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Remembering Why You Shoot

There are times when the most simple of explanations eludes us. When it comes to photography, or more specifically to the point of making strong photographs, we must be fully aware. Not just aware of our settings and camera placement but also our intent. Oddly enough, it’s frightfully easy to lose this awareness during the very process of doing the thing which we love. What I’m so gently hinting at here is this: do you know why you make photographs? Are you aware on an internal level why you you shoot what you shoot?

In this article we’re going to take a look at why we can so easily lose sight of our purpose while making photos. This artistic straying can happen gradually or on a picture by picture basis. Perhaps more importantly we will also examine how you can regain your a creative awareness and become a more deliberate, purposeful photographer.

Obsessing with the Technical

When you think about it there are arguably very few absolutes when it comes to photography. So, why does the pursuit of technical perfection occupy such a large corner of our creative minds? Never place more emphasis on the technical aspects of photography than you do on expressing the feeling of a scene.

How many incredible photographs have you seen that are underexposed? Over exposed? Maybe they are slightly out of focus. The worth of those photographs or any other image doesn’t lie in the balance of a histogram or tack focus. They move us because they were made with intent and show the truth and beauty of a moment. Don’t put so much attention into the way you capture a photograph that forget why you wanted to shoot it in the first place.

Burnout

If you make photographs long enough there will come a dark and wretched day when you simply become tired of it all. It might happen sooner than later or it might take years but to some degree or another you will have to face burnout. When you become tired of shooting there just doesn’t seem to be anything out there to make pictures of that interests you. You just don’t get the joy from the process as you once did.

Don’t worry…this literally happens to us all and it isn’t limited to one event. There are highs and lows throughout a photographer’s journey. The key remedy is somewhat paradoxical, however. To beat burnout you take a break but not altogether stop shooting. Try to take a rest from your camera(and it from you) and breathe for a while without making photographs. When you begin to say “Man, I wish I had my camera with me” you will know you are cured. Do this as needed or as directed by a photo writer….

Self-Doubt

The best way to forget why you make photographs is by trying to make them them exactly the way someone else does. Be mindful that there is an incredibly fine line between inspiration and emulation. Never allow yourself to sacrifice how you want to capture a photograph based on the idea that it’s not the “right way” or just because it might not look like someone else’s version.

There could be an entire book written on this point but I’ll do you the favor of brevity. It’s perfectly alright to absolutely love the way other photographers images might look; that’s great, learn how to make yours in a similar way. But only do this if it fits with your own vision. Don’t do it for ‘likes’, shares, or any other reason that would otherwise cause you to shoot with anything but your own photograph in mind.

Final Thoughts….

Today, it’s easier than ever to allow yourself to forget why you make your photographs. We are constantly bombarded by new and better equipment that make us lose sight of what makes a good photo. Sometimes we simply become tired of shooting and this causes us to forget why we love making images at all. And what maybe be the most common danger, sometimes we doubt our own instincts as photographers. All these reason, and no doubt others, can make us forget our own intent. Luckily, they can all be overcome and if you find yourself in any of the circumstances I’ve mentioned then I hope this article gives you a helping hand. Have fun with what you do and always remember why you do it!

 

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: black & white, camera, Canon, composition, create, Getting started, inspiration, inspire, Lifepixel, perspective, Photographer, photographers, photography tips

Review: K&F Concept TM2534T Professional Tripod

Often times I open my photo gear reviews by talking about what a great time it is to be a photographer. Really, I should specify that it’s an excellent time to be a buyer of photography products. There’s just simply so many choices out there these days than there was even ten years ago for the budget conscious shooter to obtain high quality tools to help them and their work. This is especially true when it comes to choosing a tripod.

Enter the K&F Concept TM2534T tripod, which is a recent entry to the budget line, but not necessarily budget quality, world of advanced hobbyist to professional grade tripods. I’ve spent the last few weeks working with the TM2534T. I’m going to show you what I liked and didn’t like about this unique tripod offering from K&F.

Out of the Box

I pleased to immediately see that the tripod comes with it’s own padded transport bag which has an included shoulder strap. The tripod itself looks great with a classy red/black color scheme and discrete logo placement, which I like. For a tripod with an extended height of 72 inches it is quite compact when folded.

It’s feels solid in hand without being overly heavy. All the paint and finishes on the tripod look very well done. The official specifications from K&F are as follows:

  • Folded height: 14.76in/37.49cm
  • Extended height: 72.24in/183.48cm
  • Weight: 3.48lbs/1.58 kg
  • Load rating: 17.64lbs/8kg

Also included is a short center column conversion attachment with bolt and a nifty storage bag for the ball head.

Build

The TM2534T is hefty and it feels quite sturdy with it’s all aluminum construction. The adjustment knobs are solid and lock the ball head in place securely.

Leg locks are the twist variety and feature rubber seals to protect against sand or dirt entering the locking mechanisms. The locks secure the four section legs securely. There are three angle options for the legs at 25, 50, and 80 degrees. These locks also lock crisply and allow for great versatility for low angle work.

One of the legs is padded and this leg is also the removable monopod. This is a great feature which essentially makes this tripod a two for one deal.

The entire center column assembly can also be attached to the convertible monopod which gives a total height of 77.56in(197cm) if you choose to carry it in this configuration.

Speaking of the center column assembly, it is somewhat puzzling. It’s not that the concept of the two piece center column isn’t a good idea, in fact, it adds an extreme amount of articulation especially for top-down product photography. The entire ball head and center column gives the user the ability to cover virtually in angle imaginable.

However, from a practicality standpoint the added stress points in the assembly don’t seem to be a worth while feature when you take into account the added weight and possibly stability issues. That being said, the ball head itself works smoothly and offers great fluid motion for panning.

The feet of the tripod legs give a great compromise between stability and variable surface suitability. They are rubber boots that terminate in a point that can dig into soft ground while protecting fragile floor finishes.

Also worth mentioning is the base plate that included with the tripod. It has rubber cushioning at the attachment surface as well as a “D” ring screw head which makes attaching/removing the plate MUCH easier especially when a coin or screwdriver isn’t readily available.

Real World Performance

This tripod worked as a tripod should during all my uses. The legs locked securely and remained so during shooting. There was no drift in the ball head during long exposures and all the movements worked smoothly. Something I want to again address is the center column assembly and just how much practical use it adds. The overall height the additional length of the column adds isn’t something most photographers of average height will likely need. Even with the added articulations it allows isn’t enough to justify the added chunkiness and bulk it adds to the total package.

 

 

In the time I’ve used this tripod it has held up to indoor and outdoor shooting well, with only a small amount of wear being noticed at the angle adjustment locks which is largely superficial.

I feel that the TM2534T should have no problem in terms of durability during heavy outdoor or studio use.

Final Opinion

For all practical purposed the TM2534T tripod from K&F Concept is solid option for those needed a well made platform for a wide range of shooting situations. It offers great looks, incredible articulation and versatility, all wrapped up in a package that’s great to look at and won’t break the bank. The overly bulky center column isn’t something that I feel is exactly worth it’s added weight and ungainliness but that is something the user will need to decide. Check it out for yourself and see if it fits your particular needs. It’s going for under $150US at Amazon* or the K&F Concept website.

*Note* The Amazon description lists the tripod(TM2534T) height incorrectly as 66in.

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: camera, cameras, Canon, gear, gear review, K&F, landscape photography, Lifepixel, photo gear, Photographer, Photography, review, tripod, Wildlife photographer

Medium Format Lenses – Part II

Several months ago, I wrote a blog about using medium format lenses on DSLR.  I wanted to continue this series with a little more information.  In my experience, one of the most understood characteristics of using non-standard lenses with different film/sensor size is crop factor.  Before going into this, let’s get a little background on what crop factor is and why it’s relevant to this blog.

When you use a lens that is intended for a different sensor size or film format, the lens can overfill or under-fill the sensor/film. Using a full format (35mm) lens on a DSLR with a crop sensor (APS-C, Micro Four Thirds, etc), the lens will project an image that is larger than the sensor size.  This overfills the sensor.  In other words the smaller sensor is sitting in the center of a larger image on the film plane.  When this happens, the sensor is only seeing a portion of image on the film plane.  This gives the appearance that the image is zoomed, when compared to the same image on a full format sensor.  The image below represents a full frame DSLR image (35mm format).  The inset square represents the crop factor of an APS-C sized sensor.

It’s important to note that there is no magnification or change in focal length.  It is merely a characteristic of the image size and the sensor/film size.  This is called crop factor.  The most common is when using a full format lens on an APS-C sensor camera.  This gives a crop factor of 1.6.  This is simply the ratio of the smaller image size vs the larger one.  Since different sensors have different aspect ratios (height to width) I prefer to use the diagonal distance for crop factor calculation, as it accounts for both height and width.  A full frame sensor is nominally 36mm x 24mm, which is 43.3mm diagonally.  An APS-C sensor is 22.4mm x 15mm or 27.0 mm.  So 43.3mm/27.0mm=1.6X.

The exact same situation occurs when we use a medium format lens on a DSLR.  I’m currently using Pentax 67 lenses on my full spectrum Canon 5D Mark II.  There is a big difference in film/sensor size.  So there is a significant crop factor.  The film size of a 6×7 is about 6 x 7cm, however the actual size is about 56.0 x 72.0mm, depending on camera format.  Using lenses for medium format on a full frame DSLR provides a crop factor of over 2X.  Using these lenses on an APS-C sensor provides a crop factor of over 3.4X.  In terms of  what was discussed earlier, a 6×7 lens on a full frame DSLR over fills the sensor area by more than 2 times.  It over fills an APS-C sensor by 3.4 times.

A 55mm lens is a 55mm lens.  It won’t matter if this lens is used on a full frame camera or a medium format camera.  The focal length does not change.  Only the field of view changes.  But if you take a photo with a medium format camera and then use the same lens on a full frame DSLR, the DSLR photo will appear to be zoomed by 2X.  But remember, it’s just seeing less of the full image. I did an experiment to validate this and took several Canon L lenses (intended for full frame sensors).  These were compared with images shot with my medium format lenses.  I overlaid them in Photoshop to make comparisons.  With these, it’s easy to see that the medium format lenses have the same field of view as the Canon lenses.

It turns out that crop factor is one of the best characteristics of using a medium format lens on a DSLR.  Most lenses are clearest in the center.  It’s toward the edge of the frame that aberrations occur.  Using the medium format lenses on DSLR’s uses sees the image through the best part of lens, the center.

I love shooting IR with the medium format lenses.  They are hefty and manual focus, but are superb for IR.  They fit the way I shoot IR and provide superb results.  I hope this information helps understand how crop factor affects the field of view and that there is no magic happening when you use medium format lenses on a DSLR.  I also hope it encourages you to do some experimentation of your own.  Happy shooting!

 

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: 5d Mark II, Canon, Eric Chesak, IR Infrared, medium format

The Great Minor White and Infrared Photography

Born in 1908, Minor White was something different in terms of how and why he photographed. He incorporated as much of his own beliefs and philosophies into his work as he did photographic technique. His work is a mix of his mentality and the emotion he felt towards a scene or subject. He injected a part of himself into all the photographs he made. Bestowed by him are such words as “The photographer projects himself into everything he sees, identifying himself with everything in order to know it and to feel it better.” and one of my personal favorite quotes about us photographer’s mentality “…all photographs are self-portraits”.

Minor White-By Imogene Cunningham

It was with the existential mindset that White approached his photographs and perhaps there was none of his work as idealistically surreal as his adventures into the world of infrared. Not only was he a prolific photographer in the artistic and technical sense but he was one of the early practitioners of infrared photography who brought it’s incredible appeal to the masses. The IR images he made, just like his other works, projected a world blended with both the physical landscape and his own personal creativity.

By Minor White, 1958

By Minor White, 1955

By Minor White, 1955

Minor White and Infrared

How did Minor White make his IR photographs? With magic…. Well no, not exactly magic, but it certainly looked that way. Minor White used black and white infrared film, usually large format 4×5, to capture his dreamlike scenes. The infrared or more accurately “near-infrared” light spectrum falls around the 700-1200nm range and infrared film is manufactured to be sensitive to these wavelengths. However, seeing as IR film is also still sensitive to other wavelengths of light, IR filters must also be attached to the camera lens in order to filter out other types of unwanted light that falls in the more visible spectral range. It’s this filtration of the normally visible light and the inclusion of the near IR spectrum which we generally don’t see which gives IR photography their ghost-like quality. Development of the IR is surprising the same as many other conventional black and white films and requires basic darkroom techniques and chemicals.

IR Lens Filters

IR 35mm film

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may be wondering, “So why can’t I just use an IR filter on my digital camera to make IR photos?” And that’s good question. The answer lies in the very construction of most modern digital cameras themselves. IR wavelengths are generally unwanted and in conventional photography and therefore modern digital cameras have a built in IR filter that is placed in front of the image sensor to block out IR light. Even if an IR filter was placed on the lens the resulting transmitted IR light would in turn be filtered out by the camera’s own internal filter. So, how can you enable your digital camera to make IR photographs? Read on….

IR Photography in the Digital Age

As I mentioned earlier, the largest obstacle that stands in the way of making IR images with your currently digital camera is the built in IR sensor filter inside your camera. So if you want to venture into the world of IR photography this filter must be modified through an infrared camera conversion process.

New IR translucent filter being installed

This means that your camera’s sensor is now sensitive to incoming IR light. There are also many other possibilities to expand your infrared horizons with today’s digital camera bodies. Full spectrum, color IR, and a host of other tailored IR imaging effects can be produced depending on the type of conversion and IR lens filter combinations you happen to choose. The benefits to Find out more about infrared conversion possibilities here.

A Final Word About Minor White and Infrared Photography

The work of Minor White was profound, beautiful, innovative, provocative, and at times quite sad. His ventures into the world of IR photography showed us a the wonderment that is all around us, yet invisible all the same. His images speak volumes to the life he lived and to the way he approached the art of photography.

Today, we have so many ways to practice IR photowork whether it is with film and filters or with our digital cameras through a dedicated IR conversion. If you are considering the latter route, be sure to learn as much as possible about the possibilities and limits of digital IR conversions. Make sure whoever you trust your beloved camera to has the reputation for quality that you and your gear deserve. Read more about IR digital camera conversion here at LifePixel and be sure to check out what people just like you have to say about the level of service offered by the LifePixel team!

Filed Under: Gear, Inspiration, Tutorials Tagged With: black & white, camera, cameras, Canon, filters, full spectrum, gear, Getting started, Infrared, Infrared photography, inspiration, IR, landscape photography, Lifepixel, passion, Photographer, photographers

Review: K&F Concept 58mm Variable Neutral Density Filter

Neutral density filters(ND) are one of the staple components of virtually every serious landscape photographers gear bag(read some outdoor photography tips). The great thing ND filters allow us to do is shoot longer exposures in bright light without overexposure. A good analogy I always like to use is that ND filters are light sunglasses for your lens. Neutral density filters are a great way to remain flexible with your shooting even when conditions aren’t ideal.

Like most photographic equipment, you often get what you pay for…. That doesn’t mean that every piece of budget gear isn’t capable of yielding great results. The K&F Concept 58mm ND Fader Variable Neutral Density Adjustable ND Filter is quite a mouthful to say, but essentially it is a neutral density filter that is capable of shooting at various shades of darkening. This particular filter ranges from ND2-ND400. If we’re speaking in terms of f-stops, then it equates to 1-8 ⅔ stops of light reduction. The version I tested was the 58mm size and I used it with my trusty Canon EF 50mm F1.4.

 

Build Quality

The filter arrived well packaged and included a nice micro-fiber cloth along with a standard padded plastic filter case.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the build of this ND filter from K&F. The material of the two elements is listed by the manufacturer as “optical quality glass” with the body of the filter likely being aluminum. Originally I had thought the housing was made from some type of resin but after a scratch test it turned out to indeed be metallic.

I was also pleased to note that both the stock lens cap and lens hood still worked perfectly while the filter was attached.

The filter itself functions by turning the outer ring to the desired darkening setting is reached. This ND filter functioned extremely smoothly with no binding or sticking points.

Optical Performance

As I mentioned earlier, there is most often an unavoidable compromise between cost and quality(with a few exceptions) when it comes to camera gear. The K&F Concept variable ND is a budget ND filter currently retailing for around $20US from both Amazon and Kentfaith.com. The performance of the filter was a mix of great to, well, not so great. When used at it’s lowest optical darkening setting, the results were wonderful for a filter at this price point.

1/100 second

Moving a little darker to approximately 3 stops of light reduction, the results were still great and allowed me to shoot long exposures with no real color tinting or vignetting to speak of from a practical standpoint.

1.3 seconds

Now, moving onto the darkest setting of ND400, or approximately 8 ⅔ stops, we see some extreme problems arise in terms of color tinting and image degradation.

25 seconds

For a $20 ND filter, I was honestly surprised at how well the filter performed up till now. And from a real world point of view, the filtration offered between ND2 and ND400(1-8 ⅔ stops) was outstanding. This lends me to believe that he overall results from this filter are perfectly workable from approximately 1 to 3-4 stops of darkening. Here are three more images showing the progression of image quality across the range of filtration. It’s interesting to note that while the last image shows significant quality reduction, the massively apparent purple tinting observed in the previous example is virtually nonexistent. This is possibly due to the lengthy exposure of 25 seconds used for the image above. The white balance of my camera was set to ‘Auto’.

1/200 second

1.6 seconds

4 seconds

Final Thoughts….

Given the low cost of this variable ND filter from K&F Concept, I have no problem with the limited performance results achieved from my tests.

Pros:

  • Low lost
  • Sturdy build
  • Looks great on the camera
  • Smooth operation

Cons:

  • Extreme color tint at dark settings

The fitler itself is well made, looks great, and lends itself to relatively respectable performance for a filter costing around $20US. Beginners will love it for its quality to cost ratio and even experienced photogs could find a place for it in their kit. The K&F Concept 58mm ND Fader Variable Neutral Density Adjustable ND Filter is a low cost option for those looking for a variable ND filter with good performance in the 1-4 stop range of light reduction. The diminished performance at the far end of the filters capabilities are indicative of the cost of the product and expectations should be tempered with that information in mind!

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: Canon, filter, filters, K&F, landscape photography, Lifepixel, mountain photography, nd filter, neutral density, Photographer, photographers, Travel photography, Wildlife photographer

Four Ways to Rekindle Your Photographic Spark

As you progress more and more on your photographic journey you will encounter problems and challenges. Some of those challenge you expect while some can take you fairly by surprise. You will go through ups and downs, strikes and gutters. This cycle of peaks and valleys can affect you creatively, financially, even physically. Most common of these is the fact that sometimes we lose a little bit of our enthusiasm for the craft. This is normal and most definitely a problem you can overcome through all kinds of ways. In this article, we’re going to talk about a few ways that can help you rekindle your photographic spark.

Understand that it Happens to Us All

The first step to overcoming any problem is to understand that you have one and that it’s a natural part of growing as a photographer. Simply realizing that your loss of photo making zeal isn’t the end of the world can actually snap you out of your slump.

An important thing to remember is that whatever the reason you’ve lost your spark, you can get it back. The opposite is also true. If you continually find yourself dreading a shoot or not getting excited to get home to edit an awesome sunset image, ignoring the problem will only make it worse. Take a breath and work to identify what’s happening.

Learn about Great Photographers

We all have reasons why we got into photography. And the majority of us have certain “icons” whose work speaks to us especially loudly. The giants of the photography not only produced legendary photos but they also left behind lessons that we can learn from in order to strengthen our own craft. Take the time to learn the methods of the established masters.

Find books they’ve written and invest as much in your learning as you do in your gear…well, maybe not that much. When I get a little less that spritely to get out and make images, I open up a book of Ansel Adams photos. After seeing a few images of Half Dome and Taos Pueblo and I’m ready for action!

Shoot Something Different

If you find that you’ve grown tired of shooting, maybe you’re just tired of shooting the same things over and and over again. Sometimes it helps enormously to take a refreshing dip into another end of the creative pool.

Break the monotony and give yourself a fresh pair of eyes. If you shoot a lot of landscapes, then try some portraits. Shoot a lot of portraits? Try some landscapes. Changing things up a bit can open up entirely new creative outlets for your work.

Leave the Camera

Completely ceasing your shooting might sound counter intuitive but at times we can can photographic burnout. If this is happening to you try leaving your camera at home. Just focus yourself on the events, people, and environment around you without viewing everything through a viewfinder.

Live and breathe without making photos for a few days or even a few weeks. Much like switching up your shooting material, walking away from the camera for a while can hit your reset button and jump start your enthusiasm for making photographic once more.

Final Thoughts….

Whether most of us will admit it or not, we aren’t always super excited about making photographs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have highs and lows of creativity and artistic energy levels. At some point you will experience this reduction in your photographic spark to some extent. Just remember that when it happens, and it will, that there are ways to combat the lack of motivation. While it all depends on your situation, some type of healthy change is usually the best remedy. This change can be taking a break from shooting or reading an autobiography about your favorite photographer’s life. Recognize that things just don’t feel right and take steps to bring yourself back into the photographic fold.

I love helping people overcome their hurdles so check out a couple more of my articles here at LifePixel, How To Be Successful in Photography and Real Talk: Reasons Your Photography Isn’t Improving. They deal with similar situations and can give you that lift that you need to get back into the game.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Tutorials Tagged With: camera, cameras, Canon, inspiration, landscape photography, Lifepixel, passion, perspective, Photographer, Photography, photography tips

Understanding Basic Lens Anatomy and Terminology

The lens is the eye through which a camera sees. No matter what kind of camera you use, the lens is one of the single most important investments you will make. So in the spirit making wise decisions and minimizing buyer’s remorse the gear-savvy photographer will make it a point to understand the basics of lens anatomy. Not only with understanding the basic ins and outs of your lens make you a better technical shooter, but it will also enable you to squeeze every last drop of performance from whatever glass you happen to be using.

Without a doubt the numbers, markings, and terms often associated with camera lenses can be confusing. The good news is that they don’t have to be! Generally speaking, all those numbers and symbols are actually quite simple to understand. Let’s begin with some terms and names of common lens components you will likely encounter with most camera lenses.

Basic Lens Anatomy

Barrel-The physical outer body of the lens which houses the internal components.

Elements-A term used for the individual internal pieces of glass which make up the optics of a lens.

Bayonet-The end of the lens that attaches to the camera body. Bayonets are designed in different “mounts” based on the camera they are intended to fit.

The bayonet of a Canon EF Mount lens

Zoom Ring-A circular ring which allows the photographer to control the zoom of zoom lenses.

Focus Ring-A ring present on virtually all lenses which allows the shooter to manually adjust focus.

Focus and zoom rings on a modern lens

Aperture Ring(manual lenses)-On fully manual lenses, the aperture ring controls the physical size of the aperture with no selection being made by the camera.

Fully manual lenses often sport an aperture adjustment ring

Basic Lens Terminology

Some of the most confusing aspects about lenses isn’t their physical operation but the terminology used to describe their characteristics. Here is a breakdown of some common terms and phrases you will encounter when talking about camera lenses.

Focal Length-At the risk of oversimplifying the concept, think of this is simply the magnification strength of the lens measured in millimeters. Shorter focal length lenses are deemed “wide-angle” while long focal length lenses are considered “telephoto”.

Prime-When we say that a lens is “prime” it means that the lens is a fixed focal length. Basically speaking, the lens doesn’t “zoom”.

Lens Speed-The speed of a lens is directly connected to aperture. The wider the maximum possible aperture a lens is capable of the “faster” the lens is considered to be. This means that the lens is capable of shooting in lower light situations at faster shutter speeds. Remember, the smaller the F/number of the wider the aperture. Check out “Aperture Simplified”  ,another one my articles here at LifePixel, for a nice and simple breakdown of aperture that will help make since of F/numbers….

What the heck is this symbol ⌀ anyway???-You will likely find this symbol located around the outside front of your lens along with lens speed and focal length information. Fear not, that little guy is just the indication of what circular filter(polarizer, neutral density, etc.) size your lens accepts. It will be accompanied by a measurement in millimeters. If you see a “⌀77” then you will need a 77mm filter. What’s more, if you lose a lens cap, that is also the size for the replacement.

The face of a modern lens showing aperture, focal length, and filter size information

And always remember….

Your lens and camera work as one piece of gear along with you and your creative spark.

Understanding how your lens functions and the basics of lens anatomy will not only make you a better photographer but also a more competent when it comes to acquiring the gear you need.  Arm yourself with all the information you can and build on the basics. Knowledge is power when it comes to lenses.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: cameras, Canon, gear, Getting started, lens, lenses, Lifepixel, photographers, Photography, photography tips

Southwest IR Photography

Like many other things in life, we think the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I enjoy digging through forums and seeing photographs of other photographers. I used to think that all these photographers had better subjects for photography. This is especially true when I got into IR photography. IR seems to do best with lots of greenery in the scene, or that’s what I used to think.


Living in the desert southwest, we don’t have much greenery. What we do have is lots of dust, rocks and cactus. When I first got started doing IR photography, I envied people that lived in greener locales. But that’s no longer the case. IR photography is so much more than the iconic white foliage on trees. After shooting IR for several years, I found that it is a great tool for any scenery.

During my early IR photography experiments, I tried the color swapping techniques. But I always returned to my B&W versions. I find it much more challenging to get an interesting B&W photo. I began to have an interest in B&W images with my astrophotography. It happened sort of by accident. I live in an area with fairly heavy light pollution. So it was much easier to shoot B&W images using a specific narrow bandwidth filter (called Hydrogen Alpha).

 


My IR photography spun off of my astrophotography, since modified cameras are sometimes also needed for shooting nebula. I started with the iconic photos of trees with white leaves and liked the results.


Shooting IR photos limited me to summer photography. So I began to experiment shooting in the fall and winter. It was then that I saw that IR had a lot of potential for B&W. I also learned what looks good in IR photos and began looking for other subjects. Not a leaf in sight in this photo.


IR is also great for adding interest to what might otherwise be considered junk. I shot this through a broken window of an abandoned building. I wasn’t expecting much from this photo, being hand held in a dark environment. It was windy & raining. I was holding an umbrella and my tripod wasn’t tall enough to reach the height of the window. But I loved the result.


We can have some fairly ugly weather here in the desert. Spring brings us wind, and a lot of it. At times the wind is strong enough to pick up the dirt. Voila, dust storm. I wouldn’t advocate taking your camera gear out in a dust storm. For those willing, there are some interesting shots to be had. This is probably one of my all-time favorite IR photos. Ironically, it was also one of my first. There was no live view focusing. The camera wasn’t focus calibrated (link here for focus calibration) and I had no tripod. To make matters worse, the camera I used was a first generation 6.3MP Canon 300D (Digital Rebel) that I had converted on my own to full spectrum, not something I’d recommend.


This was a shot that I probably could not have done at any other time. Behind the tree is the rest of the city, roads and mountains. Some years later, the tree looks much different (with broken branches and its age showing).   It also didn’t take long to find out that IR photography is great for landscape shots.

 

IR is also a fantastic tool for shooting clouds and inclement weather. So when other photographers are heading home, I’m usually heading out. It seems these days that my preference is to shoot IR in poor weather.

IR photos also seems to bring out the old-ness of subjects. I really enjoy shooting old, rundown buildings or vehicles. IR makes these attractive subjects even more interesting.

Modern subjects seem to be just as attractive in IR.  Combining the subject and the poor weather is always nice.


Although not really limited to IR, I find that shooting Panoramas gives my IR images a little punch, and also the ability to print them larger. There’s also the combination of all the techniques. It keeps the excitement in photography and the challenge in IR photography.


Nearly every IR photographer starts out by shooting the iconic white foliage. I’m no different. It’s what you do after this that makes IR so interesting. Most hang up their IR cameras and move on. For me, it’s basically started my photography world. I spent the last 40 years doing regular photography and the last 5 shooting IR. I’ve enjoyed the latter so much more. You may not think that you live in an area best for IR photography. I challenge you to find and shoot the subjects that you have in your area and make the most of them. You never know what emerges from the seemingly uninteresting.

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: 5DII, Canon, Chesak, Clouds, El Paso, IR, landscape photography, Panorama, Southwest, Texas

The 4 Best Canon UV Conversion Set-Ups for All Budgets

Here is a guide to the 4 best Canon UV Conversion Set-Ups. WARNING: This guide is strictly for those who are thinking of purchasing a brand new camera and having it converted to UV. Older models are still great and convert over to UV very well. If you already have a camera body in hand that you would like converted, follow this link and select from the options you see.

I’m sure many of you have seen the How The Sun Sees You video that went viral on YouTube. You can see in the clip (2:41) that in this specific video the cameras they are using are Canon cameras. Now, this doesn’t mean that other camera brands won’t give you these results. All the cameras listed on our website in our UV Conversion section are capable of doing this! I want to stress that so that you aren’t thinking you HAVE to get a Canon.

We receive a lot, and I mean A LOT, of calls from folks all over the world that want to have a camera that is capable of doing this. Our UV Conversion Service is what you need to get your camera to function the way the camera in this video works. Here is an article posted on our site from one of our customers that has gotten this conversion recently.

There are 3 basic components you need to keep in mind. Gear, lighting, and basic photography knowledge. I will be covering camera gear later in this post but I want to quickly mention lighting. Lighting is absolutely crucial! If you are going to be shooting in direct sunlight, you have nothing to worry about, the sun gives off plenty of UV light. If you are going to be shooting indoors, lighting is something you definitely have to consider. Just because the room seems bright enough for you and bright enough for “regular” visible photography doesn’t necessarily mean that there is sufficient UV light in the room. You will have to supply ultraviolet light via lamps, bulbs, or flashes.

If you don’t have a camera and are looking to buy a brand new camera and lens, here are 4 set-ups you can go with at various price points. In this specific post, I am sticking strictly to Canon. If there is enough demand, I will make posts for other brands we can currently convert to UV. Lets get to the various set-ups!

NOTE: Some prices fluctuate because of manufacturers discount and Amazon sales. At the time of this post all prices are accurate!

 


Budget Crop Sensor DSLR – Under $1000

–Canon EOS Rebel T5 Digital SLR Camera Kit with EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens

$392. The Canon T5 is a solid camera. 18.0 megapixels, HD video recording, live view. This camera does come with the kit 18-55mm but we do not recommend it as you would need significantly longer exposure times since the lens will be fighting against you. Which brings me to my next point…

–Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

$110. The 50mm 1.8 is a great lens for UV. Because of the few layers of glass inside this lens, there isn’t much of that nasty coating that blocks out UV light. Also fairly cheap compared to some of the other lenses out there. You can pick up a used non STM version of this lens for much cheaper on the second hand market but since it is already so cheap brand new, might as well take the plunge!

–Canon UV Camera Conversion

$475 for Crop Sensor Canon DSLRs. Your camera will shoot UV, that’s it! No external filters needed, no other accessories, nothing!

Total cost = $977


Crop Sensor DSLR – Under $1500

–Canon EOS 70D Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

$899. The 70D is definitely a step about the Rebel series cameras, it is also more expensive. 20 MP, swivel touch screen, external mic input. The build quality is really much better so if you are going to be traveling a lot and need more durability, this is probably the better way to go!

–Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

$110. Once again, great lens! Scroll up to read the description.

–Canon UV Camera Conversion

$475 for Crop Sensor Canon DSLRs.

Total Cost = $1484


Budget Full Frame DSLR – Under $2500

–Canon EOS 6D Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

$1499. The 6D is Canon’s “affordable” full-frame camera. The reason affordable is in quotations is because this camera acts like anything but an affordable camera. With 20 MP, HD video, GPS and wi-fi, this camera is really great for the price.

–Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

$110. One more time, great lens! Scroll up to read the description.

–Canon UV Camera Conversion

$675 for Full Frame Sensor Canon DSLRs.

Total Cost = $2284


Full Frame DSLR – Under $3500

–Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera (Body)

$2499. The mark 3 is a fantastic camera. 22 MP, HD video, external mic input, dual memory card slots, ISO up to 102,400 expanded.

You can definitely find a full frame Canon DSLR that is more expensive than the 5Dmk3. There is the 5Dmk4, 5Ds and 5DsR, 1D X, etc. At this point, it is really about what you need in terms of image quality.

–Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

$110. And for the last time, great lens! Scroll up to read the description.

–Canon UV Camera Conversion

$675 for Full Frame Sensor Canon DSLRs.

Total Cost = $3284


Other Lenses That Will Work

You might have noticed a trend in all the set-ups. I recommended the same exact lens. The reason for doing this is because first of all it is very cheap, and second of all it works well in UV. Now, that is not to say other lenses won’t work. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens might also be a great candidate. It is about $200 more expensive but gives you an extra stop of light by opening up to 1.4. Others to try would be the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM Lens ($129) and the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM Lens ($549). Note that we haven’t had an opportunity to test these 3 lenses so let us know if you have a chance to test them with your UV converted camera!

If you would rather be safe than taking a risk with one of these lenses, go with the 50mm 1.8 lens I mentioned above.

Ordering a Brand New Camera For Conversion

Did you know that you can ship a camera directly to us? That will save you both time and money. You can order a camera through Amazon, B&H, Adorama, or any other camera store. When ordering a brand new camera from one of these sites, write Life Pixel Infrared C/O “YOUR NAME” in the name field and use our address that is found on our Contact page. That way we will receive the camera and know that it is connected to your order. When placing an order for the conversion, it is going to ask you for a serial number, write “Camera is Drop Shipped” in that field and you are good to go! Proceed with payment and once the order is placed, we will be waiting for your camera to arrive. Once the camera is converted, we will ship it to your address. That’s it!

Got questions or suggestions? Leave a comment below!

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: 50mm, Canon, ultraviolet, uv, UV conversion

Confront Your Photographic Challenges

Are there times when you feel challenged to complete an assignment, or even to just go out and take some photographs? Tangential activities take on an unanticipated urgency. I have never really understood what drives this onset of dispassion for the task, but I know I have experienced it many times, and I find it helps to set myself a few challenges and hold myself accountable until each of  my personal challenges are completed.

Nature photographer Jim Brandenburg is known for challenging himself. Jim decided to limit his images to only one photograph a day for a 90-day period between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. His project was deeply personal, and the amazing work that developed over the months most certainly speaks for itself.

Here are a couple of ways you can provoke your challenges, and learn a few new techniques in the process:

Join a Photo challenge site – One great site, Photochallenge.org encourages you to increase your photographic skills by committing to a photo challenge. No tutorials, just photographers interacting with each other. The team sets out common guidelines, which are easy to understand and simple to follow. The challenges are specific, such as; capture black and white shots of the human body, or take portraits of people or animals, and then share with others also participating in the challenge. If you are not quite up to engaging at that level, it is still worth visiting the site to view images and to ultimately gain the courage to start interacting online with other photographers.

Commit to taking a tutorial a week – There are many sites that provide free tutorials, such as Iheartfaces as well as subscription based sites like CreativeLive, KelbyOne, and Lynda.com that offer the opportunity to learn a little more about your camera, as well as how to use software applications to successfully edit your images. If you find it easier to learn in a classroom, give yourself the gift of a workshop a year. The secret is to follow through on what you have learned.

Set specific parameters – Make some definitive decisions each time you go out to take images. Consider some of these ideas:

1 – Take only one lens with you. If you do not have fixed lenses, choose a zoom lens focal length and don’t be tempted to change it. This will encourage you to position yourself correctly for each shot. It will also help you to really understand the capabilities of each lens.

2 – Utilize the full frame. Fill your frame with the shot and don’t plan on cropping in post. This will encourage correct orientation, and enable you to make every pixel count.

3 – Decide upon a color or texture and concentrate on images of that color or texture. This makes you evaluate your surroundings and notice many things you may not normally have seen.

Vegas_Flower

4 – While teaching at a photographic conference in Las Vegas, I played around with the color/full frame challenge and spent a couple of hours in the beautiful botanical gardens located in the Bellagio hotel. I started with some fairly simple images and then dug down into the fragility of petals. I found myself down a whole new path involving the combination of shadow and color.

5 – Dedicate a photographic day to simply using your mobile phone, and get creative. There are many apps for editing camera phone images and some of the results are pretty impressive. While boating in Maine, I was able to capture the old Maine Windjammer, the Isaac H. Evans. I challenged myself to use only my mobile phone all day so that I would concentrate on light and composition. It was quite refreshing to have my head up and looking at my subject, rather than staring down the camera viewfinder!

IMG_8560-Edit

6 – Limit the number of images you take. Imagine you do not have the capability of taking many photographs. Make every image count, and don’t cheat by erasing images!

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Sometimes it is important to try to recognize the route of the challenged feeling! Each time I head up to Rockport, Maine to teach drone flight and aerial photography, I find myself having to overcome the inherent fears surrounding the nature of the class. I am not immune to the constant commentary surrounding the use of drones and their various applications. In order to overcome those mental challenges, I remind myself that I teach because I enjoy teaching, and the pleasure I receive from watching students initially grapple with the technology, and then start creating beautiful images is most certainly more contagious than the niggling doubts in my head. I also take time out to go and fly with my teaching partner and hone my skills a little more.

Maine_Lighthouse

Flying over water takes a little more concentration and awareness of the wind conditions. but the results can be incredibly rewarding. The image above is a single capture, and below, a 5 image panorama created in Lightroom. These were taken using a DJI Phantom 4.

Maine_Pano

Finally, I have also noticed that as infrared photography becomes more popular, there are many discussion groups debating about what constitutes a good IR image. No matter what my assignment, I carry my converted Canon 1DS with me and find an opportunity to experiment.

MaineIR

It is interesting to compare my results with images taken from the Phantom 4. In the image below, I am actually much closer to the boats in the harbor, but hovering over the water.

Boats

I challenge you all to experiment with IR. If you are not yet ready to convert one of your cameras, consider purchasing a filter that somewhat replicates the look and feel, and this will give you a great introduction. I am pretty sure you will soon be hooked. Whatever your end goal, don’t let those perceived or real challenges get in the way and don’t let the negativity of others (or your own doubts) prohibit your creativity.

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: aerial photography, Canon, challenge, composition, DJI, DJI Phantom 4, inspiration, IR, landscape photography, Lifepixel, Maine Media Workshops, Panoramas, perspective, Photography, photography tips, Workshops

Astrophotography Image Stacking – Astro Stacking

Hopefully you’ve been out shooting and applying what you’ve learned about astrophotography. For most there’s a fairly big learning curve with astrophotography. I was always pretty good with the computer, electronics, and the mechanical hardware, but learning to process the images was a huge challenge. Hopefully I can share what I’ve learned to help speed up your learning process.

CR-399-+-Garradd-flat-766

There’s a lot to learn when it comes to taking the images from the camera to making a final image for display. You’ll find that 99% of the deep sky images that you shoot will require some form of post-processing. But before we even discuss doing any processing, let’s discuss how to best shoot the scene.

In the previous blogs, I’ve hinted about a technique that will let you get the most out of your astro images. Shooting very faint moving targets can be pretty challenging. It takes fairly decent equipment to get the really faint stuff, but beyond this, it’s important to properly photograph the subjects. There is one valuable technique that will help tremendously with processing and make the most of your data. This technique is stacking.

Let’s take a look at stacking in very basic terms. Shooting faint targets makes for generally noisy images. This is true  for astrophotography as well as regular photography. This means that the photos look grainy and lack the silky smooth transition. In astrophotos, noise will disturb the transition from the target object to the dark regions. But if you shoot many photos of the same subject and stack them together, the result is far better than that of a single frame. The noise and graininess is filled in and the image will appear much smoother and complete. When I was going for the best quality images, I would generally shoot for between 10 and 20 hours of open shutter time. But again, these were for my very best deep sky images on professional level equipment. For me, that meant shooting over many nights and stacking all the data in the final image. I was shooting exposures that were ½ hour long,o I needed fewer frames. But the end result was a lot of data, that when assembled, resulted in very good data sets.

If you’re just starting out it’s not necessary for you to shoot this much. But generally the more you shoot the better. There’s a big difference that can be seen immediately in the final image. There is a point of diminishing returns, but most astrophotographers will never come close to this limit. So if you can start with shooting a couple hours you’ll end up with fairly decent data. But even shooting and stacking 10 images will be better than one single frame. The better the data, the easier it is to process into the final image.

How do we begin…?  Once you have your mount aligned (see my previous blogs) the target framed and the lens or telescope focused, you can start shooting your images. Shoot the same subject, over and over. I generally use a computer or an intervalometer to take the work out of this. This allows me the ability to walk away and let the camera shoot until it’s done. Just be aware that you may need several batteries or an AC adapter for your camera. This is especially true in the cold. For your first outing, try to shoot for at least an hour of open shutter time. That means if you’re shooting 5 minute shots you’re going to want 12 of these to make an hour. It’s generally best to shoot with an exposure as long as possible, but not so long that the image becomes saturated with light fog or you begin to get star trails. I generally tried to shoot until I reached about 25-75% on the camera’s histogram. But this depends on the target and from where I’m shooting (and how much light pollution is present). Just keep in mind that 1 hour is not a magical number. Shoot more, if you have time and patience. This will make the post-processing after the stack easier and the final image even smoother.

Once you have the stack, what’s next? You need to process all these images into a single image. This is possible in Photoshop and there are some really great videos and information on the topic. So I’ll leave this learning process to those interested in doing the stacking in this manner.

The real benefit is doing the stacking in a program that is meant for processing astrophotos. There are many programs that are available to do this, some are even available for free. I used a program called MaximDL which is a high-end piece of professional astrophotography processing software. In addition to doing some processing, it also handles camera control, filter wheel control, focusing, guiding and many other aspects of shooting deep sky images. In a complex setup, it’s very beneficial to have control of everything in a single piece of software. However for those just starting out, look at getting Deep Sky Stacker (DSS). It is an excellent stacking program and is available at no cost. This allows you to practice shooting and processing images without investing a lot of additional money in software.

Be sure to take a look at the excellent instructions on the DSS website and online. It is fairly powerful and capable producing nice images. It will also allow the addition of calibration frames (discussed below), which is another very powerful feature for noise control. I generally found that I liked doing the stacking in DSS and then doing the remainder of the processing in Photoshop or similar image processing program. But that’s totally my preference. Each photographer should investigate the best workflow and combination of programs to use to produce the final image.


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One really great feature of DSS is the comet stacking routine. Processing comets is even more complicated as the comet is typically in a different location in each frame. Some move slow enough not to have to worry about it. But others can move significant amounts in each frame. This typically takes some crafty processing to get a decent image. DSS takes a lot of the work out of it. This image was processed in DSS and Photoshop.

CR-399-+-Garradd-flat-766

Coat hanger Asterism (CR399)  and Comet Garradd

When beginning the stacking process, the images need to be quality sorted first and then aligned (or registered) first. The quality sorting can be done automatically in DSS, but I generally liked poking through the images and picking out the ones that were blurred from movement, or had clouds or planes. The registration or alignment will adjust the images up and down and also in rotation in order to bring all the frames in perfect alignment and then stack them together in one of several stacking methods. I generally prefer one of the median stacking methods.

Many of my astrophotos, including the comet photo above, were shot with professional level equipment. This equipment cost about half what my first house cost. To be fair I wanted to show what can be done with a DSR and Lens (or small telescope), so I re-processed some of my earliest images in DSS, knowing what I know now. These were shot with an Astro-modified, 6.3MP Canon 300D (Digital Rebel). This is one of the earliest DSLR’s. It was noisy and did not generally produce very clean astro images. But even with this old camera, the data was very usable and produced some fairly decent images.  We’ll take a look at a few of these below:

_MG_0758My first modified DSLR for Astrophotography

 

Stacking Examples

Here are some examples of images right out of the camera and also some processed images. The first is a single frame that shows the Heart & Soul nebula (IC1805, IC1871, NGC 869 and NGC 884) as well as the double cluster. The top is out of the camera the next is after stacking and processing.

Heart+soul-single-766Unprocessed, right out of the camera

Heart+soul stack-complete-766Stacked and post processed 

The difference in these is drastic.  In fairness, the single frame image was fogged by heavy light pollution.  But this is a problem that will plague the majority of astrophotographers.  The only way to combat this is to shoot from dark sites away from the city lights.

This next example is not as drastic. The top is out of the camera, the bottom is stacked and processed. Also included are crops of a single frame and stacked and processed images.

Rosette-CRW_1778x766

Rosette-crop-Single-Frame-Cropx766Single Frame and crop of the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237)

Notice the missing details in the crop of this image.

Rosette-Processedx766

Rosette-crop-processed-Cropx766Stack/post processed image and crop of the Rosette Nebula

The stacked image makes is much cleaner and much of the missing data has been filled in.  Also note the better detail that is visible in the crop of the Rosette.  This is the real benefit of the stacking method.  One thing that you need to keep in mind with processing astrophotos is that it’s an incremental process. No single step is going to make a magical image from junk. Each step will add a tiny improvement, and with enough tiny steps you’ll end up with a very pleasing image. If you’re stacking many photos, most pieces of stacking software will take quite a while if you’re computer isn’t up to the task (like mine). So be patient and just let it run until it’s completed the registration and stacking processes.

Here’s another example of a single frame vs a stack.  This one is of the Horsehead Nebula (B33) in Orion.

B33-Single-framex766

B33-Single-frame-Cropx766Single Frame and crop

B-33-DSS-Stackx766

B-33-DSS-Stack-cropx766Stack/post processed image and crop

It’s fairly easy to see the benefit of stacking when shooting astrophotos.  One more advanced technique that will help reduce the noise in your stacks is called dithering. Basically this is moving the camera a couple pixels in a random direction after every frame. When using a median stacking method, objects in a different location on each frame will be eliminated. So using the stars as the alignment reference, the galaxies, nebulae or other subjects will remain in the same place. But hot pixels, satellites, planes, noise and other random effects will be in a different location, with respect to the stars, so these are eliminated when stacked. There are many guiding or tracking programs that will do dithering automatically. But even with a manual shutter release, it can help tremendously if you manually move the mount between exposures. It seems like a hassle, but dithering will add a fairly significant level of improvement. None of the images above (except the comet image) used dithering.

Another helpful addition is to add calibration frames. These will serve to help remove additional noise and other artifacts from the images. Dark frames will help remove hot pixels, Bias frames reduce read noise and flat frames will help clear up any dust spots or other specs that are caused by looking through the lens or telescope. There is a superb description of this in the FAQ section here. The newer more modern cameras tend to provide better noise and hot pixel control, so calibration might not be needed. But at the very least, flat frames should be used to ensure the removal of artifacts caused by a dirty lens or sensor. It will also help reduce any vignetting that occurs in the images. Remember: incremental improvements.

In the final installment of this Astrophotography series, we’ll discuss some of the details of going from a rough stacked image to the final image. This is where a lot of the magic happens so I hope you’ll stay tuned. In the meantime get out and shoot. See you soon.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Astro modified, Astrophotography, Canon, Cluster, DSLR, Eric Chesak, full spectrum, Horse Head, Lifepixel, Nebula, Rosette

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