New to me Olympus epl1 converted to IR

[GaryLH]

Could not pass up a deal on a Olympus EPL1 that was a refurb converted to IR (715) by Looking Glass. Apparently they bought a bunch of refurb EPL1s and sent them out to be converted to IR. These come with the kit lens (14-42 - not impressed) and a one year MAC warranty for $389.. They have actually had them a while, but were selling them around $100 more. Anyway could not resist a dedicated IR camera that is essentially cheaper then sending a camera to be converted by MaxMax. They currently have them in 665, 715 and 830nm converted versions of the camera. The 830nm is 100% IR and u will lose two stops. The 715 seems to be pretty close to normal. Because the 715 provides some info in the other color channels, it provides more tonal range..

I have tried the IR filter approach, the pseudo IR using SW and to me, I like what I am seeing much better. I can easily hand hold now since there is now more than enough light getting to the sensor. In fact, I have to set my exposure compensation at minus 0.7 to 1.0.

Supposedly the other benefit of using a dedicated IR camera is when u take landscapes, U will be able to cut thru all the smog and haze for a cleaner crisper looking shot.

Anyway here is a pair - original and B&W conversion using FX Pro 2.

Gary

 

[rhl-oregon]

I had my EP1 converted locally. The dedicated sensor permits low light to offer a lot of illumination, and without turning people into ghastly caricatures.

But it also produces wonderful images in bright contrasty light:

I also have indulged in the super bleached foliage look. Hard to resist the IR signature ! But I try to get something more interesting in, in this case the boy's leap and the rich black dirt pile.

I'm not using m43 much these days, but the EP1 IR, GX1, 14mm & 20mm make a great little travel kit.

 

[GaryLH]

Nice shots...

Hmmm.. That an interesting idea for a travel kit. I don't see using ir a lot..right I think it is just something to have along w/ my kit that I can use when the occasion warants it.

Gary

 

[traveler_101]

I've seen Infrared shots before (bleached out) and never found them appealing. The stuff you guys are doing is great. Thanks for posting.

Anyone know where to get a camera converted?

 

[GaryLH]

Thanks. Did u check the words/no words ir thread?

I don't know of anyone doing ir in Europe, but a fellow rff recommended maxmax to me while I was investigating doing a conversion for my Fuji xe1 prior to stumbling unto this deal from Looking Glass Photography and Camera in Berkeley, Ca.. Here is US. I have seen them as low as around 240ish when I google ir conversions.

Gary

 

[Range-rover]

that's great looking photos you have there.

Range

 

[rhl-oregon]

i was fortunate to have a camera lover in one of the local specialized optics companies, who has done several conversions of p&s for a local camera shop, and who converted my ep1 for a very kind price. He has access to equipment and optics and a clean room for peeling off aliasing layers from the sensor.

There was an English business selling conversions and converted cameras on eBay. You should be able to search via "IR camera conversion" or similar phrases. Google and YouTube may reveal further resources. I also imagine someone is Oslo is capable of this or already doing it, but how to find them? Hm...

I've seen Infrared shots before (bleached out) and never found them appealing. The stuff you guys are doing is great. Thanks for posting.

Anyone know where to get a camera converted?

 

[traveler_101]

Thanks for the suggestions. There is a camera forum in Norway (foto.no) and i am sure that I could find information there. As prices are very high in Norway, however, I tend to avoid the local market altogether. I come back to the states fairly frequently and have family here. (Happen to be in Florida right now).

 

[rhl-oregon]

Are you interested / willing to ship a camera Out this way? if you have the camera youd like to convert, i could ask David whether he's accepting jobs. I plan to contact him tomorrow for another reason. He is fast and not expensive for us locals. I imagine the only other cost for you would be the insured shipping both ways.

Thanks for the suggestions. There is a camera forum in Norway (foto.no) and i am sure that I could find information there. As prices are very high in Norway, however, I tend to avoid the local market altogether. I come back to the states fairly frequently and have family here. (Happen to be in Florida right now).

 

[kxl]

I used to have a Nikon D40X converted to 590nm IR converted by Lifepixel and now have a Sony Nex3 converted to 665nm IR converted by Kolari Vision. Here are some examples (all from the NEX3):

 

[GaryLH]

Adding different ir filters for different effect

Adding different ir filters for different effect

OK did some more testing ... using some different IR filters..

Here is shot w/o any filter in front. The IR conversion is suppose to be a 715nm one.

Now here is the same shot a couple of minutes later using a high quality Hoya IR filter (720nm). The difference in looks between 715 vs 720 is different enough, that I wonder if this is a true 715 conversion.

This next one is from a cheap IR filter but it is suppose to be a 830nm. Right I am guessing the blue tinge would not be there if I was using a high quality filter like the Hoya. But the Hoya or better filters are really expensive for just a quick test. But again u can c a difference in the look. I may eventually buy a higher quality 830 filter like the Hoya, have not decided yet.

Now a 950nm IR filter from same cheap filter company

In terms of exposure related issues, the base Olympus w/o any filter is using an exposure compensation of minus 0.7. This EC value is used for all the testing so that the whites do not get washed out. The difference in exposure between no filter and w/ the 720nm is essentially the same, no difference. However once u go to IR 830, you will c an increase of about 2 stops and again when you go to IR950.

For my purpose, using the 720 or no filter setup is probably covers over 90% of how I plan to use this camera. Right now I don't think I would ever go to 950..

Gary

 

[GaryLH]

It was a pretty hazy winter day in the Bay Area this week. Here is a shot of the old bay bridge and golden gate in the back ground. These are 100% crops to illustrate the difference in a normal vs IR shot in terms of information that can be seen using IR. First the reference shot from Ricoh GR - 28FOV - 100% crop - 16MP

Now the IR 720 nm shot using the Olympus EPL1 - 28FOV (14f2.5) - 12MPG - 100% crop

Given that the m43 shot is an old 12mp technology and has more noise in the shot compared to the GR with it's new technology. Note that you can c stuff in the IR shot both in that is not there in the reference shot. On the other hand some things just disappear in the IR shots like some of the buildings.

I can c where IR can be a handy tool on hazy/smoggy days for distance landscape shots. I can understand why Robert brings his IR converted camera on vacation.. IR is not something that I would ever use a lot, but it does have some interesting usages and I can c pairing up an IR camera when I go on vacation as well.

Gary

 

[VTHokiEE]

This next one is from a cheap IR filter but it is suppose to be a 830nm. Right I am guessing the blue tinge would not be there if I was using a high quality filter like the Hoya. But the Hoya or better filters are really expensive for just a quick test. But again u can c a difference in the look. I may eventually buy a higher quality 830 filter like the Hoya, have not decided yet.

I thought that the blue tinge was the camera trying to white balance the image. My 850nm shots have a purple tint to then before i convert to black and white. I was led to believe that there was no color information at this wavelength. Of course my filter is a cheapie as well.

 

[cosmonaut]

Without reading all of the post. Do some Google searching on processing. You need Adobe Camera RAW and learn how to reverse the red and blue channels.
I have a Panasonic L1 I had converted. Have fun.

 

[alienmeatsack]

I don't know much about the IR shooting process, which filters to use for what, or any of that. I just know that I've wanted a converted camera for a while and keep my eye on them.

I think the Olympus M4/3 and PNS and Panasonic M4/3 and PNS are the more popular ones out there. I see these two a lot for $250-350 for the camera already converted.

I've wondered if it was cheaper to buy one already converted vs buying a new (or used) body and have it done. Never looked into it in too much detail as I don't need yet another camera obsession. The photos sure look cool though!

 

[VTHokiEE]

It was significantly cheaper for me to buy my converted EPL1 than it would've been to convert a camera

 

[GaryLH]

I have seen prices between 250ish to 500 to convert an existing camera to ir. given I was not sure I would like digital ir and I was not sure how much I would actually use it, I went w/ buying from a well known local store their refurb'd epl1 already converted.

If I had to do over again, I would buy a 665nm and use high quality 720 and 830nm filters to get the other affects I am interested in... Since the ir filters will let in light above the nm value and visible light is from around 700 or 750nm on down, a 665 nm converted camera would give me some interesting color to my ir shots. By 720, there is still a bit Of the visible light range. By 830, u should be 100% in the ir spectrum. An 830nm is suppose to cut into haze a lot more then a 715-720nm. So I am really using these ir filters on an ir converted camera not because I need to but to change the what light is seen by the sensor. For example, my 715nm converted camera w/ a 830nm filter on the lens behaves as if I had bought a 830nm converted camera.

If sigma comes out w/ a csc and if they have the same removable ir/dust shield as on the sd1, then this would be the ideal platform.

The only reason I don't use the sd1m I have is that the true focus point of ir is slightly different then visible light. If u look at your old legacy lenses (prior to autofocus) from film days, the manufacturers that supported ir had a normal focus mark and the ir one. You first focused normally and noted the distance info and moved it to the ir focus mark.. A live view camera does not have this issue that I am aware of.

There are times I like the color effects I c.. There are other times I use fx pro 2 to convert to a pure b&w version of the shot.

Gary

 

[kxl]

I used to have a D40x converted to IR at 590nm, but sold it since I wanted something smaller. I also wanted to be able to convert to deep B&W IR, which a 590nm filter won't allow (the blacks are not deep enough). Eventually I found a Sony NEX3 for $100, bought it and had that converted to 665nm. While the yellows are not as brilliant as the 590nm, the effect of adding an 850nm on the 665nm is more effective.

I use a Kolari 850nm filter, and I get a very dark blue hue. It either requires WB tweaking or a small amount of light getting in. Either way, I convert it in PS anyway.

For color, I do switch the Red and Blue in Channel Mixer, and sometimes use the lasso tool to select a small section of the image to create false colors, e.g., pink trees. 🙂

You can buy IR-converted cameras, but you are obviously limited to the type of camera and the IR filter they they used. While that certainly works fine, I wanted a very specific camera and a specific filter.

Here's another one:

 

[GaryLH]

Yeah good point on the wb. Where did u ave your ir conversion done? Btw those shots look like they are from Huntington?

Gary

 

[kxl]

Yeah good point on the wb. Where did u ave your ir conversion done? Btw those shots look like they are from Huntington?

Gary

Yup - Huntington Library. My first one was with Lifepixel - fantastic job, but a little pricey (at that time, although I think they have lowered their prices to more reasonable levels). The second one was with Kolari Vision.