Infrared Travel Camera Kit

I converted a compact fixed-lens camera into an infrared travel camera and built a simple grab-and-go kit around it. In this video, I’ll show what’s in my bag (camera, adapters, filters, grip, and accessories), why I chose the camera, and how I narrowed it down to a small set of filters, including the Kolari IR Chrome, plus one for color infrared and one for monochrome infrared. I’ll also walk through the two biggest quirks—hot spots and distortion—and the quick Lightroom Classic fixes I use to keep editing easy. Finally, I’ll share what worked, what I’d change, and whether I have any regrets after shooting with it.

Kolari Vision Infrared Lens Filter 665 nm

Kolari Vision Infrared Lens Filter 780 nm

Kolari Vision IR Chrome Filter

LifePixel DIY Infrared Conversion

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Transcript for Infrared Travel Camera. Duration: 11:52.

• 0:01 I wanted to build an everyday carry and travel camera kit for infrared photography. I needed a grab and go camera where I wouldn't think about what lens or filters to use. A camera that could sit in my car, grab for a walk, or take on a plane. I wanted it to be compact, easy, and avoid the analysis paralysis
• 0:23 that normally comes with packing my camera bag. This is it. Let's walk through everything in this bag. Camera, filters, adapters, and accessories. And everything that I needed to do to make it work as my infrared travel camera. I'll cover how it changed my editing process. Finally, I'll share my regrets and
• 0:45 learnings for this infrared camera kit.
• 0:49 I wanted this to be a compact camera. It had to be small, maybe even pocketable. It had to have a quality sensor, so at least an APS-C camera. I wanted it to have a fixed, non-removable lens with no zoom.
• 1:07 Some good candidates are the Canon G7X, the Fujifilm X100 series, the Ricoh GR series, and the Sony RX100 series. Any of these might be the right choice for you, but I didn't actually pick one. I selected a camera that I already owned and loved, the Fujifilm X70. This was my first Fujifilm camera, and it
• 1:30 was already my visible light travel camera. I love the compact size, the controls, and the fantastic JPEG images that it produces straight out of camera. This would mean sacrificing my existing travel camera. It would also mean shooting in RAW for color infrared instead of JPEG for visible light.
• 1:51 I also knew that the X70 lens had mild hotspots in infrared. Would I regret converting this camera? Did I select the right camera? When I started this journey, I was originally planning for this to be a monochrome-only infrared camera. I loved the idea of a single-purpose infrared camera.
• 2:11 One lens, one filter, no choices, just shoot. But in the end, I caved in just a little bit. I decided to convert this camera to full spectrum and select a limited number of infrared filters. This way, I could still vary my filter for different subjects and lighting conditions. I also considered doing the conversion myself.
• 2:35 Life Pixel has a do-it-yourself conversion guide for the X70. While the conversion for this camera doesn't require any soldering, I don't have much experience with fine electronics and didn't want to destroy my favorite camera. I opted to send this camera out for a conversion. I added this small filter case and selected four filters that I
• 2:56 would use with this camera, two of which were new to me. With the X70, as well as the other cameras in the X100 series, you can add an affordable adapter that lets you use 49mm lens filters. I have each filter in 49mm exactly so that I don't need to deal with additional rings. First, I selected the Kalari IR Chrome filter.
• 3:19 The IR Chrome is a dual band filter that works with any full spectrum camera and lets you get amazing colors right in camera, without complicated image processing. You can even shoot in JPEG so long as you set a custom white balance before shooting. For my monochrome infrared images, I selected the 780nm filter.
• 3:40 This filter is excellent for capturing infrared light. I was surprised that it also captured the tiniest fraction of red light, which actually allows for a faint blue sky after a color swap while keeping the bright white foliage.
• 3:57 I can shoot in JPEG with an in-camera monochrome profile, or shoot in RAW for the blue skies.
• 4:07 For color infrared images, I selected the 665nm filter. This filter captures red visible and near infrared light. This also allows for a color swap resulting in blue skies and a moderate to light color saturation in the foliage. I've shot many images with 590nm filters and like the look of the
• 4:29 slightly less saturated 665nm filter.
• 4:37 Finally, I added an IR UV cut filter. I will admit that I added this as a safety net, just in case I wasn't happy with the X70 as an infrared camera. I could slap the cut filter on and it would essentially be back to normal. But the reality is that my iPhone has already taken the place of
• 4:56 the X70 as my daily snapshot camera and I just wasn't using it as much anymore. I've barely used the IR UV cut filter.
• 5:08 I have the WCL X70 which is the wide angle conversion lens for the X70 which converts the 18.5mm lens into a 14mm focal length. This adds some flexibility to the kit, however it adds weight and prevents you from using the 49mm lens filters. The wide angle adapter does accept 62mm lens filters, but this
• 5:33 defeats the purpose of having a lightweight kit with minimal choices. I've used this to test larger filters such as the Blue IR, an NDVI filter (I'll do a future video on this filter), however I don't usually carry any 62mm filters in this kit. I picked up this leather grip for the X70 from Etsy.
• 5:54 There are not many grips available for a 10 year old camera. The biggest downside is the lack of an opening for the battery and SD card compartment. The grip needs to be removed anytime I change the battery, so I carry a penny in my bag to turn this screw. So far, it's barely tolerable, but I might
• 6:13 take an X-Acto knife and create my own opening. I've also added extra batteries, a mobile battery charger, a wrist strap, and a spare SD card. It all fits into this case that I already had. I can sling this over my shoulder or stuff it in a carry-on bag when flying. There are two problems that I needed to account for when editing.
• 6:35 Hotspots and distortion. Fortunately, both have an easy fix. The lens on the X70 displays minor but noticeable hotspots in infrared. I created two radial gradient masks in Lightroom Classic to correct these. The Hotspot Fix Large reduces the exposure by 0.3 stops and adjusts the temp by 10 towards the yellow.
• 6:59 The Hotspot Fix Small reduces the exposure by 0.15 stops and adjusts the temperature towards the yellow by 5. This is what it looks like with the masks on and without the masks. Again, with the masks on and without the masks. These two masks effectively eliminate these hotspots, regardless of which filter I'm using.
• 7:22 I've added these masks to a preset and named the preset Import X70. This preset can then be automatically applied to all images when they're imported. In Lightroom Classic, go into Preferences and select the Presets tab.
• 7:40 Under Raw Defaults, check Override Global Settings for Specific Camera. Select your camera model. Under Default, select your preset. I like to use the word "Import" in the preset to make it easier for me to find here. Click the Create Default button. Now on future imports, this preset will automatically be selected
• 8:02 when images from the matching camera are imported. Once you set it up, you won't need to think about it. These hotspot correction masks are so effective that I forget they're even there until I start adding additional masks to an image. The other issue that I needed to address was distortion.
• 8:20 Since I'd been shooting the X70 in JPEG, I'd forgotten just how much distortion this lens had and how it was being automatically corrected in camera. Once I started shooting in RAW, the distortion was obvious. Lightroom Classic doesn't have a lens profile for the X70 to correct distortion.
• 8:39 I had a brief moment of panic, wondering if I'd selected the wrong camera. However, the manual distortion correction in Lightroom Classic worked just fine. First, I found an image of a grid to display on my monitor. I took a photo of the monitor from directly in the center. Then I took this image into Lightroom Classic.
• 9:02 In the Lens Corrections panel, click the Manual tab. Under Distortion, adjust the amount until the lines in the grid are straight. You may also wish to adjust the vignetting settings to correct for any dark corners. Finally, I added these settings to my Import X70 preset and now they are automatically applied to
• 9:23 every image from the X70 when imported. If you use Lightroom Classic, I highly recommend creating import presets for specific cameras. In addition to hotspot and distortion correction, they can be used to apply profiles, set a white or any other setting that you always apply to images from a specific camera.
• 9:45 Do I have any regrets? What would I do differently? While I was worried that the X70 might not be the right camera for this project, I've been very happy with the results. The form factor is still great. Thanks to my import preset, I rarely think about hotspots or distortion. I could easily make a case for using any camera from the X100
• 10:05 series, which would have less distortion. If I didn't already own the X70, I probably would have picked up a used X100, X100S, or X100T. I suspect that many fixed lens cameras from other brands would work just as well. Just make sure they can shoot in RAW format.
• 10:25 I really enjoy having only a small number of filters to pick from, as this simplifies the choices I need to make. I usually pick one filter for the day based on subject and weather and don't change it. I probably don't need the IR UV cut filter. I could have gotten by with just three filters, one dual band, one
• 10:44 for color, and one for monochrome. I love having everything in one bag, pre-packed and ready to go. This eliminates all of the decision making around which lenses and filters to bring. If I want something quick, I grab this kit. The biggest surprise for me was how happy I am with the image quality.
• 11:02 I was worried that a 10 year old camera with a 16 megapixel sensor, pancake lens, hotspots, and distortion would not be able to compete with interchangeable lens cameras or 50 megapixel sensors. But honestly, I've barely noticed. The size, form factor, and shooting experience matter so much more than just megapixels.
• 11:23 Don't get me wrong, I won't be selling my medium format camera anytime soon, but I've certainly been using it less. I might still do a monochrome only infrared camera in the future, but for now, I'm quite happy with the results from this little package. Do you shoot infrared with a fixed lens compact camera?
• 11:40 If so, what does your kit look like? What would you do differently? Let us know in the comments. If you find these videos helpful on your infrared photography journey, like, subscribe, or comment. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks.