Infrared work; No dedicated cameras?

Why don't they sell a basic non-filtered monochrome
CCD camera for this kind of thing, rather than have
people rely on various colour digitals that work
only to varying degrees? Even using a monochrome
CCD security camera illustrates how much better suited
a "raw" CCD would be for this application.
-Rich

"Rich" wrote in message
...
Why don't they sell a basic non-filtered monochrome
CCD camera for this kind of thing, rather than have
people rely on various colour digitals that work
only to varying degrees? Even using a monochrome
CCD security camera illustrates how much better suited
a "raw" CCD would be for this application.
-Rich

They do sell them, my Sony V1 does it very nicely thanks.

Rich writes:

Why don't they sell a basic non-filtered monochrome
CCD camera for this kind of thing, rather than have
people rely on various colour digitals that work
only to varying degrees? Even using a monochrome
CCD security camera illustrates how much better suited
a "raw" CCD would be for this application.
-Rich

It has been done, but it's a small market. Kodak used to sell
monochrome and IR-only versions of various DCS digital SLR's.

--
-Stephen H. Westin
Any information or opinions in this message are mine: they do not
represent the position of Cornell University or any of its sponsors.

In message ,
wrote:

It has been done, but it's a small market. Kodak used to sell
monochrome and IR-only versions of various DCS digital SLR's.

Perhaps they were ahead of their time. There might be more of a market
now.

I'd buy one with an EOS mount if the price/performance were right.
--


John P Sheehy

On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 22:08:22 GMT, wrote:

In message ,
wrote:

It has been done, but it's a small market. Kodak used to sell
monochrome and IR-only versions of various DCS digital SLR's.

Perhaps they were ahead of their time. There might be more of a market
now.

I'd buy one with an EOS mount if the price/performance were right.

I think a digital back (if they weren't so expensive) would be good
and I believe one mfg. sells monochrome ones, no filters at except
for the usual window with antireflection coatings on it.
I can't remember which back maker it was.
-Rich

According to :
In message ,
wrote:

It has been done, but it's a small market. Kodak used to sell
monochrome and IR-only versions of various DCS digital SLR's.

Perhaps they were ahead of their time. There might be more of a market
now.

There is a web site somewhere (pointed out in this newsgroup)
containing instructions for removing the IR-block filter from the sensor
for the D70. Presumably. something similar could be done for at least
some of the Cannon herd.

I'd buy one with an EOS mount if the price/performance were right.

Would you switch to Nikon to get the IR capability?

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

writes:

In message ,
wrote:

It has been done, but it's a small market. Kodak used to sell
monochrome and IR-only versions of various DCS digital SLR's.

Perhaps they were ahead of their time. There might be more of a market
now.

I'd buy one with an EOS mount if the price/performance were right.

No doubt. You and hundreds, or even thousands, of others. Not enough
to interest, say, Canon, who are shipping millions of DSLR's.

Though there is, of course, the modified 20D without inrfrared blocker;
I would guess that the number of IR enthusiasts might be comparable
to the amateur astronomy population...

--
-Stephen H. Westin
Any information or opinions in this message are mine: they do not
represent the position of Cornell University or any of its sponsors.

On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 22:00:43 -0400,
wrote:



I'd buy one with an EOS mount if the price/performance were right.

No doubt. You and hundreds, or even thousands, of others. Not enough
to interest, say, Canon, who are shipping millions of DSLR's.

Though there is, of course, the modified 20D without inrfrared blocker;
I would guess that the number of IR enthusiasts might be comparable
to the amateur astronomy population...

Quite a few early PS cameras were at least partially IR sensitive.
Easy to check by watching a remote thru your camera while holding the
remote power on button.

It is still quite possible to produce images from Infra red 'light' in your
digital camera. You can try using a 'nearly black' or 'black' filter,
suggest a Wratten type 87 or 87C.

Exposing manually in bright sunlight, exposures are likely to be 10 seconds
at f16. For best results keep your camera's ISO setting at the lowest ie 100
or 200, high ISO settings with infra red result in very soft images. If
possible set your camera to capture inages in monochrome/black and white
mode. As images taken with coplour enavbled will need to be converted to
monochrome later.

You will need a tripod too, as exposures are never going to be anything less
than 5 seconds or so if you use small F stops to maintain detail.

You need a small F stop to keep focus as Infra red focuses at a slightly
different plane to normal light - if you're lucky enough to have lenses with
infra red focus marks, compose your picture and focus normally, then set the
focus to this mark, you will notice a slight softening of the image. Next
put your 'black' filter back on the lens and make your exposure.

Infra red lighting can be quite variable, so consider using 'bracketing'
maybe 1, 2 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 even 60 second exposures.

The results straight out of the camera will look a bit flat - play around
with curves and contrast in your favourite photo manipulation program, then
you will find really good infra red images screaming out at you!

I have tried this with a Fuji Finepix S2 Pro,
A Nikon D70
A Nikon D70S
An old Nikon D720
and several Sony ZLR designs
Seems to work best with the Fuji sensor, results from various Sony cameras
varied from good to useless.

"Rich" wrote in message
...
Why don't they sell a basic non-filtered monochrome
CCD camera for this kind of thing, rather than have
people rely on various colour digitals that work
only to varying degrees? Even using a monochrome
CCD security camera illustrates how much better suited
a "raw" CCD would be for this application.
-Rich

Betty J. Miller writes:

On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 22:00:43 -0400,
wrote:



I'd buy one with an EOS mount if the price/performance were right.

No doubt. You and hundreds, or even thousands, of others. Not enough
to interest, say, Canon, who are shipping millions of DSLR's.

Though there is, of course, the modified 20D without inrfrared blocker;
I would guess that the number of IR enthusiasts might be comparable
to the amateur astronomy population...

Quite a few early PS cameras were at least partially IR sensitive.
Easy to check by watching a remote thru your camera while holding the
remote power on button.

Oh, yes. And earlier Kodak DCS cameras had no built-in IR block
filter; you were supposed to put one in front of the lens. I believe
the 200 and 400 series were this way; the later 500, 600, and 700
series had a removable filter behind the lens, which could be replaced
with an antialiasing filter or left out entirely. I think the 300
series had a fixed built-in filter.

--
-Stephen H. Westin
Any information or opinions in this message are mine: they do not
represent the position of Cornell University or any of its sponsors.