Infra red

[appleman]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi, can anybody tell me if there are any other cameras that can use the Leica M lenses?. I want to venture into infra red photography using my M lenses, purely in the artistic sense, which means converting the camera which then would only be used for IR.

[a.noctilux]

Film or digital ?

Film for IR is hard to find, now.

 

In digital, I use M8 for years, some IR pictures are nice but depend more on IR filters and subjects than lens.

I use on the M8 Leica IR filter, Heliopan, B&W, etc.

Results are variable with each filter.

 

To begin in IR, here a link:

http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00aCUN

 

Arnaud

[TomB_tx]

kolarivision does IR conversions on sensors, and also does conversions on the Sony A7 sensors to improve performance with M mount wide angles, which mount to the A7 series cameras with mount adapters. 

[Lenshacker]

I use an IR converted u43 Olympus EP2.

 

The Sony A7 is a good choice. Most mirrorless systems (Not Samsung) can be used with adapters and M-Mount/LTM lenses.

 

The M8 is also a good choice for IR given the weak IR blocking filter used in it. 

[fussgangerfoto]

I agree with those that recommend the M8, though focusing can be, for obvious reasons, a challenge. Once you get your technique down, you can achieve some stunning results. A converted camera with live view would be ideal, though. I have a D7000 that is worth next to nothing now that I plan to convert.

[appleman]

Interesting, thanks guys.

[wda]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi Guy,

 

Try the M8. No conversion needed; just add a good IR filter such as B+W digital mrc f-pro IR-830. Spend time experimenting with a 28mm lens for better depth of focus to nail the focusing adjustment. A tripod helps too for longer exposures. The effect is stunning.

[Lenshacker]

"I can't resist"...

 

This is with the M8, used with an Orange filter to block out Blue light, let some green through, and does not filter Red or Infrared.

 

I1016049 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

Shot with Raw mode for uncompressed DNG files, converted using M8RAW2DNG.

 

The Blue channel is left sensitive to IR, the other channels are left sensitive to Visible light. Blue channel "equalized", then red/blue exchanged. This is similar to Infrared Ektachrome which had both visible and IR sensitive layers, and a false color scheme for them. This is different from my full-spectrum visible+IR cameras, with those- the three color channels are all sensitive to IR. I did my own software for this, but the process can be replicated in Lightroom and Photoshop.