Infrared Photography
Infrared Pictures have always had a certain magical appeal for me. The mixture of real and almost surreal creates a fascinating image in infrared photos.
Now, what I was wondering, is if there are digital infrared cameras that are not used for security stuck up on a wall. Rather, I want a digital point and shoot or digital slr that does infrared. It turns out that there are digital cameras that can do infrared photography.
In fact most digital camera sensors see infrared light but the cameras often have a filter built in to get rid of the infrared information making for a sharper or clearer traditional color photo. There are ways to remove this filter but be careful and know that it will usually change the focusing of the camera.
On the bright side, (pun not intended but… never mind, let’s continue) there are some cameras now that allow you to choose if you want to shoot infrared or not.
One example is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50. This camera includes a special “NightShot” mode that uses infrared to take shots in the dark.
( The lowest price I found at a trusted store is at Abe’s of Maine.)
Another option is using an infrared filter on the lens. (These appear to range in price from about $35 to $150.) I don’t know what size of lens you have so I’m not going to try and find the best place for you to get a filter, but just do a search for infrared lens filter.
This method with the lens filter works for some digital cameras but not all. There is list compiled at Cocam.co.uk of cameras that work with this method. If you know of more digital cameras that can do infrared photography please leave a comment for us.
Then of course the obvious option is to use a good old film camera and buy some infrared film for it from your favorite camera/film store. You can even get some from Amazon. (Is there anything we can’t buy from Amazon these days? )
Speaking of Amazon, there is a brand new book coming out that you can pre-order called Digital Infrared Photography. It is from the O’reilly group and looks like a great book for taking great infrared photos. The O’reilly group puts together great books and guides. If you are truly interested in shooting infrared photos, it’s highly recommended you try this book.
Enjoy and feel free to share with us your methods and/or equipment for taking infrared pictures, by leaving a comment below.
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