infrared help

[JLG]

looking to get a gift for my father. believe he has a canon but not 100%. i will try to sneak a peak of his camera if that info can make a difference. did some quick reading for a basic understanding for digital and it seems it is a bit more complicated than i thought. he has plenty of equipment tho and photoshop for the channel adjusting.

anyway, it seems the HOYA R72 would be a good filter-thing for a starting point. he does have plenty of equipment cuz photography is something he digs. did some sneaky talk with him and IR isn't something he ever fooled around with.

is there anything else that might be necessary besides the filter? that may depend on the camera but not sure if I can pull off sneaking a peak before the birthday. still have time so it is a possibility but not guaranteed.

any info/help will be much appreciated.

thanks and have fun

[Dom D]

I looked into this a while back. Never done it and don't know much about it so take what I say with the proverbial grain of salt. The camera itself shouldn't matter. This size of the filter you buy has to match the lens he uses though. He probably has a bag of lens with different szies. Without quizzing him on what his favourtie lens is you might just have to buy, say, a 52mm from a store that has a good returns policy and hope that you get the right one and know it doesn't matter too much if you don't.

IR filters block almost all of the light coming in so I believe you need to leave the lens open for an age even in daylight. This means a tripod is in order. It also means that if you happen to be a pervert (not that I'm insinuating that you are but I note this for any perverts who might happen across this thread) and want to shoot IR to see through clothing (cause it does that) it won't work with a filter unless you have a subject who is really going to stand still for you.

Other than that I think you're good to go. Apparently a lot of dopey blind themselves with IR filters. They're black so you think you can look into the sun with them but you'll still burn your eyes out. Just something to bear in mind.

[Paul L]

Dom's right, the filter is enough; but it's worth bearing in mind that the sensors in (most?) digital cameras are optimised to block out infrared light (there's a technique at the following link that helps you determine if your digital camera has an IR filter: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk...otography-3934 ), and using a filter with some of these sensors can result in a 'hot spot' in the centre of the image. This is more of an issue with Bayer sensors, I believe - and unfortunately, most DSLRs contain Bayer-based sensors.

You can modify most DSLRs to shoot infrared by removing the IR blocker in front of the sensor. Of course, that's a more permanent solution and a tricksy one to achieve. (Fuji make digital cameras that function as IR cameras 'out of the box' but their sale is restricted to forensic agencies, etc, to prevent their 'unethical' use .)

It's worth trying (renting/borrowing, if you can) an IR filter and fitting it to the camera for a try-out before you buy it. Don't forget that the long exposure times will require a tripod - but your dad's probably got one of those.

[JLG]

thanks for the help, guys. i did see that a lot of digital cameras have the blocker. that was something that was making me think there should be more than just a filter. i fooled around with infrared film a long time ago but i am not even close to being a novice. i think i might have been doing it incorrectly anyway after doing a bit of reading for the digital.

anyway, thanks for the info. he definitely has tripods and knows much more than i do about the photo stuff so i'll grab one of those filters later today.

unrelated but i came across the Ilford SFX film yesterday somewhere. i shot a roll of that once and was very pleased with how it came out. was driving me nuts for a few days trying to remember the brand name. probably had a filter on the camera but don't remember. not sure what the speed was. maybe 3200 but i don't remember. the film turned out great indoors and outdoors for the Y2K New Years party. not important. Ilford was the name

thanks and have fun