Digital IR vs. IR Film

[steve_levine]

On Monte Zucker's website,he recently mentioned having a Canon DSLR

permanently converted to IR.(The camera costs $1500,the conversion

runs $400.)Are there any dig cams that can shoot IR more easily

(translation:cheaper & not via a permanent,non-reversable,costly

conversion)?A roll of IR film costs $12.

[michelle_cox]

Cheaper digicams tend to do better with IR. The reason is that the more expensive ones have better filters to block the IR in them. My Olympus D490z did great IR photos with my Hoya R72, but it's only a 2.1mpix camera. My Oly D40 can do them, but there's no thread adapter, so I have to hold the filter in front of the lens, which is annoying.

<p>

One thing I have heard is that digital IR has a different "look" than film IR, so you may want to check out some sites and be sure you're ok with that. Also, different digicams have different false colour, which is an issue unless you plan on converting to B&W.

<p>

This site has a lot of info:

<p>

<a href="http://dpfwiw.com/ir.htm">http://dpfwiw.com/ir.htm</a>

<p>

There was also another site that had a wonderful gallery but I can't find it again. :( I think it was called "seeing red" but Google is bringing up too many false hits. If anyone knows it, could you toss me the URL, please? :)

[frankl]

Most digicams dont require any modification at all to do Digital IR, you just need an IR filter (and a way to attach it to the camera). It's just some dSLR's that so since they have much stronger IR-blocking filters built in.

 

Some digicams are particularly well known for their infrared capabilities. The old Nikon Coolpix 950 is great, but 2 megapixels. I used one for years dedicated to IR until i recently upgraded to a Sony F828 8-megapixel monster. The nightshot mode on the Sony removes the IR-blocking filter from the lens path entirely. Sony's firmware locks the camera to a max shutter speed of 1/30th and the lens wide open, but this is countered by the simple addition of a 4-stop ND filter along with a IR filter of your choice.

 

I have lots of examples of false-colour infrared from the coolpix 950 in my portfolio here (and you can get CP950's for $200 or so used), and i'll attach one of my F828 infrared's to this post. The F828 produces more B&W results natively.

 

You'll notice the images are different than shooting film like Kodak's HIE - you dont get the same kind of halo/blooming effects with digital, which gives film based images more of a dreamlike quality to them I find.

 

-Frank / abstrakt.org<div></div>

[frankl]

I forgot to mention my favorite point about doing infrared digitally versus 'analog' : You can see the world in real-time infrared through the digicam's LCD, which is amazing when you first see it.

 

I still shoot HIE but do far far more in digital simply due to the cost.

[matt_jackson3]

A specific example would be the Minolta Dimage 7. Note the lack of 'i' or any other extras. That camera is capable of shooting B&W IR with the appropriate filter. The others that follow are not.

 

I'm sure that somewhere someone has listed the cameras capable of this but I'm not sure who or where. It does seem to me that to convert your canon is a costly and rather drastic measure.

[sergey_oboguev]

There is a bunch of IR sites and news/yahoo groups discussing the use of digicams for IR. Many digicams do not have builtin IR blocking filter; however, once you put on the filter to suppress visible light, many of those cameras go to "night mode" with severely restricted controls, such as forcing aperture to maximum, and sometimes also limiting exposure time or boosting ISO (light filter means very low light reaching sensor, meaning need for longer exposure, *especially* at higher apertures, for already noisier digicam sensor; so no "bulb exposure") etc.

 

In case you have substantial investment in Canon glass that can be leveraged and intend to do enough IR shooting, a better option might be to get "disposable" D-Rebel (rather than 10D) and have its IR filter removed.

[rowland_mowrey]

Of course, you are limited to B&W IR with digital. With film you can get either B&W and Color images. The spectral sensitivity beyond 700 nm may be different in digital vs film.

 

Also, don't forget that true IR requires a change to the focus of your lens. IR does not bend or focus the same as visible light and can lead to fuzzy images if you are not careful.

 

Regards.

 

Ron Mowrey (wilf82@yahoo.com)

[oskar_ojala]

Go to <a href="http://www.naturfotograf.com">www.naturfotograf.com</a> and read the articles on shooting IR and UV digitally. Basically, it seems that all Nikon DSLRs can shoot IR straight out of the box, whereas the Canons don't (please read the article, it has more details and observations around the subject.)

[sergey_oboguev]

<p><i>> Of course, you are limited to B&W IR with digital.</i>

 

<p>One is definitely not limited to B&W IR with digital and there is plenty of IR digital color photographs on the net.

 

<p>Whether IR as such is inrinsically good for color at all (giving any result of artistic merit rather than merely technical extravaganza), is a different matter.

[oskar_ojala]

Well I got a chance to shoot with a Olympus C-5060 with a heliopan 715 (Wratten #88 equivalent) today and it seems it is sensitive to IR (apologies for the bad quality, I was in a hurry and didn't have a tripod.)<div></div>

[corey]

Your focusing shouldnt be an issue. Most digi's will focus without a problem through an IR filter however if you do not replace the IR blocking filter with either a clear piece of glass or an IR cut to size you will most likely have a small issue with focusing.

If you want to do this yourself I bleive that the wratten filters are the most simple to cut to size. just be ready to cut it down when you take your camera apart to make sure you get the right size cut.

 

Corey