| Skill Level: |
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| Cost: |
Approx £27 |
| Models: |
4900Z
6900Z
s602
s602 Pro
s5000
s5500
s7000
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Equipment
Needed: |
- Hoya R72 55mm filter or
- Hoya R72 52mm filter with 55-52mm reducing ring
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Suppliers of the Hoya R72 Filter:
Europe - Jessops
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DISCLAIMER
! Note:
Anything you do to your camera is of your own volition. Don't come running
to me if you ruin a lens / filter / camera etc.
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There are many more things to see outside of the normal "seven colours"
of the rainbow, which your eyes just aren't able to. The world of near
infrared awaits you.
Digital camera CCD sensors (the digital equivalent of film) are very
sensitive to near infrared (IR) light. This can produce strange results
in normal photography and so camera manufacturers place a filter inside
the camera to block out the IR wavelengths from reaching the CCD. However,
even though Fuji state that the 6900Z / s602 and presumably the 4900Z
have no ability to take IR photographs, it is possible using one of the
near IR range of filters (eg R72) as enough of the IR still gets through
where necessary.
If you're wondering what all the fuss about IR photography is all about,
or think you're going to get those wierd blue / green / yellow / red images
seen by heat sensors, you're wrong. Instead, imagine a world where you
see reflected IR as white and absorbed IR as black, eg tree leaves (IR
reflectors) and water (IR absorber) and you're nearly there.
In the past, you used to have to load your film camera with special IR
film to do this kind of photography, but the CCD picks it up very well
so it's not difficult.
The secret is in the filter you use - an IR filter (typically the Hoya
R72 filter), which only lets IR wavelengths through (well, the most expensive
ones do anyway). Any IR rays that pass through the filter and hit the
CCD will show up as white, leaving the unexposed areas black. So you end
up with a kind of "black & white" photograph. For reasons
to do with quantum physics (here comes the "science bit") a
slight amount of red and cyan are displayed in the final result, but the
results can be SPECTACULAR!
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1. Before splashing out on a rather expensive IR filter,
make sure your camera can definately pick up IR wavelengths.
To do this, just get your TV remote control (or any other IR remote
control), preferably without the dark red filter on the end you
point at the TV and take a photograph of it while you're pressing
any button. A darkened room is preferable to photograph this in
(the image shown here has been enhanced for effect).
If your camera can "see" IR light, then you'll end up
with an image something like that shown opposite... A white light
will be seen coming out, which your eyes wouldn't normally see.
If that's the case and you're wanting to take IR photographs, then
proceed to step 2. If you can't see the white light try another
remote control (or a longer shutter speed), otherwise your camera
looks like it's been prevented from picking up IR by the manufacturer.
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2. The first thing you'll notice about your IR filter is
that it appears totally black.
Hold it up to the light though and you may see a very dark red
image through it.
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3. Attach the camera to your tripod and attach the filter
to your AR-FX9 (or equivalent) adapter ring.
Depending upon the amount of light you may / not be able to frame
your subject within the viewfinder / monitor.
Set the camera to M (manual) mode and take a few shots with the
camera to get an idea of the exposure time required for an IR photograph.
The first shots you'll get will be something like the one opposite...
Strange eh? The foliage (IR reflector) appears white and the blue
sky (IR absorber) appears black.
Don't let the redness of the picture put you off, we can do something
about that...
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4. Setting the manual white balance
For the purists amongst you, look away now...
Take a white piece of paper (yeah I know about 18% grey cards etc,
but for this purpose I can't see much point) and set your white
balance manually by pointing the camera at the sheet of paper in
the brightest light available in the scene. If you're unsure how
to set the white balance, consult your camera's manual.
This should make all the pinks appear white and the dark pink appear
black as shown opposite...
Notice the dark coloured "blue" sky and river, and the
white coloured foliage. Strange eh? But that's what you'd see if
your eyes were more tuned to the near IR part of the visible spectrum.
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5. Loading your image into your favourite photo editing
package, play around a little with the levels / colour balance until
you're happy with your final image.
Or for a more "purist" IR photograph, remove all colour
and tweak the contrast etc to your preferred final result.
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