IR help needed

[Jeff Dexheimer]

I have been searching around for info on IR and most of what I have found relates to Kodak HIE. That said, I am sure most of that info is transferrable to efke IR820, which is what I'll end up buying.

So I think I have much of it down but I have a few questions to ask before I take the plunge into IR. Firstly, I have a red filter I use for B&W but I assume it is not the right one. It is a cokin with p.003 scribed on the edge. It filters 2 stops of light. So the question is, is the cokin good enough, or do I need to get another filter?

Next, I currently develop my film in Ilford Ilfosol 3. Should I get a different developer for the IR?

Lastly, what other things should I take into consideration before starting IR?

[Brian C. Miller]

Hi! I've shot a good bit of IR, and so have a number of the other members.

You will need to use a very deep red filter, like deeper than a 29. The Ilford square filter, which fit in a Cokin 3x3 gel holder, is the proper color. There's also the B+W 092 and the Hoya R72. The currently availabe IR films aren't as good as the Kodak HIE/HIR, and their best use is photographing deciduous trees and most varieties of grass. You may get something photographing conifers, but there's no assurance that you will get reliable results.

Deciduous trees will always give you the best result, a good white, while conifers will give you a grey to black result. (Kodak would always make everything pop into white.) You should rate your film at EI 3, quite slow, and then bracket from there. If you have a roll film camera, start with that before you use sheet film, and get your exposure right with it.

As far as developer, Ilfosol 3 is just fine. IR films don't require a different developer.

The one thing to REALLY watch out is loading the film into a tank. When I started with Kodak HIE, I was loading using a bag. Even though I was inside, the film would get fogged. Changing bags are not necessarily light tight against IR, so you'll have to watch that.

[SamReeves]

Efke/Maco IR 820 is very different from Kodak. It's way slower, it's not quite as sensitive to heat, and you'll definitely need to look for a deep filter to truly bring out the infrared effect. Kodak HIE you could get away with a #25 for IR effects. Not so with Efke, which seems to like the Hoya R72.

[ImSoNegative]

i have shot alot of ekfe ir820, great film. i use the r72 filter and expose it at iso 3, seems to work pretty well for me

[JohnN]

For IR (Rollei and Efke) I use FA-1027 developer and Oriental VC Fiber paper after experimenting with other developers.