Why do DSLR IR-cut filters often block some deep red light below 650nm?
Asked 11/5/2018
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I’m planning a DSLR astro modification: removing the stock IR-cut filter and replacing it with one that still passes H-alpha (656nm), S-II (672nm), and the visible spectrum below that. If human vision can see red out to roughly 700nm before near-infrared, why do many stock camera IR-cut filters start cutting transmission below 650nm?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
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With few exceptions, data for infrared filters are not published for the region from 700 to 900nm. This is because most infrared filters are offshoots of the Wratten gelatin filters recipe. These were made by dissolving dye in gelatin and then floating the liquid gelatin on the surface of water. The gelatin was then allowed to gel and then lifted from underneath via a wire frame. The dried gelatin filter was then over-coated with lacquer. Often these gelatin filters were sandwiched between two sheets of optically flat glass.
Anyway, infrared radiation is strongly absorbed by matter. Most gelatin filters begin to absorb infrared beginning at about 2000nm and fully absorb at about 3000nm. Most glass infrared filters fare worse. The typical absorption curve is generally published for the region 750nm to 3000nm
To pass the frequencies you need, the filter would likely need to be made of quartz. I think none are available at affordable prices. Perhaps you can find such a filter under “specialized filters for science”. I don’t think you will find them in the general photographic community.
Originally by user44949. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user44949
7y ago
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Because camera sensors are much more sensitive to long wavelengths than human vision is. Human red-cone response falls off quickly above about 640nm, even though we can still see some deep red out toward 700nm. A digital sensor, however, keeps responding strongly farther into the deep red and near-IR.
If a camera passed all of that light, color would look inaccurate: reds would be exaggerated, and subjects with strong long-wavelength reflectance—such as foliage, flames, or hot embers—could shift unnaturally. So the stock IR-cut filter is designed not just to block true infrared, but also to trim some of the deepest visible red so the camera’s color response better matches human vision.
That’s why astro-modified cameras are popular for H-alpha work: the factory filter usually suppresses that region, while a replacement filter can keep normal visible light and still pass important emission lines like 656nm and 672nm.
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