# Black and White Infrared



## MrFotoFool (May 4, 2015)

Post your black and white images from infrared modified cameras. This is from a modified 50D that I just picked up used.


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## MrFotoFool (May 20, 2015)

Giving the thread a bump. No one out there using an infrared modified camera?


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## Snodge (May 24, 2015)

Not yet. It's on my todo list, but I keep thinking I want the conversion done on a full frame camera. I have images done with a Hoya R72 though...


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## fugu82 (May 24, 2015)

This is with an EOS-M modified to 590nm.


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## 4myrrh1 (May 24, 2015)

I do have a 590nm Surer Color modified T31 that I have started to get a grip on using the color channel swap method. I also have a 850nm filter to get out of the camera B&W with but haven't gotten any post-able shots with yet. My Flickr stream has some of my early experiments posted to it so you can look there.


Botany Play IR by Kurt Fanus, on Flickr


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## Aglet (May 24, 2015)

test shot from a partially converted Rebel XS. requires longer exposure times, provides a bit more 'color'.
image is OOC jpg, scaled, with slight bump in contrast and sharpening. 20mm lens with 720nm filter.


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## MrFotoFool (May 24, 2015)

Thanks for posting. Keep them coming!


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## kirispupis (May 24, 2015)

You don't need a modified camera. This was taken in Iceland with a 720nm filter.



JSC_1826-Edit.jpg by Joseph Calev, on Flickr


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## MrFotoFool (May 24, 2015)

Very nice. My understanding is that on some early models you could put an IR filter on the lens and just do a long exposure to get infrared, but on recent cameras this does not work. I tried it with my 5D2 and just got black. I could be wrong, but with newer models I think you do need a converted camera.


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## fugu82 (May 24, 2015)

MrFotoFool said:


> Very nice. My understanding is that on some early models you could put an IR filter on the lens and just do a long exposure to get infrared, but on recent cameras this does not work. I tried it with my 5D2 and just got black. I could be wrong, but with newer models I think you do need a converted camera.



Yeah, most modern cameras are too efficient at reflecting infrared light to be practical for use with just a IR filter on the lens, with exposure times in minutes, even in good light. Conversions remove the "hot mirror" completely, enabling hand-held use in most conditions.


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## 4myrrh1 (May 25, 2015)

Yes the converted cameras are easy to shoot normally. This was a pano of 9 pictures handheld from this week. I must warn you about lens hot spots in the infrared. This shot had that problem and you really cannot get rid of it in post processing normally.



Richmond James River Infrared Pano-2 by Kurt Fanus, on Flickr


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## yorgasor (May 25, 2015)

I've done some IR shooting with my Canon 5D, 5D3, and Nikon D3s. The 5D works best, as it has a lesser IR filter on the sensor. The 5D3 and D3s both require very long exposures (on the order of 4-30 seconds, depending on the aperture). 

The nice thing with the old Nikon AIS lenses is that they have a red dot on the focus ring. You focus as normal with the IR filter off, put the filter on, and then turn the focus ring so that the red dot is where the previous focus level was set to. It removes the guessing I had to do with the other lenses I used.

The coolest thing I discovered is that the Voightlander 20mm f/3.5 has super crazy flaring when the IR filter is added. Check out this most spectacular IR photo:



Mars Lake by Ron Yorgason, on Flickr


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## MrFotoFool (May 25, 2015)

Another shot with my modified 50D. Taken right after I got it on a trip to Texas (as was my opening shot of the giraffe).


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## kirispupis (May 26, 2015)

MrFotoFool said:


> Very nice. My understanding is that on some early models you could put an IR filter on the lens and just do a long exposure to get infrared, but on recent cameras this does not work. I tried it with my 5D2 and just got black. I could be wrong, but with newer models I think you do need a converted camera.



This is not true. I use an unconverted 5D3 for all of my IR work. The trick is to use the right filter. What you need is 720nm. Anything below that and the visible light let in by the camera overpowers the IR. Anything higher and the exposures will be too long. You do still need a tripod and long exposures, but I find this just makes me take my time.

Here's another, though not B&W.



Lost Days by Joseph Calev, on Flickr


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## MrFotoFool (May 26, 2015)

kirispupis said:


> This is not true. I use an unconverted 5D3 for all of my IR work. The trick is to use the right filter. What you need is 720nm. Anything below that and the visible light let in by the camera overpowers the IR. Anything higher and the exposures will be too long. You do still need a tripod and long exposures, but I find this just makes me take my time.



Interesting. I guess when I tried it on my 5D2 I had a stronger filter. I don't have it any more, I used it with the old Kodak HIE infrared film. Anyway, long exposures are fine for static subjects but still would not work with animals like my opening shot of giraffe.


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## MrFotoFool (Jun 16, 2015)

A recent shot with the modified 50D, heavily processed in Nik.


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## MrFotoFool (Sep 9, 2015)

Another recent infrared shot from a trip to the coastal redwoods of northern California.
I just got the EF-S 24mm pancake lens to leave permanently attached to my IR-modified 50D.


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## MrFotoFool (Oct 1, 2015)

Here is one I took yesterday in Sedona, Arizona. I am not completely satisfied with the way I processed it, so I may need to rework the black and white conversion.


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## robineaton (Oct 16, 2015)

Interesting. Black and white photography is very different and unique.


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## MrFotoFool (Oct 25, 2015)

Another shot from my afternoon in Sedona. The initial black and white conversion the buildings and railing were too white and blended into the trees. So I had to do a duplicate layer of the color version, convert the top layer to black and white, then erase the buildings and fence from the top layer. Due to the bushes in front of the building, this was very time consuming. The bottom layer was darkened a bit and desaturated most of the way, but not quite all the way. Compared to the single layer bw version, the buildings and fence show up much better here, even though it is subtle. The first version with the buildings in full sepia color was too stark.


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## tom r (Feb 15, 2016)

Desert Gold, Death Valley Shot with modified 5D Classic


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## MrFotoFool (Feb 15, 2016)

@ tom r - Nice, thanks for posting.


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## MrFotoFool (Mar 2, 2016)

From a recent trip to Yosemite.
IR modified 50D with EFS 24mm pancake lens.


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## rwmson (Mar 2, 2016)

Island Beach State Park, NJ


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## MrFotoFool (Mar 2, 2016)

@ rwmson - Beautiful. That sand looks like a snow covered peak in the Alps!


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## Click (Mar 2, 2016)

MrFotoFool said:


> @ rwmson - Beautiful. That sand looks like a snow covered peak in the Alps!



+1

Nicely done, rwmson.


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## kirispupis (Mar 2, 2016)

From Marymoor Park, Redmond.



Almost There by Joseph Calev, on Flickr


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## rwmson (Mar 3, 2016)

thanks Click & MFF. Here's another.


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## iMagic (Apr 26, 2016)

Old house with lots of "film" grain...


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## iMagic (Apr 26, 2016)

Another of an old shed with snowmobile snow tracks...


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## yorgasor (Apr 26, 2016)

Here are a few of mine from an 820nm modified camera:



Lonely Path in IR by Ron Yorgason, on Flickr



Spring in IR by Ron Yorgason, on Flickr



Johnson Pond - IR by Ron Yorgason, on Flickr



Solaris - Fisheye IR by Ron Yorgason, on Flickr


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## d (Apr 26, 2016)

I love the lens flare in that third one, yorgasor!

d.


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## yorgasor (Apr 26, 2016)

d said:


> I love the lens flare in that third one, yorgasor!
> 
> d.



That lens flare is amazing... until you don't want it  And, being a fisheye lens, it's really hard to avoid it when you don't want it.


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## rwmson (Apr 26, 2016)

Mullica River, NJ


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## tom r (May 14, 2016)

Uplistsikhe, Georgia. Shot with a Modified 5D and 16-35/4is.


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## tom r (Jun 9, 2016)

Sea of Marmara, Turkey, 5D Classic, 16-35/4IS


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## MrFotoFool (Jun 16, 2016)

Jerome, Arizona on a recent visit (my first). A quirky, funky former mining town on the side of a steep hill.


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## danski0224 (Jul 4, 2016)

Thought I'd throw in a couple...


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## danski0224 (Jul 17, 2016)

Some from today


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## danski0224 (Aug 10, 2016)

Infrared


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## MrFotoFool (Aug 10, 2016)

@ danski0224 - those white flowers are very nice!


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## MrFotoFool (Sep 7, 2016)

Another photo from my earlier visit to Jerome, Arizona.


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## MrFotoFool (Sep 26, 2016)

From a recent trip to Alaska (my first). Virgin Creek Falls near Girdwood (south of Anchorage). Panoramic composite made up of several vertical shots.


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## Click (Sep 26, 2016)

Lovely shot, MrFotoFool. Nicely done.


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## danski0224 (Sep 27, 2016)

A few more


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## MrFotoFool (Sep 27, 2016)

@danski0224 - All of your photos are beautiful. On my screen, however, they appear just a little flat. Have you tried them with higher contrast? Just a personal opinion, but I think they could use a bump in contrast (everything else is great).


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## danski0224 (Sep 27, 2016)

Thanks for the comments.

The black and white pictures look better on my Flickr page- they don't seem to compress nearly as well as color images for some reason. 

I thought they were a bit underexposed myself, but I didn't take a bunch of time to process them differently.


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## Mikehit (Sep 27, 2016)

Are they taken using IR filters or a modified camera?


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## danski0224 (Sep 27, 2016)

Mikehit said:


> Are they taken using IR filters or a modified camera?



Those were taken with a Sigma dp Q.

The only modification is the tool less removal of the sensor dust shield, which is also an IR and UV cut filter. That gives you full spectrum. 

I also used a 720 nm IR cut filter on the lens.

Regular color pictures can be taken if a hot mirror filter is used on the lens when the factory dust protector is removed.


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## Mikehit (Sep 27, 2016)

thanks Danski

I was wondering if the softness MrFotoFool referred to is the difference in focusing between infrared and visible light - I have had a camera fully converted and I understand that involves adjusting the sensor position to account for this.


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## danski0224 (Sep 27, 2016)

It's possible. 

Live view and focusing isn't 100%.

The SD1M focuses better because it has different AF sensors, but no live view.


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## MrFotoFool (Sep 27, 2016)

No the focus on Danski's images seems fine. It is simply low contrast. One of the qualities of black and white infrared photography (based on the infrared film Kodak HIE) is very high contrast. This is necessary to get white foliage, which is (in my opinion) the main appeal.


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## danski0224 (Sep 28, 2016)

I worked on the post-processing for this one a bit, and I think it's a bit better.


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## MrFotoFool (Sep 28, 2016)

Yes that is very nice indeed. It has the "punch" we expect from bw infrared.


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## danski0224 (Sep 28, 2016)

MrFotoFool said:


> Yes that is very nice indeed. It has the "punch" we expect from bw infrared.



Thanks.

The originals are a bit underexposed, so I have to watch that in the future, but it recovered nicely.

More work with B&W processing would help too


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## Mikehit (Sep 28, 2016)

Some from Canada


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## MrFotoFool (Sep 28, 2016)

@ Mikehit - the last one is especially nice.


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## Mikehit (Sep 29, 2016)

Thanks Mr FotoFool.


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## danski0224 (Oct 3, 2016)

Some from today


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## cazza132 (Oct 3, 2016)

I have a full spectrum modified 6D that I use for astro and infrared work - loads of fun  Here's a few:
IR Church - 630nm IR filter + ND filter with blue/red channel swap
IR Lightning - 630nm IR filter no channel swapping
Windmill - as per IR church
Infrared Bridge Trees - 720nm IR filter on a stock 5D mark II with blue/red channel swap
IR Grass Trees - B+W 403 filter (bit like a 760nm IR filter, but also passes UV giving blue skies without channel swap)


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## MrFotoFool (Nov 5, 2016)

@cazza132 - All good, but the first one (church) and the fourth one (bridge) are outstanding. I mean really, really beautiful. I usually don't like color infrared but these are better than any I have seen.

I am curious, have you tried them in black and white?


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## GMCPhotographics (Mar 28, 2017)

I've just got my 650 nm converted Eos 450D back working again:


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## GMCPhotographics (Apr 12, 2017)

A few more, all from today in Walmer Castle in Kent, UK:





















All taken with a 720nm converted Eos 450D and either a 24-70 f2.8L or a 8-15L fisheye


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## digigal (Apr 12, 2017)

I'll add this one from Tanzania last fall. It's from an Oly OMD EM5 that I had converted to a Supercolor IR and then converted the color image to BW in PS. Mirrorless cameras are much easier to work with in IR. If I'd had the M3 then, that's what I would have used. 
Catherine


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## GMCPhotographics (Apr 12, 2017)

digigal said:


> I'll add this one from Tanzania last fall. It's from an Oly OMD EM5 that I had converted to a Supercolor IR and then converted the color image to BW in PS. Mirrorless cameras are much easier to work with in IR. If I'd had the M3 then, that's what I would have used.
> Catherine


Why do you think that mirrorless cameras are easier to work with in IR? I have a 650nm converted 450D. It's small, light and has an excellent live view system.


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## tom r (Aug 29, 2017)

A couple from a wedding I shot last month. No channel swap.


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## danski0224 (Sep 11, 2017)

First three are full spectrum, last one is 720nm.


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