Infrared Filter?

Question

I bought an IR filter for my camera, and everything is totally black and too dark...how can this be fixed?

(I put ISO to 1600 and left shutter open for 30seconds and it came up with a very very faint image)

Hmm...I have a digital SLR D40x Nikon

Answer 1

Don't digital cameras have an infrared (IR) filter in front of the sensor? Seems I've read articles about having it removed to allow photographers to experiment with infrared photography.

An easy test to see if your camera has the built-in IR filter is to point a TV remote at the lens. If you see a point of red light on the picture (or LCD screen) then your camera is ready for IR photography. If there is no point of red light then your camera has an IR filter built-in.

The Feb. 2006 issue of Shutterbug Magazine had an article titled "The Digital Road To Infrared". You can read it at shutterbug.com.

The Fujifilm FinePix S3 PRO UVIR is fully infrared ready.

Answer 2

You need to shoot in manual exposure mode. The camera will not expose the shot properly (with an IR filter that blocks most of the visible light) in an auto or even semi-auto mode. Use the camera's light meter to properly expose the shot, and depending on the filter, it could take up to several minutes to expose the shot. Set your ISO back to 100 and don't touch it anymore, and use a neutral gray card to set a custom white balance. If you leave the WB on auto, you'll end up with orange/redish images. If you're still having problems, check your camera manufacturers IR compatibility. Some cameras (like the nikon D70) can do well with IR. Some newer cameras block out higher amounts of IR than older ones, meaning that you may not get very good IR images from it unless you have it modified. Also, watch out for IR hotspots.

EDIT:

Now that I think about it, the speed isn't the issue. What camera are you using? I assume you use digital because if you are using IR film, it's probably black because you didn't put the film in the camera in COMPLETE darkenss, inside a dark bag, while in a dark room. That will cause all the frames to come out foggy. But with digital, you shouldn't be having that much trouble with an exposure that long. Your camera is probably not compatible for IR.

Answer 3

Tell us what camera (digital or film) you're using and what kind of film (if applicable). Next year I plan to do some IR photography with a digital SLR camera. I've tried it before with a cheap digital camera and didn't need 30 seconds for an image.

Answer 4

If I recall correctly IR film doesnt really need such a long exspoure. try a shorter time, because IR is reading heat. to much heat gets total darkness