IR Barn
p.1 #1IR Barn
I recently acquired a new to me IR cam, so been playing with it. I obviously haven't mastered it and it appears there's a lot to learn. So now I'm starting to think maybe it's more a gimmick and not worth the learning curve and field time to continue down this particular rabbit hole...
720 IR filter
720 IR filter
ILCE-7RM4 FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II lens 135mm f/8.0 1/320s 100 ISO +0.7 EV
Nov 06, 2026 at 12:16 AM
p.1 #2IR Barn
Engaging image, which shows some of the positive points of IR.
Speaking of which, I'm curious as to what makes you think monochrome IR is a gimmick? From my perspective, a 830nm conversion on a spare body reignited my love for B&W. Shooting in the IR spectrum makes it possible to acquire interesting images in harsh, midday light. Light which can often lead to overly contrasty, and boring color images. I will note, hight IR range images of people can be unusual and ethereal, while not always flattering.
I did find there is a learning curve in working up a processing flow. The straight out-of-camera images from my converted Fuji are rather lifeless, and require a some bold fiddling to make sing. Looking back, most of the best B&W prints from my analog days also required serious darkroom effort too.
Speaking of which, I'm curious as to what makes you think monochrome IR is a gimmick? From my perspective, a 830nm conversion on a spare body reignited my love for B&W. Shooting in the IR spectrum makes it possible to acquire interesting images in harsh, midday light. Light which can often lead to overly contrasty, and boring color images. I will note, hight IR range images of people can be unusual and ethereal, while not always flattering.
I did find there is a learning curve in working up a processing flow. The straight out-of-camera images from my converted Fuji are rather lifeless, and require a some bold fiddling to make sing. Looking back, most of the best B&W prints from my analog days also required serious darkroom effort too.
Nov 06, 2026 at 07:17 AM
p.1 #3IR Barn
Wax on, Wax off, you will get there. I found that rabbit hole worth the trouble! And, this is a fine image.
Nov 06, 2026 at 07:40 AM
p.1 #4IR Barn
Taperwing wrote:
Engaging image, which shows some of the positive points of IR.
Speaking of which, I'm curious as to what makes you think monochrome IR is a gimmick? From my perspective, a 830nm conversion on a spare body reignited my love for B&W. Shooting in the IR spectrum makes it possible to acquire interesting images in harsh, midday light. Light which can often lead to overly contrasty, and boring color images. I will note, hight IR range images of people can be unusual and ethereal, while not always flattering.
I did find there is a learning curve in working up a processing...Show more →
I did also get an 830 filter along with the 720, perhaps I should focus on mono IR and forget false color? More experimentation is in order maybe. I will def spend time using the 830 before I sell, thanks for this line of thinking.
Re my gimmick comment, I guess it was more that I'm not feeling the juice is worth the squeeze -- would the image above be just as good or even better if processed from a color capture as a mono with deep red filter? IDK, but may try a side-by-side experiment today with all 3 options to compare. And thank you for the "engaging image positive aspects" comment, that does give me some incentive to stick with it a bit more. 👍
Engaging image, which shows some of the positive points of IR.
Speaking of which, I'm curious as to what makes you think monochrome IR is a gimmick? From my perspective, a 830nm conversion on a spare body reignited my love for B&W. Shooting in the IR spectrum makes it possible to acquire interesting images in harsh, midday light. Light which can often lead to overly contrasty, and boring color images. I will note, hight IR range images of people can be unusual and ethereal, while not always flattering.
I did find there is a learning curve in working up a processing...Show more →
I did also get an 830 filter along with the 720, perhaps I should focus on mono IR and forget false color? More experimentation is in order maybe. I will def spend time using the 830 before I sell, thanks for this line of thinking.
Re my gimmick comment, I guess it was more that I'm not feeling the juice is worth the squeeze -- would the image above be just as good or even better if processed from a color capture as a mono with deep red filter? IDK, but may try a side-by-side experiment today with all 3 options to compare. And thank you for the "engaging image positive aspects" comment, that does give me some incentive to stick with it a bit more. 👍
Nov 06, 2026 at 08:08 AM
p.1 #5IR Barn
jon.oman wrote:
Wax on, Wax off, you will get there. I found that rabbit hole worth the trouble! And, this is a fine image.
Perhaps Jon, just not feeling the end result is worth the effort to get there. But thank you for the kind comment!
Wax on, Wax off, you will get there. I found that rabbit hole worth the trouble! And, this is a fine image.
Perhaps Jon, just not feeling the end result is worth the effort to get there. But thank you for the kind comment!
Nov 06, 2026 at 08:09 AM