Montana Ghost Hunter

In a previous post I converted a digital camera to be a infrared digital camera. This allows you to take some very cool photos, and you can utilize ‘night shot’ can capture still images in the dark. To do this, you’ll need a IR light source, the built in flash will be useless.

Various video cameras have night shot IR and I was initially testing the ability of the digital camera to see in the dark using the beam from my video camera. You can purchase various IR illuminators, but I knew there had to be some simple DIY (Do It Yourself) techniques to do this.

After Googling for a bit I found various techniques where you can create a filter for a normal flashlight and create a large IR beam to illuminate a room.  I was able to create a very effective IR illuminator and I’m more than happy to demonstrate how I did it.

The entire project cost around $35 dollars including the purchase of gels and flashlight. I have enough gels to convert several flashlights as well as a few filters for another camera project I’m working on.

Okay, here is what you’ll need to get to convert a flashlight into a IR illuminator:

Flashlight – I used a Brinkmann 6 volt Krypton Lantern. You can purchase this for about $6 at Walmart, etc. I wanted something with a large beam. My goal is to fill a room with IR light.

Congo Blue Gel Lighting Filter (Rosco #382). You can purchase this at B&H here

Red Gel Lighting Filter (Rosco #27). You can purchase this at B&H here

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