I have a 35mm camera and bought an infrared filter

Question

when i put the filter on i cant see anything through the finder. i think i read somewhere you have to set the camera first then put the infrared camera on. is that right? and do i need special film right now i have black and white film in.

some of the info on my camera is its a olympus om G, i have a 70-210mm telephoto lens, and a 50mm lens, some info on the filter is it only passes infrared rays above 720nm (not knowing cameras i have no idea what that last part means . any information will be appreciated

Answer 1

You will need infrared film for infrared photography. It must be handled in absolute darkness when loading and unloading. There is a review of the new Efke IR film in the Feb. 2008 issue of Shutterbug Magazine (http://www.shutterbug.com).

It would be a good idea for you to google infrared photography and read a few tutorials.

Answer 2

The 720nm has nothing to do with cameras specifically - it's the wavelength of the light. Human eyes see wavelengths from about 400nm to 720nm. Anything smaller than 400 is UV light and anything greater than 720 is infrared. Because this filter is blocking out everything that's not infrared it makes sense that you can't see anything - humans can't see i infrared.

Unfortunately I'm not experienced in infrared photography so I'm unable to suggest a fix.

Answer 3

An infrared filter removes visible light and only lets through infrared light. So if you can't see anything, it's working.

Why did you buy the filter if you are not sure what it does or where you'd use it ?