An affordable and easy to use infra red digital camera that uses interchangeable lenses you can hire
Some of you may know that we run a lens, camera, and accessory hire service aimed at Olympus and Panasonic Lumix photographers using Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds DSLRs and compact system cameras. This is part of the Olympus UK E-System User Group community site we operate for Olympus UK. We're pleased to announce an addition to the hire stock of an infra red converted Olympus Pen E-PL1 camera, which we hope will also appeal to photographers not dedicated to Four Thirds or Micro Four Thirds.
(Click on above image for larger view in a new window) Taken by our IR converted Olympus Pen E-PL1 in false colour
A brief search on the internet suggests that the availability of converted near infra red cameras for hire is very limited (we couldn't find any in the UK). It's quite an investment to get a camera converted as a) you need a working camera to start with, and b) the conversion cost is in the region of £300, depending on the camera. You can hire our converted Pen E-PL1 for as little as £49 for a minimum hire period of 3 (whole) days, including VAT, but not delivery.
(Click on above image for larger view in a new window) Converted to black and white
We also believe that a converted compact system camera is the best strategy as converted DSLRs tend to have issues with focusing that make them relatively difficult to use, unless they're used in live view mode - which is the default method used by compact system cameras like the Pen E-PL1.
With the E-PL1 you can record in RAW or JPEG, or both simultaneously. You can even shoot video in infra red. The E-PL1 comes with a standard 14-42mm kit zoom (28-84 equivalent) and our hire service can provide a range of wide angle, telephoto, and macro lenses if required. You can also use adapters to fit literally hundreds of other lenses from dozens of marques, both past and present.
Our camera blocks visible light wavelengths shorter than 720nm, equivalent to a Hoya R72 infra red filter, but without the problem of very long exposures. You can shoot just as if you were using a standard colour Pen E-PL1 camera. As 720nm still lets through a small amount of visible light, the camera works well to produced false colour infra red images, as well as top-class black and white infra red.
If you would like to know more about hiring the infra red Olympus Pen E-PL1, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
And if you would like to know more about infra red photography, see our recent feature tutorial on on infra red photography.
