Optically Pure Heat Shield

[Peter Matthes]

I have seen some beautiful work by Mitch Martinez and Chase Jarvis that involved positioning the camera close to extreme heat sources. In their case, it was glass blowing.

Do any of you know of a heat shield option that will protect the camera and lens from this type of extreme heat ... while still providing an optically pure pass-through that will not take away from the camera's image.

 

[Bill Anderson]

One thing to consider is mounting an oversized filter on a large-ish heat proofed board: basically a board with a hole cut in it for the filter. Or mount the camera inside a similar styled box; like an underwater housing for heat.

 

[Mike 'Fireman' Ross]

Very interesting topic, as I shoot volcanic eruptions, including getting up close & personal with lava.

I haven't had a problem shooting for short periods with 'naked' DSLR equipment. I'll be working more slowly with RED, and will be using a proximity suit for myself. I'll be building a proximity suit for the RED, so so watch this space!

As regards the specific question... you might have to have something made if you want to shoot *through* it, and if it you want it to reflect as much heat as possible it should be gold-plated. That's what we use for the vizors of proximity helmets, but of course they're not optically flat:

A gold-plated filter or optical flat would be the way to go, but you may not find it necessary.

As for protecting the rest of the camera, again it's radiant heat you need to protect from, so an aluminised shroud or shield is the way to go.

Mike

 

[Mike Prevette]

The Chase Jarvis glass blowing stuff was actually shot by Chris Bell, he hangs out here every now and then.