M8 and infrared photography

I'm interested in using my M8 for B&W infrared photography. Presumably the minimum IR

cut off in front of the sensor will be usefull in this regard. I will try dark orange, medium

red and a B&W IR filter in tests, but do not own a dark red or opaque filter (like the 092 or

093 B+W filters or the R72 Hoya). Has anyone tried these latter filters and particularly

the Hoya R72 with the M8? It is a lot cheaper than the B+W filters.

How would you characterize the result? Is the effect like Kodak HIE IR film, or like the

former Konica or the reissued SFX 200, with dark red or stronger IR filters?

I also want to use something like the R72 with Maco or Ilfrord IR films in my 6x9 camera. I

would probably buy a Hoya R72 for that, if it also works well in the M8. It wil be

interesting to see how the M8 images stand up to the 6x9 ones.

Arthur, Forget about using orange etc filters on M8 for IR. It isn't HIE!

Get the 092 or 093 filters. The 093 will give you images close to the HIE (but not the same) with much longer exposure times.

In any event, learn to do post processing of your M8 images (visible or IR).

For SFX, use the Illford filter and follow the recommended exposures.

I've used an R72 on an M8, and it's a great combination. I'm not an aficianado of IR film, so

can't make the detailed comparison. But the look in black and white is unmistakably IR, with

light foliage, dark skies, etc. It's easy and fun.

Some folks are posting IR samples on the Leica Users Forum, you might check there at

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/25587-yet-another-ir-pass-

attempt.html

--clyde

I've used a B+W 093 with great success.

The resulting images have a very strong magenta caste, but desaturate, adjust levels/curves and you have an excellent IR shot.

Exposures are typically around 1/40 @f4 ISO640.

You'll need to play around with the focussing a little as the distance indicated by the rangefinder is inaccurate with the Leica and CV lenses I've used.

VR, CI and SU, many thanks for your kind advice. I will definitely try these

(maybe not the 093 as it is quite expensive unless I go for a small filter size

with the Ultron 28) and compare with SFX 200 and the R72. It wil be

interesting to see how the camera and PS Elements post processing (best I

can afford at present) will compare to the 6x9 negs and my usual darkroom IR

practice.

Arthur P.,

I have had a nice experience with the R72 Hoya on the M8 ...

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<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/6022417-lg.jpg">

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<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/6022423-lg.jpg">

Arthur, I bought a 39mm 093 as this could fit lenses hatI have from 21mm to 90mm. So the cost per lens wasn't that high :-)

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Here's an example

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<img src="http://gallery.leica-users.org/d/81162-1/L1003464+Leigh+cemetery.jpg">

Thanks for the examples, guys. Arthur Y, did you add the sepia effect (I guess

so). Steve, your 093 does quite a job, unless this is further modified in PS or

elsewhere to get that tonality, also aparent in Arthur's shots. In fact the tonality

is more extreme probably than what I would be looking for, being used to

Konica 750 film and similar partial IR effect films (wrt comparison with Kodak

HIE), which give less strong effect. Also, short of using some sort of unsharp

filter, I wonder if it is possible to get the halo effect of film IR? Probably not, as

that had to do with grain edge effects, I believe, or something similar.

What sort of f stop and shutter speeds do you both use in sunlight, with your

respective filters?