On a sunny day, take the digital camera as tested in part 1, infrared filter and tripod to a park or garden. Before starting to shoot infrared images, do a custom white balance with the infrared filter attached to the lens. Refer to the camera instruction manual on how to do a custom white balance.

Aim the camera, zooming in or coming in close, and filling the frame on a bright sunlit patch of green grass or green leaves. Perform the procedure of doing a custom white balance. The explanation for green grass or green leaves is that it is the best natural-occurring grey card just as photographers use a white/grey card for custom white balance. Remember to set the camera to this custom white balance before actually photographing. If the custom white balance was done correctly, the resulting infrared images should contain minimal colour cast and appear like classic black-and-white images.

In simple steps, do the following, but keep in mind that some cameras must be operated slightly differently. Refer to the camera instruction manual for details.

[1] Switch on the digital camera. Set the digital camera to custom white balance mode.

[2] If using a digital SLR camera, do not attach the infrared filter yet since the viewfinder will be blacked-out by the infrared filter. First, zoom in or come close in to fill the frame with green grass or green leaves, then attach the filter. If using a digital compact/hybrid camera with a live-viewing LCD screen, the filter may be attached while zooming, but seeing a dark reddish scene is expected if auto white balance is currently set.

[3] Perform the procedure to set a custom white balance, and if the digital camera allows, save the custom white balance setting in the camera such that it can be used again.

[4] If using a digital SLR camera, remove the infrared filter to look through the viewfinder, compose and focus for the shot. First lock the zoom and focus, then carefully reattach the infrared filter without moving the zoom and focus. Use the camera’s built-in light meter as a guide to the infrared exposure. Exposure compensation is sometimes necessary. If using a digital compact/hybrid camera with a live-viewing LCD screen, the infrared filter can be left attached while composing (zooming and focusing), but seeing a black-and-white scene is expected since a custom white balance has been set.

[5] Photograph as normal using the preferred exposure mode and the camera’s built-in light meter as a guide. After each shot is taken, check the image histogram. It is more likely that images are sometimes underexposed. Compensate as required.

The IR-blocking filter seated on the CCD/CMOS imager renders the digital camera very insensitive to natural-occurring infrared even on a bright sunny day. Shutter speeds are slow and high ISO values can be expected. For this reason, a tripod will surely be compulsory when doing infrared photography using an unmodified digital camera. As a rough guide, an unmodified Canon EOS 20D with a Hoya R72 filter attached to the lens may have the following settings on a sunny day: ISO 400, f/8, 30 secs.

The issue here is to check if the camera or lens is compatible for infrared. If incompatible, a ghostly circular white or reddish patch appears in the middle of the infrared images. This is flare, often called a hot spot, and can be expected with many lenses when doing infrared photography. Hot spots in images become more visible as the aperture is stopped down. Hot spots in images become faint as the aperture is opened wider, and may even disappear. The intensity of the hot spot varies throughout the zoom range of a zoom lens, and it is possible that it is absent at a particular focal length but present at all other focal lengths.

Unmodified Fujifilm FinePix S9500 camera produces a hotspot in infrared photography.

Infrared images captured with long exposure times may also exhibit other signs or shapes of flare.

Unmodified Canon EOS 40D with EFS 18-55mm lens produces a hotspot and flare in infrared photography.

If hot spots do not occur with your digital compact/hybrid camera, then count yourself lucky to be able to start infrared photography on the cheap with what you already have spending only on an infrared filter. The only inconvenience is carrying a tripod out even on bright sunny days because exposure times are too long for handheld photography.

There is no easy solution to the problem of hot spots, not even with Adobe Photoshop. However, hot spots are very unlikely to occur with digital cameras that have been modified for infrared photography, and this modification requires the work of a qualified camera technician. In Australia, digital cameras can be properly modified and focus calibrated for infrared photography at Camera Clinic.

Some unmodified digital compact/hybrid cameras that do not cause hot spots in infrared images are:

Canon PowerShot A630

Canon PowerShot A640

Canon PowerShot A650 IS

Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

To begin digital infrared photography, it is necessary to check if the CCD/CMOS imager in your digital camera is capable of “seeing” infrared. It does not matter if your digital camera is a cheap or an expensive one. Both idiot-proof fully-automatic digital compact cameras and feature-packed professional-class digital SLR cameras should be tested for their IR responsiveness. Although most digital cameras can “see” IR, it is still a good idea to confirm this because all of them have an IR-blocking glass filter seated on top of the CCD/CMOS imager. When this filter is removed, the camera would become more advantageous for IR photography.

To check your digital camera, you must have an IR (or IR-passing) filter. A popular choice is the Hoya R72 which blocks all visible light that we can see but passes infrared light which we cannot see. Only after getting an IR filter then can you test your digital camera.

The test is simpler if you have a digital compact or hybrid camera with a rear LCD screen which displays the scene live as you point it around (Live View). The modern digital SLR cameras with Live View feature (such as Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 7D, 40D, 50D, 450D, 500D, 550D, and Nikon D700, D300, D300s, D90, D5000, etc.) can be treated in this same category for this test, and are just as simple to test.

The test is not as simple with older digital SLR cameras that do not have the Live View feature but not impossible to a person who understands basic photography principles.

Testing a digital compact/hybrid camera for IR responsiveness

[1] Switch on the digital compact camera. Make sure it is working properly and correctly exposing captured images. It is best to test the camera in Program (P) or Aperture-priority (A or Av) mode. If these modes are not available, test in Full Automatic mode.

[2] Attach a Hoya R72 filter (or equivalent filter) in front of the lens. If the filter size does not match the lens, or if the lens does not have a screw thread for filter attachment, hold the filter flat and flushed against the front of the lens. The filter must be big enough to overlap and cover the front lens element.

[3] Point the small LED “bulb” (it is actually not a bulb) on the front of a TV/DVD remote control to the lens. Depress and hold down any button.

[4] Observe the rear LCD screen for a live view of pinkish or purplish pulses emitted by the remote control.

If pinkish or purplish pulses are seen in the LCD screen, the camera is able to “see” infrared.

If you cannot screw-on a filter to the front of the lens, check that your digital compact/hybrid camera has a filter adapter accessory. This accessory looks like a ring or a tube that attaches to the camera and has a screw-thread to take filters that are commonly 49mm, 52mm, 55mm, or 58mm sizes.

Testing a digital camera's response to infrared using a TV/DVD remote control and a Hoya R72 filter attached.

Testing a digital camera's response to infrared using a TV/DVD remote control and a Hoya R72 filter attached.

The pinkish infrared illumination from the LED of a TV/DVD remote control is seen by a digital camera not even fitted with an infrared filter.

The pinkish infrared illumination from the LED of a TV/DVD remote control is seen by a digital camera fitted with a Hoya R72 filter.

Testing a digital SLR camera for IR responsiveness

[1] Switch on the digital SLR camera. Make sure it is working properly and correctly exposing captured images. It is best to test the camera in Program (P) or Aperture-priority (A or Av) mode. If unsure, test in Full Automatic mode.

[2] Attach a Hoya R72 filter (or equivalent filter) in front of the lens. If the filter size does not match the lens, hold the filter flat and flushed against the front of the lens. The filter must be big enough to overlap and cover the front lens element.

[3] Point the small LED “bulb” (it is actually not a bulb) on the front of a TV/DVD remote control to the lens. Depress and hold down any button.

[4] Inside a room and away from bright sunlight, in Program or Aperture-priority mode, take several photos. Avoid using fast shutter speeds since the LED “bulb” is pulsing and may not be captured. Raise the ISO value since the pulsing LED “bulb” may be “dimmed” by the IR-blocking filter inside the camera.

If pinkish or purplish, or even whitish patches are captured in the images, the camera is able to “see” infrared.

Infrared filters tend to be expensive. If you have several lenses for your digital SLR camera, it is better to buy an infrared filter to fit the largest filter size of them all.

It is important to understand that even though a digital camera is responsive to infrared does not necessarily mean that, by default, it is compatible for infrared photography. Unlike visible light, infrared light behaves differently. Conventional methods used to minimize or eliminate reflection of visible light traveling inside an optical system (such as a lens and a camera) are not as effective with infrared. Like an unpredictable mischievous teenager, infrared light reflects, bounces and scatters around inside an optical system causing flare and softness (haziness) in images. Just as blue and red light do meet on the exact same plane of focus, infrared also focuses differently from the visible light spectrum. Focus for infrared light must be compensated especially when using wideangle lenses.

The next step would be to actually photograph infrared images to check that your digital camera is compatible with infrared.

If custom white balance was measured on something else, say blue sky or red brick, the resulting IR image may contain some rather strange colours. This colour is called “false colours”, and some photographers like it. Predicting the occurrence of false colours is difficult because it varies between digital camera models. Based on research and experience, it seems that some cameras do not produce false colours. The appearance of false colours also depends on how the custom white balance was done.

In June 2010, I shot some infrared images using an unmodified Canon PowerShot A650IS with a Hoya R72 filter held in front of the lens, and was surprised to observe that it does not produce the hot spot flare in its images. Its smaller brothers, the A630 and A640, also do not produce the hot spot flare when shooting IR images.

In July 2010, I shot more infrared images using my specially-modified Canon PowerShot SX120IS with a 680nm infrared filter. Shot at Mount Buller and at Echuca, it was at Echuca that I discovered the custom white balance I did using a 950nm infrared filter tended to produce a sepia-tone appearance in images shot with a 680nm filter.

[View with PicLens]

Some of the images shown were not post-processed, but some have been enhanced to improve visual appearance.

In July 2010, using a full-spectrum Canon Powershot SX120IS specially-modified for myself, I took this series of images to illustrate the effect of full-spectrum images and the effects of images with different IR filters. Each IR image was shot with its own custom white balance to match the IR filter in use.

Full-spectrum image with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Full-spectrum image with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Infrared image with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Infrared image with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Infrared image with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

This experiment again demonstrated that as the transmission wavelength was increased (deeper into the IR spectrum) the exposure time is also increased. It was shows that images in the higher IR spectrum tend to look soft, hazy and have less colour and less contrast.

She tries out the Nikon D300s with a massive expensive 500mm super telephoto lens.

The opposite of me, she prefers Nikon to Canon, and was keen to try out the professional Nikon equipment on display.

Adding a few days of annual leave to extend the ANZAC Day long weekend, Averal and I did a 5-day-4-night road trip to, and around, Grampians National Park in a Toyota campervan from a popular company called Britz. This was my very first time driving a campervan, and of course, leading to my very first experience with caravan parks in Australia.

The neatly modified Toyota HiAce had a battery-powered fridge, mains-powered microwave, gas stove, wash basin with water from a built-in refillable tank, several drawers of crockery and cutlery, a clothes closet with hangers, a bed to fit 2 adults, an upper-deck bed to fit 1 adult, a indoor dining table, and an outdoor dining table. Almost everything required to live inside the van was provided. How cool is that?

After filling the campervan with our clothes and toiletries, we departed Melbourne for Grampians National Park. Along the way, just outside the regional city of Ballarat, we stopped to visit Castle Kryal. Then we continued our journey stopping at Ararat for some groceries. Our first night was at Grampians Paradise Caravan Park in a village called Pomonal in the Grampians region.

On route to Grampians National Park in our Britz campervan.

Arriving Pomonal village in Grampians National Park in our Britz campervan.

At Grampians Paradise caravan park.

At Reed Lookout in Grampians National Park.

At MacKenzie Falls in Grampians National Park.

At Lake Wartook in Grampians National Park.

At Lake Bellfield in Grampians National Park.

On the way to another Aboriginal rock art site in Grampians National Park.

Like motels and hotels, check-out time at caravan parks were typically 10am or 11am, and as expected, late check-out surcharge applies. After having breakfast cooked by her inside the campervan, by about 10am every morning, we would have washed up and locked away all crockery, cutlery and stuff in the cabin, and left the caravan park for the drive to our next intended destination.

By night, we are checked into a caravan park having self-cooked dinner.

At Wonderland carpark in Grampians National Park.

During the day, we drove many kilometers to visit and enjoy several sites around the huge national park. By nightfall, we would arrive at a pre-booked powered site in a caravan park where she would cook food from our on-board fridge for our dinner.

At Grand Canyon in Grampians National Park.

Sunset on Mount William in Grampians National Park.

My first ever use of a modified full-spectrum digital camera, a Nikon D70, occurred on this road trip.

This 5-day long campervan road trip traveled us 980km.

More images of our road trip are in our Facebook profiles.

It is common that most people modify their ageing, discontinued and lesser-used digital cameras for infrared photography. Every now and then, I receive such a digital camera to be modified. Here is a discontinued Canon PowerShot G5 for infrared modification received at work. I dismantled the camera, removed the CCD imager, and the bandpass filter (glass with blue tint) then replaced the latter with a clean infrared filter. Like with all such modifications, all surfaces had to be painstakingly cleaned of large dust particles.

Infrared modification of Canon PowerShot camera.

I also re-modified my Canon PowerShot SX120IS by removing the infrared filter I had previously fitted inside it. Now without the infrared filter, the camera has become a full-spectrum camera. It “sees” from ultraviolet to infrared. I carefully glued a 43mm-58mm step-up ring on the front of the lens so that 58mm-diameter infrared filters can be easily used on the camera.

Modified full-spectrum Canon PowerShot camera with a glued-on adapter ring to fit various filters.

I now have 3 infrared filters at different transmission frequencies, one at 680nm, one at 720nm, and one at 950nm.

Probably for convenience, most photographers choose to modify their digital cameras specifically for infrared by having an infrared filter fitted inside the camera. However, modifying for full-spectrum allows the photographer to choose the infrared, or even ultraviolet, transmission desired for the purpose, probably for a scientific application.

With a Hoya R72 (720nm transmission) filter and an unbranded 950nm transmission filter, I tried them using a full-spectrum modified Nikon D70 belonging to my company Camera Clinic. This was my first use of a full-spectrum digital camera. Shot at Grampians National Park in Victoria state of Australia, the images below show the expected reddish cast of a full-spectrum digital camera due to sensitivity to red and infrared.

Forming 2 sets of 6 images each, they were shot in a consistent sequence as follows:

[1] Auto white balance without IR filter
[2] Custom white balance without IR filter
[3] Auto white balance with 720nm IR filter (Hoya R72)
[4] Custom white balance with 720nm IR filter (Hoya R72)
[5] Auto white balance with 950nm IR filter
[6] Custom white balance with 950nm IR filter

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

Photography with a full-spectrum modified digital camera.

This experiment also demonstrated that as the transmission wavelength was increased (deeper into the IR spectrum) the exposure time is also increased.

Many digital cameras, even today, are incapable of capturing both the brightest and darkest areas in real life scenes accurately. Technically speaking, film has a wider dynamic range and is better at reproducing images of a scene more accurately as seen by the human eye. For this advantageous reason, many Hollywood movies are still shot on film even today.

HDR images are most commonly produced by photographing a scene with a series of images at different exposure levels; some images overexposed, some images underexposed, and an image correctly exposed. Then, using specialty HDR software, or imaging software capable of producing HDR imagery, the series of images are aligned and blended to produce a HDR image not possible to capture in a single exposure.

Since about 2 years ago, I considered doing HDR photography but never began doing it. Finally in June 2010, after acquiring a popular HDR software called PhotoMatix Pro, I began experimenting with HDR photography.

[View with PicLens]

The above gallery of images contains my very first HDR images using a recently acquired second-hand Fujifilm FinePix S9500.  I found and bought this old digital camera based on a false tip-off on the internet that this camera could perform infrared (IR) photography without the hot spot (flare) phenomena, and also because Fujifilm FinePix cameras can produce beautiful colours with their proprietary Fujichrome mode. Photographers who use the professional Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, S3 Pro and S5 Pro, or other Fujifilm FinePix cameras, would know this well.

Generally, the occurrence of hot spots can be greatly reduced, if not totally eliminated, by modifying the digital camera for IR photography.

In April 2010, I repaired a dead Canon PowerShot A640 camera to test its capability for infrared photography. Together with this revived unmodified Canon camera, I also tested an unmodified Canon PowerShot SX120IS and an unmodified Fujifilm FinePix S6500fd with the ever popular Hoya R72 filter.

[View with PicLens]

In the above gallery of images, it is observed that the Fujifilm FinePix S6500fd produces hot spots.