Infrared Film Photography

I occasionally shoot infrared film or, more accurately, “extended red sensitivity” film which extends almost to the near infrared (NIR) range. This includes Rollei IR400 and Rollei Superpan 200 which are purportedly the same film (Agfa Aviphot 200).

Cheap Filters From Brands You’ve Never Heard Of

I shoot 35mm and medium format, but my biggest IR filter is 77mm which is too small for my Rolleiflex 50mm and my Hasselblad 40mm lenses,. I needed a 95mm IR720 filter. Looking on the web, 95mm filters are priced upwards of $160 US which, while not outrageous for the size, is more than I wished to pay for a filter I will not use very often. I have a Hoya R72 filter and cheap no-name Chinese IR720 filter. To me, they work equally well. Searching online, I couldn’t find a dirt-cheap 95mm IR filter anywhere, but on Amazon I found a Desmond-Ice” 720nm filter for $50, so I ordered it.

Is That Cheap Filter Any Good?

When the new 95mm filter arrived, it was not nearly as dark as my other 720nm filters and, unlike the others, I couldn’t see any Wood effect (dramatic lightening of green foliage) when looking through it in bright sunlight. That’s when I started reading the Amazon reviews for the ICE IR filters (including for other sizes) and noticed complaints that these filters were not true IR filters. I almost sent it back immediately, but instead decided to test it.

I’m glad I did because, at least when used with Rollei IR400 film, the ICE filter worked as well as my other 720nm filters. At identical exposures on the same roll of film, the density and contrast of the negatives were the same for both filters and the IR effects were indistinguishable. I don’t have the means to measure the spectral response of filters, but I suspect this filter, rather than having a true 720nm cutoff, has a cutoff slightly further down the visible light spectrum. The description for this filter says it is “equivalent to a Hoya R72 and Wratten 89B”. While I’ve seen references that describe the R72 and 89B as the same, there are more authoritative references (last page) that suggest that the Wratten 89B has a cutoff in the high 600s while the Wratten 88A , with a cutoff in the low 700s, is closer to the 720nm cutoff that seems to be the most popular for consumer B&W infrared film photography.

There is a chart on the back of the plastic box for my Hoya filter that says the R72 filter transmittance is 95% for 760 – 860nm. Presumably the transmittance at 720nm is 50%. I noticed that, in addition to its 720nm filter, Desmond-ICE sells 760nm filters, although I have no idea how that would compare to the Hoya R72.

But…

Another complaint I saw in the reviews was that the filters could be difficult or impossible to remove. I found that to be true. If you shoot infrared with an SLR, this is not a problem you want with a nearly opaque filter that has to be taken off and put back on virtually every time you move the camera. Aluminum filter frames are notorious for getting stuck, but I use a lot of aluminum (and brass) filters and this one was worse. I tested it on a few brass B+W filters, a couple aluminum adapter rings, and my 50mm Rolleiflex lens, It was finicky on most of them. There was no debris in the threads and no evidence of cross threading, so I am assuming the threads weren’t machined quite right. With one adapter ring, I had to use filter wrenches to separate them. After that I was very careful, but was able to screw the filter on the others all the way and remove it without a filter wrench if I didn’t tighten it. As it happens, the adapter ring that was most problematic is one I will not likely use with this filter.

Sample Film Camera Pictures: Hoya vs. Desmond-ICE

But What About Digital Cameras?

Finally, I tested the filter on my unmodified Nikon D850. I’m a B&W film shooter, but I bought a D850 because it’s getting increasingly difficult to transport film on the airlines and the D850 works with all my Nikon lenses going back to the 1970s. At the moment, I am pretty close to being a digital know-nothing. My D850 is stock from the factory. As I understand it, some people modify them to remove a low pass filter in front of the sensor which allows it to record a wider light spectrum which includes IR and that doing so shortens the required exposure time significantly. That summarizes everything I know about shooting infrared with a digital camera. I tested the filter with the D850 because I suspected it might behave differently than the Hoya, but I have no idea whether anyone shoots infrared with an unmodified camera or whether differences in the ICE filter would matter to anyone who uses a modified camera.

The ICE filter does not work the same as the Hoya filter on my unmodified D850. The Hoya exhibited the Wood effect while the ICE filter did not. The Hoya required considerably longer exposure than the ICE filter. I had the camera set to the monochrome mode with the filter simulations turned off, which is how I would most likely use the camera if I was unable to shoot film for some reason. For these pictures, I inadvertently had the ISO set to 64 which bothered me later, so I tested it again with the ISO set to 25600. The result was the same.

Sample Digital Camera Pictures: Hoya vs. Desmond-ICE

My Amazon Review was Rejected

I attempted to post a review of this filter on Amazon that included the pictures above, but the review was rejected because it failed Amazon’s “community guidelines”. Unfortunately, they never say which one, so tried to guess what they didn’t like and resubmitted it. I never heard back. The same thing happened with review I submitted before this one, so I’m done writing Amazon reviews.