infrared filters - worth the purchase?

Blue S2 wrote in post #5622859
Filters drove me crazy after a while. I just bought a factory refurbished XT on ebay for like $200 and sent it to LifePixel for conversion. It's the best option if you are serious about IR. Composing normally, using normal exposure values, shooting moving objects, etc... is such a creative force with IR. The filter really hampered things. Filters work great...but a converted camera is IR freedom!

Which lens do you use on the converted XT now? What was the overall price that Lifepixel charged you?

ClickClick wrote in post #5625368
how long was your exposure time for that shot?

Unfortunately, I lost the original file with EXIF intact. My guess is somewhere between 10 and 20 seconds though.

It was about $400 for the conversion from lifepixel. Well worth it as they are top notch in their service and support.

I got the normal IR-only conversion. They set the camera's focus up for the 50 1.8 by default unless you request otherwise. (not to set up, or to set up with a custom lens of your choice)

I honestly find the focus to be pretty darn good with most lenses. I've used all my lenses with the camera. I've done macro with my 100mm, i've used my fisheye, etc... I regularly keep the 35L on it, but often if doing landscapes I use the 24-105L on it for the wider end. I might actually get the 17-40L to keep on the IR camera full time.

Here is a direct link to my IR gallery. 95% is with the LifePixel XT conversion using various lenses from what I own. A couple are with the 5D and a filter. The exif data is present if you hover over the right hand image and click photo info.

http://gallery.soundvi​sionpassion.com …742_eaaSU#26688​6319_cJKNU

Blue S2 wrote in post #5626273
It was about $400 for the conversion from lifepixel. Well worth it as they are top notch in their service and support.

I got the normal IR-only conversion. They set the camera's focus up for the 50 1.8 by default unless you request otherwise. (not to set up, or to set up with a custom lens of your choice)

I honestly find the focus to be pretty darn good with most lenses. I've used all my lenses with the camera. I've done macro with my 100mm, i've used my fisheye, etc... I regularly keep the 35L on it, but often if doing landscapes I use the 24-105L on it for the wider end. I might actually get the 17-40L to keep on the IR camera full time.

Here is a direct link to my IR gallery. 95% is with the LifePixel XT conversion using various lenses from what I own. A couple are with the 5D and a filter. The exif data is present if you hover over the right hand image and click photo info.

http://gallery.soundvi​sionpassion.com …742_eaaSU#26688​6319_cJKNU

Awesome info.

Because the lens that I would probably be using the most are the Tamron 17-50 2.8 and the Sig 10-20.

And those IR pics with the blue sky are brilliant. I hope I can find some decent tutorials around to hone my skills with when I get my camera converted.

LifePixel actually offers a pretty decent DVD on IR editing. I recommend it if you are new to this. Otherwise, there are quite a few tutorials online.

Whats nice about IR is that its not something our eyes can see. So any IR image is an interpretation. Some people like the traditional black and white...but IR works great for false color, toning, selective color, and other techniques and emulations of old processes. Its a pretty good starting point for creativity.