Softening IR Light? at DVinfo.net

Ethan Cooper · January 13th, 2011, 09:22 AM

So I've got a baby on the way & being the video geek I am, I haven't been satisfied with the quality of my baby monitor's video in pitch black & figured I need to add a secondary IR light source to improve it.

Problem is, all the cheap IR light sources I find are fairly narrowly focused. Usually I'd solve something like this by adding a diffuser of some type but knowing nothing about IR can you soften an IR source? If so, what type of material would work?

I figure other than for my odd little application this type of info could be useful to many people using IR sources for more professional purposes.

Martin Catt · January 22nd, 2011, 10:54 PM

Light's light. Put a piece of glass or plastic in front of the LED's and spray it with hairspray until you get the right amount of diffusion. If the LED's are around the lens, put a round piece of tape on the glass where the lens peeks through, spray the glass, then peel the tape away so the lens has a clear spot to look through. The nice thing about hairspray is you can clean it off and try again if you put on too much, plus your wife probably has a can or two already.

Martin

Ethan Cooper · January 23rd, 2011, 11:06 AM

I had just figured the wavelength of IR light might interact differently with traditional diffusion material. If it doesn't then great, good to know.

Martin Catt · January 23rd, 2011, 05:18 PM

It --might--. Some plastics that are opaque to visible light will pass IR, as anyone who ever developed IR-sensitive film in a plastic developing tank can attest (stainless steel ONLY). The converse is also true, as a silicon slab is opaque to visible light, but passes IR like, well, glass.

Play around -- hair spray, waxed paper, vaseline. See what works.

Martin

Bob Grant · January 24th, 2011, 06:24 AM

I don't know how widely available they are but down here you can find IR LED kits pretty cheaply that seem very simple to assemble. As you're mounting the LEDs yourself it would be easy enough to leave the leads a little longer and angle the LEDs to give a wider beam.

January 13th, 2011, 09:22 AM	#1
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	Softening IR Light? So I've got a baby on the way & being the video geek I am, I haven't been satisfied with the quality of my baby monitor's video in pitch black & figured I need to add a secondary IR light source to improve it. Problem is, all the cheap IR light sources I find are fairly narrowly focused. Usually I'd solve something like this by adding a diffuser of some type but knowing nothing about IR can you soften an IR source? If so, what type of material would work? I figure other than for my odd little application this type of info could be useful to many people using IR sources for more professional purposes. __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

January 22nd, 2011, 10:54 PM	#2
Martin Catt Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Colony TX Posts: 327	Light's light. Put a piece of glass or plastic in front of the LED's and spray it with hairspray until you get the right amount of diffusion. If the LED's are around the lens, put a round piece of tape on the glass where the lens peeks through, spray the glass, then peel the tape away so the lens has a clear spot to look through. The nice thing about hairspray is you can clean it off and try again if you put on too much, plus your wife probably has a can or two already. Martin __________________ Canon XF300, Canon 5DMkII, Canon XL2, Rolls MX422 mixer, Zoom H4N, AT899 lavs, AT2020's, Azden SGM 1X shotgun, Manfrotto 501 head on 351 tripod

January 23rd, 2011, 11:06 AM	#3
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	I had just figured the wavelength of IR light might interact differently with traditional diffusion material. If it doesn't then great, good to know. __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

January 23rd, 2011, 05:18 PM	#4
Martin Catt Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Colony TX Posts: 327	It --might--. Some plastics that are opaque to visible light will pass IR, as anyone who ever developed IR-sensitive film in a plastic developing tank can attest (stainless steel ONLY). The converse is also true, as a silicon slab is opaque to visible light, but passes IR like, well, glass. Play around -- hair spray, waxed paper, vaseline. See what works. Martin __________________ Canon XF300, Canon 5DMkII, Canon XL2, Rolls MX422 mixer, Zoom H4N, AT899 lavs, AT2020's, Azden SGM 1X shotgun, Manfrotto 501 head on 351 tripod

January 24th, 2011, 06:24 AM	#5
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	I don't know how widely available they are but down here you can find IR LED kits pretty cheaply that seem very simple to assemble. As you're mounting the LEDs yourself it would be easy enough to leave the leads a little longer and angle the LEDs to give a wider beam.