Infrared Shooting With 40D

Is it possible to shoot infrared shots with a Canon 40D or 20D? If not, which

canon camers's do this?

You need to send the camera in to have the IR filter taken out.

 

I found this place that will do the conversion:

 

http://www.lifepixel.com/digital-infrared/faq.html

 

Seems like they have both 20D and the 40D listed and the cost is around $400 and up.

 

Hope this helps.

Is there a camera that is able to shoot infrared right out of the box?

You CAN take IR pictures without modifying the camera.

 

You have to get a filter and use very long exposures. Some details can be found at http://dpfwiw.com/ir.htm or http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/infrared/ among other places.<div></div>

There are also numerous Photoshop techniques one can use that, when done properly, look pretty much identical. I had my old 10D converted by Lifepixel but I'd never consider converting a new, 40D myself. Here are a few links - some are PS Actions - to convert a normal, color image into what appears to be an IR photograph:

 

http://www.nickgallery.com/web_pages/technical%2020.htm

 

http://www.leppphoto.com/learn/articles/infrared.htm

 

http://www.photographica.org/story/2006/2/7/112834/7418

 

Some older Sony digital cameras (F-707, F-717 and probably others) that have "Nightshot" mode work well - although Sony "crippled" them a bit by making the feature only available in "Auto" mode - so you can't manually adjust the aperture/shutter speed. There are other brands too, I'm sure. You may be able to find some of these on Ebay. I've also seen old, Canon 10Ds & 20Ds that have been converted for sale on Ebay upon occasion. If you go that route, I'd recommend looking for cameras that have been converted by Lifepixel because they do a great job. Good luck!

I bought a #87 screw in filter from this website. Their prices are much more reasonable compared to the big names...paid $49 + shipping 2 years ago, and it works great.

 

http://www.chamblesscineequip.com/catalog/catalog.htm

 

They'll custom make about any size.

My wife shoots with a IR filter on her 30D, since she didn't want to modify it for something she just wanted to experiment with. Her plan was to find an old XT or something and modify it if this turned out to be something she enjoyed.

Ed,

 

I'm confused now. The #87 IR filter I stated above was previously used on a Nikon D70 and worked well. I just tried it on the Canon 30D and no such luck -- only blackness <:(

 

Any ideas what your wife is using for an IR filter on the 30D?

>>Is there a camera that is able to shoot infrared right out of the box?<<

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/524850-

REG/Fujifilm_600006594_IS_Pro_SLR_Digital.html

 

I found this Fuji forensic DSLR from B & H. Pretty expensive setup.

Ditto to Beau's suggestion to use Photoshop. It is easy and the results are quite good, as well as more controlled. I like the Tiffen Dfx plug-in.

Bryan, your issue with the image coming out black is that you are not exposing properly. With a 30D and a IR filter you will be needing very long exposure times b/c of the hot-mirror the canons have on them being very agressive IR light blockers. Depending on the available light you can probably start with an 8 sec exposure and work your way up from there checking your histogram exposing to the right a bit. Trevor~

This happened even after using manual shutter of 8-10 seconds. I believe the 30D's internal IR filter does not read the wavelengths within a certain range and as such renders no image. My 87 Wratten filter absorbs all energy below 730 mu, which is within the cutoff point of the 30D's IR sensor filter. One PN posted link shows a Hoya R72 IR filter being used, which was lower than this range, and rendered somewhat suitable images exposed for 8-30 seconds. Not very sharp IMO

 

See shot taken with a Nikon D70 + 87 IR filter<div></div>

Any of Canon's film cameras will shoot IR right out of the box (though a certain few models can fog portions of the frame with thier frame counter) - and it is "full-frame". That is what I use.

I can't speak for the Wratten 87 IR filter but from all my reading and research I don't remember that filter being an issue with the digital canons for IR work except for long exposures. I recall seeing some exposure times as long as 20-30 seconds, not sure if it was with that filter but you could give it a try. I have used the Cokin 89B IR filter with decent results but was not happy with the long exposure times. As for the sharpness of the IR images you referenced with the Hoya IR filter there are multiple factors that can effect the sharpness in digital IR photos. The first would be the long exposure times resulting in motion blur of trees and plant life from any wind. The second would be from the lens not being focused properly, the difference in the IR light spectrum as compared to normal light spectrum requires a different focus, some lenses have an IR marker on them to allow you to adjust for this difference. The third would be any other reason a picture would be soft such as shooting wide open, cheap lens and so on. You probably know this but I figured I would mention it for those who might not. Trevor~

Some lenses (Canon and Nikon) will 'hot spot' when taking infrared, apparently because of reflections that don't occur with visible light. That isn't your problem though, but one of the links I gave has a list of the older lenses and which will or won't work.

 

However, I know the 20D does infrared--you just have to give it enough time, so I'm betting the 30D will work if you get the exposure right. The shot I posted above was in early spring, the leaves are blowing in the wind, but if you look closely you'll see the white vegetation--of course, it comes out in the camera as red because of the filter, so you have to post process to set white to the brightest red.<div></div>