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IR conversion
- Thread starter Pemihan
- Start date
GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
There are a few approaches to this depending upon how accurately you want to focus with your glass and your aversion or sensitivity to risk.
If the factory does it, they replace the sensor IR glass filter that is mounted over the sensor with a clear glass filter plus tweak the sensor position slightly to account for the difference in thickness/properties of the clear filter glass. Your dealer should be able to get a quote for this if your Aptus is supported.
If you want to do it yourself and assume all the risks then you can just remove the IR filter and go 'commando'. Obviously this risks exposure to the sensor without the cover glass and so you'd need to be careful about cleaning and handling. I can tell you from experience that this works as I shot for a while like this with my Aptus 65 after I broke my IR filter and was sent a replacement. You'll have lovely pink / magenta images to play with ... but full spectrum sensitivity. You'll need to manually determine focus because the lens settings will not be correct - trial and error for a few f-stops for hyperfocal would work. Please note: No dealer or manufacturer is going to support you if you go this way so you're totally on your own. I did it because I had nothing to lose with my already damaged Aptus. I wouldn't do it myself to a $10k or $30k back.
If you are serious about this - talk to your dealer. I know that Doug here can help
If the factory does it, they replace the sensor IR glass filter that is mounted over the sensor with a clear glass filter plus tweak the sensor position slightly to account for the difference in thickness/properties of the clear filter glass. Your dealer should be able to get a quote for this if your Aptus is supported.
If you want to do it yourself and assume all the risks then you can just remove the IR filter and go 'commando'. Obviously this risks exposure to the sensor without the cover glass and so you'd need to be careful about cleaning and handling. I can tell you from experience that this works as I shot for a while like this with my Aptus 65 after I broke my IR filter and was sent a replacement. You'll have lovely pink / magenta images to play with ... but full spectrum sensitivity. You'll need to manually determine focus because the lens settings will not be correct - trial and error for a few f-stops for hyperfocal would work. Please note: No dealer or manufacturer is going to support you if you go this way so you're totally on your own. I did it because I had nothing to lose with my already damaged Aptus. I wouldn't do it myself to a $10k or $30k back.
If you are serious about this - talk to your dealer. I know that Doug here can help
dougpeterson
Workshop Member
Naturally the actual act of converting the camera is only the first step.
Determining which IR cut, IR pass, and IR+Visible filters will give you the effect you want, figuring out how to focus with the IR shift, learning lessons like cross spectrum hyperfocal focusing, learning to stack visible and IR images and dealing with the slight pixel alignment issues therein created, finding out which (of many) ways to convert/handle the files in Capture One and PS and the best way to determine ideal exposure when your three channels are wildly different in response... this is a very fun area of photography but not for the light hearted.
[warning: selfish recommendation ahead] Of course working with a dealer that has amassed a fairly wide and deep set of experiences with medium format infrared and infrarcolor photography will help ease a lot of the learning curve.
Determining which IR cut, IR pass, and IR+Visible filters will give you the effect you want, figuring out how to focus with the IR shift, learning lessons like cross spectrum hyperfocal focusing, learning to stack visible and IR images and dealing with the slight pixel alignment issues therein created, finding out which (of many) ways to convert/handle the files in Capture One and PS and the best way to determine ideal exposure when your three channels are wildly different in response... this is a very fun area of photography but not for the light hearted.
[warning: selfish recommendation ahead] Of course working with a dealer that has amassed a fairly wide and deep set of experiences with medium format infrared and infrarcolor photography will help ease a lot of the learning curve.
GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
+1 to what Doug said.
I quickly ended up with $1k in hot mirror and various IR pass filters in no time at all. If you are shooting on a tech camera it's pretty simple as you don't have a viewfinder to worry about. If you shoot with a DSLR body then you'll have to live with popping filters on & off as you compose & shoot.
Fun times.
I quickly ended up with $1k in hot mirror and various IR pass filters in no time at all. If you are shooting on a tech camera it's pretty simple as you don't have a viewfinder to worry about. If you shoot with a DSLR body then you'll have to live with popping filters on & off as you compose & shoot.
Fun times.
Stefan Steib
Active member
When you convert a live video capable body/back that is most helpful.
Because there are focusshifts and other effects that can be avoided when you directly see them.
I don´t know if dalsa also does BW versions of their highres 60 and 80 Mpix chips ? Anyone in the knowledge ? Because then it "should" be possible to do BW highres versions of an IQ180 or Credo80 by factory ?
I am pretty sure this would sell. maybe not in huge numbers, But on order ?
Greetings from Germany
Stefan
Because there are focusshifts and other effects that can be avoided when you directly see them.
I don´t know if dalsa also does BW versions of their highres 60 and 80 Mpix chips ? Anyone in the knowledge ? Because then it "should" be possible to do BW highres versions of an IQ180 or Credo80 by factory ?
I am pretty sure this would sell. maybe not in huge numbers, But on order ?
Greetings from Germany
Stefan
GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
Well, I do know someone with a full spectrum Credo 80 although I believe that only the Achromatic+ is the phase/Leaf true B&W or non Bayer back.
Andy Biggs
Member
Great thread and great timing. I a, thinking of converting my Aptus II 6 to be an infrared or near infrared-only back. In other words I am thinking of blocking most if not all visible light at the sensor level, as I would like to maintain autofocus if at all possible.
I just had two D800's converted - one to full spectrum and the other to 720nm. The idea of the on-sensor 720nm conversion was so I could do some hand-held shooting as well as use use lenses like the 14-24 without worrying about filters. Again, the plan was to use the OVF and AF. I also have a Coastal Optics 60mm which is likely the only lens out there without any focus shift across the full-spectrum. So the flexibility of using the OVF sounded very good.
The full-spectrum would always be used with on-lens filters and the plan was to use LV focussing.
Now that I have tried the setup with both bodies for a couple of days, I can confidently say, at least for the setup that I have, composing/metering/focussing on the sensor with LV is the only way to go. WB, focus, and Exposure are all different with a mirror vs. right on the sensor.
AF and MF with the mirror is so off that it is off the scales of the focus tuning scale of the D800.
So if converting an MFDB, I would ensure that either LV is available on the back and "usable for you" or you will be shooting tethered.
Just my 2 cents. I know Graham has a D800 converted to full spectrum by the same company, and you want to get his thoughts as well.
The full-spectrum would always be used with on-lens filters and the plan was to use LV focussing.
Now that I have tried the setup with both bodies for a couple of days, I can confidently say, at least for the setup that I have, composing/metering/focussing on the sensor with LV is the only way to go. WB, focus, and Exposure are all different with a mirror vs. right on the sensor.
AF and MF with the mirror is so off that it is off the scales of the focus tuning scale of the D800.
So if converting an MFDB, I would ensure that either LV is available on the back and "usable for you" or you will be shooting tethered.
Just my 2 cents. I know Graham has a D800 converted to full spectrum by the same company, and you want to get his thoughts as well.
Additional thought - the new Achromat IQ260 is what I was waiting for, not only is it full-spectrum, but it is also bayer-less. My ultimate plan is to use this on my Arca, so if you're looking at converting a P65+ or similar, the upgrade prices to the Achromat are pretty tempting
GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
Anyone interested in IR & full spectrum shooting I would recommend chatting with Amr (aeaemd) as he's the master of all things IR and funky spectrum
Andy Biggs
Member
question: is there a good online resource for determining which filters to consider for blocking visible light? My goal is to have something that has an infrared look in my final images, but I am not sure what wavelengths to block out. I used to shoot African wildlife with a modified Canon from Maxmax, but this is a different beast altogether. I will be shooting with an AFDIII body, so I will need to account for any focusing issues. Doug, are you guys set up to do both conversions as well as AF tweaks to the older Mamiya bodies? My main camera is a DF+IQ160, so this is my 2nd camera in my kit.
GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
Most of the IR conversion companies have articles and examples on their web sites. I particularly like Kolarivision's site (and their UV/IR hot mirror filters).
Infrared Filter Choices | Kolari Vision Infrared
Infrared Filter Choices | Kolari Vision Infrared