Infrared novice questions

[mood]

Love the look
not going to convert body to IF, at least not now, so my questions are...

best/ most versatile filter to achieve nice IF look
works better with zoom/ prime or doesn't matter
obviously with a tripod, what would a starting point be for exposure on a sunny day?....cloudy day ?
white balance set to?..or adjust in ACR ?

thanks for the insight...

 

[Kay Suhling]

1. Hoya R72, Heliopan RG 715 (720nm, 715nm)
2. It doesn't matter but not all lenses work equally well with IR.
For example, these lenses work great - Nikkor 12-24, 18-35, 18-70, 17-35,
17-55 (D1, D70, D50, D100).
3. D70/D50, filter 715 nm, f8, 1-2 sec. on a sunny day
4. Manual WB on a bright grass or on the blue sky

 

[mood]

thanks Kay

 

[GeoKost]

Frank, Kay gave a good run-down on this.

What camera are you shooting with? The D80 and D200 are not best suited for IR work due to the IR blocking that Nikon has built into those cameras.

Another thing to mention, you will have to post process your images after taking your shots as they will show up red. Photoshop does real well with this.

BTW, I have had good luck with the 35mm f2 lens also. As Kay has mentioned, not all do well, some will show a IR hot spot in the photo.

Hope this helps, have fun.

EDIT: Here is a link which show the procedure I use, also has some other good info. https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=120976

 

[mood]

thanks George
I was planning on using it with my D80
but if the D50 is better suited I have that as well..??
I also was planning to use either my Tokina 12-24, Nikon 80-200 or 17-55 DX
I have no PS,
I have PSE5 and Capture NX for pp....is it possible to use these or is it a waste without full blown PS ?

thanks again

 

[GeoKost]

thanks George
I was planning on using it with my D80
but if the D50 is better suited I have that as well..??
I also was planning to use either my Tokina 12-24, Nikon 80-200 or 17-55 DX
I have no PS,
I have PSE5 and Capture NX for pp....is it possible to use these or is it a waste without full blown PS ?

thanks again

The D50 will do you better. You can use the D80 but your exposure time will be longer and you will run the chance of more movement, especially with trees with wind blowing.

I am not sure about Capture NX or PSE5, but if in either one if you can adjust the levels and switch out the red and blue channels, I think that will work. You might can do it in ACR with PSE5, not for sure. I have Nikon Capture and you can go to photo effects and change to B&W, and adjust cyan/red balance to -100 and yellow blue balance to +100 and then adjust magenta/green balance to your liking. I prefer PSCS2 since you have greater latitude and you can really make the skys dark and make the picture really pop.

Some one my chime in on one of these programs and offer more help.

The lens you mention as far as I know will work fine. Here's the deal with those lens though, they require a 77mm filter and you will find they are pretty pricey, at least for me.

I am still learning about IR and don't want to dedicate a camera just for that.
That is why I am experimenting with filters.

 

[mood]

ok thanks
I am going to play around with a filter first, before ever switching a body over
don't know if I ever will
the filter was pricey, but my local guy lets me exchange some unwanted filters towards the price...so not too bad at all

i'll give it a go
D50..17-55..f8..try a few seconds and then see from there...