Mobile Cameras
Mobile systems can be vehicle-mounted, hand-held, tripod mounted or even concealed in items such as garbage bins. In vehicle-mounted systems, detection equipment and cameras can be mounted to the vehicle itself, or simply tripod mounted inside the vehicle and deployed out a window or door.
Gatso Speed Camera
This mobile camera is used in Victoria and Queensland, and can be operated in various manners. Without a flash, the only evidence of speed camera on the outside of the car is black rectangular box, which sends out the radar beam, about 30 cm by 10, mounted on the front of the car. On the older models of the camera, and on rainy days or in bad light, a cable is used to link it to a box with a flash placed just in front of the vehicle. The operator sits in the car and takes the pictures, which are then uploaded to a laptop computer. In both states unmarked cars are used, although in Victoria the operation of the cameras is carried by a contractor from Serco, in Queensland a uniformed police officer is the operator.
Many of the modern Gatso cameras now feature full capability, flashless operation. The advent of infra-red flash technology has provided Gatsos with the capacity to capture vehicles exceeding the limit in varying conditions - without emitting a bright flash, which in many cases can be considered distracting to the driver. Infra-red light is essentially invisible to the human eye, but when used as a flash, it can be filtered by the camera to produce a crystal clear image in any condition.
Multanova speed camera
Used only in Western Australia, this Doppler RADAR-based camera is mounted usually on a tripod on the side of the road. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "Multinova". Multanovas are manufactured by a Swiss company of the same name - Western Australia utilises the 6F and the 9F models.
During the daytime, the Multanova unit uses a standard "white" flash, but in low light or night time, a red filter is added to the flash so as to not dazzle the driver.
The camera is always accompanied by a white station wagon or by a black or, more commonly a white Nissan X-Trail, staffed by an un-sworn police officer (not a contractor) who is responsible for assembling and dissembling the unit, supervising it and operating the accompanying laptop in the car for the few hours that it is deployed at a location. There are currently 25 in circulation in Perth.
Multanova cameras are still presently in use.
(Source: Wikipedia)