Yo Jeff, I hope you get updated about all new posts or otherwise nobody's gonna know I replied to such an old post. Well since you said you've been reading about IR photography, I'll assume you know the basics. I'm pretty new at it too so all I can really offer is this address and a few itty bitty "tips":
www.wrotniak.net/photo/infrared/#NEED
I've also read the article about IR on dpFWIW.com
Sorry, no luck finding info on which cameras work well for IR or which filters should be used. All I could find was a bunch of info on older 2meg Olympus Cams and a lot of people saying that most of the 3+ meg cams block out A LOT of IR. I also read that HOYA R72 or equivalent filters give the best chance of success if you are unsure of what your cam can handle. I also found that the Hot Mirror built into all the new cameras can sometimes be removed and replaced with a piece of optical glass. Doing so will allow you to shoot at speeds of 1/100 or faster, but the modification would render the camera useless for regular shooting. You can also destroy your camera in the process, so it's not recommended for your primary cam.
I tried the "remote control" test on my A80 and the light appeared pretty bright on the LCD so I ordered a HOYA R72 filter from 47th street photo (also available at 2filter.com and B & H in NY). Well, turns out my camera is very insensitive to IR and it usually requires 15 secs or MORE(not possible on my cam) at F8.0 in direct sunlight. At first all my shots were very blurry so I thought I might have gotten a knock off filter. 2 weeks later I found out that if the camera isn't sensitve enough to IR, it won't set a proper focus distance, so you must do it manually, and you must also set it to a shorter focus distance since IR is at a different wavelength range. Usually, 1/2 or 2/3 of the actually distance works well at F8.0
for me. I always shoot IR at F8.0 because I must guess the Focus distance.
The first web address I listed is the only site I found that mentions post processing IR shots. At first I saw all these beautiful IR shot with hints of different colors here and there; when I got my filter and I could only take completely RED shots I was very disappointed and confused. I found out later that results vary significantly between cameras, and that shots like mine could be rescued in PhotoShop if they were converted to a black and white image (very dull looking with low contrast) and then have the levels and contrast settings adjusted to add some punch. Oh, and by the way, water appears dark in IR, even if it is very shallow and very clear, a small amout in a white bucket will turn dark. Also, some smooth patterns such as those on certain plants are invisible to IR and some materials come out transparent although they appear opaque in visible light. interesting, eh?
well that's all I have to offer, so... good luck
note: please respond to this message with a "i read it" or something or I will start a new post when I check back in a few days. I really wouldn't like to know I typed this up and found out later that no one read it.
Infrared photography on D60/20D
Linear Mode
