20D and Infrared Photography

[pharris]

Hi all



After reader all the threads on this forum I decided to give IR photography a go. I waited patiently for my Hoya r72 to arrive from Hong Kong as it was one third the price of one in the UK. I then set about trying the filter out, then the disappointment set in, to get any usable image on a bright sunny day my exposures where around 30 seconds at f8 and the images once tweaked in PS just look awful.



I know I should have done this before I got the filter but I then checked the camera IR sensitivity with the old TV remote and my 20D has no IR sensitivity.



If the 20D has no IR sensitivity how come some owners get very good IR Photos, if some do hove IR sensitivity how come mine has none, or are cameras sold in the UK different to the one's sold in the USA.

Thanks for any help and advise

Paul

[tim]

The 20D has an IR cut filter in front of the sensor, i'd be suprised if you could take an IR photo. The 20D-A (or whatever it's called) available in Japan doesn't have that filter.

[lancea]

See this link http://www.canon.com/technology/detail/digi_35mm/lo_filter/ as to why it requires really long exposures, and this thread http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56595 for some more detail about the mod Tim mentions. Thanks for posting your findings though. I've been curious about trying IR.

[FlyingPete]

If the 20D has no IR sensitivity how come some owners get very good IR Photos, if some do hove IR sensitivity how come mine has none, or are cameras sold in the UK different to the one's sold in the USA.


The 20D does have IR sensitivity, but only if you leave the shutter open for ages (minutes I think?), no good for anything moving! As tim said this is due to the filter in front of the sensor.

You also need a filter for the camera that only lets IR though, I have almost ordered one a couple of time, but have been put off by the way expensive price!