I found time today to process a few of my infrared photos from last Saturday. These were all shot on Bald Mountain with the 24 f/2.8 NC through the 590 nM filter on my converted Fuji X-T2 with the Lens Turbo II focal reducer.
The 24 is one of the last focal lengths I need to get to round off my set (the 185 and 300 are the other two). My only knowledge concerning it comes from an old post on Tokyo Camera Style. Apparently the photographer was/is a known street shooter. I think that is what I'd try to do with it. Use the scale to zone focus and employ it point and shoot style. That would be fun.
GroWeb wrote:
I found time today to process a few of my infrared photos from last Saturday. These were all shot on Bald Mountain with the 24 f/2.8 NC through the 590 nM filter on my converted Fuji X-T2 with the Lens Turbo II focal reducer.
That color image is very interesting. I always liked how IR can cut through haze.
My summer project arrived today. A few years back I bought a Fuji XT2 locally, for a very good price. The original owner sold it stating that the camera had issues turning on and the rear screen sometimes would go out. I opened it up and found a small piece of grass in the shutter button and the ribbon cable had come loose. Took me maybe 30 minutes total to get it working.
A few months later, a friend of a friend was shooting a wedding (their kit was all Fuji) and the day before, their camera bag was stolen at a different wedding. She asked if she could borrow my camera. I agreed. That was a mistake. When I got the camera back, I gave it a quick once over and everything seemed fine. I didn’t need the camera for about 6 months and when I turned it on, the back screen was dead. EVF worked, but no screen. After fiddling with it, I noticed that the ribbon cable was cracked. I opened it up again and when I pulled the ribbon cable out and removed the screen, I noticed that the mount was damaged and the cable was actually broken. I must have just held it properly when I turned it on after getting it back.
Fast forward to last week. I saw a post where someone was offering an XT2 for the cost of shipping. It wouldn’t turn on and there was a scratch on the sensor. I jumped on it. It arrived today in far better shape than expected. The scratch was an edge of a finger print that wiped off. I bet the on/off is the same issue as my previous one. Should be an easy swap of parts if the switch is actually broken.
So, if everything goes well, I will have 2 working XT2’s and a parts unit.
pbraymond wrote:
James, very nice!. I attempted a dandelion head stack last month, Photoshop merge made a mess of the stacking and I just abandoned it.
The long neglected 16mm f3.5 fisheye came out to play. This is the "Echo" structure again.
There's a few people sitting under the covered structure, one person skating away just to the right of the structure (saw him coming in from the left and managed to get that 1/4s shutter release just as he emerged on the right), and a couple at the far right of the fence looking over at the water.
There's a few people sitting under the covered structure, one person skating away just to the right of the structure (saw him coming in from the left and managed to get that 1/4s shutter release just as he emerged on the right), and a couple at the far right of the fence looking over at the water. ...Show more →
There's a few people sitting under the covered structure, one person skating away just to the right of the structure (saw him coming in from the left and managed to get that 1/4s shutter release just as he emerged on the right), and a couple at the far right of the fence looking over at the water. ...Show more →
I also shot some IR recently, and revisited my initial testing of the 55mm F3.5 for sharpness. Of my three copies of the 55mm - the oldest one (ai'd Nikkor-P.C) is the sharpest, resolving more fine details. I haven't found any way to reliably set focus (except infinity) other than chimping the camera back screen to get the subject I want in focus as sharp as possible. I rarely ever encounter a hot spot, but acutance seems to be a real issue in IR particularly highlights blooming. It is difficult having IR focus on a different plane than visible light, or what the sensor thinks is visible light - at least I think that is what is happening.
EDIT to add
A 10 image infrared stack of the same dandelion (not as close) with the 5D and the 55mm f3.5 ai micro - grayscale.
There's a few people sitting under the covered structure, one person skating away just to the right of the structure (saw him coming in from the left and managed to get that 1/4s shutter release just as he emerged on the right), and a couple at the far right of the fence looking over at the water. ...Show more →
Great stuff Samy. Had a look at the original on Flickr to see the detail you described.
James Markus wrote:
I also shot some IR recently, and revisited my initial testing of the 55mm F3.5 for sharpness. Of my three copies of the 55mm - the oldest one (ai'd Nikkor-P.C) is the sharpest, resolving more fine details. I haven't found any way to reliably set focus (except infinity) other than chimping the camera back screen to get the subject I want in focus as sharp as possible. I rarely ever encounter a hot spot, but acutance seems to be a real issue in IR particularly highlights blooming. It is difficult having IR focus on a different plane than visible light, or what the sensor thinks is visible light - at least I think that is what is happening.
I love the stacked dandelion IR image.
Have you tried aligning with the 'red-dot' infrared focus marker on the lens body?
It is totally counter intuitive to use viewfinder focus (not liveview) and then deliberately dial back the perfect visual focus distance, say 10m, to now be aligned to the red-dot rather than the black dot on the depth of field ring/markers. It means the viewfinder visual focus will now look slightly out of focus for visible wavelengths but now aligned for IR. It has taken me ages to train my brain that an OOF viewfinder image is what I really need to get a sharper IR image.
Have you tried liveview on your 5D? That would be the way to ensure a sharp image since it uses contrast detection direct from the sensor.
Setup the 5D on a tripod and compare viewfinder focus distance to liveview focus distance and hence check if the red-dot focus shift approach is accurate for your lens/filter/camera combo.
Packing up for an upcoming extended holiday for Memorial Day. Weather permitting I will be back on the hiking trails at least a couple of days. This time it will be a film trip. So I thought I would throw together a gear shot while I am getting organized.
