• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

D300, IR? Full frame?

Husain Alfraid

New member
i jaut wanted to ask you guys...does any body know if Nikon D300 supports Infra-red pictures or not...cuz my D200 doesn't

Also...i wanna know if its a Full frame camera or not....with the new sensor you know!


thank you very much
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well Husain,

Welcome to OPF and even more as we need to collect more Nikon users! What a great new camera the D3 is! Now you guys have maybe the best camera for low light club work! I see you do music photography so with the 50mm 1.2 and the D3, I'd be one step higher to digital Nirvana.

I know nothing about the sensitivity of your Nikon camera!!

I just want to greet you and say I like your pictures. I wonder if you create the clouds in some of your pictures. One snow scene made me think that you draw your clouds?

Asher

BTW, If you have the money, a great way to do IR is to simply get someone's used camera and have the IR blocking filter removed
here
or by a similar company. The main advantage I see is that one does not need tripods. That freedom is a major advantage and easily is worth the $300 or so for the conversion!
 
Husain,

I'm not sure if the D200 or D300 can be modified to register the infra-red, but I do know they won't do it without modification.

Also, the D300 is a DX format, which means an APS-C sized (non-full-frame) sensor. Nikon uses the FX designation to indicate full-frame (which right now is just the D3).

Take care,
 

Husain Alfraid

New member
Well Husain,

Welcome to OPF and even more as we need to collect more Nikon users! What a great new camera the D3 is! Now you guys have maybe the best camera for low light club work! I see you do music photography so with the 50mm 1.2 and the D3, I'd be one step higher to digital Nirvana.

I know nothing about the sensitivity of your Nikon camera!!

I just want to greet you and say I like your pictures. I wonder if you create the clouds in some of your pictures. One snow scene made me think that you draw your clouds?

Asher

BTW, If you have the money, a great way to do IR is to simply get someone's used camera and have the IR blocking filter removed
here
or by a similar company. The main advantage I see is that one does not need tripods. That freedom is a major advantage and easily is worth the $300 or so for the conversion!

------
thank you so much, Asher.

Nikon D3 is a killer, i wish i could have it....i'm hanging its poster in the wall though :)
anyway...
thank you for the suggestion about the IR...I appreciate it....and might need it as well :)

Also, about the snow pictures...i've no idea which one you are talking about. However, the clouds were naturally there...maybe some adjustment with the sharpness and details ,made them look like that.


Thanx again...peace out

Husain
 

Husain Alfraid

New member
Husain,

I'm not sure if the D200 or D300 can be modified to register the infra-red, but I do know they won't do it without modification.

Also, the D300 is a DX format, which means an APS-C sized (non-full-frame) sensor. Nikon uses the FX designation to indicate full-frame (which right now is just the D3).

Take care,

-----------
thanx Edward for the information :)
 

Eric Bowles

New member
Just to further clarify, the older digital bodies - D70, D1, and D100 all can be used for IR photogrpahy with the addition of an IR filter. The D200, D300, and all the later bodies cannot be used even with a filter. I believe the technical explanation is there are coatings on the low pass filter intended to prevent the IR and UV spectrum from being recorded. Note that with the IR filter, you need to manually focus and use long exposures. I manually bracket exposures at anywhere from 1.5 to 4 seconds on a bright sunny day - longer with clouds. I refer to the histogram to adjust.

All of these bodies can be converted to IR. The most commonly recommended source is Lifepixel. They will both convert a camera to IR - and convert it back if you wish. As mentioned, the cost is around $350. With the conversion, you do not need filters and can use AF and normal exposure times. Note that there is a bit of a spectrum shift, so you typically want to send a lens with the camera for the conversion and they will calibrate the specific combination you plan to use. Once converted, the camera body cannot be used for non-IR photography without sending it back for another conversion.

Given that the IR filters can cost $150 or more, the cost of converting an older body is really not too bad.

Eric
 

Luis Gonzalez

New member
This is all correct. The filter in front of the sensor is a IR/UV blocking filter. These filters have improved over time to the point where, on cameras like the D200/D300/D3, theyare VERY good at what they do.

The best way to shoot IR is to replace that blocking filter with an IR filter made to the same dimensions as the blocking filter in your camera. I purchased a filter from LifePixel for a little over $100 and converted a Nikon D70S myself. They have a DIY for that conversion on their web site and it is a pretty easy operation. The camera worked great. I would consider picking up a used D70S and getting the LifePixel filter and doing it yourserf. The hardest part is adjusting the autofocus and manual focus cams to deal with that spectrum shift Eric mentions (IR light focuses at a different point than ibisle). There are two little hex screw adjustments inside the mirror box. One for AF one for MF. What is hard about it is you have to take a picture, adjust the cam, take another picture, see if your focus is getting better or worse, adjust the cam again, etc, etc. until you finally hone in on the exact position of the screw. You do this once in AF mode with the AF cam, and once you have that set do the whole thing again in MF with the MF cam.

The BIG advantage as Eric states is that you can still see through the viewfinder and your shutter speeds are pretty normal. No more seconds long exposures in broad daylight.

One thing some people overlook is that certain lenses are well suited to IR and others are not. Many lenses have hot spots in the center because they were not designed to properly focus infrared light. My Nikon lens of choice is an 18-200 VR. It works extermely well at all focal lengths in IR with hardly a hot spot at all. Some lenses work well at certain apertures and are horrible at other apertures.

I sold the D70S I converted and had LifePixel convert a D40X for me and calibrate it to a specific 18-200. I bought a refurbished D40X for the task. It works very well. I like it because it is very small and light so I added IR to my kit for the minimum amount of space/weight in my bag.

You can do the same to a D200/D300.
 
Top