IR Photography on Sony DSC-F828 (Not exactly)

<p>Recently I bought a DSC-F828 camera and attempted to shoot a

daytime IR

landscape with a Hoya R72 filter. It appears that Sony intentionally

crippled

the IR capability of the camera. It seems silly to have to use extra

ND filters

to control IR exposures.<br>

<br>

Perhaps, the published specifications should be changed to

<i>"Manual operation: 

Not exactly"</i></p>

<p>I am curious as to whether or not there is any firmware revision

to correct

the problem of manual operation in Night (IR) mode?</p>

I dont think so. They disabled it because with a certain IR filter you could see through cloths, which might be a bonus around the holidays. I had a 717 that i removed the hot filter and replaced it with glass. Like that you can shoot it hand held for IR.

Digital sensors are apparently very sensitive to IR and need the filter to take ordinary photos properly. First thing before trying to shoot IR is to point the camera at your TV remote and see if you can see any signal through the EVF or LCD .... no signal = no IR period!

I have two cameras which work after a fashion, Canon s20 and Nikon 5700, and a third, Panasonic FZ20, which doesn't.

 

A Canadian Fine Art photog had NikonCanada remove the camera's filter, D70, and insert I think it was the HoyaR72 instead so he could use 'normal' exposures instead of the one or two seconds at f/2.8 that I use in bright sunlight.

<p>Thanks Troy, that answers my question. My goal was is to experiment with IR

landscapes, but in any case I don't think that the DSC-F828 will win the <i>

"Paris Hilton seal  of approval."</i></p>

<p>I have ND's both in fixed diameter and Cokin and will try those on top of the

Hoya R72.</p>

I'm not sure what a Hoya R72 filter is but I use the 828 in the daytime with a 1000nm ir filter and have no trouble. The "see through effect" is only through certain colors and materials. It also tends to see through make-up. Here's a few 828 ir photos. Most of them have a polarizer in addition to the ir filter if the ir filter was used. The one with the add on tele lens shows vignetting. The last one is an ir light (yellow housing, 60 watt light bulb and 10 inch or so ir filter) shot it ir mode with no ir filter. The bulb is totally invisible but would light up a room with ir as good as a 60 watt bulb would.

<p><center><img src="http://www.syzygyst.com/JoePhoto/bwalk0492.jpg"></p>

<p><img src="http://www.syzygyst.com/JoePhoto/boston002.jpg"></p>

<p><img src="http://www.syzygyst.com/JoePhoto/enterp089.jpg"></p>

<p><img src="http://www.syzygyst.com/JoePhoto/ir2.jpg"></p>

<p><img src="http://www.syzygyst.com/JoePhoto/yardir045.jpg"></p>

<p><img src="http://www.syzygyst.com/JoePhoto/irlight040.jpg"></p>

</center>

I don't think ir is disabled but you need an ir filter to shoot in daylight. What the ir mode does is remove an ir blocking filter and daylight has way too much ir to be useful. The ir pass filter lets only ir through in the range the filter was designed for (1000 nm in my case). You don't really have any exposure control as the nightshot mode is totally automatic even the focus. That's where your nd filters would come in handy if you weren't happy with the exposure that the camera gives you for a certain scene. For the photo of the ship above that was in ir mode. no ir filter, the polarizer and handheld. I only use the polarizer instead of a uv filter to protect the glass and don't usually take it off to use the ir filter. I think the firmware you're looking for is an ir pass filter. I got mine on eBuy. They are kind of pricey but cheaper than brand names at a camera store. Beware of the filters made of plastic designed to be used for illumination and not as a filter on a camera.

I probably did not state the question very well. I do have external IR and neutral density filters for daylight use.

 

What I strongly object to is that in IR mode, the manufacturer intentionally disabled the manual aperature, exposure, and manual focus.

 

It is enough of an issue that I won't buy another Sony camera.

I guess the question was OK but I didn't know what an R72 filter was. I wish they didn't make nightshot a totally automatic mode but I still like it.

The mistake most people make with Night Shot mode is using the Hoya R72 filter. It is a great filter for film and cameras without Night Shot, but unusable without ND filters in Night Shot mode and full sunlight. A filter with a 50% cutoff rating of 850nm-1000nm is what is required for sunlight photos. These are easily found on ebay for $30-50, including shipping. I used an F707 today with a 950nm filter and it worked beautifully at an ISO of 100 or 200 and shutter speeds around 1/30 or 1/60 at f/2-2.4. No other filters or exposure compensation required. Manual control other than focusing was not possible, but the camera handled exposures well and was not an issue otherwise. Avoid stacking filters to avoid vignetting at the corners. Good luck.

I was about to buy an r72 to use on the F828 when I read this forum.

Can anyone suggest a filter that meets the spec Mr Vargas describes:

 

 

 

Norm Vargas , sep 17, 2005; 09:25 p.m.

The mistake most people make with Night Shot mode is using the Hoya R72 filter. It is a great filter for film and cameras without Night Shot, but unusable without ND filters in Night Shot mode and full sunlight. A filter with a 50% cutoff rating of 850nm-1000nm is what is required for sunlight photos. These are easily found on ebay for $30-50, including shipping. I used an F707 today with a 950nm filter and it worked beautifully at an ISO of 100 or 200 and shutter speeds around 1/30 or 1/60 at f/2-2.4. No other filters or exposure compensation required. Manual control other than focusing was not possible, but the camera handled exposures well and was not an issue otherwise. Avoid stacking filters to avoid vignetting at the corners. Good luck.

My I.R. experience has been good with Sony cameras that have "Night Shot", 707,V1&V3 so far. The Sonys move the hot mirror IR filter away from the sensor and if you use a suitable visible blocking filter in front of the lens you get great results at ordinary exposures with no need to use ND filters. I set the camera to PROGRAM and ISO 200 or 400 and bingo!

 

Here's one of an ordinary opaque black fountain pen showing all the mechanism and ink residue inside which demonstrates the Xray effect beautifully - no trickery, honestly.

and there's another more typical IR image here:-

http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic?id=e620Ux4Zw*HnFLAOrjrfB8dd36AxcDVjgq-bv4xQp5Fd3Ig=&size=l

I use a 950nm filter similar to that used by the previous writer.

 

Best regards

Stan<div></div>