I'm surprised to find that the Fuji X100 does pretty decent IR photography without having to mod it. It doesn't have fantastic sensitivity, but using an affordable Hoya R72 49mm filter I could get handholdable shutter speeds of around 1/30th of a second at ISO1600-3200, which isn't bad given how well this camera performs at higher ISO's.
I tried a Hoya RM90 and B+W 087c (093 equiv) and those required too long of exposure times and it couldn't really AF. With the cheaper R72 (720nm) AF works just fine, and you can preview the exposure quite nicely using the EVF or LCD.
These aren't meant to be anything other than example photos taken in the back yard but they show the difference between the filter on and off with the camera just set to BW mode with AWB and JPEG output. These are just out of camera and downsized for web
This shot then was a version I was playing around with on my Ipad using Snapseed (really cool app) and I really like the look of B&W IR images warmed up.
Certainly doesn't rival a true modded IR camera but for just the cost of a 49mm IR filter its pretty fun and quite useable. I had an IR modded DSLR which was great but found that I didn't usually carry it and wasn't worth the money. Tried IR filters on other cameras like my NEX and they just lack the sensitivity to be used handheld. With the X100 though, its just a little filter you can toss into your pocket or bag when you head out the door on a sunny day and it can open up some new shooting options during that otherwise horrible for photography midday sun.
About 8-10 stops I'd estimate, though it depends a bit on the quality of the light and the exposure. Basically your going to be around ISO1600-3200+ to get something like 1/30th at f2.8-f4, which is a little grainy but not bad for b/w output, and you can always try handholding at slower speeds too.
Whats nice is that I find the exposure and focus are right on, and more importantly there are no IR hotspots with the lens.
You can always use a tripod or support and do a several second exposure at a lower ISO for cleaner files too and other than the IR look, the overall image quality is the same as the usual X100 output.
I think I paid $65 for the r72 filter so quite reasonable costwise for any X100 owner who enjoys that black sky/white high contrast clouds look
jcolwell wrote:
Very interesting. Thanks. I'll have to give it a go!
Make sure to go with the Hoya R72, the B+W 092 doesn't give a good effect as it doesn't block enough visible light, and the B+W 093 or Wratten 87/87c are way too strong and don't give any real difference anyways.
Hoya RM90 (if you can find one even) works pretty well too, costing you 1-2 extra stops of light loss but with no visible spectrum coming through AF hardly ever works and the overall look is no different.
