Hey Doc

Infrared photography caught my attention many years ago but due to the hassle that came with the technique, like the use of special film, special handling and post processing that kept my interest pretty low. It wasn't that long ago, film was the only media for photography. The digital camera revolutionized the whole industry in just 15 years. I bought my first digital camera, a Nikon D100, four years ago. I have never looked back since. The biggest advantage over the film camera, is the instance feedback of the photo you have just took. No more waiting for finish the roll and the time returning from the processing lab. Digital camera also brought back my interest of IR photography. I took my first digital IR photo with my D100 fitted with a Kodak 89B IR pass filter. The result was amazing but it is still cumbersome because of the long exposure time that is needed. Using a tripod is a must. Then, I discovered a company that will convert a normal digital camera to an IR dedicated camera. I sent my Canon G5 in for the conversion hoping that I can shoot it handheld like the ad said. I loved that part of the change but came with a strange problem, the focusing. Somehow the auto focus is off at the wide angle setting. It is still usable by switching to manual focus but it has lost the ease of use capability I was looking for. Until Fujifilm came out with their S3 Pro UVIR model. A camera is designed for UV and IR use in mind. Because of the price of that camera, I can only drool over it.
God helps the person with patients. February of this year, Fujifilm announced a cheaper version of the special UVIR camera, IS-1, design based on the body of their Finepix S9100. I got my hands on one in May. There are still many areas I haven't explore but so far I am loving it.
Check it out.