Life Pixel Standard IR Sensor Filter Review

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Introduction

Life Pixel offers 3 different Infrared filters, Standard IR, Enhanced Color IR and Deep BW IR. They also offer Clear sensor filters and Original Low-pass filters. The filters can be delivered to you as a DIY(Do It Yourself) project or you can send the camera to them, and they will do the conversion or replacement for you.
The camera I chose for this review is the Nikon D1X, and the filter I chose was the Standard Infrared Filter. The filter replaces the Stock Low-pass filter that the camera comes with. By removing the Low-pass filter and replacing it with an IR filter, the camera is as sensible to IR as it was for normal photography. The major benefit of this is that you can see through the view finder and easily compose your shots. There is also no need for long exposure times, and no need for a tripod. This is a huge advantage over the standard way of doing Infrared photography. Life Pixel has filters for quite a few cameras. For the complete list check out their web site.

Specifications

Price from: $ 95.00 USD

Manufacturers web site: www.lifepixel.com

Positives

• Ease of use, The camera acts just as it does with standard photography.
• No need for long exposures.
• Can be used handheld.
• Price.(if you do the conversion yourself it costs less then a 77mm IR filter)

Drawbacks

• Camera only works as a Infrared camera. No "normal" shooting is possible. (This is not really a drawback, As you would not convert the camera if you did not want to only shoot IR shots with it)
• Most lenses needs to be compensated for IR, I.e. the lens needs to be set to the infrared mark. This is no different from normal infrared photography tough. If you let Life Pixel do the conversion for you this is not needed if you chose to let them calibrate your camera.

Verdict

This is the biggest breakthrough for Infrared photography for my part. The camera is as sensible to Infrared as it was to "normal" photography. Having the opportunity to see through the lens on all shots without the opaque IR filter in front of the lens is a major plus. You can use the camera as normal, and do hand held IR shots. Although the installing part is fairly easy on the D1X, the biggest problem in doing this conversion yourself is keeping the dust of the sensor and the filter. I spent more than an hour to get the filter completely free of dust. For future conversion I will send the Camera to Life Pixel and let them do it. Letting them calibrate the camera is also a good thing to do, especially if you plan to use long lenses, or lenses without the IR markings. If you are into Infrared photography I highly recommend getting a camera and then convert it to IR.

Alternatives

• Life Pixel Enhanced Color IR. From: $145.00 USD
• Life Pixel Deep BW IR. From: $145.00 USD
• Life Pixel Clear Sensor Filter. From: $95.00 USD
• Go to www.lifepixel.com for prices, and camera compatibility.

Sample Pictures

Camera: Nikon D1x With Life Pixel Standard IR filter.
Files have been converted to .jpg in Photoshop CS3
For more Life Pixel Infrared pictures click here

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