P3D Re: Infrared

[jim dusen <jdusen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've shot Kodak High Speed Infrared film since the early 70's but 
it's always been for 2D photography. I keep saying I'll try it in my
Realist...maybe this summer.

First of all you need to keep the film cannister in complete darkness.
Not dim light...no light period! A changing bag is very useful 
especially if you need to use more than one roll out in the field. Also 
be aware that this film will take full advantage of any small light leaks 
you might have in your camera.   And Realists are certainly known 
for their leaks!

The film should be stored under refrigeration and although it will 
warm up out in the field keep it from getting hot as it will fog up.

I have always used a 25 Red filter on my camera. That's easy for 
my Nikons with screw in filters. But with my Realist what I plan 
on doing, at least to begin with, is to cut up some 25 Red filter gel 
sheets to the size of the lens and apply a little tape. You can also cut 
a strip that will go across both lenses and viewfinder and tape it on 
the ends. Depending on how awkward it is to adjust the aperature 
you can move on to adapting filters that fit.

There is no ISO for Kodak's film but they give some guidelines. 
With the  25 Red filter it is suggested to try a film speed of 50 in 
daylight and 125 under tungsten lighting.  I usually set my meter 
a 100 for daylight and I've seen other film speeds used by other 
photographers. It's a personal choice depending on your results 
and how you like your negs.

Use this film speed set in a handheld meter.  I usually use incident 
metering for both outdoor scenes and in the studio. 

The other wierd thing about this film is that it doesn't focus on the 
same plane that you see in focus. That's why you see that little red 
dot on the focusing guide of SLR lenses. You focus the lens then 
move that setting over to the dot.  What I'd suggest with stereo, 
like I do with most of my flat photography, is to stop down to f8-f16 
or so, and let the depth of field take care of it. Besides I like alot of
DOF in my stereo views. And at f16, shooting at 100th of a sec., 
with ISO 100 film, I can use the Sunny 16 rule outdoors. 

For processing I use D76, straight, as suggested in the instructions. 
I've never checked out the availability of labs handling this film since 
I do all my own B&W work.

If you want an easier to use film that will also give you different 
results you might try the Ilford SFX200 film. It is a close cousin of 
infrared film with some of the same visual traits but no problems 
being handled in lighted conditions. Another true infrared film, 
though harder to get a hold of, is Konica Infrared 750nm, which 
can be handled in subdued lighting. 

Hope this was worth reading thru!

Jim Dusen  Photo Services  SUNY College at Brockport


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End of PHOTO-3D Digest 2725
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