Can the Ax take IR pictures?
Technically yes with the help of an IR pass filter like the Hoya R72. But the Ax series, like the vast majority of digicams, has a very strong IR block filter in front of the CCD. So in order to take IR shots you are forced to use very long shutter times and this limits the usefulness. Also the IR block filter tends to generate a “hot spot” in the middle of the frame that reduces the image quality even further. So if you just like to experiment with IR, then you can definitely do that, but you won’t really be able to take high quality images. The original Minolta D7 is one of the few cameras (together with several Sony digicams) that have a weak IR cut filter or that can move it out of the way on request, and therefore can produce high quality IR images. Your other option would be to “hack” into the camera to remove the filter, but if you are serious about IR work a much cheaper and less risky option is to look for a second hand D7 or Sony 7×7.
