Lightroom and Super Colour IR
September 8, 2015
I've had a Nikon V1 converted with a 590nm Super Colour IR filter. The rest of this post deals with how to best configure Lightroom to deal with RAW files from this.
By default, RAW files from this camera in Lightroom are set at a white balance of 2000 kelvin and it can't be reduced further. This is a little high for this kind of IR filter, and it restricts the amount of processing that can be done. This can be fixed using the Adobe DNG Profile Editor
First, download the DNG Profile Editor (I found it at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5494) and run it.
Next, go to Lightroom and export an IR RAW file to DNG. This can be done using File / Export / Lightroom Presets / Export to DNG. Open this file into the DNG Profile Editor.
Next, go to the Colour Matrices tab in the Profile Editor, and reduce the white balance calibration. I used -80 for the White Balance and -5 for the tint.
Next, go to Options and name the profile - I used Super Colour IR Nikon V1
Now, use File / Export Profile to export this profile. This will default to the correct location on your system, for me it was C:UsersTimAppDataRoamingAdobeCameraRawCameraProfiles. Click Save.
Quit the DNG Profile Editor (you don't need to save), and restart Lightroom.
In the develop module, you can now select the newly exported profile in the Camera Calibration section at the bottom. Once done, you will have more freedom with the White Balance option in the basic section up the top.
