Infrared Converted Camera Rental Part 2

I took the photo above on my lunch break yesterday. It was an enlightening day. Because the camera's exposure meter measures visible light while the sensor's been converted to see infrared light, it's not very accurate. I wrote about this yesterday, but at that time I was under the impression that the difference would be fairly standard -like if you always over expose by 2/3 you'll generally get good results. And this is why testing is so important.

Turns out that the exposure varied, sometimes wildly. In fact, for awhile I was underexposing according to the exposure meter. So, the lesson learned here is that it's important to know how to use your histogram to determine exposure when playing with infrared. RAW is a good idea as well since it gives you some leeway in post processing, and bracketing is also a good idea.

Another surprise was that my copy of DPP (Canon's RAW software that comes with their cameras) couldn't open the RAW files from the XTi. So, I had to download ufRAW in order to work with the files. I don't like it nearly as much as I like DPP (although it may just be that I'm used to DPP), so I'm hoping there may just be an update for DPP or something?

Anyway, I feel like I have the technical stuff down at this point so last night I spent some time searching Flickr for infrared photos to see what kinds of subjects and compositions I like in order to get ideas for my own photos while traveling. I favorited some. If you're interested in seeing them, click this link to go to my photostream and then click on "Favorites" under my name.

Infrared Camera Rental Story Part 1

I'm unsure if this will be helpful to anyone or not, but I figured I'd write out everything from the time I first received this infrared converted camera (Rebel XTi) to when I get the hang of it.

After unboxing it, inserting a memory card, and grabbing a lens for it, I turned it on. I immediately got an "Error 99". I removed the battery as it suggested, but it didn't help. I googled the error, tried cleaning the contacts on the lens connection and the battery connection, but continued to get the error. One person advised removing the battery for a couple minutes. I tried that and it turned on just as I was writing an email to the place I rented it from.

Next I took a sample photo out of a window to check the exposure. Converted cameras often need a little extra light, so you have to set the exposure up a stop or so. I took several shots while keeping an eye on the histogram and found that at "0" the histogram was right in the middle. Since there should have been some highlights, I increased it to + 2/3. That was better, but I tried +1 to be sure. That looked good too. + 1 1/3 was too light. So, now I know to increase the exposure by 2/3 to 1 stop.

Next I tried to connect the camera to my computer via USB to download the photos and determine more precisely what exposure was the best. My Windows 2000 machine could not find drivers for it, but my XP computer was able to recognize it.

This reminded me that I needed to see what kind of images the camera was set to record. I usually shoot in RAW and definitely wanted to shoot RAW for my infrared photos. It was taking jpg's, so I made that change and then walked through the Custom Functions to set the autofocus to work via the "*" button and set the directional buttons so they chose the AF point to use. Ah... it feels like my camera now :-).

Now to go out and take some more "real" test shots to get used to it before going on my trip!

Infrared Photography Notes

Over the winter I started to see more and more infrared photography popping up in magazines and on the 'net and I became interested in dabbling in it myself. I did a bit of research, joined the Infrared_Photography yahoogroup (which has some amazing resources!), and decided that the most wise way to start out would be with the most minimal investment, an infrared Cokin filter, even though I was warned by the IR group that I'd need to shield the space between the filter and the lens as well as the viewfinder from light leakage while taking an image.

When it arrived I wanted so much to put it to use, but with no foliage outside it was hard to find a subject. Pine trees, I was told, should appear white, but for whatever reason it just never seemed to work for me. I did get a couple test pics, however, of a houseplant under a halogen light -that seemed to work.

But now that it's April and we've finally got green grass (and buds on the trees), I went out on Wednesday to try to take some pictures. It was slightly overcast, near noon, and I used my sweater draped over the entire camera (and held loosely around the filter) to shield the entire thing from light.

One problem I knew would be a challenge is the fact that IR photography with a non-converted camera requires long exposures and it was windy out that day. I knew I'd get some blur due to the wind, but tried to take lots of pictures to increase my chances of a getting a good shot via luck. I figured even with the blur I should be able to see how well the filter works...

Well, the end results were unusable. Not only was there blur, there was also light leakage from somewhere because I got a reflection of the lens assembly that can be seen clear as day in every shot. The long exposures and the resulting need for a tripod and blur due to wind as well as the need to line up the shot, insert the filter, cover the camera to block light intrusion, etc all add up to a big pain in the you-know-what.

So, for the last couple days I've been looking into getting a second camera and having it converted to infrared. The cost varies greatly depending on how you want to buy:

• A USED, CONVERTED Canon Rebel XT sold on eBay today for $551.52
• A USED, UNCONVERTED Canon Rebel XT goes for about $350-$400
• A USED, UNCONVERTED Canon Rebel XTI or 20D goes for about $450-$500
• A NEW, UNCONVERTED Canon Rebel XTI goes for $509
• IR conversion service costs $400 for any Canon SLR
• A NEW, CONVERTED, NON-EBAY Canon Rebel XT costs $950
• A NEW, CONVERTED, NON-EBAY Canon Rebel XTI costs $1275 from www.maxmax.com !!!
  

So, I could buy the Canon Rebel XTI new and have it coverted for $909 (plus shipping, 3 ways) or buy it already converted from maxmax for $366 more!?! And it doesn't appear that I'm saving much (if anything) by going with the (much) older XT, since it's only $100 less if I get it converted myself and it's actually $50 more if I buy it new and converted from http://maxmax.com vs getting a brand new XTi and having it converted by sending it in to LifePixel.com myself.

In short, getting a new converted camera from maxmax.com seems to be a rip-off. Their conversions are $50 more than the more popular LifePixel as well. It's disappointing that no one else out there is offering already converted cameras at set prices. I missed that eBay auction today because I'm just no good at remembering when it ends and going through the trouble of bidding and all that is a pain (IMO). Ebay seems to be the cheapest option, but I've seen some cameras go for ridiculous amounts, so it's really all about waiting for luck to be in your favor.

I don't know if I'll be able to hold out for another auction. I'm going on a trip next month and I'd really like to have an IR body with me. I'll post more as I figure it out. I emailed maxmax.com about their pricing to see if they'll be coming down anytime soon. Probably not, but worth a try.

Oh, and to preemptively answer the question of "why not film" -it seems to be hard to find a place that'll process it. I'm also unsure about whether my film body has an IR filter like all digital SLR's do. I'm also quite dependent on having instant feedback and histograms. Some call it lazy, maybe it is, but I do whatever gets me the image I want the easiest, and that's digital. Even though it IS a money pit >:-P

In the meantime, I do plan to take a minute or two this weekend to re-try my IR filter. I may not be able to fix the long exposures, but there has to be a way to eliminate those reflections, then maybe I can just hope for a day or two without wind... :-\ Something's gotta give. I really want to jump on this new IR bandwagon. Some of the photos I've seen are amazing!