Infrared Film

samdj1210

Samdj1210
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Hi there,

I'm a bit of a newbie, I got bought some KODAK PROFESSIONAL High-Speed Infrared film for my birthday and im not sure what ISO setting to have it on. Is there anything else I should know about Infrared Film before I load it in to the camera?

Thanks
Sam
 
My experience is that it's about ISO 400 in incandescent light, but only about ISO 100 in sunlight. Use these values and then correct for filter factors; a #25 or #29 red filter will work well. With the deep red filter the effective speed will be ISO 100 in incandescent light (if you're using through-the lens metering your meter will adjust automatically for the light loss due to the filter, so just set it at 400; if you're using a hand-held meter you'll need to do the correction yourself, so set it at 100)
 
I do it exactly like Manolo... I'd add the caveat that setting 400 iso is appropriate if you're using TTL metering through the filter. If it's not TTL metering then it'll be different.
With a light red filter there's a lot of visible light getting through the filter so I never thought twice about focussing and just focused as normal which always turned out fine... but then again I never tried any close up, wide open shots.
 
Kodak reccommends a number 25 filter and an exposure index of 50 in daylight and 125 in Tungsten with filter. With thru the lens meter and filter in place EI of 200 for daylight and 500 for Tungsten.
 
I usually set the camera to 400 for throught the lens metering. However, I have found that 1/125 at f11 or f16 is a good starting point. For example, I have drastically overexposed shots taken in the shade because there was far more IR light present than visible light. I also have had some nice suprises with this film, including the time that I mistakenly underdeveloped the film becasue I read the time from the listing for sheet film instead of the 35mm listing. That particular role was the best, and easiest to print, IR roll I have ever shot. I routinely under-develop the film now.

My recommendation would be to bracket your shots and experiment with altering development times.

Kevin
 
Yeah, I thought it was a 3 stop factor, too...

FWIW, I find that I need to rate HIE at something closer to 800 or even 1600 when dealing with a lot of vegetation. I am at the point where I am going to just standardize on a single exposure in brightl ight, vs another in overcast, etc, rather than metering, but I'm not quite there yet.

allan
 
Use either a #25 Red or an Orange filter (the effect is largely the same) or, if you want some cool-man results, use ELF and filter the bulb so it produces lots of red light! I use Rosco sample swatchbooks over my flash heads--some fit perfectly, some need cut n' tape.

For EI try 200. It works for most subjects. Just avoid overdevelopment.
 
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eeeh my previous post got lost in a system error.

are you using a bessa?

1) you need to cover the plastic look-though part in the back, it's not IR-proof
2) the whole plastic back may not be IR-proof, it's a possibility that your whole film will come out fogged.

only way to tell is by trying it out. good luck!
 
A lot of good advice here already, but I would emphasize one point. Bracket a lot! I started out with the recommended ISO 400, and bracketed from there. My preference has come to be ISO 500. It gives the halo (I believe the official term for that is Green's effect), but it is nicely subtle. It doesn't do to overdo it with IR. Oh, and go out and have fun!

Drew
 
samdj1210 said:
Thanks for all your help, one last thing. Where can I get a filter for my 35mm Color Skopar Classic? any ideas?
Try Mr Cad in Croydon. The place is well worth a visit anyway (Alladins Cave comes to mind!! ) About 10minutes walk from West Croydon Station. Or Tram from Wimbldon Tube station to just behind West Croydon Station and again 10mins walk..
 
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