Ultraviolet? Infrared?

Does anyone know if digital cameras have any sensitivity in
the ultraviolet or infrared ranges? Is there a way (not too
expensive I hope) to take photos beyond the visible light
range and bring this out in false human visible color in the
images?

I'm especially interested in photographing flowers in
ultraviolet. Insects see in the ultraviolet range and flowers
often have markings that are visible to them that are not
visible to humans.

I know could do this with film, but digital is so much simpler
and cheaper, if it can be done.

Thanks.

Alan

In article
<b6b8cb43-7481-4fab-9fd1-10ea2cf129d6.TakeThisOut@i29g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
Alan Meyer <ameyer2.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Does anyone know if digital cameras have any sensitivity in
> the ultraviolet or infrared ranges? Is there a way (not too
> expensive I hope) to take photos beyond the visible light
> range and bring this out in false human visible color in the
> images?
>
> I'm especially interested in photographing flowers in
> ultraviolet. Insects see in the ultraviolet range and flowers
> often have markings that are visible to them that are not
> visible to humans.

most cameras have an infrared cutoff filter on the sensor, since
otherwise it would cause problems with normal photography. older
cameras tend to have weaker filters and are more suitable to infrared
photography. even with the filter still in place, infrared photography
is still possible, however, the exposures tend to be fairly long (1/2
second in bright sunlight, for instance). you'll also want an infrared
filter on the lens to cut out visible light, which for a dslr makes for
interesting times. a company called lifepixel can remove the filter
if you wish to dedicate the camera to infrared or sell you a kit if you
want to do it yourself.

<http://www.lifepixel.com/>
<http://www.naturfotograf.com/UV_IR_rev00.html>