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02/16/2007 08:49:44 PM · #1 |
I just returned from a vacation and I received a very generous offer. While there, a friend offered me a Nikon FE that's never really been used. While it's been 20+ years since I've got with a film camera, I understand the FE to be one of the most highly regarded SLRs around.
I understand that to do really nice IR photography, you should use a film camera (or a modded digital) - question is - is the FE a good choice for this and what additional filters would I need? I looked thru the tutorials but don't see anything on IR specifically...
I know this is off subject for the digital crowd but I'm hoping someone can give me some personal insights.
Thanks! |
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02/16/2007 09:20:24 PM · #2 |
dont 'really' need filters just IR film (not easy to find these days)
exposure is a bit of a guess .. but paper work should come withthe film ..
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02/16/2007 10:23:48 PM · #3 |
You really do need the filters for B&W IR film. Since the film is sensitive to all wavelengths of light, if you expose B&W IR film, (i.e. Kodak HIE High Speed Infrared or the Konica IR) without one, you will not get much, if any, IR effect, just a grainy B&W image. The filters you want are either the R72, which transmits some visible light or an 87 series Wratten, which passes no visible light, but will give the best IR effect. You have to compose and focus without the filter, then put the filter on and shoot. Obviously, you will want to use a tripod. A good start is to rate the film at ISO 200, but bracketing and testing are a good idea since most camera meters are not really designed to measure IR. If you have the filter on the lens, the meter will see little, if any, visible light and greatly overexpose your film.
With the Kodak color IR, assuming you can find it, you don't really need filters, but a yellow Wratten 12 filter will block out a lot of the blue and help you get the most out of the psychedelic color IR. There's a lot of room for experimentation using filters too, so don't be afraid to try oranges and reds too. A good starting point is to rate it at ISO 200 (that's what's recommended for pictorial use) Yop can also expose it at 320 and then push process it +1 stop. Pushing and pulling it will cause color shifts and contrast changes as well, so, as with the filters, experiment.
Since IR light and visible light do not focus at the same point, if your scene appears focused in the viewfinder, it will not be in IR. There are formulas and some lenses even have a little red line indicating where to move the focus scale on the lens to focus for IR. Unless you absolutely need to shoot with a wide aperture, you should just stop down to f11 or so to take advantage of DOF to get your subject in focus.
One precaution you must take with any IR film is to load the film in complete darkness. Also, many labs use IR illumination in their film darkrooms and many automatic processing machines use IR sensors internally. The processing lab will have to turn these off, or they will ruin your film.
Have fun.
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02/16/2007 10:43:11 PM · #4 |
I have no experience with the FE so I cannot really comment on it as being highly sought after or not.
You do need a filter as stated before, otherwise you will just get some very expensive plain black and white prints. I'm sure you can use the darker filters that  Spazmo99 suggested, but all you need is a Red #25 of any brand really and it will work. Here are as few of my film IR shots from last semester:
I used a Nikon FG SLR
Kodak HIE Film
50mm f/1.8 w/ Kenko R1 Red #25 Filter.
Most if not all shots were taken using 1/125 @ f/11. You will want to bracket Full stops. At least one under and one over. If you really like the shot, do two under and two over just to be sure you get the exposure right. And also, as stated before, load and remove the film in COMPLETE DARKNESS. Do not even take the film roll out of the black plastic container. If you do, it will expose it. That is how sensitive IR film is it IR light.
If you get it, have fun shooting and scan you results! :-)
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