Infrared and White Balance

So I'm not sure if it's user error, or crappy equipment.

I'm using a 720nm filter, just to experiment/play around with IR. I know I have to set a custom WB to be able to properly manipulate things in post. I've taken a shot of healthy green grass to set my custom WB to, both with the IR filter, and without, but I continue to have issues with color. Swapping red & blue channels hasn't resulted in the renditions I was hoping for, as I usually end up with a purple image. If I know which way to go with setting the custom WB, at least I'll be starting in the right place, and take it from there.

Do you set the WB with the filter on, or set it with it off?

shoot raw and fix the WB in post. when you shoot raw you are not recording white balance, the WB that you see is only applied to the jpeg preview. Align your RGB channels manually in photoshop with the color balance tool, or download the free astrophotography plugin called white cal http://www.deepskycolo​rs.com …hop-Plug-in-Whitecal.html works great for infrared. The next step is inverting your channels in the channel mixer, change red to 0% and blue to 100% then goto blue channel and make red 100% and blue 0%. Tweak on from there.

Wow I just found this post. I have to say the Deepskycolors plug in is the cats meow. Thanks for sharing the info. I had been struggling with the color conversions problems in Lightroom and Photoshop and this plug in will give me more options.

I just sent a canon 50D in to life pixel for conversion, went with the super color for the added control. Trying to get more educated before it comes back. It appears that I need to use DPP to process the white balance as PS and LR do not have enough latitude to properly adjust, in that case is there any need for white balance before exposure? Life Pixel suggest using a white or grey card for setting a custom white balance.

Yea you can do it like that, I made the preset with do and use it in camera raw sometimes, it lets you manually align to taste, whatever works easiest for you to bring the results you seek in the long run.

Shoot RAW,

Use a field of well baked green grass on a hot day at mid day to set a custom white balance. (set lens to out of focus)

You really DO want to set a custom WB so you can see what the heck your doing when you review the images. A pile of red is not helpful. With the WB you get the wow factor right there on the LCD.

C1 and after shot pro are also working fine with the white balance created, my favorite is to use BreezeBrowser, but DPP is obviously good free alternative.

Just using photoshop thereafter will give you all the grey tone and false color options you will need;

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I see, the setting of a corrected white balance will let me see a better image on the lcd screen, and I then can work with it in DPP to fine tune. Thanks

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #17616400
Shoot RAW,

Use a field of well baked green grass on a hot day at mid day to set a custom white balance.

Tip: If you have an old low-capacity card that you don't really use, shoot the wb pic and keep on that. Keep it with you. If you ever have the need to reset the wb, even if no clumps of green are around you, you can pop in the card to set it.

Picture North Carolina wrote in post #17616635
Tip: If you have an old low-capacity card that you don't really use, shoot the wb pic and keep on that. Keep it with you. If you ever have the need to reset the wb, even if no clumps of green are around you, you can pop in the card to set it.

Great idea, will have to do that, thanks.

lol, Now you tell me!

I got a 5D2 converted early (still cold) this Spring and had to wait weeks for a really hot sunny day!

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #17618325
I got a 5D2 converted early (still cold) this Spring and had to wait weeks for a really hot sunny day!

Wow! A 5D2? I got a 5D converted and when I tell people about it, they comment about converting such an "expensive" camera. But a 5D2? You must be rolling in the bucks, Jake!

Speaking about white balance, maybe somebody can help me with this.

Prior to the 5D, I had a 20D converted. When I did a custom WB the native shots came out like this: even converted in DPP with a kind of bronze tinting.

But the 5D custom balanced WB always shoots in an almost perfect BW

I really liked the bronze effect a lot. (No longer have the 20D). But I have tried multiple times to try to get the 5D to produce it and failed. Reproducing it in PS just doesn't quite get it. Does anybody know how I can get the 5D to shoot the bronzed images?

I picked it up for $800.00,. was actually looking for a 5D, but when I came across this slightly defective 5D2 I figured, why not?

Picture North Carolina wrote in post #17619159
Speaking about white balance, maybe somebody can help me with this.

Prior to the 5D, I had a 20D converted. When I did a custom WB the native shots came out like this: even converted in DPP with a kind of bronze tinting.

But the 5D custom balanced WB always shoots in an almost perfect BW

I really liked the bronze effect a lot. (No longer have the 20D). But I have tried multiple times to try to get the 5D to produce it and failed. Reproducing it in PS just doesn't quite get it. Does anybody know how I can get the 5D to shoot the bronzed images?

The 20D likely has a 720 or 750 IR filter, where as the 5D looks like it might have an 850, which leaves almost no color info at all. (other than the RED which we try to get rid of)

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #17619456
The 20D likely has a 720 or 750 IR filter, where as the 5D looks like it might have an 850, which leaves almost no color info at all. (other than the RED which we try to get rid of)

You might be right. Lifepixel did both conversions, and I specified the Standard option for both, but because the cameras and sensors are different, they may have done things a little differently.

Shame. I really, really liked the native look of the 20D images. Even when processed with the correct custom WB in DPP, the bronze highlights were beautiful. The images were not all toned (bronzed), just little patches of it here and there. They converted to B&W perfectly, but when left in, the bronze really looked good.

My wife has always been mad at me for selling the 20D. We have two extra XTI's that are unused, I'm thinking about having one converted for her. I may contact Lifepixel and forward a 20D bronze image and ask if they can engineer the conversion to WB the XTI to emulate the 20D look.

I looked at your infrared world. Nice work.