Which Canon Digital SLR is good for infrared without modification?

Specifically, can EOS 5D and Rebel XTi get good IR images without spending $$

removing their IR cutoff filters?

 

Thanks.

None of them.

 

You can get IR images by using a Hoya 72, but I wouldn't call them good. Plus you'll need a tripod since exposures will be measured in seconds.

excuse my ignorance, what's the deal with IR anyway? What I saw is great for the first 10 minutes, after which it becomes more of the same white trees on a lunar landscape...

If you don't get it, you don't get it.

 

You might as well say what's the deal with B&W or what's the deal with color?

Thanks, Bob. Looks like Minolta 7D or Nikon cameras then.

...or a Sigma, since you can remove - and replace - the IR cut filter very simply (it sits in front of the mirror, not on the sensor as with many cameras).

Canon produced a EOS 20Da for a while. The 20Da had no IR filter.

It's no longer listed, but eventually you get a used one.

Perhaps I should also have mentioned the Canon 20Da, which has a band pass filter for the hydrogen alpha line in the near IR, making it suitable for astrophotography (but not for more general IR work perhaps), and the Fuji IR/UV camera, designed for forensic work:

 

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06080904fujifilms3prouvir.asp

 

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0506/05060101canon20da.asp

Actually, the D30 (the old 3mp D30, not the new 8mp 30D) had decent IR sensitivity. Under

bright conditions at ISO400, shutter speeds would be 1/2s or 1/4s and images would have

decent contrast.

The old EOS D2000 (same as Kodak DCS 520) and EOS D6000 (Kodak DCS 560) use a detachable IR-blocking (or combined IR-blocking + antialiasing) filter in front of the mirror, and should be quite suitable for IR photography when you remove that filter. But it's heavy, bulky, has a poor battery life and is quite dated. The D2000/DCS 520 has only 2 megapixels, the less common D6000/DCS 560 six. They cost a fortune when new, but now they often can be found cheap e.g. on eBay, especially the DCS 520. Because of the age, the non-replaceable backup battery will probably be exhausted, so you have to set the time and date when it's been without the main battery for a while.

 

One problem with IR photography with most SLRs is the lack of live preview. Therefore it makes sense to use e.g. a Cokin-type IR filter instead of the more common circular ones, so you can compose without the filter and attach the filter in a couple of seconds.

>>> Thanks, Bob. Looks like Minolta 7D or Nikon cameras then.

 

Or a Sony H9 or Fuji IS-1....

The best looks like the new Sigma series SD9,10,14 where you can manually remove the IR filter yourself.

Rainer T,

 

It is not true that the 20Da has no IR filter.

 

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/EQ_TESTS/INFRARED.HTM

 

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=6982

 

It works quite well with an R72.

<P><i>Thanks, Bob. Looks like Minolta 7D or Nikon cameras then.</i></P>

<P></P>

<P>Forgive my ignorance, but...don't these cameras also have IR filters on their sensors? Wouldn't removing them require the same professional conversion?</P>

Leica M8. It also has the advantage of having the viewfinder separate from the taking lens, so you can frame and shoot with the R72 filter inplace.

 

The Sony digital P&S's that have "nightshot" mode is basically IR as well.

>Forgive my ignorance, but...don't these cameras also have IR filters on >their sensors? Wouldn't removing them require the same professional >conversion?

 

That's why it's so infuriating for me: it's all a wild guess. Manufacturers don't tell you if their sensors are good for IR (except in the case of Canon 20Da). I know that Minolta 7D works well only because I saw somebody's gorgeous IR shots with it.

 

Leica M8 doesn't have IR filter and got slammed by users for the "purple plague". But according to luminous-landscape.com, it doesn't do particularly well in IR. Must have something to do with the sensors themselves.

`e.g. a Cokin-type IR filter instead of the more common circular ones, so you can compose without the filter and attach the filter in a couple of seconds.`

 

Is that possible? I just checked 2 cokin filter sets and the filter seems to be slightly off the back plate. the R72 is quite dark which would require long exposures, would the lil light from top & bottom affect exposures. or are exposures short enough no to worry? I have an ol D30 being lazy might try it out.

 

thanks

To "chris JB": You probably have a point. Light leaks at the top and bottom should be avoided. If it affects exposure, it will probably cause low contrast and maybe flare as well. It would be more of a problem on a camera like the D30, with a non-removable IR-blocking filter, than on a camera with the IR-blocking filter removed.

 

Maybe some black tape is enough to prevent most of the light leaks: A piece at the top and bottom of the holder that almost touches the filter when inserted, and maybe a "flap" at the top of the filter that touches the filter holder.

I don't know why Michael wrote that in luminous-landspace. APO corrected lenses do not have an IR focus shift, and Leica of all people pride themselves in having fully APO corrected lenses across the whole frame, that's why there's no IR mark on the lenses.

Kin,

 

Check out this thread which discusses IR focus shift for a variety of Leica lenses.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BI12&tag=

None of Canon D-SLR could does IR photography without any modification. <br>

Since the hotmirror element in all Canon D-SLR will block all IR wavelength which will disturb visual light reproduction. <br>

No wonder if the D-SLR which having good sensitivity to IR light such Nikon D100/D70 will not give you good picture direct out camera such like Canon D-SLR.

I'm new to this forum. I don't see instructions on how to ask a question. So this answer is a question.

 

Do any of you know where I can see IR images taken with a Kodak (Canon) DCS 560? I have one that is just collecting dust. If I could use this camera for IR photography, I may put it back to work.

 

Thanks, Michael F<div></div>

To Michael Fruge: To take IR photos with a DCS 560, you first have to remove the hot mirror or antialiasing filter, as it blocks IR. It's fastened with with a screw above the mirror. This will make the camera sensitive to both IR and visible light.

 

Then you need to put an IR filter in front of the lens when taking the photograph, but unless the filter slips some visible light through, you should remove the filter when composing the image. Thus a tripod is essential.

I tried IR photography with a Digital Rebel 300D. On a sunny clear day exposure time could be as little as 1 second, but 2-4s is more common. The problem I'm having is the hot spot in the centre but this is lens related (I used the EF-S 18-55mm lens). So I'm going to get the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens which I hear is good for IR photography. Of course getting the camera modified to remove the hot mirror will result in significantly better pictures but the cost is prohibitive for me so I'm going to leave that to next year. Here is a picture with the 300D and a Hoya R72 using a tripod. The earlier IR pictures in this gallery were taken with an S2 digicam.

http://tech.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanonS2IS/photos/view/592a?b=14&m=f&o=0

This is a very interesting subject. Apparently, the security services are worried about certain things being captured by the unwashed masses using IR. All IR-specific cameras are now subject of trading restrictions, initially going as far as needing a signed EULA form 'justifying' the purchase and collection in-person. Heaven knows what Homeland Security was thinking because the cat is already out the bag with this technology. Oh, and the excuse of weirdo's using IR to see 'thru' clothing is a red-herring. Now I don't want to seem like a nut, but some VERY interesting curiosities have been captured on FLIR cameras mounted on helicopters. I guess some of the things filmed could be military experiments, covert, and they want to keep them that way. Wide-field nighttime IR exposures above our cities and near airbases may prove fruitful. I'd go for an EOS 300D mod, the end result is very fast.