Beginner Where to start with Infrared photography?

woody12

woody12

Messages
1,452
Name
paul
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi, I'm not a beginner to photography but love seeing awesome images in infrared. Just wondering best way to start, is there a dedicated lens and what sort of price should I be looking to pay. I know there is a setting in photoshop in black and white presets. Is there any photographer I can follow who is worth learning from?
 
There are a number of threads on this site where people have shared their infrared efforts. My own interest came from looking at these and so I bought a "goldie" converted Nikon D200 body (590nm conversion), but since then I also bought (via this site) a Panasonic G3 converted to 830nm wavelength. Different wavelengths give you different effects. The basics are in this resource: https://digital-photography-school.com/3-things-know-infrared-photography/ but mainly I just searched via google to get what I learned. You can use filters, but imho better to use a converted camera for better effect.
 
The best way is to get a converted camera but you can use an IR filter on the front of the lens. to be honest I’ve found it to be bit of a minefield. if using a filter on the lens you first,y need to check your camera can see infrared Spectrum. Next you have to see if yours lenses have good IR performance. Hot spots can be a big issue with some lenses.
 
Hi, thanks for both of your advice lots to think about and look into. Thanks Rob for your comment on a previous thread with the sea defences at Norfolk. I didn't see the pillbox must be well buried.
 
Cheapest way is to pick up a second hand Nikon d70 (these go from about £30) and an IR filter (from about £7) these work fairly well without comvertion. Ok it's not the best or easiest as you have cant see through the filter and theres a bit of fiddling to get exposures until you get used to it but it is cheaptn_DSC_8470 smallcopy.jpg
 
Last edited:
woody12 said:
Hi, thanks for both of your advice lots to think about and look into. Thanks Rob for your comment on a previous thread with the sea defences at Norfolk. I didn't see the pillbox must be well buried.
Click to expand...
A friend of mine did a few blogs a few years back about IR photograph. They may be useful to you.

www.elliothook.co.uk

Infrared Photography with the Hoya R72 filter - Elliot Hook Photography

I find myself really drawn to infrared photography. There is something about the naturally high contrast black and white images that IR can produce that just aren’t possible when shooting normally, with the visible spectrum. This is especially true in the landscape where foliage can...
www.elliothook.co.uk www.elliothook.co.uk

www.elliothook.co.uk

Infrared Photography Part II: Processing - Elliot Hook Photography

Late last year, I wrote my first post on infrared photography that attempted to cover the practical aspects of using a Hoya R72 IR filter to capture IR images. This post is a follow up, and is more focussed on the processing side of things using Lightroom. I’m...
www.elliothook.co.uk www.elliothook.co.uk
 
A D100, some cheap IR filters and a cheap compatible lens. Unfortunately it doesn't have live view so focusing is a bit hit and miss (take pictures, zoom into tiny LCD, adjust lens).

A D1 would be even better.
 
I started with a Pentax K100d which behaves very much like the D70 mentioned by @swanseamale47 .
Best results need a tripod but with a reasonably fast prime handheld was possible (but framing is guess work with the filter on).
Many old DSLRs can shoot IR with an added filter but most are MUCH less sensitive than the D70 or K100d

Other options without getting a converted camera are old Sony cameras with 'Nightshot' or One of the Sigma Foveon bodies with user removable dust filters (these are the hot mirrors)

My Sony DSC V1 (a Nightshot enabled point & shoot) cost me £15, but needed some more spending to get an adapter to fit filters for daylight IR shooting Controls are somewhat limited in Nightshot mode but it worked:
DSC00526 small by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

DSC00518 small by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

It can shoot in complete darkness too, thanks to a built in IR LED.


My Foveon camera an SD14 was added several years after getting a converted body, because it can show IR quite differently to normal cameras (as red)
wrabness aerochrome small by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

It should be capable of shooting normal IR too, but I've got better options for that :)


I think that sums up the cheap beginners options. If you get seriously bitten by the bug and want to take the next step a full spectrum converted mirrorless camera is the most flexible option. With a classic long pass IR filter you can do monochrome IR shooting much as you would normally. With coloured filters (Wratten #25 AKA 590nm is most common) a combination of IR & visual can be recorded allowing false colour images. With care, special lenses & filters UV can also be recorded!
 
Last edited:
Camera with IR filters really needs a tripod and long exposures, a conversion is more expensive, £300 ish but you shoot handheld as normal with normal exposures.

I had a Pentax K5ii converted last year, love the effects, bright blue skies with white fluffy clouds yeild the best results combined with foilage / water / building's etc, nudes work well as the IR turns the shin tones very pale so good with a dark background.

My recommendation would be to have a camera permantly converted, current prices show you'd recover most of your outlay.
 
You can buy them converted for around £100 up

I have dealt with this seller (not to buy a converted camera) and he is extremely helpful.


Others may be just as helpful, but I haven't dealt with them :)
 
chrism8 said:
Camera with IR filters really needs a tripod and long exposures, a conversion is more expensive, £300 ish but you shoot handheld as normal with normal exposures.

I had a Pentax K5ii converted last year, love the effects, bright blue skies with white fluffy clouds yeild the best results combined with foilage / water / building's etc, nudes work well as the IR turns the shin tones very pale so good with a dark background.

My recommendation would be to have a camera permantly converted, current prices show you'd recover most of your outlay.
Click to expand...
With more recent cameras tripods are needed, but a few cameras can manage handheld. This IR panorama was made using 5 handheld shots with an unmodified K100d:
Infra red Panorama by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Another example from the same day has the EXIF preserved ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/15s - not a big challenge to handhold at the cameras base ISO
Parliament by infra red by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

When I tried the same filter on my K7 f/5.6 & ISO 800 was badly under exposed at 30s & showed less IR character, so that wouldn't be much good for handholding :)
 
Converted cameras can be quite cheap on the bay. I've had a couple and have converted a couple myself.
Those that are professionally converted to a particular wavelength tend to be expensive as the hot mirror covering the sensor is replaced by a filter (of your choice) that fits to replace the hot mirror (IR blocking filter). The cheaper, "full spectrum" conversions have a plain glass replacement and rely on an external filter on the lens to provide the IR pass filtering.
These are the most flexible too as you can experiment with the effects of different filters.
Aside from bold black and white, some nice colour shifts can be edited to look pretty good...if you like that sort of thing.
My present IR camera (not much used for a while) is an Oly PEN E-PL1 that does a good job on the kit zoom lens. I quite like the effect using a standard R25 red filter and used to take that and a 720nm filter.
Some things to look for in an converted IR camera: The lens can give "hot spots", a lighter part of the frame that can spoil the look. Not all lenses are suitable. Converting a camera inevitably allows some amount of dust into the sensor (as I found out myself!). Check for dust on the sensor by taking a few images of a plain sky at small apertures.

It can be very addictive.

Last Post_bsm.jpg
 
I recommend that you look at the techniques section of my website
I have been doing IR for many years now and while B&W IR is still very popular, colour IR has a more limited appeal. Try Clive Haynes website for more expertise.

Dave
 
Cluster said:
Converted cameras can be quite cheap on the bay. I've had a couple and have converted a couple myself.
Those that are professionally converted to a particular wavelength tend to be expensive as the hot mirror covering the sensor is replaced by a filter (of your choice) that fits to replace the hot mirror (IR blocking filter). The cheaper, "full spectrum" conversions have a plain glass replacement and rely on an external filter on the lens to provide the IR pass filtering.
These are the most flexible too as you can experiment with the effects of different filters.
Click to expand...
IMO The best full spectrum conversions replace the hot mirror with quartz (increasing the UV signal compared to glass). I think I have one of each type of full spectrum conversion, certainly my first one has very little UV response & the second is better.
Cluster said:
Aside from bold black and white, some nice colour shifts can be edited to look pretty good...if you like that sort of thing.
My present IR camera (not much used for a while) is an Oly PEN E-PL1 that does a good job on the kit zoom lens. I quite like the effect using a standard R25 red filter and used to take that and a 720nm filter.
Click to expand...
My favourite filters are also the #25 & a 720nm but sometimes I find blue filters work well too - these are very much less predictable. Whats worked one day has been 'blah' the next.
Cluster said:
Some things to look for in an converted IR camera: The lens can give "hot spots", a lighter part of the frame that can spoil the look. Not all lenses are suitable. Converting a camera inevitably allows some amount of dust into the sensor (as I found out myself!). Check for dust on the sensor by taking a few images of a plain sky at small apertures.
Click to expand...
Hot spots can also be variable, the best lenses never have a problem, but I've had one work fine shooting IR on a stock camera , only to see hot spots when using my converted body. Another lens only gave noticeable hot spots when focused very close... If you already have a lens don't be afraid to try it just because you've seen reports it gives hot spots - but you might want to be wary buying one reported to give issues.

Dust has proved an issue for me too, steadily getting worse & I suspect due to dust getting under the replacement filter - closer to the sensor & more obvious, and more difficult to shift!
Cluster said:
It can be very addictive.
Click to expand...
It certainly can! In summer most of my shooting is IR.
 
Petrochemist said:
IMO The best full spectrum conversions replace the hot mirror with quartz (increasing the UV signal compared to glass). I think I have one of each type of full spectrum conversion, certainly my first one has very little UV response & the second is better.
Click to expand...

Both the G3s I converted this year have a clear quartz replacement for the hot mirror, and the ebay seller I mentioned earlier does the same.
It is worth checking with any seller if buying, as you can simply remove the hot mirror, but that exposes the sensor to dust.
 
Sangoma said:
Both the G3s I converted this year have a clear quartz replacement for the hot mirror, and the ebay seller I mentioned earlier does the same.
It is worth checking with any seller if buying, as you can simply remove the hot mirror, but that exposes the sensor to dust.
Click to expand...
It also needs the sensor position moved to get focus right. The simplistic (just remove hot mirror) approach is what I did on the point & shoot I converted and afterwards it couldn't focus beyond a few feet.
 
Petrochemist said:
It also needs the sensor position moved to get focus right. The simplistic (just remove hot mirror) approach is what I did on the point & shoot I converted and afterwards it couldn't focus beyond a few feet.
Click to expand...

You don't need to move it on the G3s (not with the 14-42 lens anyway, it has enough range, and manual and auto focus is not optical or separate sensors, it is off the sensor.
The Canons I did, it had to be moved, mainly because they don't have on sensor focus, so whether you focused manually or tried to use the auto focus, it would not be right

The G3s (and other similar models) are very easy to adjust the sensor position anyway, just three screws (of course you note positions as you disassemble)
I think it is 0.2mm if it needed to be moved.
 
Well I've been bitten by the bug and just bought a full spectrum Fujifilm X-A5. Came with a few lenses and a load of filters. These are 2 quick samples from the garden as I played with some of the filters it came with, these are (I think) a Neewer IR720 filter had gave an orange look 'as is' that I was able to process to the pink foliage look but I think it's too purple, and a Hoya R72 filter that gave a deeper more contrasty image than the Neewer filter. I think the 2 filters are 'the same' but the Neewer filter is cooler so is more orange when shot through and the Hoya is a more of a pale red salmon colour so the same preset didn't work for both.

To try and get my head around the filters that came with it.

UV & IR Cut - Makes it a normal camera?

Orange

r590 Red

Green G(X1)

Neewer Infrared IR720, IR760, IR850, IR950

Hoya R72

Infrared Camera Conversions QB39 and ZWB2 (UG1)

Keen to work out how to make the camera shoot images like this or this as I know the full spectrum can produce these images but it's a steep learning curve of white balances and what filter does what!!
 

Attachments

  • DSCF2364.jpg
    DSCF2364.jpg
    429.3 KB · Views: 4
  • DSCF2370.jpg
    DSCF2370.jpg
    214 KB · Views: 4
Have fun Gareth, keep posting;)

As for white balance, use the custom WB function, just take a picture of your lawn, when it’s green of course!
 
Last edited:
I know that some of you will view this approach as a bit left-field, but you can make black and white infrared images on film too ...

All you need (assuming you have a film camera) is to choose a film with an infrared response, and use an R72 filter and a tripod.

Suitable 35mm films include Rollei IR400, Ilford SFX200, and Adox HR50
Suitable 120 films include Rollei IR400 and Ilford SFX200

Hot spots are not an issue. You can mix infrared and "normal" B&W images on the same roll of film - leave off the R72 filter for normal images.

My blog has a few posts showing examples of IR images with the films mentioned above:

kevinthephotographer.wordpress.com

Infrared – kevinthephotographer

Posts about Infrared written by kevinallan
kevinthephotographer.wordpress.com kevinthephotographer.wordpress.com
 
Last edited:
The problem with using an R72 filter with film or digital is slow shutter speeds. This then limits you to completely static subject such as landscapes. Though using a tripod trees, bushes and clouds move during the exposure creating a blurring effect that I personally dislike. This is what drove me to convert a digital camera. I also found that exposures seemed almost guess work with film and I could not get consistent results. With my converted IR camera I get consistent result using the internal metering system.

Why would hot spots not be an issue with film, if it is caused by the lens.

Dave
 
Dave Canon said:
The problem with using an R72 filter with film or digital is slow shutter speeds. This then limits you to completely static subject such as landscapes. Though using a tripod trees, bushes and clouds move during the exposure creating a blurring effect that I personally dislike. This is what drove me to convert a digital camera. I also found that exposures seemed almost guess work with film and I could not get consistent results. With my converted IR camera I get consistent result using the internal metering system.

Why would hot spots not be an issue with film, if it is caused by the lens.

Dave
Click to expand...
I can only say that I've never observed them or heard about anyone else experiencing hotspots with IR film.
 
I've just started using a 720 filter and watching Rob Shea on YouTube. I'm using his 2 free colour profiles and bought his files for Light room so no need to go to Photoshop to invert hues.
Been a bit of fun so far.
 
AJR SIMPSON said:
I've just started using a 720 filter and watching Rob Shea on YouTube. I'm using his 2 free colour profiles and bought his files for Light room so no need to go to Photoshop to invert hues.
Been a bit of fun so far.
Click to expand...

Yup, I've done the same!

Found today I had a better success 'look' with using a cheap pop up white balancer that came free years ago with a copy of AP. Using the orangey red 590nm filter with it on the front of the lens I pointed the camera at it and used that for a custom white balance. When I put the R72 filter back on I used the grass as a custom white balance subject.

Going to follow this tutorial tomorrow:

Easy False Colour | Infrared Camera Conversions

Tutorials on simple false colour post processing without the need for channel swapping or Photoshop.
www.infraredcameraconversions.co.uk www.infraredcameraconversions.co.uk

That Amazon Cokin filter I'd be careful. I'm no expert myself, early stages of learning but I read and can also visualise 'how' they can let 'normal' light on at the edges that'll affect the final image.
 
I use two pieces of coloured board (card) from a normal art supplier.
One red and one green (the deep colours not the pastel)
It seems that most coloured paper use the same green and red.
I keep it out of the sun and bright light, which means I have a cheap constant reference, without having to try and find a patch of grass that is the same green as the time before.

I save the two white balances, and assign them to two custom settings on the main mode dial, so very quick to change.
 
cardiff_gareth said:
Going to follow this tutorial tomorrow:

Easy False Colour | Infrared Camera Conversions

Tutorials on simple false colour post processing without the need for channel swapping or Photoshop.
www.infraredcameraconversions.co.uk www.infraredcameraconversions.co.uk
Click to expand...
Just for interest, I had a look at that this morning.
Afraid I get nothing like that with an orange filter.

However, this is what I get with a blue filter, white balance set on a red sheet, and ten seconds with IrfanView (couldn't get any simpler programme)

P1070183s.jpg
P1070183s1.jpg
 
Sangoma said:
Just for interest, I had a look at that this morning.
Afraid I get nothing like that with an orange filter.

However, this is what I get with a blue filter, white balance set on a red sheet, and ten seconds with IrfanView (couldn't get any simpler programme)

....
Click to expand...

I tried that tutorial also earlier and didn't get anything like that also. My camera came with a Rocolax r59 590nm filter and setting a white balance off the white balance pop up I have gives me a colour file like the two attached. These are unedited RAW file just imported into LR.
 

Attachments

  • Capture.JPG
    Capture.JPG
    142.6 KB · Views: 2
  • Capture2.JPG
    Capture2.JPG
    108.5 KB · Views: 2
Here's my latest image post with the images processed:

www.talkphotography.co.uk

3rd times a charm with the full spectrum camera and shooting IR

3rd times a charm, finally got some images that I'm happy with in terms of the colours I've been after. First 4 are with a 590nm filter and white balance se using a pop up white balancer 'diffuser'. 5 onwards using a Hoya R72 filter with white balance set to green grass. All with the Fuji X-A5...
www.talkphotography.co.uk www.talkphotography.co.uk
 
cardiff_gareth said:
I tried that tutorial also earlier and didn't get anything like that also. My camera came with a Rocolax r59 590nm filter and setting a white balance off the white balance pop up I have gives me a colour file like the two attached. These are unedited RAW file just imported into LR.
Click to expand...

Seems odd.

This is straight out of the camera with a 720 filter, and the WB set with red card

ir720.jpg



And This is straight out of the camera with a blue filter, and the WB set with green card
irb1.jpg
 
cardiff_gareth said:
I don't have a red card but my wife has one of those fitness steps that is red so I used that to set the WB. Out of camera with the Hoya R72 filter on gives me this using the red
WB
Click to expand...
That looks good :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top