More I-R Experimenting and Comparing




Left, using R-72 filter - Right, naked lens of
Sony Mavica CD-500 - using a tripd

Still messing with the whole infrared 'thing'...  The image here shows a shrub in our back yard.  Obviously one half of the image is I-R and the other, not.  The falling snow doesn't appear in the I-R version due to shutter speed (2.0 sec vs 1/1,000 sec for the colour version).  Clarity seems to be an issue here to, though I thought I'd focused properly.  The Mavica uses a 'live viewfinder' only and it was bright out, so I just slapped the auto focus on - that may have been part of it.  In any case, this part of infrared photography is (pardon the pun) seeing some light.  I mean, look at the shrub.  The camera is obviously seeing some I-R light reflecting off the branches.

 

I also bought a Sima SL-201R IR 'night vision' light for video and photography.  The thing is supposed to light up to about 70 feet - I can't get it to light even one foot away!  I gave it the full three hour charge they ask for as you first open the package - and you can see the LEDs light up (even with the naked eye) if you look straight at it.  Aim the panel at a camera lens and you can plainly see them - though, they're not AS bright as the LED in my TV remote when I flash that at a camera lens.  Hmmm...

 

For an experiment, I took the filter off the camera and just held the filter in front of my eye.  Then aimed the Sima I-R light at the filter (and eye).  I could see the LEDs pretty well.  Next, I aimed the LEDs at my leg, white paper and other things - no light bounced back to the camera.  So, I removed the filter from the camera and repeated the experiment.  ...Same results.  Now I'm really confused!  How can it appear in the lens when aimed directly at the lens, but nothing else lights up?  Is it just a very weak (eg: faulty) light?  Still a lot to learn, I suppose...

 

Any hints out there?

Infrared Experimentation

I have a Sony Mavica CD500 mirror-less DSLR (can I call it that?) in my collection and read a while back, this model doesn't have any I-R filtering built in, making it an ideal camera for messing with I-R photography.  So far the only drawback I've found is the maximum exposure time of eight seconds!



One of my first attempts at I-R photography.
This yellow rose was shot with flash,
1/100sec, f/3.2, 100 ISO, Sony Mavica CD500

After buying an R-72 filter, I started messing around in the studio with flowers and flash - even ambient room lighting (flash was obviously better, due to the heavy filtering of light).  Yes, I have shot out the window, but wasn't impressed (not a whole lot of 'greenery' at this time of year - and it's pretty grey out today anyway).  I also have an I-R light source on order, which should enhance the fun!  And although I've read my 50D and 5D mkii aren't supposed to be any good at this, I have ordered a filter for them.  Why??...  If you take a TV remote control (which uses near-infrared rays to transmit to the TV) and hold it in front of your camera/camcorder and press a button - you'll see it flickering.  That means the camera IS seeing I-R light.  However, how WELL it sees it - that could be a different story.  Using either Canon above, may mean very extended exposure times - which could in fact give even more creative results...  Who knows?

Looking around the web, it's easy to see the very creative/experimental offerings by many photographers.  However, it's also easy to see just how I'll have to 're-tool' the way I visualize a scene because when shooting I-R photo's, you're really taking pictures of the light you CAN'T see!  I-R takes place just above the light our eyes can interpret.  I should qualify this too - this type of I-R photography, is really called, 'near infrared' (taking place just above our natural visual range).  The real I-R stuff uses very specialized cameras, to the point of measuring heat radiation, etc.  In the case of what I'm talking about here, it's just the 'near' I-R rays that bounce back to the lens from a light source.

If you are also into near-infrared photography, please let me know - let's share ideas!