Near field IR HDR

I've been playing with a Fuji IS pro while in Raja Ampat and having a great time with it. These two images were taken with a 720nm filter, 7 shot 1 stop series and compiled in photoshop HDR, with a red/blue channel swap to bring back the water & sky.

I'm finding near field IR to be both frustrating and a great deal of fun, because I never know what I'll get. I guess that is what should be expected when playing with "invisible" light.

Cool. What prompted you to acquire one of these toys?

I would expect these images to be monochromatic. Where is the color information coming from?

Digital infrared is 'near infrared' was my understanding, so that some false color is maintained in the channels which can be enhanced through normal Photoshop adjustments.

Digital infrared is 'near infrared' was my understanding, so that some false color is maintained in the channels which can be enhanced through normal Photoshop adjustments.

Is it a bit like the false colour of the old Kodak colour infra-red slide film?

Yes, quite correct when using a 720nm pass filter you will have visible light leakage which can be manipulated in PS by channel swapping red for blue, and of course all the other "toys" PS offers. The deeper you go into NIR, such as 850nm or even the Hoya 1000nm, you lose any visible light and the images do become more monochromatic.

What prompted me to get the camera was an interesting meeting with a Fuji rep at last years' photoshop world convention in Las Vegas. He was a forensic photographer by trade and showed me some portrait work (on live people, thank you) he had done. The skin tones were amazing! I was telling him about the type of photography I like to do (marine environments) which led to a lengthy lecture on the benefits of NIR shooting in hazy conditions. Then he said the magic words. He could get me one at factory cost.

I'm sadly the kind of person who will jump at almost anything offered at "factory cost"... need to get rid of 1000 lbs of lard? Factory cost, baby! I'm your man!

So that's the back story. I'm just learning this type of photography and am the first to say that the results are perhaps an acquired taste. But it is fun, different and I know the shutter will wear out long before my NIR learning is complete.

Digital infrared is 'near infrared' was my understanding, so that some false color is maintained in the channels which can be enhanced through normal Photoshop adjustments.

Hi Matthew,

Interesting pictures - I like them - just to clarify it for me is the only camera mod here a filter on the end of the lens or is it the full on stripping the IR filter from the camera ccd itself ?

Paul C

Thanks Paul. The Fuji IS pro does not have the usual hot mirror filter in front of the chip. Not sure if the chip is a CCD or CMOS. I know Fuji uses the Nikon D200 body but was told they use their own chip.

I used a 720nm filter in front of the lens for these shots, which still lets enough visible light in that you can see (barely) the subject matter through the viewfinder to compose and focus. Not possible with the 850nm filter though. The Fuji does have a live view mode specifically tuned for UV/IR use and it works quite well as brightness is adjustable.

If I get really carried away with this IR stuff, there is a company which will strip off the hot mirror and replace it with the IR filter of your choosing on several makes & models, allowing hand held IR shooting, or so i am told. Since it looks like my used D200 will fetch $29.95 on Ebay in a year or so, I may just have to try that with my old body.

Hi Matthew,

 

Interesting pictures - I like them - just to clarify it for me is the only camera mod here a filter on the end of the lens or is it the full on stripping the IR filter from the camera ccd itself ?

 

Paul C

Matthew,

Have you put this camera in a housing? It should fit the D200 housings right?

I know IR is filtered out underwater, but possibly over/unders would be interesting, and strobes should add some IR?

Jeff/Matt,

I believe the Fuji IS series is a compact. So it's not the same as a D200 body. That's the S5pro you're thinking of, right?

Cheers

James

James,

This is the link to the Fuji site for the IS Pro

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartn...oductIS-Pro.jsp

I did use the camera in the Sea & Sea D200 housing and it worked perfectly. The IS pro is based on a D200 body. I didn't use an IR filter, just "naked" lens. Interesting results as the IR shots seemed to filter out more of the haze in the water than the D200 did. I was in Galapagos and the visibility was, sadly, terrible. Much more red in the fuji shots than the D200, so to the trained eye the pictures look "off". I'm going to try it here in Wakatobi with and without IR pass filtration and will post examples if their internet is up and running.

Matthew,

Have you put this camera in a housing? It should fit the D200 housings right?

I know IR is filtered out underwater, but possibly over/unders would be interesting, and strobes should add some IR?