u/kortikal

I made a quick revisit to this location to try out the new filter. Standard Adobe color profile, WB on bridge, minimal edits except efforts to reduce fringing between foliage and sky.

After some delay, my Nantong Foric IR chrome filter finally arrived. I was excited to try it so I brought it to work. I took this shot during the short walk from the parking structure to my office; a walk I had done hundreds of times without taking a photo. WB on concrete, minimal edits.

Zoom lenses are often found to work poorly for infrared photography (hotspot, color fringing, softness, etc). Unable to find any reviews on whether the versatile EF-S 18-135mm IS STM could work for IR, I took a chance on it since used copies are very affordable. I used the return window to test it with my full spectrum converted Rebel T5. Turns out it works quite well for IR throughout the focal range and at different IR wavelengths (no hotspot, sharp, manageable color fringing). AF is fast and quiet, and IS is nice to have at the tele end. I think it may even work better in IR than in visible light, although I did not test this extensively. This lens has definitely become my main lens for infrared.

I spent a bit more time on this edit to bring out the glassiness of the water and grain on the wood as contrasts to the fluffy foliage.

Trying a minimal edit. WB on bridge, 180 degree hue shift, curves to bring up the shadows, maximum filter overlay.

590nm on full spectrum camera, Infrared Temp -100 profile, WB on building, R / B channel swap, hue shift, curves, straighten, crop.

It's been just over one month since I got my first full spectrum camera. I've learned so much from this sub and gotten a lot of encouragement. Thanks! I am now pretty happy with my more-or-less complete set-up and I'd like to share some thoughts for those thinking about going full spectrum.

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The set-up

Canon EOS Rebel T5 (18MP, APS-C), used, already full-spectrum converted

EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM

EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

590nm, 670nm, 720nm, 830nm, Tiffen #16 filters (all 67mm)

magnetic adapters for the filters for quick change

filter case for easy carry

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Pros

budget friendly-ish (~$900 for everything in excellent used condition)

versatile 10-135mm coverage (16-216mm FF equivalent)

lenses sharp for IR and no hotspot

*I do have a couple of other EF primes for my visible light photography that I can use for IR if I want to carry them around (24mm STM. 35mm f/2 original)

18MP good quality sensor

easy filter change in the field

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Cons

can only use live-view to focus and frame shots

the LCD is dim and on bright days, I have to do some guess work with my framing

autofocus based on contrast detection with this old sensor is slow (although reliable once it finds focus)

manual focus is possible with Magic Lantern but the dim LCD makes it unfeasible even with focus peaking

it's more camera than I would like to be carrying around

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Overall, I can get good sharp IR images with this set-up. Quality of experience in the field could be improved if I got a mirrorless (so I can use the EVF) or if I got a DSLR with dual-pixel AF (faster focus but still no EVF) or if I got something smaller and lighter. I am looking forward to a few new filters that are in the mail. I hope to have more to share with y'all in the near future.

This is a fun filter. Colors are out of control. I had to tone them down a bit. Fringing is also a bit of an issue. But it's good to have this in my bag when I want crazy colors.

WB on building, R / B swap, minimal post-processing.