Infrared shooting with the D80?

[guitarbug]

Has anyone shot infrared with the Nikon D80 (unaltered) ?
I bought a hoya R72 IR filter and was wondering if my D80's IR blocker is to strong to shoot IR! I have only tried a couple shots, granted I have know idea what I am doing with IR, but they are pretty dark. I did use a pretty long exsposure and shot ib B&W mode. Any help would be great! I realy dont want to mangle my camera, but I lovr IR shots. can anyone suggest some tips for getting the best results with the D80. Thanks ahead of time!

[josphy]

Well, I don't have a D80, but there's nothing you'll do that will mangle your camera. I would just shoot in regular color mode. You'll likely end up with all or most of your information only in the red channel. You can just convert to b&w later. In any case, most cameras will still meter (and autofocus) pretty close even through an infrared filter. Use that as a starting point, and then just look at the histogram and/or LCD and see what you get. Give more exposure if you need to. It will look very red by the way. It takes a little getting used to because it's hard to decide what is the "right" exposure w/ infrared shots.

If your camera isn't very sensitive to infrared light, you may have exposures into several seconds. That's no big deal -- that's what tripods are made for. The film speed of Konica Infrared film was about ISO12 w/ an RM72 filter on. ISO12 is pretty slow. :-P My Pentax is very sensitive to infrared, and if you shield your eyes from the outside light and let your eye adjust a little, you can actually see through the RM72 because it doesn't cut all visible light completely, so I am actually able to handhold shots.

[guitarbug]

Thanks so much Joseph! Wow!, you're a amazing photographer. I went to your gallery and was blown away. I especialy like your IR & B&W's, they are great. When you view your image in the LCD, is it pretty dark? whats the best post processing place to start with my image strait into PS. Should I goe to levels first and look at the histogram there also. Will it be as dark when uploaded to PS as it is in my LCD! Thanks again for all you're help!

[jerrykr]

join us in the Infrared Section here on this board. There are quite a number of folks there who will be glad to help you get started in IR.

From reports that we see, the un-moddded dslr Nikon cameras require shorter exposure times than the un-modded Canons. The internal IR Block filter in the Nikons is probably less aggressive at blocking IR than the filters in the Canons, and would account for the difference.

I know that a few people who post in the IR section shoot with un-modded dslrs, and I'm sure that they will be glad to help you with questions.

glad to see another convert to IR.

cheers,

[guitarbug]

Thanks Jerry, will do! I keep finding new stuff on this great site. Just last night I scrolled down and saw the monthly assignment exercises! Didn't even know it was there. I'm learning. Thanks again.