terri help, PLEASE!!!!!!!

kelox · Mar 6, 2006

I need help with my exposures for HIE. I think that is my problem. I know I know I need to expose a little more that with normal 35mm, but just how long? I am using a Minolta 7000 with no IR filter. The ISO is 400, if I remember correctly. Any help at all would be rewarded with my first true IR pics.

terri · Mar 6, 2006

You'll need to use a #25 red filter, at LEAST, when you're shooting HIE film. You can use #29 and even denser, but I am lazy and prefer the #25 so I can meter TTL with my Pentax ME.

Why would you shoot without a red filter? Remember what it is you are doing: shooting a film that is sensitive to both visible and infrared light. The red filter will block the blue/green light and enhance what it captures of the IR light. The denser your red filter, the more of the blue/green light is blocked and more red/infrared light is allowed through. I find it a nuisance in the field to use more opaque filters; plus, I am pleased with the effects I get at #25, so I've not bothered to go higher (denser).

I set the ISO at 360 with the #25 red filter. I bracket virtually all my shots, +/- 1.

I'm not familiar with your camera; I know I can trust the meter on the Pentax and, with bracketing, I can usually pull good negatives. If you trust your camera's meter, and you can assure yourself that it is "reading" the red filter when you place it on the lens, you should be good to go. For your first couple rolls, you may even want to bracket at half stops each way, and keep an exposure log, until you get the feel for what the camera will do for you. Trust me, I've trashed a lot more than I've saved, but at these settings, I am usually assured of a few decent negatives.