Share your Infra red journey

I started taking infrared images with my first DSLR just by adding cheap e-bay filters to a stock Pentax K100d back in 2010.
This particular camera along with the Nikon D70 is particularly known for it's weak hot mirror (The internal filter blocking IR from the sensor).
With moderately fast lenses & an early in body shake reduction system it was just about possible to hand hold shots, but monochrome IR is pretty much all it was capable of.
Infra Red flower by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

By 2013 I'd got the bug bad enough to look at other options that would be more sensitive. I ended up buying a Song DSC V1, a compact camera with 'nightshot'. This camera had strange limitations, in nightshot mode the camera would only shoot wide open, would always apply a green monochrome colour output it also refused to take photos if the filter adapter was screwed in fully! However it had a built in IR illuminator so could take shots in complete darkness & could be persuaded to work in daylight.
nightshot portrait by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

nightshot ir DSC00575a by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Just over a year later on e-bay I spotted a pre-converted (Full Spectrum) Panasonic GF2 which can use lenses & adapters I already had. I have taken thousands of shots with this & occasionally still use this camera today. It gives me nearly everything I want from a converted camera, but it's UV sensitivity seems rather limited - I think the K100d is more sensitive. All together I must have tried at least 20 different filters on this camera!
IR BTCC - Wood by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Around 2016 I tried a 'ghost hunting' camera that was claimed to be UV sensitive, but it was AWFUL & got sent back within a couple of days.

In 2018 I was given a Sigma Sd14, which I'd expressed an interest in, as it's Foveon sensor shows IR in a very different way than normal cameras. The hot mirror on these models is part of a user removable dust trap. Fitting an X1 filter & using the fluorescent WB allows this to give an Aerochrome like result pretty much straight from the camera. A bit of a one-shot pony from my point of view, but still fun on occasion.
seafront garden aerochrome small by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

My last addition was an A7ii that was full spectrum converted to my requirements back in 2019. Unlike the GF2 this has a viewfinder, IBIS, & a larger sensor. I believe it has more UV sensitivity than the GF2, having a thinner sensor stack & quartz to replace the hot mirror (the GF2 may have glass instead)
PK 28mm vari ND by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

I'm planning on trying UV photography with the A7ii at some point, but trace IR leakage still needs dealing with (I'm not spending hundreds on a filter that passes UV but not IR)

My first IR was with Kodak IR film in the early 1970's.

Flash forward to 2005. I converted my Nikon D70 to 720nm infrared.

This is the earliest image I could find:

Another one:

I've posted a little bit about my journey in the EOS M section but I thought I'd post a more detailed story. Below each little summary is an image I took with that particular camera.

Canon G11 (720nm) - My infrared journey started back in 2017 with a Canon G11. I believe it was 720nm as that was the most common conversion (and still is). It looks like I quickly sold that camera, I'm not sure why. And I'm not sure what even drew me to infrared at that point but I evidently lost interest.

Canon EOS M (590nm) - I didn't revisit infrared until March 2019 when I purchased a 590nm Canon EOS M camera with a 22mm lens. I kept the camera for about 8 months before upgrading to a 720nm Canon EOS M5 in Nov 2019.

Canon EOS M5 (720nm) - By this time I had been using the Canon EOS M6 as my normal color camera for quite a while. I loved it. I thought I'd like an EVF since I'd be taking IR images during harsh light and found a good deal on a 720nm Canon M5. I remember I did not love the camera nor did I like 720nm. I had a hard time processing the files and getting the end result I was after. I did take one of my better infrared images though, of a wind swept sand dune.

Canon EOS M6 (590nm) - Since I wasn't happy with the M5, I did not keep it long. In Feb 2020 I ended up with a 590nm Canon EOS M6. Perfect situation right? A normal color Canon M6 and an infrared Canon M6. From what I remember I felt torn between shooting IR and normal color. I felt like normal color was my main interest yet IR was taking me away from that. When going out, I felt like I had to make a decision which to shoot and I wasn't all-in on IR so I sold my IR M6.

At this point, I start looking at different systems altogether for my normal color camera. I first try the Canon EOS R for about 3 months but sold it. I didn't love the heft, size or even the files from the camera.

That's when I found Fujifilm. I shot with Fujifilm for color for about a year and had a couple of infrared cameras during that time as well.

Fujifilm X-T20 (590nm) - In Feb 2021, I received my 590nm X-T20. I liked the X-T20 because it was compact, especially with the 15-45mm lens. I did like the EVF and used it a decent amount. However, I soon realized that I didn't really care for color IR (at the time) and found I was converting all of my images to B&W. So rather than process them I ended up selling this camera.

Fujifilm X-T30 (590nm) - I must have had a change of heart or something because I bought an X-T30 in August 2021 and had it converted to 590nm. It was a step up from the X-T20 in many ways but not a necessary one. I remember this deal well because it was advertised as the flash hotshot not working, so I thought that'd be perfect for IR and got a good price on it.

But at this point, I had to sell all of my Fuji kit because I wanted to go full frame (again) and I purchased a Nikon Z7. I had been using a Fujifilm X-T3 as my main color camera for a year and got many great images from it. But alas I missed my Canon M6, so I purchased another infrared Canon M6 in January 2022.

Canon M6 (830nm) - Because of my previous experience, I really felt I wasn't interested in color IR so I purchased an M6 and had it converted to 830nm in Jan 2022. I really enjoyed the small kit I had put together with this camera. An M6, 15-45mm, 55-200mm and Rockstar 10mm f8. I got some good images with the camera but felt limited with the 830nm, so I ended up exploring IR with a couple Sony a6xxx cameras.

Sony a6000 (470nm) - I bought this camera by mistake as I thought it was 590nm based on the listing. My mistake. I did end up buying a 590nm filter. I think the whole reason I went with the Sony was the 18-135mm lens. I thought that would be the perfect lens as I had grown fond of the Nikon Z 24-200mm lens. Unfortunately, the Sony 18-135mm did not perform as well as I had liked. I did not love the a6000 either but I didn't give up on Sony yet.

Sony a6500 (full spectrum) - In August 2022, I bought a Sony a6500 and had it converted to full spectrum. I had seen some amazing images with IRChrome and wanted to see what I could do. But in the end, I hated the a6xxx cameras interface and overall usability and quickly sold the a6500 in favor of my old friend.

At this point, I thought alright maybe I'll get my Nikon Z7 converted to full spectrum and get an IRCut filter when I want to use it for regular color. I had heard about the readout line issue but I had hoped it wouldn't affect my camera. After all, I do see some people post photos on the IR Facebook group with a Z6 and A7R II. But unfortunately, I saw the lines as soon as I got it. I sent it back to Isaac Szabo who graciously converted it back to regular color for me (but it was a costly lesson).

Fuji X-T3 (full spectrum) - In October 2022, I started using a full spectrum X-T3. I really thought this was going to be it. I had my old friend in full spectrum and I would be set. Well, not so much. My issue is with the lenses. I kept fighting random hot spots with lenses that I had used in the past for IR and also image quality that I just wasn't completely happy with. I resisted using primes for normal focal lengths (tried the 23mm f2 and didn't love it). I did get some of my best images with the X-T3 but could not shake the hotspot / image quality issues I was experiencing and ended up selling the kit in favor of my other old friend, the Canon EOS M6.

Canon EOS M6 (full spectrum) - In March 2023, I received my current camera, a full spectrum Canon EOS M6. I'm still not 100% happy with the outfit. I don't have a normal zoom lens that gives great results (keep in mind I love the Nikon Z 24-200mm lens) but I don't think one exists. I do love the 22mm f2 lens, I just wish there was something around 15-18mm that worked just as well. I hope I will keep this outfit for a long time to come. I love the small size and options it gives me and while the output is not great sometimes, I think I need to get over that and worry more about composition. Because in the end, people look more at the impact of the photo rather than absolute image quality.

Barely a few weeks into it and I love it.

@joman
@OpenCube
It would help if folk posting could tell us what modifications/filters they have used for their shots. Thanks

Wow you've gone through a lot of cameras, I think I saw about a dozen there!
I've yet to sell any of my converted cameras.

That seems a fairly long exposure, as I'd expect from adding a IR filter to an unmodified camera, but the colour variation is much more than I'd expect to be possible from that.
What conversion/filter was used?

I started with Eastman Kodak Aero Infrared Ektachrome in the 1960s. Moved on to several EK B&W films. Got a Fuji forensic camera in the early aughts and started IR digital. Did IR digital with a Betterlight Super 6K, then started modding FF cameras and MF ones.

Just a Hoya R72. Colors mostly come from manipulation in Adobe Camera RAW. I just push and pull things. Big thing I've been doing lately on the color mixer is starting the color stats on +80.

But I did. A 720nm filter on that modified Nikon D70.

Sorry joman,
I only saw your second post initially.
Great shot BTW.

I first dabbled with infrared as a possible way to deal with a problem- the way I travel, I often wind up with harsh light when I want to shoot landscapes. Infrared was an interesting option to create images under harsh midday sunshine. I was shooting with Canon EF lenses at the time so I picked up a second-hand Rebel for peanuts and had it converted with a 720nm filter.

I got a few good years out of that camera, mostly for black and white treatments, and was hooked on the creative possibilities. Fast forward a bit and I was preparing for a month-long tour by bicycle. I really didn't want to push my 135-format DSLR and associated glass for the trip and I picked up a Panasonic G2/GF2 combo with some small primes as my touring camera. I realized that for my needs I could get what I wanted out of the m4/3 system so I graduated from Canon 135 format to exclusively m4/3 for my kit. The GF2 became my replacement IR camera, this time full-spectrum as I could more easily work with filters on the full-time live view system. I still shot some 720nm but mostly moved on to a dark red 630nm filter for false-colour IR.

Last year I was playing with a couple of astro filters on the full spectrum camera and came across a colour palette that I wanted to play with further. After some research, I picked up a Kolari Vision Blue-IR/NDVI filter and I'm having a lot of fun with extreme colour treatments. I'm still in the early part of the learning curve around processing these files, especially for print, but I'm loving the look and the fact that I can do the entire workflow in Lightroom if I want to.

The old GF2 is getting pretty long in the tooth now. I recently picked up a new-to-me OM-D E-M5iii which is en route for a full spectrum conversion as I write this. I'm curious to see what I can get with the pixel-shift high res mode and other new features of the E-M5iii.

My experience is minimal at this point. I only recently got my conversion back from Kolari. My first dabbling was pretty garish as far as my post went.

Then I was able to get out (last week?) when the sun was out and took a few more (one of which I posted full size here)