A few years ago i did a bunch of IR stuff with a SDQ using a Kalari 550nm filter and a Blue IR/NDVI Filter. Which both produced interesting results but where not quite right.
I really wanted that Aerochrome look.
I then ended up getting the X49 filter from this paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/2/2/14
Which actually did help a lot. But I knew it would probally be better to try and make some profiles to make shooting IR less of a chore.
I finally decided to shoot a Color Checker and see if it would be worth the effort, and this an abridged version but here are the basic results:
Green X49 Hoyia Filter
The biggest issue with shooting without any filter is the IR is really strong across all colors which always made it hard to exposure or edit.
No Filter Used
The X49 Filter with an applied WB correction gave much better results:
X3F - SPP with Camera settings
But I like to edit DNGs inside of Capture One and Similar WB settings are a little less dramatic.
Capture One set to 2500K
But we can get a similar punchy look just by doing a HUE shift and adding saturation
Capture One 2500K with Hue Edit
And this is how I had been doing the IR work for the past few years.
But it seemed maybe there could be a better way.
The first thing I did was make a C1 profile that did a Channel Swap.
Capture One 2500K with Channel Swap Preset
And I do think it was an improvement, we get better variation in the different red tones.
But we can just try to build a color correction profile using Argyll
OOC Color checker
And Apply the basic matrix Argyll spits out. It's pretty aggressive and you basically lose all of the red.
Applied Argyll Matrix
But we can make a Profile with this and apply it anyways.
DNG in Capture One with Applied Profile using the Argyll matrix
It's got even better variation in the different colors but it's a little flat, and yellow. So we can just shift the yellows red and give it a contrast saturation boost.
DNG in Capture One with Applied Profile using the Argyll matrix and Edits
Which is pretty nice, but it would be better to have something a little in between.
So I hand tuned the values to split the difference.
Hand tuned Matrix
Hand Tuned Matrix turned into a profile and edited in Capture One.
Which is actually the result I liked most. I can edit it a bit more aggressively with more nuance in the reds/yellows/oranges without other colors getting too wonky.
And I went back and started trying to re-edit some SDQ IR photos that just didn't work as I liked with some improved results.
Which I think has inspired me to take my IR SDQ out a bit more and see if this makes it a bit easier to get results I like.
I am going to probably break out the IR/NDVI and 550nm filters and do the same thing and see if that helps improve editing with them which might inspire me to shoot more with them.
Past Posts on previous attempts for reference:
www.dpreview.com
www.dpreview.com
www.dpreview.com
--
Website: https://etchelepi.exposure.co/
Flicker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/evan_tchelepi/
Blog: https://evan-theelectricalengineer.blogspot.com/
I really wanted that Aerochrome look.
I then ended up getting the X49 filter from this paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/2/2/14
Which actually did help a lot. But I knew it would probally be better to try and make some profiles to make shooting IR less of a chore.
I finally decided to shoot a Color Checker and see if it would be worth the effort, and this an abridged version but here are the basic results:
Green X49 Hoyia Filter
The biggest issue with shooting without any filter is the IR is really strong across all colors which always made it hard to exposure or edit.
No Filter Used
The X49 Filter with an applied WB correction gave much better results:
X3F - SPP with Camera settings
But I like to edit DNGs inside of Capture One and Similar WB settings are a little less dramatic.
Capture One set to 2500K
But we can get a similar punchy look just by doing a HUE shift and adding saturation
Capture One 2500K with Hue Edit
And this is how I had been doing the IR work for the past few years.
But it seemed maybe there could be a better way.
The first thing I did was make a C1 profile that did a Channel Swap.
Capture One 2500K with Channel Swap Preset
And I do think it was an improvement, we get better variation in the different red tones.
But we can just try to build a color correction profile using Argyll
OOC Color checker
And Apply the basic matrix Argyll spits out. It's pretty aggressive and you basically lose all of the red.
Applied Argyll Matrix
But we can make a Profile with this and apply it anyways.
DNG in Capture One with Applied Profile using the Argyll matrix
It's got even better variation in the different colors but it's a little flat, and yellow. So we can just shift the yellows red and give it a contrast saturation boost.
DNG in Capture One with Applied Profile using the Argyll matrix and Edits
Which is pretty nice, but it would be better to have something a little in between.
So I hand tuned the values to split the difference.
Hand tuned Matrix
Hand Tuned Matrix turned into a profile and edited in Capture One.
Which is actually the result I liked most. I can edit it a bit more aggressively with more nuance in the reds/yellows/oranges without other colors getting too wonky.
And I went back and started trying to re-edit some SDQ IR photos that just didn't work as I liked with some improved results.
Which I think has inspired me to take my IR SDQ out a bit more and see if this makes it a bit easier to get results I like.
I am going to probably break out the IR/NDVI and 550nm filters and do the same thing and see if that helps improve editing with them which might inspire me to shoot more with them.
Past Posts on previous attempts for reference:
ir filter and dust protector for Quattro SD series
Just decided to buy spare one after stupidly scratching old one (very slightly and not affecting anything but annoying nevertheless) $37 with delivery. Now i need to get just a frame from one https://www.sigmaphoto.com/i-r-filter-and-dust-protector-for-sigma-sd-quattro-series-camera
Better "Aerochrome" (SD1) with red/yellow/orange filters
This is my first post after years of just reading here. It is by far the best source of information on the internet for my project. I do IR and fullspectrum photography with the Sigma SD1 and in particular trying to emulate the style of Kodak EIR or Aerochrome as simply as possible, without...
Pix for the Week Ending September 18th to 20th, 2020
Hello Sigma Shooters: September is here and fall is only a few days away (big smile). It's time again for our weekly show and tell of images made with Sigma cameras and lenses. Please try to limit your post to 3 images and remember to give your post a title so that comments will be properly...
--
Website: https://etchelepi.exposure.co/
Flicker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/evan_tchelepi/
Blog: https://evan-theelectricalengineer.blogspot.com/
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