Digital Infrared

I have a Canon Digital Rebel and I have always been curious about infrared photography but cant seem to

get much info on how to shoot digital photos in this format. Many pages I have been to on the web have

mentioned something about modifiying the camera's but is there a way to shoot it without messing with

the camera? Thanks for the help

It depends on how strong IR blocking filter there is in front of the sensor. Some cameras have stronger than others. You can make a simple test yourself by taking a picture of the business end of a IR remote control, like the one for your TV (while pressing down a button so the remote sends a signal). If your picture shows a bright light in the remote control's LED then the camera is sensitive to IR light. You can buy a special filter (for example from Hoya and B+W) that fits in front of the camera lens and blocks other light out and take pictures in IR light. You cannot see the image through the filter so you need to compose (and focus) first and then put the filter on and take the picture. Exposure needs some experimenting as well.

The modification some people do is to remove the IR blocking filter from the camera (in front of the sensor). This is quite a major job, cancels the warranty and makes the camera less useful for general picture taking.

Derek,

A few months ago when I started on digital IR, I used a Hoya R72 filter in on my lens. I found it necessary to use a tripod and in bright sunlight, the typical shutter speed was between 1-6 seconds. I then converted an old Canon g2 to IR, and I can now hand hold the camera and I can frame the photo on my LCD - much better--it works just like a regular camera except all the output is IR. In either case, I found that it is necessary to do post processing to the photo's in order for them to come out successfully. I shoot in raw and convert my photo's to tif's and use Photoshoto Shop CS to complete my post processing. While I am getting better, it took a while to get a finished product with which I was satisfied. I am getting better but still learning.

I recently bought a book from Amazon: "Digital Infrared Photography" by Joe Farace that had a number of good tips. There are many good web sites that also have great ideas. I give you a few as follows:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50ir.htm

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/infrared/e300.html

http://www.lifepixel.com/

http://www.pbase.com/hpb/ir&page=12

http://www.maxmax.com/

http://www.jimchenphoto.com/index.html

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00IUMH&tag=

http://www.pbase.com/dlarson2/ir_work_flow

I have others but that should get you started. Google IR digital for others and follow the links on some of the websites that I referred you to. Good luck.

Having confirmed with the test suggested above you simply need a filter and a tripod becuase exposures tend to be long. There is nothing particularly difficult about shooting IR although I think some shots look nicer than others and many don't benefit from IR but that is a personal reaction.

You can replace the Baier filter with an IR filter if you wish to shorten exposure times to more 'normal' exposures.

Ken,

I did think about mentioning it, but did not want to twist the knife in the wound.