Mirrorless cameras and B&W infrared photography
B&W infrared photographs have a distinct look – green foliage go white and blue skies go dark. Then there are the unusual tonality when some things are unexpectedly darker or brighter than you expect. This is all part of the adventure of shooting with B&W infrared. The most typical B&W infrared images that you tend to see, are the landscape images with the ghostly white foliage. My own preference is to explore New York with my B&W infrared camera. The imposing cityscapes of NYC, and the random opportunities make it even more of a visual adventure.
The surreal photograph shown above is a great example of that – two kids reaching up to touch the iconic Red Cube sculpture become a more haunting image. It’s now perhaps reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode, with the two children becoming ghostly pale. Unsettling.
Until last year, the camera that I had been using for B&W infrared photography, was a Canon 5D mark II body that had been converted. I loved the results, but using the Canon DSLR in Live-View mode to check the exposure, felt awkward. You have to rely on the Live-View to figure out the exposure, since the camera’s built-in exposure metering is only a rough guess when it comes to infrared.
That awkwardness of using a DSLR in Live-View mode is what made me consider other options – and I ended up having a Fuji X-E2 (affiliate) camera converted to infrared by LifePixel. Instead of having the IR filter replacing the visible spectrum filter that is usually over the sensor, I decided it might be a good idea to go full-spectrum, and then add an IR filter to the lens.
There are specific advantages to using a Mirrorless camera for shooting infrared compared to a DLSR – mostly, that the mirrorless cameras have an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) which shows you whether your exposure is good, or too bright or too dark. Superb for changing the settings quickly and intuitively on the fly. Since exposure metering with infrared photography is less predictable than visible spectrum light, I shoot in Aperture Priority mode … and with my left thumb deftly nudge the Exposure Compensation button on the Fuji X-E2. I can now roll the EC dial for more or less light, as shown in the EVF. If you’re only used to shooting a DLSR, and not used to shooting with a mirrorless camera, this description might seem a little redundant, comparing the easy of use for something like this. But the mirrorless camera here made it easier and more intuitive to shoot.
Going with Fuji wasn’t without troubles – Fuji lenses tend to show infrared hot spots in the center of the frame, which get progressively worse as you stop down. Some lens designs are such that internal reflections become really bad in the infrared spectrum. The KolariVision website has a very useful list of lenses from all manufacturers which are prone or less prone to IR hotspots.
Unfortunately I didn’t know about that list, so the first lens that I bought for my infrared Fuji, was the Fuji 18mm f/2 lens (affiliate). It’s a superb little lens, compact and very sharp. However, it was a poor choice to shoot infrared with because of a strong hotspot that appeared in the middle. Some of the images below were taken with that lens, and I had to minimize the effect by shooting wider apertures, and even then using the Healing Brush. Not ideal.
A much more suited lens for this turned out to be the Fuji 14mm f/2.8 lens (B&H / Amazon). I haven’t detected any real tendency for that IR hotpost, and the focal length (equivalent to 21mm on FF), is more ideal for dramatic wide-angle scenes.
Here are more images, shot with either of those two Fuji lenses.
- Fuji X-E2 (conversion by Life Pixel)
- Fuji 18mm f/2 lens, with Deep infrared filter (from Life Pixel)
- (hotspot reduced in post-production)
- Fuji X-E2 (conversion by Life Pixel)
- Fuji 18mm f/2 lens, with Deep infrared filter (from Life Pixel)
- (hotspot reduced in post-production)
- Fuji X-E2 (conversion by Life Pixel)
- Fuji 18mm f/2 lens, with Deep infrared filter (from Life Pixel)
- (hotspot reduced in post-production)
- Fuji X-E2 (conversion by Life Pixel)
- Fuji 18mm f/2 lens, with Deep infrared filter (from Life Pixel)
- (hotspot reduced in post-production)
- Fuji X-E2 (conversion by Life Pixel)
- Fuji 18mm f/2 lens, with Deep infrared filter (from Life Pixel)
- Fuji X-E2 (conversion by Life Pixel)
- Fuji 18mm f/2 lens, with Deep infrared filter (from Life Pixel)
And finally, the most recent image, shot with the Fuji 14mm f/2.8 lens, for a much wider view. Bryant Park in New York, looking like it was shot in the winter. What appears to be snow-covered ground and trees, are actually the infrared rendering of summer-time green grass and trees.
Related articles
- Sony mirrorless cameras with vintage lenses
- New York cityscapes – B&W infrared photographs
- B&W infrared photography – Urban landscapes
- Other examples of digital B&W infrared photography
- Gallery: Infra-Red B&W Photos of New York City
Converting your camera for infrared capture
If the look of infrared photography appeals to you, then you can have your camera converted by Life Pixel. On their website they list all the options, as well as which cameras are suitable, and which lenses might be a problem. There’s a ton of useful information on infrared photography! Check them out.
Thanks Neil, nice images & useful article.
Another infrared conversion services provider is Isaac Szabo (http://www.isaacszabo.com/). He did quite a good job with my Fuji X100T (converted to 720nm).
Fuji infrared lens tests can also be found here: http://fujixsystem.blogspot.com.es/p/fuji-infrared-lens-tests.html.
Congratulations on the contents of your website, you provide a lot of useful and clearly explained information (especially regarding on- and off-camera flash).
Thanks for the article, Neil, it was very helpful. I have one question. I have looked at both LifePixel and KolariVision whilst thinking about an IR conversion of my Z50. I’ve noticed that both of them say somewhere on their site that if you do the “full-spectrum” conversion (which I’m leaning toward) and you want to shoot a particular spectrum of IR, let’s just say 720nm, you should buy their “specially made… just for their conversions, etc.” IR filters. My question is, do you actually have to buy some special filter to shoot in 720 on a camera that’s been converted to full-spectrum IR… -OR- will a normal (Hoya for example) 720 filter do the same thing when put on the front of the lens of a full-spectrum converted mirrorless camera? Hope my question makes sense.
Thanks for your time and consideration.
Best,
Thomas
Thomas, without any specific experience here about this, it does sound like you could use any 720nm filter on that full-spectrum converted camera.
I did sell this full-spectrum converted Fuji camera. My initial idea that this would allow me the flexibility of perhaps having a “normal” camera as well as an IR-converted camera, didn’t consider that it is going to be expensive buying different filters for each lens with a different filter diameter.
What really messed up this plan was that most Fuji lenses create an Infrared hotspot in the middle … and I wasted some money buying filters for lenses that turned out not to be useful in my search for a lens that worked properly without a hotspot.
With that, I sold all the Fuji lenses and cameras that I had, and went with Sony instead. And a Sony camera that is properly converted for Infrared.