prestonphoto wrote:
OMG!!! I've been playing in photography for 10 years now and have never even heard of IR - or seen pictures of it. Where have I been????? The pictures posted on here are BEAUTIFUL!!!! I just went on Amazon to check out the IR filter - $19.95!!! It's amazing how such a cheap piece of equipment can produce such quality photos. Unreal!!! Thank you all for opening my eyes to another world of photography. Thank you, thank you, thank you................
Wow, now that's some enthusiastic feedback!
IR is a little more complicated for most cameras (especially DSLR's) than just slapping a filter on the end of your lens and shooting. A good IR filter, I recommend the Hoya R72, will run you about 50-100 bucks, depending on the filter size.
Most DSLR's have an internal 'hot mirror' or IR filter that greatly diminishes IR light from reaching the sensor. This results in seconds long exposures. Unfortunately DSLR's need to be modded, or altered (have the hot mirror removed), to be able to shoot IR handheld. After being modded they can shoot IR only, so it is a pretty big commitment.
Used IR modded camera bodies can be found on ebay. Page 2 of this thread has a post on how to check for IR sensitivity with your camera. Also be sure to check out the links in the very first post for more IR information.
There are several older P&S cameras (look back through the posts for a partial list), where all is needed is a filter, and a cheap filter from ebay would be the way to go for a P&S rig, but that is a pretty short list. That is the most economical way to try IR and see if it is right for you.
The purpose of this thread was to introduce IR to others and encourage them to try it. Like most things in life, it gets a little bit more complicated the more you find out, but Wendy in Cocoa FL just happened to have an IR sensitive P&S in her closet, and had just received an IR filter so she was good to go with minimal expense.
TraceyG had a DSLR gathering dust in her closet and sent it off to be modded, a bit more expensive than Wendy, but she has a DSLR IR rig now with interchangeable lenses.
I'm not trying to discourage you, I want to encourage you to investigate IR further and then start shooting IR yourself.
Any more questions and I'll try to answer them as best I can.
Eric