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 Infrared Photography and DIY Camera
Infrared Conversion Guide

Table Of Contents

Table Of Contents 2
Infrared converted camera concept 5
Permanent infrared and full spectrum
conversion 6
Infrared filters 8
Simple IR image processing method with
FastStone Image Viewer and Gimp 12
No Photoshop or Lightroom needed. Works
best with images from Nikon 12
Processing a 720nm file from Nikon 12
Processing a 590nm image using the same
method 23
Mark Hilliard 30
 CLiR-IR Mastery Standard Edition - the
software you need 31
Where to buy infrared converted cameras 32
Spencer’s Camera 36
What is a full spectrum camera 38
What is astrophotography camera 40
Converted Camera Calibration 42
What are those dots in infrared images? 43
Conversion Difficulty 45
Infrared Camera Calibration 45
Infrared Converted DSLR. Is It Any Good?
Infrared Photography With a DSLR 51
Full spectrum converted Fujifilm cameras
58
Preparing Full Spectrum (Wide Spectrum)
Camera to Take Deep Black and White 850
nm Pictures 59
How to Take 590 nm, 690nm, 720 nm
Infrared Pictures 65
How to Make Fujifilm S Series camera Full
Spectrum 69
A Few Infrared Pictures From Athens
(Greece) Taken With Canon 1100D
Converted To 850nm 81
Infrared Image Processing with Gimp 92
Infrared image processing with Affinity
Photo 102
Infrared converted camera concept

There are a few ways to make the camera see

infrared. The simplest way is just to take an
infrared filter and place it on the lens, go
outside with a tripod and start taking long
exposure pictures.

However, this method is inconvenient, and it

will make moving objects blurred.
Permanent infrared and full spectrum
conversion

So we will do camera conversion. Basically,

there are two types of infrared camera
conversion: permanent infrared and full
spectrum.

Permanent infrared is handy when we do not

have infrared filters or adapters for each lens.
It also allows us to see the subject through the
viewfinder on a DSLR camera.
Full spectrum conversion facilitates us to try
out new ideas and new filters. Perhaps, one
day I want to shoot with a 590nm filter, and
another day I want deep black with a 950nm
filter.

We need then to buy infrared filters that fit our

lens.
In all those two types the filter that blocks UV
and IR light will be removed from the sensor.

Different cameras have a different number of

those filters. Canon DSLRs and
mirror-less cameras usually have two filters.
Sony mirror-less cameras have one thick filter.

Fujifilm compact cameras have one filter, and

Fujifilm mirror-less cameras have two filters.

New cameras have an ultrasonic sensor

cleaning system. Some cameras like Canon
60D have very clever firmware and detects
that this is not the original glass. It usually
gives ERR 70. Disabling the automatic sensor
cleaning system, in this case, makes the
camera work properly again.

Infrared filters

Some cameras are used for

astrophotography. Those have a special filter
that passes Hydrogen Alpha light. The filter
for this purpose would be Astronomic.
There are a few infrared filters. The most
well-known is the 720nm filter, often referred
to as “standard” infrared. It gives a slight
grayish image straight from the camera.

Then there is the 590nm, which is also referred

to as “goldie.” Photos were taken using this
filter usually will have a golden sky.
850nm infrared filter will give black and
white image if custom balance is set to white
paper or a gray card. Isn’t that incredible? The
black and white images from a camera using
just a custom white balance.
950nm infrared filters in photography are
referred to as deep black or X-Ray. The
pictures will have a very surreal feeling.

Many filters fall between these main

wavelengths. Something like 680nm will give
more color in the image.

To take these pictures and have them exposed

correctly with no overwhelming red color a
custom white balance should be used, and it
should be set to something white or gray.
 Simple IR image processing method
with FastStone Image Viewer and Gimp

No Photoshop or Lightroom needed.

Works best with images from Nikon

Here is the way to process all your infrared

images that collect dust for a long time.

You will need a FastStone Image Viewer

which is free. Gimp will help to correct any
optical distortion.

Processing a 720nm file from Nikon

Open your file in FastStone Image Viewer. I

have here a 720nm image that is gray, which
means that it has a White Balance set to a gray
card. FastStone understands RAW images,
allowing you to open them and save them as
TIFFs.
Right-click on the image, go to Colors, Swap
Colors, R < - > B.
Now hit Ctrl + E.
Increase saturation. This way it is easier to
notice what color to manipulate to get white
leaves. Depending on your image you may
need to decrease saturation. It solely depends
on how saturated the image is.

I use only Green and Blue sliders to make

leaves look white. Grab one slider and move it
to the side. If you think the image is getting
better, release the slider. If not, return the
slider to the previous position and try the other
slider. This way you will not over-saturate one
color.
I have software that reduces blue light on the
monitor. Better is turning it off while working
on these images.

As you can see it’s a bit of guesswork.

If you can’t get the leaves white, try to make

the sky blue. These two things correlate
because when you make the sky blue sliding
those two slides the leaves or the grass turns
white.
Let’s fix levels. This is the important part. Hit
Ctrl + L and in the graph, there will be no big
empty spaces on the right and left sides.
If there is a space on the left grab the slider
and slide it to the right.
Hit Ctrl + M and adjust curves a bit to make
its colors punchier. Doing this is optional and
depends on how the image looks. If the image
is still dull, try adjusting the curves. It is done
by making that straight line similar to a
stretched S letter.
Hit OK.

Again press Ctrl + E and increase the contrast

a bit.
Please note that the adjustments are tiny. Just
make small adjustments and see how the
picture changes.

Save the image. If you work with a RAW

image, save it as a TIFF image. TIFF is a
lossless format so the quality will not degrade
no matter how many times you edit the image.
Open your image in Gimp.

Go to Tools, Transform Tools, Perspective.

Grab each top corner of the image and pull it

until the vertical lines look good.
This will correct any perspective distortion.
Export the image. If you plan to work on it
further, export it as TIFF.
If you have Luminar you can add a bit of AI
enhancement. For example, AI Enhance +5,
AI Structure +5, Luminosity Denoise +10 and
Color Denoise +10.
This image probably can have some other
adjustments and little fixes, but it is already
good enough to show someone and tell them
that you are doing infrared photography as a
hobby.

Processing a 590nm image using the

same method

The image is provided by Kervin Ridgley. I

think he used the Nikon D80 and a prime lens.
Open the image in FastStone Image Viewer.

Swap red and blue channels. Right-click on

the image, Colors, Swap Colors, R < - > B.
This looks oversaturated. Therefore, we will
decrease saturation a bit. Click Ctrl + E and
decrease the saturation.
Now add a bit of green using the green color
slider.
Do the same manipulations to get the leaves
white as previously.
Click Ctrl + L and adjust levels. Most likely
you will need to drag the right slider to the
left.
Click Ctrl+M and drag the middle of the
lineup and the left part down, the right part up.
It should look like a stretched letter S. This
will give the image more vibrance.

Increase the contrast a bit.

You can increase sharpness a bit if you want.
Click Ctrl + U. That’s it.

If you have Luminar, you can add a bit of AI

enhancement. For example, AI Enhance +5,
AI Structure +5, Luminosity Denoise +10 and
Color Denoise +10.

For the final image, I also reduced saturation

with FastStone Image Viewer because the
colors were overwhelming.
Mark Hilliard

Mark Milliard has an awesome online

collection of infrared images.
He has experience using a variety of converted
digital cameras. One of his favorites is
FujiFilm X Pro.
Please click the image or the link above and
visit his site.

Please note that he has decades of photography

experience and his guides may seem difficult
for newbies.

CLiR-IR Mastery Standard Edition - the

software you need
This is software for those who have Photoshop
or Light Room but are not experienced in
processing infrared images. Getting the
desired results with infrared images is
sometimes difficult. Please click here to
check it out.
Where to buy infrared converted
cameras

If you want to buy infrared cameras at an

affordable price then the site FULL
SPECTRUMUK fullspectrumuk.com is the
place you must visit.

From time to time they run promotions on

camera conversions so you can get your
camera converted with 70 percent off. They
are in the European Union, Greece.

The other well-known website is Kolari

Vision.
They do camera conversions to infrared and
for astrophotography, have in stock infrared
filters for sale and sell even drones. Please
check out their Kolari Vision IR Chrome
Lens Filter.
This Infrared+Visible lens filter is designed
to make your full-spectrum digital camera
achieve the look of Kodak Aerochrome IR
film, straight out of the camera, and without
the need for editing. Now that is just
impressive.
They are in the United States.

Life Pixel is the third website that you must

visit. Their services are the same as Kolari
Vision and additionally they also have
workshops available.

They do not have their infrared filters

developed yet, but they sell well-known
branded infrared filters. They are in the
United States.

Spencer’s Camera

If you are looking for high-end camera

conversions and high-end infrared and astro
cameras spencerscamera.com is the place you
must visit. They have good feedback and are
around for a long time.

They even developed a camera cooling system

that they can fit for an additional fee. It is a
sort of a radiator that attaches to the camera
sensor and makes the sensor cooler, hence
there is less noise.

Their clients include well-known companies

and even NASA ordered converted Nikon
cameras from them.

What is a full spectrum camera

Full spectrum camera has all the filters

removed from the front of the sensor. It sees
all the light that the sensor can see. Usually
with auto white balance it shows a reddish
image.
A full spectrum camera may have fitted on
the sensor so called Borosilicate glass or Fused
Silica glass to protect the sensor. This glass is
also necessary to use if we want to retain the
sensor’s ultrasonic cleaning function.

When we remove all the filters from the front

of a sensor there is still a piece of glass that
protects the sensor matrix. We can use this
sensor as it is in a full spectrum conversion.
Though, we should expect then that all the
dust particles would be more visible.

A full spectrum camera is a universal camera

that we use for infrared photography by adding
filters on the lens. This can be 590nm filters or
standard infrared 720nm filters.

We can use it as an astrophotography camera if

we attach to our lens astrophotography filters.

What is astrophotography camera

Astrophotography also need to be mentioned
as true astro photography cover visible light
and a bit of infrared light.
Astrophotography cameras differ slightly from
a full spectrum camera. It has filters that pass
Ha (Hydrogen Alpha, 656nm), OIII (Oxygen
III, 501nm) and SII (Sulfur II, 672nm) light.

Which camera we call an astrophotography

camera is probably a matter of taste.
We simply can take a light pollution filter and
use it with our regular DSLR or mirror less.

We can also modify our mirror less camera to

see more Ha (Hydrogen Alpha). For example,
we can make our Canon camera see more
Hydrogen Alpha if we remove the second
sensor filter.
Astronomik (cheaper), Baader (something in
the middle) and Astrodon (high-end) are the
main astrophotography filters.

In general, astrophotography cameras should

pass Ha (Hydrogen Alpha, 656nm), OIII
(Oxygen III, 501nm) and SII (Sulfur II,
672nm) wavelength.

Converted Camera Calibration

Mirror-less cameras rarely require sensor
calibration. They only require sensor leveling.
For example, Canon EOS M will require
sensor leveling.

DSLR cameras require sensor calibration and

some require sensor leveling.

The calibration is performed moving the

sensor to the back, i.e. 0.5mm.
Sensor leveling requires a special jig to
measure the distance from chassis to the
sensor.

Sometimes in less light conditions is difficult

to focus with the infrared converted mirrorless
camera. Converted DSLR cameras are
avoiding this as they use a dedicated focusing
sensor, which is not affected by the
conversion.

What are those dots in infrared

images?
Usually, these dots are not dissolved pigment
that became a round lump. It also can be a
bubble, which is on the inside of the filter.
However, the bubbles rarely show up in the
image. This also can be dust particles or hair
pieces. They usually are not that noticeable as
filter defects.

Wide open aperture makes these dots go away.

Although some cameras do not have a manual
override in movie mode, so depending on
lighting conditions and aperture number those
defects would be visible to some extent.

Conversion Difficulty

Difficult to convert is Sony mirror-less

cameras, Fujifilm mirror-less cameras
Easy to convert is Canon DSLRs and most
compact cameras that are over 10 MP in
resolution.
Infrared Camera Calibration

Calibration in infrared camera conversions is

very important. The infrared converted camera
must focus the infrared light. Infrared light
bends a bit different from visible light so we
need to adjust cameras focusing system.
Compact cameras and compact system
cameras (Fujifilm S2980, Canon EOS M, EOS
M3) usually do not require recalibration but
some models require sensor leveling.

The sensor leveling is needed to achieve even

focus throughout all the image.
If the sensor is not leveled properly, the image
will not have a even focus plane. Basically,
this not always will be noticeable and probably
will show itself if we take a picture of a flat
surface i.e. a wall.

If the compact camera or compact system

camera can’t focus we move the sensor to the
back. Usually, a 0.5mm distance is enough.
DSLRs require recalibration (a sensor shift)
and some DSLRs also require sensor leveling.

For example, the IR converted Canon 1200D

will require a sensor shift to the back 0.5mm
and sensor leveling.

The Canon 1100D will not require sensor

leveling because the sensor is not fitted on
springs and will need only sensor shift to the
back (done with 0.5mm washers).

How sensor shifting is done. For sensors that

are fitted on springs, we simply increase
sensor distance from the chassis for about
0.5mm.

For sensors that are without a spring fitting,

we use simple washers or shims (0.5mm).

This sensor shift will allow us to use any lens

on 50mm focal length with the quick focus
feature.
What about full spectrum conversions? Full
spectrum conversions do not require focus
recalibration. It does, however, require sensor
leveling on cameras with sensors fitted on
springs.

If a full spectrum DSLR is used for infrared

photography then an IR filter is placed on the
lens and we can’t use quick focus because we
can’t see anything. So Live View mode is used
and the camera focuses perfectly all the time.

Some cameras like the Fujifilm X Pro require

additional clear glass to be fitted in full
spectrum conversions because they can’t focus
otherwise.

Some digital compact cameras like Fujifilm

S2980 require sensor shift to the front. This
can be done adjusting three screws that the
sensor is fitted with.
 If the camera still can’t focus we simply
remove those springs and the sensor then shifts
a bit more to the front and the camera is able
to focus.
Infrared Converted DSLR. Is It Any
Good? Infrared Photography With a
DSLR

You probably can get the best quality infrared

images from older or new DSLRs. To use a
newer DSLR would be much easier because
they have Live View function which gives
perfect focus every time (no guessing).

On the other hand, most of the infrared

converted DSLRs have been recalibrated to
focus correctly on 50mm focal length. Why is
that?
The answer is that the infrared light behaves a
bit different than the visible light. For
example, it will focus the image a bit behind
the sensor if we use quick focus feature on
DSLR (this is the normal DSLR mode). As the
image above demonstrates, the quick focusing
sensor thinks that we use visible light. Though
we are using infrared light and the image will
be focused a little behind the sensor.

What are we going to do? Well, this is simple,

we are going to move the sensor a bit (0.5mm)
to the back. And this will be enough to have
the infrared image projected directly on the
sensor.
Below is an image from infrared 720nm
converted and recalibrated Nikon D70 and
18-70 DX ED lens (black and white).
And 680nm converted Nikon D70 below with
18-70 DX ED lens.

Unfortunately, if we change the focal length of

the lens from 50mm to 100mm, the infrared
light will not focus on the sensor again.

The answer to these problems is to use Live

View mode. In the picture below, it is
explained how the Live View mode works.
The mirror goes from the way and it does not
project light on the quick focusing sensor. The
image is projected straight to the sensor
through the infrared filter and the camera
focuses using contrast detection of the image
from this sensor or on other cameras there is
embedded phase detection capability (phase
detection is integrated into the sensor, Canon
names it dual pixel focus).
850nm converted Canon 1100D (18-55 kit
lens) with the focus in Live View mode
produced image below.
There is one way to get around all the
problems with infrared light and quick focus
sensors. It simply places the same type
infrared filter in the front of the quick focus
sensor. It is proven to work; we converted one
Canon 40D this way.

One thing to note with this sort of conversion

that the sensor needs then to move slightly to
the front.
This conversion with two infrared filters is a
bit difficult. The difficult part is to fit the small
IR filter in the front of the quick sensor. There
is not that much space in there.

Full spectrum converted Fujifilm

cameras
There are two ways to take infrared pictures
with the camera. (1) Modify the camera and
make it Wide Spectrum (also known as Full
Spectrum) or place in the camera a filter that
will make the camera 720 nm, or other
wavelength permanently.

(2) Use the camera without any modification

and place filters in the front of the lens. This
usually results in long exposures of 10s or
more.
Preparing Full Spectrum (Wide
Spectrum) Camera to Take Deep Black
and White 850 nm Pictures

Power on the camera.

Place an 850nm infrared filter on the lens.

Take a grey card. We will use it to set a
Custom White Balance in the camera.
Set the dial on top of the camera to the letter P
(Program).
Press Menu and the down arrow a few times
until you see the White Balance menu option.
Press the right arrow or OK.

Use UP and Down arrows to select Custom.

Fill the white rectangle frame in the view
screen with the grey card and take a picture by
pressing the Shutter button. Press OK to
confirm if needed.
Now you will be able to take Infrared Deep
Black and White images like ones shown
below.
How to Take 590 nm, 690nm, 720 nm
Infrared Pictures

The procedures are the same as above:

● Place a filter in the front of the lens.

● Set custom balance to a grey card.
(Asphalt or something similarly grey works
as well). Alternatively, you can set white
balance to the grass. This will make grass
appear white.
 ● Take pictures. For best results with
infrared images, take pictures on a sunny
day.

In addition we will do a channel swap. Please

download and install Gimp.

Open an image for editing: File -> Open.

Adjust colour levels by going to Colors->
Levels. If needed, slide the arrow from right to
left to make the image brighter.
Swap channels. Go to
Colors>Components>Channel Mixer. On
the red output channel, adjust red to 0% and
blue to 100%.
Next, select the blue output channel. Set red to
100% and blue to 0%.
Further actions very depending on your taste.
For example, you can make the sky blue by
adjusting the hue or increasing blue in the
channel mixer, etc.

How to Make Fujifilm S Series camera

Full Spectrum

To do this, you will need to disassemble the

camera.
We will need to de-solder 4 different wires to
gain access to the sensor.
The glass in the front of the sensor is so called
a Hot Mirror (blocks Ultra Violet and Infrared
light). By removing it we will make this
camera a so called ‘Full Spectrum’ camera.
Reassemble the camera. Please take care to
raise the flash when reattaching the top section
because it can damage the micro switch if it
closed during assembly.
A Few Infrared Pictures From Athens
(Greece) Taken With Canon 1100D
Converted To 850nm

The first one is a moped. We have a lot of

these over here because of good weather.
Starting from May till Christmas you basically
can ride a moped and rain would be a rare
event.
Used Canon 18-55 kit lens which lacks a bit of
contrast in the infrared spectrum. But the good
think about is that it is compact and
lightweight.

Another image with the 18-55 kit lens. We

have those abandoned cars here that sit doing
nothing. This is next to an abandoned car body
shop if I good remember.
This is taken with a 60mm 2.8 EF-S prime
lens. It’s a very good lens, but it’s prime so
need more walking to compose.

Again this is 60mm 2.8. I could not compose

as I wanted because a wall was on my way.
Same 60mm 2.8.
I think I overdid the contrast a little bit in this
picture.
This picture is taken with Canon 55-250 EF-S.
It’s a kit lens, but it’s very sharp; something
near the L lenses. This is taken on a bridge
near Davaki Pindou.
A few pictures were taken with a Canon 18-55
kit lens.
This is taken with 55-250 EF-S lens near
Railway Museum of Athens.
This is taken with the 18-55 kit lens next to
Revoil gas station.
This is Parthenon, and the picture is taken
from a bridge near Davaki Pindou.

Another picture from the same bridge.

This is a street on a sunny day.

Infrared Image Processing with Gimp

Here I will show you how to process infrared

images with gimp. It’s free software.
We will open our image as a layer. Gimp does
not understand RAW images so that you need
to convert them to jpg or better tif formats.

Hit Ctrl + Shift +J to fill the working screen

with the image.
Click Colors, Components, Channel Mixer.
Set Red in Red channel to zero, Blue in Red
channel to one, Red in Blue channel to one
and Blue in Blue channel to zero. Click OK.
Click Colors, Levels. Drag those two markers
closer to the curve. This will make the image
look better. If those markers are close to the
curve you may just leave it as it is.
Go to Color, Color Balance. Now slide the
blue slider to the right to about twenty. Do this
for shadows, mid-tones and highlights. This is
probably a bit confusing at first, but this is
how Gimp handles color balance.
Make the sky look blue or the leaves look
white. The green color also may be adjusted
very slightly. Usually, the red color does not
need adjusting. Sometimes you may need to
decrease the red color, as said this is rarely
needed.

Go to Color, Saturation and increase the

saturation slightly until the sky has a proper
color.

Go to Colors, Curves and make very tiny

adjustments to the curve. The stretched S
curve will give a cinematic look. If you do not
want to do that just skip this step.

Go to Tools, Transform Tools, Perspective.

Usually, the photo has a perspective distortion
which is most noticeable in a picture from a
zoom lens. If you have a prime lens you may
skip this step.
Grab each top corner of the picture and pull it
to the sides. You will notice how vertical lines
are improving.

This is it. A touch of contrast or sharpness can

be added depending on how the image looks.
Infrared image processing with Affinity
Photo

Open your image.

Swap red and green colors. Go to Layer, New
Adjustment Layer, Channel Mixer.

In the Red channel, make Red 0 percent and

Blue 100 percent.
In the Blue channel, make Red 100 percent
and Blue 0 percent.

Make the sky blue. Go to Layer, New

Adjustment Layer, Color Balance.
Increase slightly blue color in shadows,
midtones and highlights.
Go to Layer, New Adjustment Layer, Levels.

Slide those sliders closer to the curve.

You can have these close to the curve and the
picture will look punchy. Or calm if you keep
them further from the curve.

If the picture is still very faint you can use

curves adjustment. Go to Layer, New
Adjustment Layer, Curves.

Make stretched S from the straight line.

If needed increase vibrance and saturation.
Layer, New Adjustment Layer, Vibrance.
Export your image.