barbara j wrote:
TimCastleman wrote:
Thank you, what filter did you go with? I'm thinking the 590.
With a full spectrum conversion you have your choice of the entire range by adding an external filter to the lens. Personally, it doesn't make sense to me to convert a camera to a single bandwidth. My camera is a full spectrum conversion, and I shop bandwidth filters on ebay. My first filter was a "new, old stock" kolari duplicating the filter that had been removed from the sensor. I have also seen some really nice images shot with the cheap Chinese filters that were flooding ebay but haven't tried any yet.
IR filters, and even standard filters suitable for IR use, aren't cheap and if you try a lot of them, the cost can really add up!
I'm a super-discount shopper and love finding great deals! Like you I shop ebay, and also regularly check Amazon.com. Another trick is I search google using catch phrases like the filter type and size I want, then click the 'Shopping' tab - sometimes great deals pop up there. I've had good luck buying from mercari.com (I took a chance on a 'dusty' Sigma 16mm f1.4 lens for $200 from someone who had it sitting on a shelf for a couple year - it turned out to be in mint condition after cleaning off the dust!).
Searching google you have to be careful though --- I see quite a few suspicious sites and stay away from ones I don't know...
Here's a list of 'discounted' filters I've gotten, with commentary and current deals for filters that are still available at the time of writing this post:
- Hoya R72 67mm filter from B&H photo used but in new condition, $40 ($66 new at amazon.com). I see a 'Hoya R72 55mm' (search phrase) on ebay right now for $30 which includes shipping. This is a standard 720 nm IR cutoff filter which gives you a slight amount of color, but is perhaps best suited for B&W IR photography. It doesn't require much exposure adjustment on a full-spectrum camera, and can even be used on a non-converted visible light camera with about a 12-f-stop penalty, meaning 5-30 second exposures in full sunlight.
- Hoya Red 25A filter off ebay in both 55mm and 77mm sizes for $15 each, including shipping. Currently I see Hoya Red 25A in 58mm size (search phrase 'hoya 58mm red 25a') for $10 including shipping. The Hoya Red 25A filter is essentially the same thing as a 590 nm filter from Kolari Vision or LifePixel at a more attractive price. The 25A filter cutoff is at a slightly longer wavelength so it appears more red that orange-red, but the images it gives are very similar to the 590 nm filters. I prefer the 25A's more golden foliage colors over a 590 nm filter's reddish foliage. Isaac Dzabo tipped me off to that filter for IR, he's the guy who converted my M200 to full-spectrum.
- Tiffen #47 in Series 7 size for $15 including shipping off ebay. This filter is nearly identical to Kolari vision's super blue filter which passes visible blue + infrared longer than about 700 nm. This has become my absolute favorite IR filter and stays on my M200 by default. if there is blue sky plus colorful clouds at sunset, this filter also creates spectacular sunset photos with colors from blue to red after custom white-balancing. Usually you white balance on something green like grass or tree leaves for royal blue skies and lovely golden yellow autumn-like foliage colors.
The Tiffen #47 gives images like the 590 nm 'super color filter' plus red/blue channel swap - but you get the Tiffen 47's false color results straight out of the camera without the need to do channel swapping or almost any post processing. You can also see the false color with blue skies and yellow foliage in the EVF and on the rear screen, very helpful in getting a nice final result.
I took the glass out of a vintage 55mm polarizer filter and mounted the glass from the Tiffen 47 series 7 filter into it, and it works great. There is one left on eBay (search phrase 'tiffen 47 series 7') which is $20 - however I 'Made an Offer' of $15 which the seller accepted, so I got $5 off. The Tiffen 47 filter is available on amazon.com in standard 55mm size for $30 - $35 including shipping, by several sellers. Even at the 'new' price, it's a great filter for full-spectrum cameras --- if I could only have one filter for my full-spectrum camera, I would probably choose the TIffen #47.
- (no brand) 850 nm IR/X-ray filter 77mm from eBay for $14.29 including shipping. Still available, search phrase 'IR 850 nm 77mm filter'. This is a great high-contrast IR filter which is deeper than the Hoya R72 (720 nm cutoff) filter
- Neewer 950 nm 67mm filter for $6 from eBay! Still available (search phrase 'neewer 950 nm 67mm'). This is a very deep IR, surprisingly good quality IR filter for the price. It is so deep in the IR spectrum that it requires 3-5 stops more exposure than the R72 filter. It can still be used in bright daylight without a tripod, but it's challenging and in lower light you need a tripod.
- Tiffen Yellow #15 55mm filter for $6 at amazon.com (open box warehouse deal). The new price is only $19 but $6 is a steal for almost any filter. Tiffen Yellow #15 is an ultra-color filter which passes more orange and yellow light than the 590 nm super-color filters, it's like a 550 nm filter from Kolari vision with a cutoff a little more into the yellow (perhaps around 530 nm). It will render foliage bright pink like the old Kodak Aerochrome IR color slide film did.
- Tiffen Hot Mirror filter in various sizes from amazon.com. Currently these filters are expensive, but for some odd reason, from time to time some sizes of the filters had deep discounts this summer! You might check amazon from time to time, perhaps over a few weeks at different times of day, to see if any deep discounts appear, and if they do, nab them!
I got the Tiffen Hot mirror filter in 49mm size for $10 (currently $62), in 55mm size for $26 (currently $74) and in 77mm size for $47 (currently $141). This filter is supposed to be a visible bandpass filter that replaces your original factory hot mirror filter, however its bandpass extends to about 680 nm allowing more IR light that your factory filter does, so you need to custom white balance photos to use it with a full spectrum camera. It is a great filter for astrophotography - very similar to the Spencer camera or Baader visible + h-alpha filter. I removed the glass from the Tiffen 49mm filter, and just the glass fits nicely into a Canon EF T-ring when mounted onto the Canon EF - EOS M adapter or the Viltrox EOS - M2 speed booster. I use this combo on my telescope for astrophotography.
I post all the above info in the hopes it will save someone some money! it's almost as much fun treasure-hunting discounted IR filters as it is using them!
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If I can, I like to buy filters in 67mm size, which fits the Sigma 16mm f1.4, Rokinon 12mm f2, and Rokinon 135mm f2 lens (with a step-down ring from 77->67mm). A few times I've found 77mm filters cheap and use a step-up ring with those on the 67mm lenses. I have a couple 55mm to 67mm step-up rings, and a couple 67mm - 77m step up rings, so I can use 67 and 77mm filters on any of my smaller lenses as well.
Sometimes I've found great deals on 55mm filters, which fit on the EF-M 18-150 and Sigma 56mm f1.4 lenses. I have 'permanent' step-up rings on the EF-M 22mm f2(43->55mm), EF-M 32mm f1.4 (43->55mm), EF-M 15-45 (49->55mm), and EF-M 55-200 (52->55mm). I also have a few vintage lenses in 49 through 55mm filter sizes which work well with IR, so 55mm is a good 'standard' size for me which work on most of my lenses.
Filter step-up and step-down rings are generally $5 - $8 on amazon.com, and allow you to buy all your filters in a couple 'standard' sizes, and adapt them to various lenses you might own that may have different filter sizes. This is much cheaper than buying filters in every size, and also useful if you find a super-discounted filter in a size slightly different than your preferred size. You can leave the stepping rings on your lens all the time... good lens caps are usually also about $5 on amazon.com and can be sometimes bought in packs of 4 even cheaper.
This is an older thread, but glad I revisited
