A Better Diy Infrared Filter Take Stunning Digit

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A better diy infrared filter - Take stunning digital IR pictures, and video
footage.
by sam noyoun on June 2, 2007
Table of Contents
intro: A better diy infrared filter - Take stunning digital IR pictures, and video footage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
step 1: Building the filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
step 2: Pictures and settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
step 3: some IR effects... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
step 4: IR videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
http://www.instructables.com/id/A-better-diy-infrared-filter---Take-stunning-digit/
intro: A better diy infrared filter - Take stunning digital IR pictures, and video footage.
This instructable improves on my previous post, Take Infrared Pictures With Your Digital Camera
After a few months of experimenting with the filter, I have made a few design modifications and tweaked it, in order to obtain what are sometimes incredibly beautiful and
eerie pictures.
I will detail the building process of the filter case here; I will also show some examples of what can be achieved with a simple digital camera (a Canon A710IS in my
case), detail some of the more uncommon uses the filter can be put to, and finally I will look at using the filter for making simple IR videos.
To whet your appetite, the movie underneath shows a little-known effect that can be achieved in video mode, with the infrared filter. For similar videos and tricks, you can
also check my website condition yellow
How to spot a guy in camo:
Video
SHARE THIS VIDEO
step 1:Building the filter
First of all, thanks to Laurici for pointing out floppy disk film also filters infrared light.
The filter casing is made of the bottom of a plastic box of pills, through which I simply cut a round hole using a knife and file. I then covered it in black electrical tape, as
the white plastic was letting some light through.
The filter itself is made of a piece of black unexposed processed film, and of a piece of floppy disk film, which I have found to be the combination that worked best for my
digital camera. It is well worth experimenting at this stage, as different cameras have different IR sensibilities, and two pieces of black processed film, or just one piece of
floppy disk film might work better for you.
As you can see from the pictures, it is hard to get a piece of film or floppy that will completely fit the casing. in order to hide the trimmed edges, so as not to let any light in,
I cut a round piece of hard plastic with a square hole inside it, to fit the size of my camera's objective.
Finally, I clamped the two pieces of film and the squared-holed round plastic piece inside the casing with a strip of rubber cut to size, from a rubber wristband.
I also found that this piece of rubber wristband provided just enough grip on my camera's objective to hold the filter in place and prevent it from falling off when shooting
downwards.
step 2:Pictures and settings
Here are some examples of infrared pictures taken with the filter. None of them were doctored or photoshopped.
While not quite of a professional quality (neither is my camera!), these pictures show that a diy filter can make an excellent introduction to the world of IR photography,
and that you can obtain extremely good results.
Having a digital camera with full manual mode is particularly helpful, as it gives much more creative control over your pictures.
Essentially, there are three variables you will need to play with in order to achieve good pictures:
- ISO: ISO denotes the sensitivity of the image sensor to available light. Generally speaking, the lower the ISO, the better (sharper) results you'll get. However, setting this
too low will increase your necessary exposure time, which can be a drawback. When the ISO is set to 400+, pictures tend to become grainy. I have found a good
compromise was an ISO of 200 which, in bright sunshine, allowed me to take good pictures with an exposure of 0.5s
- Exposure: exposure is measured in lux seconds. It denotes the amount of light the camera's image sensor is exposed to... Basically, there are many factors which will
dictate your choice of exposure for IR pictures: is camera shake a factor? how strong is the filter? How much available light is there... etc. I tend to take several shots at
different exposures (gradually increasing) in order to be able to later choose the best picture. I have found it varies from 0.5s in bright sunshine to up to 10s on cloudy
days.
Obviously a tripod is essential for exposures of -say- over 1 sec., but if your camera has an image stabilizer (the Canon A710IS does), then you can get away with taking
good IR pictures without a tripod.
- White balance: in order to avoid your pictures coming out red (and thus needing photoshopping) it is essential to set a custom white balance, if your camera allows you
to do so. Some IR photographers recommend you do that by setting the white balance against a patch of grass, or a piece of blue sky, but I have personnaly obtained
best results by simply setting it with a piece of white paper (prior to using the filter). As you can see from the photographs below, there remains some richness of color to
IR pictures taken with such a custom white balance.
step 3:some IR effects...
Some interesting effects:
If you've watched the video on the first page of this instructable, you will know that because foliage appears as white in IR photographs, pictures can reveal objects that
would otherwise be very difficult to spot, such as camouflage fabrics and paints.
This, until the advent of thermal imaging, was one of the military uses of IR photography.
Infrared light also travels far better than visible light through haze, fog and dust particles. The military were again fast to see some applications for this phenomenon, such
as aerial recce photographs. This is also one of the reasons IR filters are used in astronomy and by firefighters, as gas, dust and smoke are transparent to IR light.
From the pictures below, you can see than some objects and liquids are also transparent to IR light, such as sunglasses, coffee, or cola.
Early Sony Nightshot camcorders, which do not have an IR blocker, were also made infamous for their ability, under particular circumstances, to see through light
clothing.
Finally, skin also has some degree of transparency to infrared light, which gives IR portraits a white milky look, and sometimes reveal superficial blood vessels.
step 4:IR videos
With a digital camera in movie mode, or with a camcorder, the diy infrared filter can also be used to record videos, giving them an eerie and mysterious atmosphere.
However, due to the short exposure of video shots, it is hard to get satisfactory results with two pieces film. In the video on the first page of this instructable, as well as the
one underneath, the footage was recorded through a single slide of photographic film, which does let in a fair amount of natural light, as well as IR light. The result is an
hybrid, which has an interesting mood to it however.
Video
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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 71 comments
verticle1 says: Oct 2, 2008. 2:14 PM REPLY
What is floppy disk film? Is it the recording material from a floppy disk?
sam noyoun says: Oct 3, 2008. 12:37 PM REPLY
it's the disk that is inside the plastic casing
Raphael9876 says: Sep 10, 2008. 4:03 PM REPLY
Personally, I find the photos/videos very disappointing.
In my view, the "near-infrared" photos/videos do not reveal anything (nothing more than the "normal" colour photos/videos). The "near-infrared"
photos/videos do not show any part of the body that are hidden by things as thin as leaves (legs are still invisible).
The near-infrared video being displayed in a bigger window than the "normal" video, it's difficult to compare them, but the near-infrared photograph doesn't
show any more details than the "normal" one, in my view.
The only interest is to create weird photographs (i.e. weird colours/contrasts), but you may get the same result with Photoshop etc... I don't think the "near-
infrared" reveals any hidden detail at all...
My conclusion is that this technique does NOT allow you to make infrared "light" (i.e. heat) visible. It just hides most of the visible spectrum of light, and let
you see a tiny part of the visible spectrum: the one that is close to the infrared, but which is NOT infra-red (i.e. it is still visible light, not heat!).
mmd174 says: Mar 11, 2008. 10:10 PM REPLY
Is there a way to turn a regular old laser pointer into an IR pointer. I am concerned about just using black negatives due to heat. Any help....
dUc0N says: Apr 22, 2008. 10:47 AM REPLY
In response to the comments (both of them) on IR filters for lasers:
As far as I know, this won't work for that. A laser, by definition, uses a very specific wavelength of light emitted when something is charged with
electricity. Photography like this works because the sun puts off visible light, as well as all kinds of light you can't see (like infra-red, which is why sunlight
feels warm on your skin, as well as Ultraviolet, and even small amounts of X-rays and other radiation). The filter just stops all the visible-spectrum light
(well, most of it) so that the Infrared light shows up better in the finished photo.
See also:
Visible Light Spectrum, Electromagnetic Spectrum (including invisible "light" such as IR, UV and others), Lasers, Infrared Filters, and a sample of a
manufacturer that makes IR laser modules (commonly used with night-vision on military weapons).
emuman4evr says: Aug 18, 2008. 6:13 PM REPLY
So I cant see an infrared laser by looking through a piece of undeveloped film?
ppaul says: Oct 15, 2007. 12:19 AM REPLY
First, like the site!
Bit confused about the instructions, esp. the "unexposed, unprocessed film" bit.
Then I saw the pictures with the negative film strips, and I realised they actually ARE exposed, and processed. Just thought I'd mention it, no offence!
Had they been positive film (slide or tranparancy) they should be unexposed, but processed. Unprocessed (slide or neg) film might work, but it changes
colour in daylight. Good one!
Joanassie says: Jul 8, 2008. 2:35 PM REPLY
it said processed, not unprocessed.
cris1133 says: Mar 15, 2008. 12:25 PM REPLY
can you use this for nightvision?
nittyG says: Jan 14, 2008. 9:03 PM REPLY
Is there any way that there can be a mod that can make heat clear, like so:
http://www.baulinks.de/webplugin/2007/i/1276-passivhaus2.jpg
?
People use infrared cameras for all sorts of applications. They're VERY effective for energy efficiency. If someone could find how to make a cheap DIY
alternative to the cameras that are usually thousands of dollars, it would be of enormous benefit.
Alan the Great says: Jan 19, 2008. 11:56 PM REPLY
It's not hard. Open up the camera and take out the IR filter, then put a floppy disk / film filter in it's place. Heat shows up as blue-white to me;
toasters/soldering irons can light up a small area. Stoves look particularly cool.
nittyG says: Jan 20, 2008. 8:19 AM REPLY
Really!
I did a lot of research and was becoming convinced that this was impossible. I guess I was only trying to understand how thermography cameras
work and realized it was very specialty components (phased array optics). I guess I needed to understand how more basic film tech works.
Anyway
Can you pleeeease upload some pictures of it?
Also, can you see heat escaping out of or coming into crack in a window? That would determine whether you could use it for energy efficiency...
Thanks a lot
Alan the Great says: Jan 20, 2008. 5:49 PM REPLY
Sorry, I misunderstood.. it's not nearly that sensetive, I'm afraid. You won't be able to see people through walls, etc; you need a heat source such
as a toaster or a stove or a lighter, etc for this to work.
No, I didn't mean that sensitive.
I meant being able to, say, see heat coming through the crack of a window from outside a heated house.
Nonetheless, do you have pictures to upload, even if it is of toasters/ovens?
It would give me a much better idea.
In case you're all wondering why I'm so interested in this...
I read a while ago that the most energy efficient town in the US, Osage, IA, started by using thermography, and building by building, giving
images free to people. They saw where their heat was escaping, and plugged up the holes. They now save an average of about $800-1000
per household.
I'd like to do this as well, and see if we can at least start out doing it as inexpensively as possible.
Maybe if we can all find a way, we should make a separate DIY.
An article to look over:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_n8_v80/ai_12505518
I've been in touch with the Municipal Utilities in Osage. They use the following camera, costs about $15,000:
http://www.flirthermography.com/cameras/camera/1074/
Alan the Great says: Jan 21, 2008. 12:08 AM REPLY
You can't see heat coming through a keyhole; not with my crappy assed camera at least. Unfortunately, because I accidentally broke my
camera cable, my digital camera now does everything except transfer images to a computer... oh, the irony. Anyways, this old camera
often has trouble taking pictures in anything other than broad daylight, so it's not a good baseline. I'm not sure if a higher end camera,
with a more sensitive CCD, could see heat leaking through cracks or not, but it's worth a try if you're willing to risk destroying a nice
camera.
Do you think we could do it without destroying a camera?
What camera do you have?
technodude92 says: Feb 22, 2008. 9:04 PM REPLY
you could try going old school and using 35mm IR film. your local photo specialty store, assuming its still there, should have some.
and while you won't get an instant read, you will have much more sensitivity than could be achieved with a digital camera.
Spokehedz says: Jan 18, 2008. 7:42 AM REPLY
No, this is not possible. This is near-infrared filter.
true infrared thermal cameras are very expensive, because they are very sensitive to the infrared.
This basically blocks out most of the visible spectrum, letting the tiny amount of infrared come back in.
By tiny amount, all digital cameras have a infrared filter on them. So, you are basically working against that.
EaglesNestOne says: Jun 28, 2008. 12:06 AM REPLY
Do you think even phone cameras have infared filters? I've been thinking about making nightvision and thermal-vision with infared for quite a time
now but didn't manage getting all the way into my camera's lens Assembly to remove the IR filter.
msw100 says: Sep 7, 2008. 11:21 AM REPLY
Try this link http://www.instructables.com/id/S40T1E0FJXP833G/
Maccaro says: Feb 8, 2008. 9:54 PM REPLY
Will this filter work for a 30 mW laser that has no built in filter to save my eyes?
yummyturtlemilk says: Dec 23, 2007. 4:05 PM REPLY
This post is kind of old, but amazing pictures! I'd love to try this out.
Kind on a silly question, but is it possible for this to work on an old fashioned film camera instead of a digital?
killerjackalope says: Jan 16, 2008. 7:51 PM REPLY
You can buy Infrared sensitive film, because the film is the equivalent of ccd it the only thing needing changed and it can be gotten in reasonably high
sensitivities, lendind it to nighr shots aswell
Einsteins Circuitry says: Jan 16, 2008. 7:14 PM REPLY
It is possible, but I think that it may require a longer exposer time to get a good picture.
sam noyoun says: Dec 24, 2007. 6:12 AM REPLY
yes, I believe it is...
bclagett says: Dec 25, 2007. 9:14 PM REPLY
Is the film color negative or slide? Thanks
Corvidae says: Aug 30, 2007. 6:50 PM REPLY
If you want to know if your camera has a strong IR blocking filter in it, take a picture of a remote control with a button pushed. If the IR diode is white than you
can take IR photos with just a filter and no mod and still have reasonable shutter speeds and f-stops.
3p says: Aug 24, 2007. 7:08 AM REPLY
I tried modding my Mustek esmart mini digital camera, one of the cheap fun cameras.
Opening the thing up and removing the lens assembly was pretty easy, it all unscrews and the lenses all drop out. A little blue glass IR filter removed and
one slice of a 3 1/4" floppy disk in front of the lens gave pictures like this...
sam noyoun says: Aug 26, 2007. 10:56 AM REPLY
nice... very nice!
What sort of resolution does the camera have?
marcolisi says: Aug 7, 2007. 10:57 PM REPLY
Hello guys,
I have sony f717 , that has a huge lens.
How does a camera film can cover all my huge lens ??
thanku
Stone_Sour says: Aug 3, 2007. 7:31 PM REPLY
Hey, uhm first of all thx for your 'Instructable' it seems pretty cool i might try it. I'm new here so i don't really know if i'm supposed to post this comment here.
Anyway, just for curiosity, is this the see-through clothes thing? I mean is it effective as the ones you see in stores? And does anyone know if i can find an IR
Filter for my Samsung Digimax A50 please? thanks in advance
Stone_Sour says: Aug 4, 2007. 5:53 AM REPLY
Thanks for replying sam noyoun. Another thing, my digital camera (Samsung Digimax A50) has an option to switch to nightshot mode, does that mean it
should work as the sony nightshot cameras do? Sorry for annoying you with my stupid questions but i'm new to photography. thanks
I'm not sure... how recent is your camera?
When sony noticed some of the pictures people were taking with the nighshot models, they modified the camera so the night mode would not work in
broad daylight.
I really don't know about samsung.
It was released 2 years ago.
Hmmm... sounds like the featured might have been disabled, just like on the sony nightshot... Why don't you give it a try though... take some
pictures with the filter on, and let us know what the results are like.
Yes I think its the best way to know if it works on my digital camera or not. I'll take some pictures with the filter on and put them up here to
see the results.
Thanks for the help mate :)
Yes, this is the see-through clothes thing... However, due to the long exposure times, it's not really practical with a digital camera. It works well
(supposedly) with old sony nightshot cameras because in nightshot mode, a switch flicks the IR blocker off the lens.
If you want to get rid of the long exposure times, you will have to remove the IR blocker from your camera.
But for the sole purpose of IR photography, this works fine.
Dave Ward says: Aug 6, 2007. 4:20 AM REPLY
Thank you for this. I didn't construct an entire attachment, but rather just made a flat circle -- two pieces of matte cardboard with two layers of unexposed,
developed 35mm film sandwiched between them. Rather than attaching it to the camera lens, I just hold my fingers in a "C" shape around it and hold it to the
lens, using my fingers to seal out any direct sunlight from leaking. It works beautifully: here's one of my first test photos.
old_bass_masta says: Jul 24, 2007. 1:25 AM REPLY
hi, when i was buying my video camcorder off of ebay they were selling these things as X RAY lenses, it said put it on your sony handicam and put on
nightshot and you have xray
WOO nerds rejoice, im testing it as soon as i find floppies
RDFNWY says: Jun 7, 2007. 7:20 PM REPLY
wait is infared night vision
John Smith says: Jul 14, 2007. 1:25 PM REPLY
Yes, and no.
See this page for more info.
MadMechanicMike says: Jun 16, 2007. 10:14 PM REPLY
night vision uses IR light to function better at night. someone else can explain it though i gotta hurl
roblarosa says: Jul 12, 2007. 1:51 PM REPLY
A proper IR gel filter can be used. It's about $14 at B&H photo.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=5037&A=details&Q=&sku=102762&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
Infrared light starts at 750nm, this filter blocks all light below 730nm so your images will come out with a red tinge. You can use Photoshop or another
imaging program to get rid of the red tinge or leave it as it if you like it.
limazita says: Jun 28, 2007. 11:49 PM REPLY
Hi,
I am following your instructions using the floppy disk but I could not get the infrared effect. I can only get a very red and dim picture, the trees are dark too,
what might be the problem?
sam noyoun says: Jun 29, 2007. 5:10 AM REPLY
Two pieces of floppy were a bit too much for me too...
here are other things to look at:
- is you camera ir sensitive?
- are you trying this in sunlight?
- have you set the white balance manually?
limazita says: Jun 29, 2007. 8:58 AM REPLY
I m just using one piece of floppy
- my camera is sensitive (the remote control test)
- yes, I did my trials in sunlight
- yes, but I m not sure if I have done the WB setting correctly coz the trees look dark red before the setting and then look dark green after the setting,
I cannot get the white trees
I m using Canon PowerShot A620, so the longest exposure the camera can take is 15 seconds, I have been using 10 - 15 secs for my pics until sth
could be seen in the pics
limazita says: Jun 29, 2007. 9:10 AM REPLY
These are sample of the pics I could take so far
sam noyoun says: Jun 29, 2007. 3:00 PM REPLY
hmmm, I wish I could help you... The only thing I can suggest is that one piece of floppy is probably not enough to filter natural light... On the
other hand, if your can has the same image sensor than mine, two is too much... that would explain why -at the moment- you are not getting
true ir. Get some photographic film.
With regards to trees, some of them appear white, others dark green (evergreen trees always seem to show as dark green)... grass should be
distinctly white though...
WolvesOfWar says: Jun 19, 2007. 8:53 AM
(removed by community request)
sam noyoun says: Jun 19, 2007. 10:21 AM REPLY
you need to set the white balance manually, if you want to get rid of the red tint... you should also use two pieces of film. There's no reason for the floppy
not to work... Have you tried it in bright sunlight?
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