Set the white levels manually, if your camera allows you (refer to the manual on how to do that). Otherwise your pictures will come out red (see picture below).

Generally, the lower the ISO, the less grainy your pictures will be. I was able to obtain good results in very average daylight with an ISO of 100, and a shutter speed of 10 seconds. Obviously, a tripod is required for such pictures.

Crank up the ISO, and in broad daylight you can take pictures with an exposure of less than 1 second.

You will need to experiment with the various settings on your camera. Enjoy!
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mechanolatry says: Sep 5, 2009. 4:20 PM
In regards to the black processed film: when I hold the film up to the light there is a purple-tinted section and a brown-tinted section. Which one should I use? Thanks.
PoppyErn says: Jun 29, 2009. 11:41 PM
Do it once do it this way Use a square photo slide dark side glued to 20mm length tube enabling you to change filter by clicking loose the front of slide make sure slide is square with the camera use dark shiny adhesive tape to cover tube Fast easy good looking Ernie D
PoppyErn says: Jun 28, 2009. 6:42 AM
Do not use a cardboard disk to hold the film use a slide film holder the square ones for a neat square lense color side faces camera then u can change the film if it is scratched i used tazans grip glue make sure the slide is square with the camera body then cover your tube with shiny black adhesive paper Ernie D
DELETED_freewheeler says: Apr 26, 2007. 8:59 AM
(removed by author or community request)
wxb200 in reply to DELETED_freewheelerJun 16, 2009. 9:44 PM
I think by white level, he means White Balance... Mostly all digital SLR cameras have the option to set a custom white balance and to do that, you take a picture of grass with the filter on the camera and set that picture as the white balance reference... Now, only some point and shoot cameras have the option to set a custom white balance... I know that the newer canon and nikon point and shoot cameras have that option... Generally, you'd want to use a low ISO number between 50-400 depending on the camera and the f/stop should be wide, something along the lines of f/3.5-5.0, the only problem with that is the picture may come out blurry...
sam noyoun (author) in reply to DELETED_freewheelerApr 26, 2007. 9:48 AM
neither... Canon cameras have an option to set the white balance manually by pointing the camera at -usually- a white sheet of paper. This ressets the white balance to the default color of the paper.
ugalie7 says: May 26, 2009. 12:03 AM
Can this be used to seek out moisture in roofing systems?
sam noyoun (author) in reply to ugalie7May 27, 2009. 10:21 AM
can't see how
rada194 says: Apr 9, 2009. 7:26 PM
Does This See In The Dark Like night vision goggles
sam noyoun (author) in reply to rada194May 27, 2009. 10:21 AM
nope
akinich says: Mar 30, 2009. 2:37 AM
hey with my camera the light comes purple
sam noyoun (author) in reply to akinichApr 3, 2009. 12:41 PM
see step 9 of the instructable...
goobermeister says: Mar 16, 2009. 9:04 AM
If you add this filter to a PINHOLE style camera, can you make infrared pinhole shots?
JASON300 says: Feb 16, 2009. 9:15 AM
Does this IR filter show true IR or is it just changing the color of the picture like a color lens?
sam noyoun (author) in reply to JASON300Feb 17, 2009. 2:50 PM
nope, it's true IR
JASON300 in reply to sam noyounFeb 18, 2009. 7:37 AM
Cool, I'll give it a go this week end and let you know how it goes. Thanks for replying so quickly.
ELF says: Apr 17, 2007. 4:07 PM
All CCD's (By that I just mean light sensitive integreted circuits, both CMOS and CCD kinds) are very sesitive to IR light, so this is more a measurement of the effectiveness of the IR blocking filter (I think it's also called high pass filter). If you remove this filter and replace it with a piece of this exposed film, you get a great IR camera. I did it with my webcam and my old digital camera :P The IR filter is like a piece of glass, but with a pink "shine" and it casts a greenish shadow... In case you wanna try it out yourself ;) But remember, this involves taking the camera apart, disassembling the lens construction, and exposing the CCD. Don't do it on super compacts, medium/high end point and shoot (and definitely not on dSLR's, they're too expensive...) or on cameras with advanced lens constructions (alot of glass, alot of complexity, alot of problems...)
eidlyn in reply to ELFJan 25, 2009. 10:54 AM
Yes, it is a high pass filter. Since infrared has a low frequency, its grounding out the lower frequencies (i.e. infrared) and allowing the higher frequencies to go through, therefore, high-pass. Anyone know if there is a low pass filter for ultraviolet, or if the glass mechanically removes the UV frequencies?
jimv says: Dec 2, 2008. 5:04 PM
'Take Infrared Pictures With Your Digital Camera' is the kind of procedure I'm looking for, BUT I want to do thermoimmiging to find where my home needs more insulation. This is usually done in the dark or near dark. Is there a way to do this inexpensively?
xtphr99 in reply to jimvJan 23, 2009. 6:14 PM
this is what im interested in too
dogsrcool2me says: Mar 18, 2007. 6:53 PM
I doubt it would be sensitive to see through someones cloths.
mazeka.14 in reply to dogsrcool2meJan 23, 2009. 5:34 PM
i only wish...
mikeybhang in reply to dogsrcool2meMar 22, 2007. 6:59 PM
Seeing thru people's clothes= not realisitic.
IR is just light, not anything magic. It's just a colour you don't see.
The military have IR gear that sees heat, and could conceivably show outlines of a person's body through their clothes, but that's a totally different band of light than the Near-Infrared [e.g. near to the visible band] that video, digicams, and IR sensitive photographic film, etc., see. I can look up the article I wrote on the subject a while ago and get numbers for you if you want.
sam noyoun (author) in reply to mikeybhangMar 22, 2007. 9:26 PM
If you think it's not realistic, then you should look up why they had to make changes to the early Sony nightshot digital handycams. There was a similar filter sold in Japan for mobile phone cameras that had to be taken off the market due to public complaints, too.
mazeka.14 in reply to sam noyounJan 23, 2009. 5:35 PM
where can i get one of those filters?? the black market? ebay?
pork_belly108 in reply to mazeka.14Oct 14, 2009. 1:39 AM
lol, black market
mikeybhang in reply to sam noyounDec 2, 2007. 2:45 PM
sam noyoun (author) in reply to mikeybhangDec 2, 2007. 9:34 PM
I don't think so... Here's a hint of it in the article: "...Sony modified the infrared transmitters on new cameras to remove even the remotest possibility of intrusive videotaping". As I wrote, the early nightshot cameras were reputed for their ability to see through clothes, and the cameras had to be modified by Sony in order to prevent that.
deth2all in reply to sam noyounApr 6, 2008. 9:23 PM
i modified my webcam this way, but i also removed the red glass ir filter on the camera, and during the day you can see through thin shirts.
sam noyoun (author) in reply to dogsrcool2meMar 22, 2007. 9:33 AM
In certain conditions, it will. I'm not going to go into this here; there's enough info on the subject on the interweb as it is...
mazeka.14 in reply to sam noyounJan 23, 2009. 5:37 PM
make an instructable on how to make a clothing(as in see through clothing) vision lens
Aeshir in reply to sam noyounMar 22, 2007. 4:56 PM
Lmao....learn something new every day.
Marcos says: Apr 14, 2008. 11:09 AM
I'm working on a project that involves heat, and I'd like to get an idea of where the hot and cold spots are. I did a quick test with this method, and heat does not seem to register one way or the other. Is it a different wavelength than light?
sam noyoun (author) in reply to MarcosApr 14, 2008. 2:10 PM
yea, this captures near-infrared light, whereas heat would register as far-infrared.
mazeka.14 in reply to sam noyounJan 23, 2009. 5:34 PM
do you know how to make a far infrared lens??
Fasteners says: Jan 19, 2009. 9:18 AM
AWESOME
dog are the best says: Oct 2, 2008. 6:06 AM
I hope they bring out a night vision only camera
frikkie in reply to dog are the bestNov 29, 2008. 12:01 AM
Why not just build yourself a HUGE infrared led spotlight.Then you can see in the dark with the camera.
superquack11 says: Nov 20, 2008. 6:52 PM
i cant find the black part can i use four pieces of unexposed film instead?
get to da parakeet says: Oct 29, 2008. 7:18 PM
whats the point? i am not being mean just asking cause i curious
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