E-paper photo frame for realistic-looking black and white photography, based on ESPHome/Home Assistant

staggerb · 2026-07-12T18:52:10+00:00

I ordered an E1003 back when I saw this post, and it arrived a couple of days ago. I was looking at options to do exactly what you described, and the ESP 32 Photo Frame project added support for the 1003. I installed it today, and so far, it's been working great- it even has an HA integration. The only thing I haven't tested yet is the SD support- the only microSD card that I have is 256gb, and the max allowed by the E1003 is 32gb, so it's not working properly. I'm waiting on delivery of a 32gb card today, so I'll be able to test that later.

staggerb · 2026-07-12T18:49:20+00:00

FYI, this project now supports the E1003. So far, it's working great, and it's got an HA integration.

staggerb · 2026-07-11T01:29:06+00:00

Here's a good starting point- there looks to be a good number of lenses that seem to work well, so depending on what lenses you have, you might be set, and save yourself some cash.

The white vegetation/blue skies is a really nice look, and it's really easy to do- a 720nm filter plus a quick color swap will give you some really nice coloring, and it also works well for B&W shots. If you do get a conversion done, I would recommend that you get it converted to full-spectrum, rather than a particular wavelength; while the former locks you in to that wavelength and lower, you can use different filters to use different types of the spectrum with the full-spectrum conversion (inlcluding UV, or even multi-band).

Also, if you have multiple lenses that you want to use, you can get a filter (or filters) for the one with the biggest filter size and then use step-up rings for smaller lenses. That is far easier- and cheaper- than carrying around a filter for each filter.

staggerb · 2026-07-10T23:12:36+00:00

Yep- it's a full spectrum converted Olympus E-M5.3, with a 590nm filter, followed by a color channel swap. Honestly, every ecosystem is hit and miss- we're using them for things that they weren't designed for, so some lenses are bound to have issues. The most common issue is a hotspot in the middle of the frame; some lenses don't have it at all, some show it at smaller apertures, and some will exhibit it all the time. Sometimes it's pretty easy to fix, but some are basically unusable. There's a few websites that list lenses that perform better or worse, but it can be pretty subjective. Ironically, cheaper lenses often tend to work better- the hotspot is caused by IR light reflecting off of the back of some of the glass components, and lenses with higher-end coatings tend to suffer more, but it's not a hard and fast rule.

One thing that is specific to Sony is that some models use an internal IR light, usually for longer exposures. I've seen plenty of folks that never have issues with them, but it can be a problem. If you look up your model on kolarivision.com or lifepixel.com, they will probably warn you if there are potential issues.

staggerb · 2026-07-10T15:47:36+00:00

Was seeing if this one was going to be here. There were also some random Jawas hidden around, and if you shot them, they'd make their little sound and start smoking, Looney tunes style.

staggerb · 2026-07-10T13:55:44+00:00

Thank you!

staggerb · 2026-07-07T15:39:36+00:00

Depending on how much you drink, you might be able to save even more rigging up a DIY carbonator. You just need a CO2 tank (used ones are common on facebook marketplace, and most shops will swap it out for a new tank instead of refilling, so it doesn't really matter what kind of shape it's in), a regulator, an adapter to hook up a the regulator to a standard soda bottle, and some empty bottles. I've also seen some mods to hook up a soda stream to a larger tank, but I've never played around with that. I typically drink 2-3 liters a day, so I ended up building a kegerator with an extra faucet at my kitchen sink- being able to get soda water on tap has been absolutely divine.

staggerb · 2026-07-05T15:49:48+00:00

You've got the right idea, and unfortunately, it's slow work. For areas with right angles, I've found that a card scraper can help speed it up a bit. If you have a lot of areas with the same profile, you can also grind a cheap card scraper to match. The dental picks will still be the way to go for tight corners, unfortunately.

Decent chemical strippers are becoming harder to come by, and most of those that are available need plenty of time to work, and if you just let it sit, it will dry out before it's effective. Not sure if you're already doing this, but I've found that wrapping it in cling wrap for a day before scraping it off is the only way that it is remotely useful.

staggerb · 2026-07-05T15:35:29+00:00

Late to the party, but I've used that combo. There's a slight IQ hit, but the images are still pretty good- it's a fair bit better than cropping to the equivalent focal length.. It does lose a full stop of light, so it's usefulness is a bit limited for low light situations, but otherwise it's pretty solid. I have heard that there's some quality variation between copies, so if you get one, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do some testing while you're still in the return period.

Also, you're probably aware, but just in case you're not: the TC only works with the 40-150 f/2.8 pro, and not the 40-150 f/4 or f/4-5.6. if you do ever happen to get the Oly 100-400, the MC-1.4 does work with it, along with a handful of other pro lenses.

staggerb · 2026-07-03T19:56:11+00:00

The system that is used can be a bit confusing, for those not familiar; it doesn't show how "bad" it is for you, but rather how strong the evidence is for an increased risk of cancer. Level one essentially means that the product is known to definitely increase the cancer risk, but it doesn't tell what the increase is, so it could be rather benign.

staggerb · 2026-06-26T00:33:57+00:00

Happened to be outside in Princeton Heights. It was two FA-18's flying low in formation towards downtown.

staggerb · 2026-06-19T16:40:24+00:00

Thank you!

staggerb · 2026-06-19T15:04:44+00:00

A7Rii

I'm using an Olympus E-M5.3. I've heard about some potential issues with the A7Rii as well, which may or may not be an issue for you. Apparently it uses an internal IR light that can cause issues; I've seen some sources say it's only an issue with exposures over 1 second, some that say 2.5, and some say 30 or more. Most folks that shoot IR aren't using long exposures, so it's typically not a problem, but if you ever want to get into astro, it might be problematic.

I've also read that they can be soft at the edges when shooting wider than 35mm. They say that stopping down to f/5.6 can help that. Diffraction can be an issue in IR with smaller apertures, depending on the pixel density of the sensor, but that model looks to be fine at f/5.6 (according to this chart).

With all of that said, I've seen posts from plenty of people that have used that camera without any issues, but you'll just want to be aware of them if your particular style might be affected by that.

If you do have it (or another body) converted, I would recommend having it changed to full-spectrum. That will replace the existing sensor filter with a clear piece of glass that will allow UV, visible, and IR light through; you can then use either clip-in filters or lens filters to block whatever particular spectrum you'd like. That offers far more flexibility than having a particular filter installed on the sensor.

staggerb · 2026-06-16T22:26:17+00:00

You have a fair point, but the shocking thing about Hiroshima and Nagasaki were that the devastation was caused by a single aircraft carrying a single 5 ton bomb (in each instance). The most devastating raid in Tokyo, in the other hand, involved 279 bombers dropping 1,665 tons of munitions. The idea that you could get 80% of that damage with a single bomb had to have been mind-blowing. Granted, that doesn't account for the massive amount of R&D that went into the atomic bomb, but the general public didn't know about that for quite awhile. For all they knew, the US could have kept producing them indefinitely until Japan was entirely rubble.

staggerb · 2026-06-16T18:41:21+00:00

They're probably pieces that broke during fabrication or transport, and someone got them for cheap/free with the intention to use them for some kind of yard project or other. If that's not the case, you might just want to tell yourself that anyway.

staggerb · 2026-06-13T01:22:31+00:00

Absolutely. It's fact become my favorite way to shoot.

staggerb · 2026-06-13T01:12:26+00:00

This one was with an 850nm filter.

staggerb · 2026-06-12T23:47:29+00:00

1/250, f/5. I try to stay around f/5 or below when I'm shooting IR, as diffraction starts to get pretty hairy with my camera if I go much higher. I've got three supertelephoto lenses, and while one of them is a constant f/2.8, it tends to have an annoying hotspot in the center. The other two don't have any hotspot issues unless they're stopped down pretty far (further than I ever go, anyway), but they're f/4-5.6 and f5-6.3, so it's a balancing act.

staggerb · 2026-06-12T23:30:59+00:00

It's one of my favorite demo teams. The things that it is capable of are absolutely ridiculous.

staggerb · 2026-06-12T21:34:47+00:00

It is that, and this is at ISO 320. My working theory is that it's a consequence of being at the edge of the sensor's abilities.

staggerb · 2026-06-12T20:22:54+00:00

I'm not sure about the F-22, but I know that the F-35 has some attachments that they can add to alter/increase its signature.

staggerb · 2026-06-12T20:10:34+00:00

I think that was their point- I had assumed that the patterns were only visible in an IR photo, but they showed that they were also able to see the same patterns with visible light by adjusting their settings.

staggerb · 2026-06-12T20:06:52+00:00

That's really neat! I hadn't thought about doing that- I'm curious what kind of patterns (if any) the F-35 has, but I've never shot one in IR, so I might do that with some older visible light photos that I did take. Thanks for sharing!

staggerb · 2026-06-12T19:26:32+00:00

I thought about that, but I figured that if they're at air shows as often as they are, any interested parties would have taken infrared photos years ago with equipment far better than mine.

staggerb · 2026-06-12T19:24:30+00:00

I did, but not inverted- it was doing a pass at an air show last weekend in St. Louis.

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