Pixiq

For me, an IR-converted camera is the easiest way to capture digital infrared images. You can purchase an already modified camera or have one of your existing cameras converted to IR-only operation, and if you’ve been looking for something to do with that older SLR sitting on a shelf but still makes great but less megapixel images than your newest model, here’s the perfect job for it. For SLRs this means that all your lenses work, and for point-and-shooters, you already know how it works. There are upsides and downsides of using a converted camera instead of lens filters for IR capture with your existing camera and all of these will be covered in an upcoming post.

As easy as using an IR-converted camera may be, you face a bunch of choices in having your camera converted starting with where to have it done. Many different companies offer infrared conversion services, but I have experience using three, and I’ll mention them here where it’s appropriate. You do have lots of choices for conversion services, and while I said in “The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography” that you should let Google be your guide, I think a personal recommendation from a photographer whose work you admire is the best place to start. Keep in mind that not every company will convert every camera make, so be sure to check to see if they will work on your specific model.

Your eyes can see a range of light from approximately 400 to 700 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a metric unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter. A typical digital camera sensor sees light with wavelengths from 350 to 1,000 nanometers. Digital cameras typically have a low-pass filter placed directly in front of the image sensor to block unwanted higher frequency light including light from infrared and ultraviolet spectrums. This filter only allows the low-frequency light that’s visible to the human eye to pass through to the sensor where it is recorded. This filter blocks UV and IR light and is important for maintaining maximum color fidelity.

Choice #1: Now here comes your first set of choices. During a camera’s IR conversion the filter that stops infrared and ultraviolet light from striking the camera’s sensor is surgically removed allowing all visible and invisible light to strike the sensor. You can have your camera converted to direct IR capture, and they will replace the low-pass filter with one designed to only allow infrared light to pass through. What happens next is that your camera is now a dedicated infrared-only capture device.

Most of the time I shoot in RAW format, which will require post processing to make a black-and-white IR shot, but when I’m fooling around I sometimes set the camera in Monochrome mode which lets me see right on the LCD what the image will look like. In fact, I’ve started shooting my IR captures in RAW+JPEG mode, just so I can see the image in black and white (otherwise shades of magenta for RAW-only capture.) Since the camera’s LCD only displays a JPEG, choosing monochrome gives me a preview of what my RAW file will look like when processed later.

Choice #2: Some conversion companies only offer you a choice of one infrared filter to be installed during conversion, but others offer you more choices. LifePixel (www.lifepixel.com), for example, offers four choices including their standard filter that’s equivalent to Hoya R72, Kodak Wratten 89b, or 720nm filter. They also offer an Enhanced Color IR filter that’s equivalent to 665nm, Super Color IR equivalent to 590nm, and a Deep BW IR that’s equivalent to 830nm filters. LifePixel converted my second set of IR cameras, an EOS Rebel Xt and EOS Rebel Xti. I had the Rebel Xt modified with the Enhanced Color IR filter and the Rebel Xti converted using the Standard IR filter. The Standard conversions works great if the intended result is a monochrome image while the Enhanced Color IR filter is better if I’m going to be doing more processing to produce a color image.

Choice #3: You can also have the conversion company replace the filter in front of your camera’s sensor with a piece of plain glass of the same size and optical characteristics —except the filtration—as the original low-pass filter. Not all companies offer this choice, but some offer both infrared and what some call UV-IR conversions. The surgical process is different, and some will use plain glass while others replace the original low-pass filter with a custom full-spectrum filter. Theoretically, this will allow you to capture natural color or infrared depending on what filter you place in front of the lens. Recently I’ve been shooting an Olympus E-P1 that was converted by Hunt Camera using this option. This part of two kits that are being offered includes modified camera body, three lens filters, and step-up rings that allow the filters to be used on different M.Zuiko lens for the Olympus Pen cameras.

Joe Farace is the author of “The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography” published by Lark Books.