A couple of weeks back I posted a blog about how I wanted to buy a second EM5 and get it converted to Infrared. Whilst the Infrared GX1 is nice I felt that a second converted EM5 body would fit better with my kit. That way there are less spare batteries and chargers to carry. It’s also easier to remember the menu settings.
Well the conversion is now back with me. ProTech who carried this out had a great service. They spoke to me about the conversion and turned it round in 2 weeks. Although initially I was going to convert to a 720nm filter, I woke up the morning after posting the camera convinced that this was the wrong decision and I switch to a 665nm filter. I don’t know why I changed my mind but it felt right.
All I need now is for it to stop raining and for the sun to come out. Infrared just doesn’t work well without the sun.
I will report back on the performance of the new camera when the weather picks up.
The Lightweight Photographer 
That image sums up IR in a nutshell. Absolutely fantastic and it makes me wanna go do more with the XE1 and 14/2.8.
Looking forward to more of your IR stuff (and book?) Robin.
Thanks Roger, I’m pleased you like it. I have seen a few shots recently with the Fuji and they appeared to have excellent quality. Don’t worry the book is in progress and has completed first draft. A couple more revisions then its off to my Editor (hopefully he will be able to fit me in).
Beautiful image, Robin. I do not particularlly like IR pictures, but this one is superb.
Thank you. I realise IR is not to everyones taste but it can create some dynamic black and white images.
I think that IR is very good for some subjects, but is often abused and applied to subjects that are not particularly suitable. Your landscape is a perfect one: water and the sky are pitch black and the hills are very light: this makes for a very suggestive composition. Light is on the earth, not above or below. Sounds a little atheistic, I would say, but powerful.
Thank you very much
As an avid IR shooter, I think you made the right decision going for the 665nm. This will give you more color variations for color renditions while giving you more color for black and white adjustments within post software programs. While I find that 720nm and higher can give more instantaneous results in black and white, the real key to IR is the post processing work flow. I also find that Olympus and their lenses give some of the best IR images with excellent sharpness, lack of noise, very little “hot spotting” , and less pixel slurring that I found with Nikon. I look forward to seeing your results. John
I’m looking forward to some sun so I can try the new conversion out. So far I have shot my front garden through a window. I can see the difference already in the image tones as here is more blue and red present. I agree that the Olympus lenses are good for IR. I have found that the 17mm f/1.8 is one of the strongest. This is a little unexpected as it’s not the sharpest of the lenses for traditional photography (but it is very good). On the IR camera it is simply superb.
I have been a fan of IR photography since my film camera days. I picked up a converted Canon G11 from Ebay with a “full spectrum filter” so I can use different IR filters via a standard filter adapter. Having tried different ones I now either shoot 665nm ( for false IR colour effects ) or 850nm for B&W. I leave the 665nm on the camera all the time and just screw on the 850nm one on top of it when needed. The 720nm filter I bought just sits in my drawer as I get far better results with the 665nm or 850nm depending on what I’m after.
I’m looking forward to your IR book.
I have just got back from trying out the new EM5 with the 665 filter and I love it. I much prefer the effect to the 720 filter and there is still a lot you can do with the image files. I do have some 850 screw in filters but forgot them. Perhaps I will try that next time. The IR book is probably the next one after Topaz Detail. I have all these draft books I produced last year that I didn’t get time to finish. This year will be a year of reworking them to ensre they are up to date and informative.