Infrared wildlife filming at night

[Bo Skelmose]

Hi
Got some Everfocus EQH5102 HD-SDI surveillance camera's.
Removed the IR filter carefully with a screwdriver (it must be broken out) and took a few millimeters of the CS adapter. Very nice sensibility for IR light and they have a menu system where the AGC can be set to zero so the lightning can be controlled.
200 dollars for a camera :)

Everfocus IR Test EQH5102 with removed IR filter. on Vimeo

Only problem is in the dawn with both IR and normal light from the sky - the focus cannot be set properly. If I want to film the beavers I need a camera for daylight too. Guess I will use my Panasonic AG-HE60 at the dam too.

[Cees van Kempen]

Hi Bo,

Have you got any idea about the quality of footage this camera delivers compared to the Gopro Hero 3, with or without IR filter removed?

Cees

[Bo Skelmose]

Hi
A friend of mine have a Gopro that have been modified for IR - He will visit me one of theese days to try some different IR light - then I will know :) I have not forgot you Cees ;)

[Cees van Kempen]

Thanks Bo. Very much looking forward to the outcome. Still preparing the in-nest filming of kingfishers for next year. Had the Gopro in mind, but this certainly looks an alternative to investigate.

What lens do you use by the way on this camera? I suppose that with C/CS-mount lenses you can alter backfocus by not completely screwing in the lens and thus be able to focus at very close distance. I need to be able to focus at about 10 cm.

I have by the way got my GH3 infrared converted. Not done any proper filming yet, but some testing showed very pleasing results. This is too big however for my kingfisher setup.

[Bo Skelmose]

No problem when filming very close - you can always play with the back focus and the CS adapter as I did.
I use often this Fujinon lens "TF2.8DA-8 1/3-Inch CCD 2.8mm, f/2.2 Fixed Focal Length"
I cannot imagine that you will have any problem with the quality at so close range. My friend told me that the Gopro isent very sensitive with IR - but in a nest it cannot be a problem.
Probably the gopro with its fisheye lens would be fine there - but there may be a problem with focussing at that close range...
Maybe you should look at IR light with 940nm wavelength - these IR light are totally black - the one I use are 850nm and they are red when you look at them.
Bo

[Cees van Kempen]

Bo, with what device do you capture your footage on the Everfocus? I have a nanoflash and wonder if that works.

[Mat Thompson]

Hi Bo/Cees

I'd like to second Bo's setup. I used over 10 Everfocus camera for a UK programme I worked on 'Foxes Live'. They produced very good results and as Bo says the menu system makes the camera quite controllable. They are HD-sdi so yes you could use a nanoflash. I fed them all into blackmagic capture cards on a fast mac station.

The lens mount is C/CS but you can get adapters for various lenses including EF. Although there are some very good c-mount lenses available.

Mat

[Cees van Kempen]

Thanks Bo and Mat. The Everfocus seems a good choice. I'll go for it.

[Bo Skelmose]

Yes we are lucky that the surveillance cameraes use the same HD-SDI Standard as we do. Considering if you you would like to go for a 50P camera instead. It will give you the possibility to go for half speed with a fast moving bird....
The Everfocus I mentioned can do both 25P and 30P so it will work with EU standards.
The Sony PMW-F5 have filters to avoid moire - they can be changed for 2K or 4K. What if the IR filter are build into the moire filter - that would be awesome. Then we could have a high quality camera for IR.... and doing 240 frames per second.
Cannot see if they are in the same, removable filter.
Just read that the IR filter is sitting right on the chip of the PMW-F5/55 :(

[Mat Thompson]

Of course it really depends on what the application is as to what camera I would choose. These were a good choice for remotes although properly rigged I'm sure they would make a good operated choice too. They are of course only 1/3rd chip cams.

The best operated IR cam I've used is a converted 5dmk2. The results with a 70-200 were very good. Super sharp and when well lit the image noise was as you'd expect very well controlled (ISO's of 1000-1600ish.)

[Alastair Traill]

Quote: -
"They are of course only 1/3rd chip cams."

I would not rule out a small chip camera, particularly for the kingfisher project that Cees is contemplating i.e. a working distance of 10 cm.

For a while I was using a ¼” sensor on a nest box project and then changed to a 2/3” camera only to obtain inferior results. The reason was simple – I was expecting greater sensitivity with the larger sensor – something that the new camera did not have. To get the same coverage with the larger sensor I had to use longer focal length lenses that of course have less depth of field. Without a gain in sensitivity I could not improve the depth of field by stopping down. I now have more powerful sources of infrared and so could use smaller apertures but regrettably those subjects are no longer about.

[Bo Skelmose]

Agree - no reason to go for large sensors when filming in IR. I once thought that large sensors would have better light sensitivity, but the size is not the most important - using C lenses are great for macro, wildlife and to give the sense of being close.

[Mat Thompson]

You don't mention which 2/3rds camera you used but your comparing it to a 5dmk2 ? Take it from me this produced the sharpest/cleanest IR images that I have seen and I've used many different IR cameras both hand op'd and remotes including hot heads. I hadn't read the start on the post and if this is a remote @ 10cms yes having a deep dof would be useful to give you a good chance of having the action you want in focus.

However if you use a 5d/7d and run it through a laptop/Eos software you would also have focus control which could be very useful. Of course you then get the benefit of using great glass and the subsequent IQ that goes with it.

"No reason to go for large sensors when filming in IR" ? - On the contrary I think that DSLRS make very good IR cameras. The BBC NHU has the converted unit I've used and that has been used on all sorts of blue chip sequences. Now a converted C300 ! - that would be sweet!

[Alastair Traill]

Another two factors to consider when selecting lenses for IR work are the coatings used on the lens elements and the coatings used on the internal components that hold the lens together. The lens coatings may absorb infrared and I understand that in the case of the supplied lens in the GoPro the Infra red cutting is achieved by the lens coating. If the coatings on the internal surfaces do not absorb enough of the extraneous light bouncing around the lens interior, image quality will suffer. I was surprised to find that the black dye that my anodiser uses reflects infrared quite effectively.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Mat,
What kind of IR lights did you use and how many? I hear that you need to carry big batteries?
Cheers,
Sabyasachi