Could I get help with Infrared on R-D1?

[gdi]

I have a filter as reccommended by RML ( http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/DisplayProduct.cfm?productid=1918 )
but need help with settings and workflow.

Will this work with B&W as well as color? do I need to set the R-D1 color setting to B&W? I get decent exposure but I am not getting any IR effect - looks just like black and white to me.

Maybe there is a lot of WB work for color, but I thought I could get decent B&W without much trouble or tons of PP.

Thanks!

 

[RML]

GDI, what I do is to crack the iso to iso800, set AE to +2, and generally shoot at f4. This gives me the shutter times that I can hand hold even a little later in the evening.

I just shoot RAW, so B&W or colour doesn't matter.

In Epson PhotoRAW is where the fun starts. Either I use the "colour dropper" to select a white balance of choice. Experiment with that. It will result in false colour IR photos. Or you convert the RAW to B&W. Don't forget to use one of the colour filter effects. I get really good IR effects that way.

See here for both false colour and filtered: http://shardsofphotography.blogspot.com/2007/04/one-shot-four-versions.html .

Or see here ( http://shardsofphotography.blogspot.com/search/label/IR ) and here ( http://shardsofphotography2.blogspot.com/search/label/IR ) for my postings on IR and for results.

 

[pfogle]

I've posted a few IR shots on the forum, but not in my gallery. I'll try to post some tonight after work.

I use a Hoya R72 filter - the filter you're using looks OK from the Edmund's site, but it might be a bit leaky in the visible, reducing the IR effect.

To get the strongest IR effect, I find it best to shoot color and then only use the green channel. For in-camera jpgs you'd set b/w-green filter options. The red channel is usually much more sensitive, and will be way over-exposed using this method, judging by the LCD on the back of the camera. For this reason, I like to set the camera to b/w-green filter, and then shoot RAW. That way, the LCD gives a good approximation of the right exposure, and you can decide later whether to use the b/w jpg, or process the RAW for more interesting color effects. Using the green channel means the camera is about 2-3 stops less sensitive than using the red channel (or using full color, which will be dominated by red anyway) so hand-holding is more or less ruled out.

 

[gdi]

Thanks - I'll try to test more in the next day or two...

 

[pfogle]

I've just posted a small album of IR shots here (link)

apologies for repeat postings, but it seems useful to put them in one place.

 

[RML]

Beautiful, Phil.

 

[pfogle]

Beautiful, Phil.

why thank you! <blush>

 

[bellyface]

I've converted nikon D bodies using the edmund optic filter, and it works fine, however, using it in front of the lens, in front of the bodies' AA filter will not be the best effective. I second phil's advice on using an R72 filter, or even maybe an R87. Definitely use a hood though, you don't want reflections and hotspots.

 

[gdi]

I think I need an R72, thanks...


Great shots Phil thats what I want..

 

[gdi]

Update - I ordered the Hoya R72 today. But while I wait, I decided to try it the old fashioned way.

If anyone is interested, here is my first IR film test - http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=570716#post570716

 

[pfogle]

Update - I ordered the Hoya R72 today. But while I wait, I decided to try it the old fashioned way.

If anyone is interested, here is my first IR film test - http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=570716#post570716

those film shots are really nice - you get that lovely diffused but grainy look that's really missing in digital IR. One of the reasons I prefer to use the R-D1 for IR, rather than my 5D say, is that at 1600 ISO you do start to get that grainy look.

On the subject of using the green channel, which I mentioned before, my workflow is like this: I develop the RAW file in C1-LE. On the exposure tab, you get a histogram showing the 3 primary channels (R, G and B) as 3 colored lines, so you wind up the exposure (if necessary) until the green plot fills the scale. At this point, the red will be making the whole picture look horribly over-exposed.

However, once you get the output image into PS (I'm using CS2 at the moment) you use channel mixer, mono output, and wind the red right down to zero, and put the green up to 100%. Now you'll find a perfectly exposed, contrasty IR image.

FWIW I bought two IR filters - the R72 and another resin filter from SRB that they advertised as a sharper cut-off. In practice, it leaked a bit of red, and didn't give results that were as good as the Hoya. So now I use the R72 exclusively. I just mention it as there are other filters around, but they do vary a lot in result.

 

[gdi]

Phil - thanks for all the tips - I thought my filter would come today, but I guess it will be next week before I can try them out.

In the meantime, I did develop another roll of HIE today and posted a few slightly more interesting shots in the other thread...

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=571413#post571413

 

[georgef]

I bought a filter off ebay, similar in light cutoff to the R72 and have been following this thread with interest; just wanted to drop a line and also offer kudos to GDI and Phil for your IR shots. Very cool boys, very cool indeed.
george