Can a smartphone camera capture UV fluorescence around 340–350 nm?
Asked 9/8/2018
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I’m illuminating an object with UV light and want to photograph fluorescence in the 340–350 nm range using a phone camera such as the Xiaomi Mi A1 or Nokia 6.1. Will a normal smartphone camera record that wavelength, or do I need special equipment or a modified camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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Although the sensors may be sensitive to non-visible wavelengths, no generally available consumer camera will reliably capture light outside of the visible spectrum because filters are placed in front of the sensor to prevent non-visible wavelengths from interfering with the cameras' primary purpose, which is to capture visible light. If you want to capture non-visible wavelengths, you will need to modify your camera/phone by replacing the hot-mirror filter with a different filter that will pass through the wavelengths you are interested in.
If you do not wish to modify any of your existing equipment, you can find already modified gear by searching for "full spectrum camera" on your favorite auction site.
Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75526
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A normal smartphone camera is not a reliable way to capture UV light around 340–350 nm. While the sensor itself may have some sensitivity outside the visible range, consumer phones and cameras usually have filters in front of the sensor that block ultraviolet and other non-visible wavelengths. Those filters are there to improve normal color photography.
So for your use case, an unmodified Mi A1 or Nokia 6.1 is very unlikely to record 340–350 nm directly in a useful way.
If you need to image that UV emission, you generally need a modified camera with the factory hot-mirror/IR-UV blocking filter replaced by one that passes the wavelengths you want, or a purpose-built full-spectrum camera plus appropriate UV-capable optics/filters.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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