Visible crew/equipment: At Hoover Dam, after the salute, when Defense Secretary Keller speaks with Lennox and Epps, the reflection of the white reflector screen is visible on Keller's glasses. What's more, the boom mic's reflection is actually visible within the reflector screen's reflection. Two for the price of one. (01:35:30)
Trivia: When Bumblebee first appears it parks itself in the used car lot beside a yellow Beetle. The yellow Beetle was Bumblebee's original form in the Transformers cartoon series.
Visible crew/equipment: When Sam is talking to Mikaela's boyfriend, you can see the camera and crew reflected in the Hummers mirrors. (00:20:20)
Visible crew/equipment: On the way to Mission City, just before Sam spots Optimus Prime, when the camera shows the front of Optimus Prime the camera truck/operator is reflected on the bumper. (01:48:20)
Visible crew/equipment: When Sam tries to hand off the All Spark, the chopper is shot down by Starscream. When the chopper wreckage flies over Sam lying on the ground, the black protective gear is visible between Sam's pants and tee shirt. (02:05:45)
Continuity mistake: When Maggie arrives at Glen's house, in the shot facing him as he shouts at his grandmother, Maggie's open empty right hand is up just as it cuts to the next shot, but now her compact is in her right hand. (00:45:45)
Continuity mistake: Odd how Mikaela is not wearing her stud earrings when Sam leaves her to go to Bumblebee and she spots the tow truck across the street, and also when she arrives in the tow truck and says, "Sam, help me with this." Yet, she is wearing them between those shots, when she breaks into the tow truck and hotwires it, and in the prior and following shots. (01:55:25 - 01:57:25)
Visible crew/equipment: When Banachek and Simmons are talking to Sam at the entrance of the Hoover Dam, you can see the white lighting panels reflected in their sunglasses. (01:36:30)
Visible crew/equipment: During the attack on Hoover Dam, after Simmons rejects Sam's request to be brought to Bumblebee, when Simmons tells Lennox to drop his weapon, in the next overhead wideshot the grey tape marker between Lennox's and Simmons's feet is visible, as well as the tape marker at Secretary Keller's feet. (01:43:15)
Continuity mistake: When Sam and his parents are being arrested by the Sector 7 officers, inside the house Sam is wearing a blue Strokes t-shirt over a long sleeved shirt. When the shot changes and Sam and his parents are being led in hand cuffs to the police cars, a brown sweatshirt is tucked between Sam's left arm and his back due to the handcuffs. In the next shot, Sam is wearing the brown sweatshirt as he says a line of dialogue. The camera cuts to Agent Simmons of Sector 7, then goes back to Sam, who is now wearing the Strokes shirt and the brown sweatshirt is draped over his left shoulder.
Continuity mistake: In this movie, we see a close up shot of Mikaela's hands in three separate scenes. The first is a shot from behind Mikaela and Sam where they grasp hands and the camera closes in on that. You see Mikaela's short nails, with chipped red polish. The second time we see her hands is a shot where she covers her open mouth with both of her hands in shock. Her nails are unpolished. Finally, the third time is during the ending sequence where both she and Sam have been thrown to the ground near each other. Mikaela stretches her hand toward him, they touch fingertips, and the red nail polish is back.
Continuity mistake: During the final battle, Sam rolls on the pavement and reverses direction as a jet-bot lands and transforms. The next wide shot shows Sam scurrying alongside the passenger-side fender of a black Mercedes sedan as another black car is tumbling over the Mercedes' hood, its doors wide open. This same moment repeats in the next shot, from another angle, but suddenly Sam isn't at the fender of the Mercedes- he has vanished. The angle changes again and the same moment repeats a 3rd time, and Sam is still missing. Then, a closeup shot is looking up past Sam as mayhem rages above, and the black Mercedes he huddles against is suddenly a red car. (02:01:20)
Continuity mistake: During Sam's family genealogy report, when he holds up Captain Witwicky's glasses to show the class, there are cracks in certain areas of both lenses. Those cracks actually change position and characteristics when we see the glasses elsewhere in the film, such as on eBay and when Prime explains their importance to Sam and Mikaela when they first meet. (00:10:15 - 00:17:40)
Other mistake: During the chase scene on the highway, when Sam says, "It's the same cop," they pan to a wide shot to show the whole freeway with the cars on it. All of the vehicles are on the wrong side of the freeway. When looking out of the back of his car, you can see the fronts of all of the cars coming towards the camera, and you can see the text on the signs facing the camera as well. You can also see crowds on the flyover, watching the filming. (01:50:05)
Continuity mistake: After class when Sam rushes to his father, who is waiting in his car, and tells him that he got an A-, the license plate is affixed to the front bumper. At the start of the next shot, the front license plate is gone, but it then reappears when they arrive at Bobby B's. (00:11:35)
Revealing mistake: When Mikaela and Sam are in his car when he gives her a ride from the lake, both windows are open but her hair doesn't blow around at all - like it would if they were really open. (00:23:00)
Visible crew/equipment: After Banacheck walks away with Sam and Mikaela, when Agent Simmons stands by himself on the Hoover Dam intake tower walkway and says, "The man's an extortionist," the reflector screen is reflected in his sunglasses. (01:36:20)
Continuity mistake: Mikaela gets a tow truck to move Bumblebee after he lost his legs. At first, the writing on the left door says 'Mike's Towing - 800-555-0199.' When she gets out to hoist Bumblebee up, the writing on the same door has changed to 'Mike's Towing - 800-555-MIKE'.
Revealing mistake: When Bonecrusher throws the car off the car-carrier, you can see that the underside is just a flat black-painted surface with no gas tank. (01:49:55)
Visible crew/equipment: When Sam falls on the sidewalk with the cube and the machines start coming alive during the fight scene in the city, a fast shot shows a cameraman with the camera on the hands on the right side of the screen. (02:02:16)
Chosen answer: There is no reason to think they can't. They simply choose not to. They may feel it's too deceitful.
Actually in this movie (when joining up with bumblebee and the others after they pick up the All Spark) and Revenge of the Fallen, Ironhide uses holographic humans in his cargo bed. Also, Arcee and the twins use holographic drivers at the beginning scene in Revenge of the Fallen.