iceman
06-12-2005, 02:26 PM
I bought a Hoya #72 IR filter the other day..
Thought it might be worth trying out.. it's very interesting.. and challenging.
- I accidently left my ISO set on 800 from the astrophotography the other night, so all the images can out very noisy.
- I see nothing TTL with the IR filter on, it's just black. So composing the shot is just guess work, look at the preview and try again.
- Exposure times needed to be much much longer, even with ISO 800. I had to set it on manual 1/3s exposure f/3.5 at 26mm to get about the right exposure. If ISO was set lower like I'd wanted, I'd probably need 1/2 to 1 second exposures, so a tripod is a must.
- I should've used a tripod even with these, they're just not sharp because of hand-holding.
- They're also not sharp because focusing is difficult - I can't see anything through the lens. The camera had no trouble locking on focus, but I don't know what it was focusing on.
I think in future, I need to:
a) Set up on a tripod
b) Compose the shot without the IR filter on
c) Focus the shot without the IR filter on
d) Then put the filter on and bracket to get the right exposure
So it's not for everyone, and it's not really going to be used for a quick snapshot of something. But then, no filters are a quick snapshot.. they all require some fiddling and time.
As for the look of the images? I think they're interesting.. adds a new dimension to what would normally look like a dull scene. Obviously need some more experimentation to find objects that emit IR light for some different effects.
These images were resized and auto-levels in photoshop (my camera had a very purple/mauve bias originally), ran through NeatImage to remove noise and then sharpened in Photoshop. They're still not that sharp though thanks to the problems described above.
Anyway, what do you think?
Oh and the big lighter coloured circle in the middle of all my shots - is that a smudge on the lens or what? It's driving me mad.
Thought it might be worth trying out.. it's very interesting.. and challenging.
- I accidently left my ISO set on 800 from the astrophotography the other night, so all the images can out very noisy.
- I see nothing TTL with the IR filter on, it's just black. So composing the shot is just guess work, look at the preview and try again.
- Exposure times needed to be much much longer, even with ISO 800. I had to set it on manual 1/3s exposure f/3.5 at 26mm to get about the right exposure. If ISO was set lower like I'd wanted, I'd probably need 1/2 to 1 second exposures, so a tripod is a must.
- I should've used a tripod even with these, they're just not sharp because of hand-holding.
- They're also not sharp because focusing is difficult - I can't see anything through the lens. The camera had no trouble locking on focus, but I don't know what it was focusing on.
I think in future, I need to:
a) Set up on a tripod
b) Compose the shot without the IR filter on
c) Focus the shot without the IR filter on
d) Then put the filter on and bracket to get the right exposure
So it's not for everyone, and it's not really going to be used for a quick snapshot of something. But then, no filters are a quick snapshot.. they all require some fiddling and time.
As for the look of the images? I think they're interesting.. adds a new dimension to what would normally look like a dull scene. Obviously need some more experimentation to find objects that emit IR light for some different effects.
These images were resized and auto-levels in photoshop (my camera had a very purple/mauve bias originally), ran through NeatImage to remove noise and then sharpened in Photoshop. They're still not that sharp though thanks to the problems described above.
Anyway, what do you think?
Oh and the big lighter coloured circle in the middle of all my shots - is that a smudge on the lens or what? It's driving me mad.