Overexposure
This illness is never given an official name in the games, but is hinted out throughout the series as being a dangerous (and often deadly) side effect to using the Camera Obscura. Apparently, it occurs because using the camera to photograph supernatural beings creates a link between them and the user while simultaneously exorcising them. If the camera is overused and the link becomes stronger, the user may eventually fall prey to overexposure and eventually die. While not all users of the device have suffered these conditions, it is possible for any user to contract them.
Duration: Unknown, several days to years
Victims: Users/Owners of the Camera Obscura
Age of afflicted: Varies
Connected to: The Camera Obscura
Game(s): Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II
Reasons for 'Overexposure'
- Overuse of the Camera Obscura
Physical signs/symptoms
Ability to see spirits
The user will be able to see spirits and other ghostly apparitions without the use of the camera at all. It is unknown if this ability can be passed down to other generations as a result, or if it only effects the user directly.
Hearing voices
Hearing voices and whispers of unseen entities and long since passed events that one could not hear before.
Obsession with camera and taking pictures
The user becomes compulsive, taking pictures frantically and wildly without any purpose. They are unable to stop thinking about what the photographs may reveal and become addicted to it.
Possession
In some cases, the user can become possessed by spirits that have been captured within the camera.
Suicidal tendencies/death
Unable to make the voices stop, continuously seeing spirits, and with the camera seemingly unable to offer aid, a user may become manic and frantic. Their obsession with seeing death leads them to take their own lives in the hope of stopping or silencing what is around them.
Documentation
Victims
Possible Victims
Survivors
There have yet to be any clear-cut cases of people recovering from overexposure to the Camera Obscura. Many people can use and have used the Camera without ever suffering from its side effects.