Full Spectrum Conversion

[MurrayMinchin]

Hi there,

Has anyone done a full spectrum conversion of their digital camera, where filter glass over the sensor which removes ultraviolet and infrared light is replaced by clear glass?

There would be the annoyance of having to use a filter over the lens depending on if you were using ultraviolet, visible, or infrared light to make an image (pretty sure I'd be using mine for B&W final images) but then again...you can use whichever part of the spectrum you want.

Began to seriously consider this after taking a recent driving holiday to southeast BC and back. It's been a record year for forest fires and there was smoke everywhere we went. There were times when the smoke was useful in separating foreground objects from distant ones, like on a foggy day, but there were other times when I would have liked to cut through the smoke for crisp mountain ridge textures for example. Have also read that these cameras are fast in low light situations in full spectrum mode, as they gather more light.

I have a mirrorless camera, and have read you can use the electronic viewfinder to compose and take hand held infrared images while keeping a deep red filter over the lens...is this true?

An intriguing thought, being able to use more than just visible light in any photograph, at any time, whenever a particular images calls for it.

Any experience with full spectrum out there?

 

[MattKing]

When I saw this thread title, I wondered if the thread was going to be about Murray moving from large format film and SLIMT techniques to using digital!

 

[MurrayMinchin]

When I saw this thread title, I wondered if the thread was going to be about Murray moving from large format film and SLIMT techniques to using digital!

Sort of...

Went as far as sharp & unsharp pin registered masking techniques with 4x5 negatives...made the best prints of my life...felt underwhelmed...the finished, dry mounted, over matted and framed prints were like looking through a window to a scene isolated/removed from me. Felt a need to experience holding an art object in my hand; an image made on paper with old word surface character.

Tried salt prints, kallitype's, then heard whisperings from the world of direct-to-plate polymer photogravure.

Years ago I saw (online) platinum/palladium prints by Dick Arentz using a digital camera and digitally enlarged negatives which made me look at the digital option in a new light. A ringing endorsement if there ever was one.

New worlds around every corner!

 

[nmp]

Hi there,

Has anyone done a full spectrum conversion of their digital camera, where filter glass over the sensor which removes ultraviolet and infrared light is replaced by clear glass?

There would be the annoyance of having to use a filter over the lens depending on if you were using ultraviolet, visible, or infrared light to make an image (pretty sure I'd be using mine for B&W final images) but then again...you can use whichever part of the spectrum you want.

Began to seriously consider this after taking a recent driving holiday to southeast BC and back. It's been a record year for forest fires and there was smoke everywhere we went. There were times when the smoke was useful in separating foreground objects from distant ones, like on a foggy day, but there were other times when I would have liked to cut through the smoke for crisp mountain ridge textures for example. Have also read that these cameras are fast in low light situations in full spectrum mode, as they gather more light.

I have a mirrorless camera, and have read you can use the electronic viewfinder to compose and take hand held infrared images while keeping a deep red filter over the lens...is this true?

An intriguing thought, being able to use more than just visible light in any photograph, at any time, whenever a particular images calls for it.

Any experience with full spectrum out there?

So I don't have any first-hand knowledge about full spectrum - I just got a regular IR (720nm) conversion done by Isaac Szabo on my old DSLR as I got a newer one recently. This is what he has to say on full spectrum:

...
I should note that people sometimes think that a full spectrum camera can be used for normal photography by putting a UV/IR-cut filter on the lens. However, this is only partly true because UV/IR-cut filters do not work very well in front of wide angle lenses (they cause a color-shifting vignette), and for that reason I generally do not recommend that a full spectrum camera should be relied upon as one's main visible light camera.

Isaac Szabo

www.isaacszabo.com

:Niranjan.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

So I don't have any first-hand knowledge about full spectrum - I just got a regular IR (720nm) conversion done by Isaac Szabo on my old DSLR as I got a newer one recently. This is what he has to say on full spectrum:

...
I should note that people sometimes think that a full spectrum camera can be used for normal photography by putting a UV/IR-cut filter on the lens. However, this is only partly true because UV/IR-cut filters do not work very well in front of wide angle lenses (they cause a color-shifting vignette), and for that reason I generally do not recommend that a full spectrum camera should be relied upon as one's main visible light camera.

Isaac Szabo

www.isaacszabo.com

:Niranjan.

Thanks for the heads up. Will delve into that further as I use wide angle quite a bit.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

So I don't have any first-hand knowledge about full spectrum - I just got a regular IR (720nm) conversion done by Isaac Szabo on my old DSLR as I got a newer one recently. This is what he has to say on full spectrum:

...
I should note that people sometimes think that a full spectrum camera can be used for normal photography by putting a UV/IR-cut filter on the lens. However, this is only partly true because UV/IR-cut filters do not work very well in front of wide angle lenses (they cause a color-shifting vignette), and for that reason I generally do not recommend that a full spectrum camera should be relied upon as one's main visible light camera.

Isaac Szabo

www.isaacszabo.com

:Niranjan.

Perhaps a rear mounted filter system would work...where a filter is behind the lens and placed over the sensor instead of going on the front of the lens? Here's one example:

Kolari Magnetic Clip-In Filter for Fujifilm X-Mount – Kolari Vision

We’re excited to introduce our new Kolari Magnetic Clip-in Filters for Fuji X-Mount! Compatible with most Fuji mirrorless systems, our Kolari Magnetic Clip-In Filters can be used to add rear filtering to Fuji X-mount.

kolarivision.com

Swapping filters would be annoying, but the increased flexibility might just be worth it. Hmmmm...