Testing the infrared sensitivity of the Fujifilm FinePix Z2, 16 March 2024

Testing the infrared sensitivity of the Fujifilm FinePix Z2, 16 March 2024

My most recent mystery generic digital camera from CEX turned out to be this lovely little FinePix Z2, a 5MP digicam from 2005. Recent generic digital cameras have been a little disappointing, so to receive a  Fujifilm camera was a nice surprise. 

Of course, what I really wanted to do with this camera was see how it performs with an infrared filter and if I could make some nice digital aerochromes. After several dull days, this afternoon the sky was filled with fluffy clouds.

So I grabbed my little wallet of filters and travel tripod and set off to test the camera on my favourite tree and well. And there I encountered my first problem, there was no tripod thread on the bottom of the camera! As I wanted to make trichromes and aerochromes I really needed to hold the camera steady,  so what was I to do? Fortunately I have a Joby smartphone support that I use with the Gameboy and this was the perfect fit for the Z2, although it was a little difficult to access the controls on the camera.

The images were taken with the camera on program mode, where the camera chose all of the settings, including the infrared filter, red, green and blue filters, to see if I could create a digital aerochrome, one of my favourite exercises. 

The infrared sensitivity of the Z2 was really impressive, and with the Hoya 720nm infrared filter I tried some channel mixing. With the infrared filter held in front of the lens there was a little light leakage and reflection behind the filter which was quite appealing.

Of course, the trichromes and aerochromes came out quite nicely, which is something I really like with these CCD sensors. The design of the camera is a little limiting with regards to modifications, so I'm probably just going to keep the Fujifilm FinePix Z2 as a nicely designed digicam from the noughties. 

#VintageDigital,  #Infrared, #FujiFilm, #InfraredPhotography, #ShotWithHoya, #Landscape, #Nature, #Aerochrome, #Trichrome,