interfered with my camera’s focusing abilities, and they help make the photo even more interesting,” she said. Further mocking those she stalks for a living, Priddy adds, “It seems the camouflage changes every year. I can’t wait to see what they come up with this year.”
When asked how popular Graphik Concept’s wrap is with automakers Suszko said, “I see it all the time. We’re right in the heart of Big Three country (Ford, GM and Chrysler) and I see my product all the time on the road.” He mentioned Nissan and GM specifically are recurring customers, but that the wrap isn’t isolated to just cars. Other vehicles like ATVs and Hovercrafts use the wrap as well when testing.
In fact, it’s quite likely you’ve seen Susko’s wraps. If not on AutoGuide or some other automotive publication, then during this year’s Super Bowl. The wrap appeared prominently on the new Cadillac ATS, during a commercial for the car right at the two minute warning.
Dan mentioned that car manufacturers like the wrap because it doesn’t affect the normal operation of the vehicle. It’s light-weight and doesn’t create aerodynamic drag. If you’ve spent a lot of time on the AutoGuide Spy Photos page you might have seen some of the bulkier equipment that some cars are dressed up in to hide new body work. Those are clearly more restrictive than these wraps.
David Caldwell from Cadillac’s Communications team talked to us a bit about these different types of camo. “You’ll see it occasionally, they put large and cumbersome parts to hide the design, but later when a car is closer to production, you’ll see that shrink wrapped vinyl.” Caldwell mentioned that the wrap is less cumbersome, and stays on the car easier. “We use [it] because it’s less restrictive. In the ATS-Nurburgring footage you’ll see the ATS in the car camo, because… it doesn’t limit air flow to the brakes”.
The fun part is that anyone can buy these wraps. They’re not just for prototype vehicles. Susko tells us that he gets orders from around the world, so there’s a real possibility that some are on passenger vehicles.
We’ve yet to see a non-prototype car strolling around the streets wrapped up, but then again maybe it’s best if spy photo camo wraps are left to the professionals.
