Shooting Rollei infrared film Advice

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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Sophia aka Paul
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Got me two rolls of this 35mm from @Alan Clogwyn Ta mate need to know whats the best way to shoot this for best results?

Plan on using either my olympus Trip 35 or Nikon FE2 with 38mm F2.8

Ta

Bump
 
IR filter and assume the film is ISO 1 ish. It's pretty much guesswork tbh.
 
Paul, I have a couple of rolls of this to shoot yet. I am not sure this is a true IR film like Kodak HIE was. I think it is more a monochrome film with extended sensitivity beyond about 800nm, making it more IR sensitive.

I plan to shoot it with a dark red filter to get the maximum IR effect (like I do with Ilford SFX which is also a mono film with extended IR sensitivity). I will rate the Rollei at 400ISO box speed when I shoot it. In the past with older IR films you had to focus using the IR focusing marks on your lenses if shooting at apertures above f4 given IR wavelengths come to focus at a slightly different place to the visual end of the spectrum. I have not found this necessary with Ilford SFX and I am assuming the same for the. Rollei. I am not saying any of this is the right way and others will I am sure have other thoughts but this is how I will use my Rollei IR stock.
 
I'm only familiar with the EFKE IR which comes without any ISO information.

I believe your film is ISO 400 without a filter applied, so to get to that with a filter on you'll need to rate the ISO very low to let plenty of IR in.
Obviously you'll need to test this yourself, might take more than 2 rolls to get good results though.
 
Oh Adrian thats me wayyyyy confused now.

:(
 
Kind of reading the Rollei info, you set the ISO (400) and then the appature and focus/shutter then pop the filter on and take for extended effects?
 
You need to get a deep red filter such as an R72, which blocks all visible light except for deep red and IR, without it its very similar to normal B&W film. The R72's absorb about 4-5 stops of light however so you'll have an effective speed about ISO 12 - 25. With an R72 so much light is absorbed that you won't be able to see through the viewfinder to focus/compose; the basic method for IR photography is:

1. (With filter off) Meter the scene at ~ ISO 12 - 25 (this is because the deep red filter confuses a lot of TTL meters).
2. With the filter still off, focus, and if your lenses have the mark, adjust to the IR focal point (usually a little red mark by the normal focal point on the lens [for instance the red R symbol in this picture http://jdainis.com/ir1.jpg] - just move the focus ring so that the distance scale is set to the same distance at the IR focal point as it was at the normal one)
3. Put the filter on, and take the shot (a tripod is recommended).
 
Ok thanks chaps think I kind of get the gists.
Sounds like a job for my FM2N and my sekonic L308.

Also the 28mm lens as it focus's at infinity beyond about 7 feet.

Just need a cheap R72 filter.
Any pointers?
 
Mr Bump said:
Oh Adrian thats me wayyyyy confused now.

:(
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Sorry Paul, not my intention.

In the past I shot a lot of a film called Kodak HIE which was a very sensitive Infra Red Film, in fact you could not load it into the camera in daylight I had to load the camera in a darkened room. I think the Efke Film Rob is referring to is possibly similar to the Kodak film.

The Rollei film you and I both have is a black and white film with extended sensitivity in the infra red range rather than being a true Infra red film. It can be loaded in daylight. If you put a red filter on the camera you will accentuate the infra red effect. As Rob says if you use a deep red Infra red filter you will need to rate the film at around 25 ISO to maximise the infra red effect. IR filters are a very deep red, indeed.

Ilford make an extended infra red sensitive film called SFX which again is a black and white film that when used with a red filter accentuates the infra red effect. It is rated at 200 ISO without a filter. I shoot it with a standard red filter and keep it at the box speed. The shot below shows the effect. I just plan to apply the same approach I use with the Ilford when I shoot with the Rollei IR. As Rob says there will be an element of of experimenting to get some interesting results.

11195475943_aee5c97ed5_c_d.jpg


My comment about focusing is perhaps confusing. If you look on your Nikkor lenses near the focus notch you will see another mark just to the side. This is the focusing mark for when true infra red film is used because IR focuses in a different place to the visual bit of the spectrum.

Also, this link might be useful: http://www.digitaltruth.com/products/product_tests/infrared_film_002.php
 
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Just need a cheap R72 filter.
Any pointers?
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I found some cheap R72 filters on Amazon. Rollei IR film is a very red sensitive film rather than a true IR film so don't be tempted to use a filter other than R72 (720) filter.

Eric
 
I shot my Rollei through Cameras which meter off the film and have very good metering anyway, set at 200 and bracketed + 2 and -1 to pretty much guarantee something. I hadn't got the knack with Caffenol back then so can't really say what works best, I really need to do some more testing. Filter was a Neewer 720.

Beware that the anti halation backing can be a nightmare - ensure reels are bone dry and wear gloves, any sweat on your hands will cause it to go sticky and jam in the reels. Speaking of which, let it presoak for 5 minutes or so then change the water a few times before putting the dev in to get rid of the black goo.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
I shot my Rollei through Cameras which meter off the film and have very good metering anyway, set at 200 and bracketed + 2 and -1 to pretty much guarantee something. I hadn't got the knack with Caffenol back then so can't really say what works best, I really need to do some more testing. Filter was a Neewer 720.

Beware that the anti halation backing can be a nightmare - ensure reels are bone dry and wear gloves, any sweat on your hands will cause it to go sticky and jam in the reels. Speaking of which, let it presoak for 5 minutes or so then change the water a few times before putting the dev in to get rid of the black goo.
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I will just send it to Peak :-)
 
Mr Bump said:
I will just send it to Peak :)
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Make sure that you label it as IR film when you send it to them as Rollei is pretty much a proper IR film, and some labs use IR thermometers etc which can in theory fog IR film.
 
Paul looking forward to seeing the results, might fire me up to get out and shoot mine!
 
The presence or absence of a filter does not affect the ISO rating of a film.

With a filter in place, there is a lot less light hitting the film so a much longer exposure is needed.

When people say it's ISO 12 or ISO 25, they mean that you use the settings for those ISOs in daylight to compensate for the light loss through the filter.

If you had a lightmeter sensitive to IR, you could meter through the filter with the meter set to 400. Unfortunately, meters are calibrated to daylight so you have to meter that and compensate.


Steve.
 
Jao said:
Paul looking forward to seeing the results, might fire me up to get out and shoot mine!
Click to expand...

hope to maybe get out next week on my week off if my filter arrives and the weather picks up :-)
 
Well my 52 mm IR720 filer has arrived now from Germany.

Its blacker that a coal miners trousers :-)
 
It will be my first time to expose Rollei infrared 400, 120 format. I am going to use my TLR Rolleiflex. My concern is how am I going to focus using this film. I know it is better to focus without the filter but how am I going to do that. the same way? which is 1/3 of the way? or if I assign to a certain point, will I still adjust the focusing? I remember before when I had the nikon camera with 50mm. with the red dot to compensate after focusing. Please Help!
 
blanconegro8rc said:
It will be my first time to expose Rollei infrared 400, 120 format. I am going to use my TLR Rolleiflex. My concern is how am I going to focus using this film. I know it is better to focus without the filter but how am I going to do that. the same way? which is 1/3 of the way? or if I assign to a certain point, will I still adjust the focusing? I remember before when I had the nikon camera with 50mm. with the red dot to compensate after focusing. Please Help!
Click to expand...
If your using a TLR then you'll have the filter on the taking lens anyway so you can keep the filter mounted (they are pretty much opaque anyway). As long as you use a sufficiently narrow aperture then the depth of field should cover the differences in focus between visible and IR light. Or if you want to use a wide aperture then focus slightly in front of the subject.
 
Great Idea Samuel! Thanks! Hopefully, I'll be able to post results here. :)
 
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