Infra Red with the E-300

[tomcat]

Tried taking infra red pics with the E-300 today. Was pleasantly surprised to find that the E-300 is much more sensitive to IR than the Canon 20D. Also, the 14-45mm kit lens is very good for IR as there is no hot-spot at all and sharp to boot.

Here's a few of the IR shots:


1.3s, f/5, ISO 100


1.3s, f/5, ISO 100


1.6s, f/5, ISO 100


1.3s, f/5, ISO 100

[tomcat]

And here's 3 more, including 2 IR macros taken with the 50mm f/2.0 Macro lens:


1.0s, f/5, ISO 100


2.0s, f/5, ISO 100


2.5s, f/10, ISO 100

[globalshooter]

hey,

how do u guys take picts with IR?
dont think there's a setting , is there?

[eawtan]

Closeup shots abit noisy.

[tomcat]

I have edited the post to include details on shutter speed, aperture and ISO for better comparison with other cameras.

As those of you who are into IR photography would know, IR capability varies from camera to camera, sometimes quite drastically. Also, a lot of trial and error is required to find the best settings for a particular camera model and sometimes even with a particular lens.

These shots were the first I have ever taken with the E-300 and I'm still trying to find the best settings for that camera and lens combination. As such they were all taken at ISO 100 and aperture of f/5 and shutter speeds between 1-2s. I could definitely use shorter exposure times if I up the ISO to 200 or 400 and if the weather was bright, sunny and cloudless.

Generally speaking IR photography is best under bright sunny conditions and yesterday's lighting conditions were not really ideal as such as it was quite cloudy and not very sunny. Which was why I am quite surprised at the better than expected IR performance of the E-300. Under those conditions or even better, I would normally have to use 20-25s exposures and ISO 400 with the Canon 20D. I have taken similar shots at the same locations (but at different, usually better lighting conditions) with the 10D and 20D. Those who are interested can see them here for comparison:
http://www4.pbase.com/pschia/infra_red

Taking IR macros has always been particularly difficult for me so much so that I have never even tried it before. This is because my Canon 20D required long exposure times typically which is very susceptible to wind-shaking in outdoors settings. Also, much larger depth of field is required for macros which would result in the need for even longer than normal exposure times. The 2 macros shots with the E-300 posted suffered from both blurring due to wind movements and noise due to post-processing to recover from under exposure. I would need to experiment more with the E-300 to find the best settings for macro IR photography.

[globalshooter]

Originally Posted by globalshooter hey, how do u guys take picts with IR? dont think there's a setting , is there?

Oops, what I meant is in film, u use IR film + red filter for IR shoot .
hence is there a digital mode for IR or some special filter for digital IR shooting.

Thx in advance

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by globalshooter Oops, what I meant is in film, u use IR film + red filter for IR shoot . hence is there a digital mode for IR or some special filter for digital IR shooting. Thx in advance

If your digital camera is sensitive to IR, all you need is an IR filter like the Hoya R72 and some experimenting to find out the best settings for your camera (and lens if you are using a DSLR).

[bariq]

Originally Posted by globalshooter Oops, what I meant is in film, u use IR film + red filter for IR shoot . hence is there a digital mode for IR or some special filter for digital IR shooting. Thx in advance

You can use IR filters on your cam and shoot, but it takes some time to hit the perfect combination of shutter speed and aperture for best results.

Popular filters available in the market are
Hoya R72 - Passes IR rays above 720nm
Hoya RM90 - Passes IR rays above 900nm
B+W 092 - Passes 50% IR over 650nm to 700nm (pics some times comes reddish)
B+W 093 - blocks the whole visible spectrum, passes IR over 800nm, best filter available for IR but as usual expensive

hope that helps
cheers

[wizardboy007]

wow! interesting pictures!
Tomcat, i'm a newbie with e300, what kind of filter will best suit for this camera?
thx in adv.

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by wizardboy007 wow! interesting pictures! Tomcat, i'm a newbie with e300, what kind of filter will best suit for this camera? thx in adv.

If you mean for IR photography, then just get a 58mm Hoya R72 IR filter. It would costs about $40. A 58mm sized filter will fit the 14-45mm kit lens and the 40-150mm lens too since it also has a 58mm filter thread.

[wizardboy007]

thx tomcat

[globalshooter]

Originally Posted by bariq You can use IR filters on your cam and shoot, but it takes some time to hit the perfect combination of shutter speed and aperture for best results. Popular filters available in the market are Hoya R72 - Passes IR rays above 720nm Hoya RM90 - Passes IR rays above 900nm B+W 092 - Passes 50% IR over 650nm to 700nm (pics some times comes reddish) B+W 093 - blocks the whole visible spectrum, passes IR over 800nm, best filter available for IR but as usual expensive hope that helps cheers

thanx