@@snappiness I did it myself. It's not my main camera, so it was worth the risk. I went full-spectrum. I've modded a few Canon models for astrophotography, so I was pretty confident I would be able to do it.
Infrared focusses slightly differently to the visible spectrum due to the wavelength. Many vintage manual lenses have a small red mark to the side of the focus mark for infrared. When using infrared film you would focus normally and then move the focus point from the normal mark to the infrared mark for accurate focus.
That doesn't matter for mirrorless cameras, as they use the sensor to focus. In this case auto focus was a bit out of wack because of the hot mirror filter he removed, if he would have replaced it with a clear glass, it would autofocus normally (probably because the glass of the original filter and the replacement glass slightly refract the light). But it you don't have LiveView or if you do Analog, you need to adjust the focus as you said.
@@gamingsoups I know lmao Already did it with a canon digicam but it doesn’t support raw so I can’t change white balance post shooting Oh and auto focus is broken and it doesn’t have manual focus That’s why a mirror less is better you have more control
Have you played with CHDK yet? It's an alternative firmware you can load that lets you have full manual control over most Canon point and shoots. Very fun to play with.
@@snappiness I would but unfortunately it’s not supported on the camera I have It’s an ixus 145 or ELPH135 for the American model Edit : nvm I found an alpha firmware I’ll give it a try
"It's really quite beginner friendly!" *shows the naked insides of a camera with wires everywhere" 😂 that was such a good cut. These images are fantastic! I've got a converted Sony that I still haven't been brave enough to try yet. If I can get images half as good as yours I'll be very happy indeed!
As high tech appliances go, this is fairly easy ;) a few screws, easily accessible flex cables and just a single, broad connection to unsolder. I worked (or rather, tried to work) on a few of the Nikon 1 1" system zoom lenses, they often have the issue of a plastic cog in the aperture mechanism breaking, and they're a nightmare compared to this.
@@fricki1997 Yeah, Olympus' internal design and organization is one of the best in the industry. Well, was, anyway 😢 Nikon are infamous for the opposite, or used to be at least.
The Olympus e-pl1 can have this done to it as well. I found one on eBay in the USA last week with a lens and all of the accessories for $75. The lens could sell for more than that alone, so it was a solid deal.
my dyspraxic ass would 100% brick my camera in seconds trying to do this lmao but you *have* made me genuinely consider buying an IR modded camera for the first time... those aerochrome style images are really beautiful! maybe a 10mp era dslr.....
Great video as always! I did this to an EM-5, initially I didn't replace the filter which led to some pretty bad focus issues, so had to disassemble it again to put a clear filter in. From my understanding removing the filter effectively increases the flange distance (and m43 sensors generally have quite thick filters making this more pronounced). If you have a lens that can focus past infinity this shouldn't be an issue. There's a lens rentals article that goes into more detail about it. Highly recommend doing the converstion, IR photography is a ton of fun!
@@danc2014 I don't have a video sorry. But the weather sealing didn't make it too difficult (as long as you're fine not maintaining the weather sealing). The tricky bit was dealing with the IBIS module and the fact that some (fairly minimal) soldering is required.
I bought an epl2 and a 14/2.5 after seeing your short on this, intending to do the IR mod, but after shooting with it for a bit I'm just going to keep it as is. Really killer little camera/lens combo.
I think the focus issue is because IR light focuses at a different point. I used to shoot infrared film many years ago on a fully manual Pentax K1000. The 50mm lens had a little red dot on it which was the infrared focus point. If you were shooting wider than about F8 you had to focus the lens visibly, put your filter on, and then adjust the focus basically with guess work.
Great video, I like the way you operate the camera, very sensitive, unlike some other videos where I had serious concerns about the camera surviving. And you´re fotos are amazing. There is a further option to get a infrared camera without opening the case, I have a Sony DSC f828 which comes with an infrared mode out of the box. You only need a neodym magnet and a filter and you´re ready to go. This also works with some earlier Sony cams. All in all a very affordable option for first timers.
Literally just few days ago I dove deep into infrared coversions and decided to do one myself and now I see you making video about it. What a coincidence. Planning to covert my old Sony RX100 II. If anyone has any experience with it, please let me know.
@@sidmiller8840 Funnily enough I did not convert the RX, but bought a new a6000 and converted that. But I'd like to know how is the RX working for you?
A couple months ago I did this same modification myself on a pen epl-1 and thought I was so unique and cool 😂 it’s super cool to see you do the same thing though it is a fantastic setup for infrared
Great video and lovely photos! I bought an already converted Fujifilm X-M1 a long while back that I've been meaning to make a video on. I LOVE the look of IR photography. Particularly the colour shots. 😍
This video inspired me to try this with my Fujifilm X-T100 and it worked I think. Meaning it’s back up and running after taking the filer out. But I have barely tried it yet. I made mistakes and I think I damaged some screw hole threads, one screw got unusable and I forgot where some of the screws goes, so I ended up with unused screws. This was my first time taking a camera apart, or even any electronics apart. First time dealing with ribbon cables and first time since I was a young kid using a soldering iron. Had to take it super slow so it took many many hours. But the main thing is, this is totally doable on the X-T100! (Just so it’s clear, this is not the expensive overhyped X100v or whatever. It’s a beginner camera from Fujifilm that came out in 2018.)
I've bought an already converted Sony a6000 back in December. Originally I just wanted to just do astro and deep sky with it, but then also got a 550nm and a 720nm filter for it, which resulted in really interesting photos (with the 550, deep blue leaves, which then can be channel swapped to a really interesting turquoise kinda color, or to the "classic" red leaves look).
Started with a Sony Nex 3-N and then converted a Sony A7 to full spectrum. Just got a nice deal on an A7R which I'm going to convert. I don't like doing it but it saves quite a bit of money if you DIY.
@@Hugh_Jundies As the video pointed out, after the conversion the camera had trouble focusing to infinity at wider aperatures. Replacing the glass will eliminate that problem.
I've done a few IR conversions in my time, and the best tool, for money and sanity, is a pencil electric screwdriver like the Xiaomi 24 set. It's super comfortable to use, good torque, charges via USB C, and has a good selection of magnetised heads. Soon you'll be taking everything apart with it.
To add to this, in the high torque setting (there's only two) it gets through screws fastened with Loctite adhesive with ease. That said I'm in a high humidity location so YMMV.
I converted a GF2 a few months ago! I found a website that talked about converting it and included pretty good step by step instructions for disassembly. Good luck!
Yup I used microscope viewing glass that is also the exact thickness of the original hot mirror, cut it to size, and my d70 hasn't lost any function at all
I've converted my old Canon 600d to infrared a couple of weeks ago. Combined with magic lantern, it's really fun to shoot! Also, I use just a generic Orange filter and with a channel swap in Photoshop, I get amazing results. The pictures are on my instagram in my Highlights.
Great video! We astrophotographers do the same process for modifying DSLR/mirror less cameras for astrophotography. There is a small difference where you take out the IR cut filter and take out the 2nd filter and put back the IR cut filter. My first time I actually broke the IR cut filter and now I have an astro modded Canon rebel t5 and an IR canon rebel t5 :D
By second filter are you talking about the bayer CFA? so it's monochrome? That's the next mod I'm going to try. I have a notebook full of the different techniques to try. Any tips?
@@snappiness nopes, not the cfa rather the color balance filter (these are separate on Canon DSLR models while they are glued together on cameras like nikon and Sony). The color balance filter blocks a good amount of a crucial wavelength of light needed for astrophotography. As far as the CFA mod is concerned I was deeply interested but never found the time to try it. Let me know how it goes, I'll be waiting for the video!
@@rayyanimran1557 Oh that's interesting. I wasn't aware that was a thing. Yeah, the CFA seems difficult so I'm going to try a bunch of different things starting from the easiest suggestions to the hardest and see if I can get anything to work. It will be fun because besides some ancient forum posts, there's not a lot of modern attempts I can find well documented, so maybe it will be helpful for others.
This is technically a full spectrum mod as it also allows UV light in, which you could probably get some interesting shots with an IR and visible light filter as well, but some of the replacement glass out there makes it to where it only allows visible and specific IR wavelengths in which works amazingly for astrophotography
Great video! I’ll admit that the part where you let the adjustment shims of the SSWF plate fall off did give me heartburn, though. They’re supposed to be factory-calibrated and each one has to go back to its original post, or you can get alignment issues.
I converted a Lumix GX-1 to full spectrum, following a LifePixel guide, and a replacement clear filter from eBay. It was kind of crappy (rusty hotshoe, most rear buttons don't work) but within budget and I didn't feel bad about risky it for a DIY project. It's fun paired with the Kolari IRchrome filter on the lens.
the olympus colors i love seem to do really well with the infrared info. pleasing i guess i would say. i have an EPL3 and i kinda want to open it to repair the ibis .. but it still works so .. probably I'll just deal for i love the thing. nobody wants the old 12mp olympuses but it's actually my favorite even if not "the best" camera i have.
the best camera to convert to full spectrum is sony nex 3! you DON'T GET focus issues if you remove 3 brass\copper brackets which regulate the sensor focusing distance, which means you dont need to buy additional sensor filters and any e-mount lens will focus to infinity 😉 my first converted camera was nikon 1 j1, and i can use only soviet manual lenses, mounted with 3d printed adapters to focusing to infinity my second converted camera is sony nex 3, which i can use for infrared photography with 18-55 kit lens (sorry for my bad English)
I recently got a full spectrum converted Panasonic GF3 it came with a 14-42mm lens and a 590nm filter but I definitely need that 14mm 2.5 and an ir chrome filter for sure!
save your money, the kolari filter is very expensive, the combo he eludes to in the video is a blue filter and a weak uv/ir cut filter, coupled with a custom white balance. Get them off ebay etc. Or there's a way of doing it with channel swapping in post plus using a yellow 15 filter and a UV filter (I do it this way), but its a bit more involved.
@@theBaron001 Thanks for the recommendations, I have been looking at ways of achieving the same look and done the channel swap method before but I am definitely looking to get the same look SOOC, feels a tad forced to do heavy editing in my opinion.
So the lens that can't reach infinity - did you put the washers back that are between the sensor and the lens mount? If you did, take them back out. That moves the sensor closer to the mount and helps a lot of lenses reach infinity. If that's not enough, you can replace the hot mirror filter with clear glass, but it shouldn't be the same physical thickness - it needs to be the same optical thickness.
Thank you kindly for that comment. It really saved my day. I was converting Olympus E-PL1, with Ifixit and Lifepixel guide, but they didn't mention that washers have unique combination. I noticed diffrent thickness after the fact, so there was no way to know original postion. I found this comment after half hour of googling anxiously, and i worked perfectly. Tested it and and it focuses properly on full zoom range with olympus old kit (14-42mm 3.5-5.6 L ED). No clear glass, only removing hot mirror and these 8 washers.
@@marco4lin the best way to convert your camera is to purchase, from Aliexpress or eBay, replacement glass to replace the IR filter you'll be removing. You can get transparent for full spectrum, 590 nm, or 720 nm. If you get replacement glass, be careful to not drop or lose or mix up the small washers on the four screws that connect the sensor assembly to the lens mount, and put them back in the exact same spots. If you don't buy the replacement glass, remove all the washers and leave them out. Reassemble, and take test photos with a wide angle lens. If your photos are not sharp from left to right and top to bottom, you will need to take it apart again and use a few washers, as few as possible, to tilt the sensor back to being perfectly level with the lens mount. And no matter what you do, without replacement glass, some lenses may just not be able to focus to infinity.
Thanks for replying. What do you say makes complete sense, considering the washers are there for a reason, calibration in factory. But regarding the glass it has to be the exact same thickness of the original I suppose. Looking for it now. Also I assume the autofocus might be the most affected if no glass is installed, but for me I intend to use with manual glasses, 17mm 24mm and 28mm. I assume manual lenses, old in particular, can focus a bit past infinity usually if not wrong.
@@marco4lin the glass must be the same optical thickness, not the same physical thickness. The IR-reflecting hot mirror filter that comes from the factory is quite different than a piece of plain glass. Sourcing the replacement glass from someone who understands this and has already calculated the difference for you is important. Vintage lenses rarely focus past infinity, unless they are very long focal lengths, because they come from the days when lenses and cameras were carefully calibrated in the factory. Modern cameras have very sloppy assembly, so modern lenses (MF or AF) are designed to focus well past infinity. I have an E-PL2 that was improperly converted by someone else, using just a standard piece of Hoya 720nm filter that is the wrong thickness, and every AF lens I have will reach infinity, but not a single MF fisheye lens can reach infinity - the Olympus body cap lens, Samyang, Brightin Star, Cheecar, Meike... wider focal lengths are more likely to have issues than longer focal lengths.
I worked in a 1 hour photo a long time ago. To develop the single use flash cameras we would just pull them apart. The film is wound into the canister as the shots are taken, so once it expended, the film is wound up into the canister ready for processing. Anyway, we would rip the cameras apart to get to the film canister. This would expose the flash circuit. I'd intentionally charge the flash circuit and leave it laying around where someone would have to pick it up. Most of the time, they would shock themselves.
I just did on my E-PL1, it still autofocus after with the 17mm 1.8 (so i'm lucky), there is also a guide step-by-step for the disassembly on ifixit. By the way, I have not de-soldered the 3 cables, I just removed the screws and leaned the glass on the side, then removed the sensor lens. I don't get why they don't suggest this procedure instead, much simpler
Getting shocked from the flash capacitor could be a serious case. Take out the camera battery and let it at least sit for 30 minutes before starting the dissasembly. Capacitors decharge naturaly over time.
Good idea. I've heard even a day or two just to be safe. I'll be doing that next time, along with other more safety precautions. I was an idiot, because I had just played with the flash and then immediately took the camera back apart (I had heard a washer loose in there shaking around). Completely forgot about the capacitor.
@@snappiness I have a tweezer with a resistor across for just that reason. Discharges immediately without any snap, crackle or pop (or risk of detonating your pacemaker).
Advice to anyone disassembling cameras or any electronics - wear gloves, don't touch internal parts (except plastic) with bare hands to avoid oxidation.
You can achieve more or less the same effect as the IRChrome filter much cheaper if you use a UV filter + some Lee Filters 729 scuba blue lighting gel. There are some other (more expensive) methods that have a slightly closer SOOTC look, but this has redder foliage than the IRChrome, at least on my Sony, so it's honestly better imho. Regarding 12mp, it's worth noting that you're not going to really get more resolution out of higher MP cameras, as diffraction affects IR sooner & sharper modern lenses aren't particularly compatible with IR in many cases.
ive been editing some of my photo to aero chrome look lately. this is such an interesting mod for a camera. would like to do this but my hand too shaky for it.
Please try using a yellow fitler + channel swapping for aerochrome like look. After the yellow filter your blue channel is only IR, other channels are their color + IR, so AFAIU all you need to do is subtract IR from those channels and do the swapping.
@8:20 you mentioned a much cheaper option using a combo of filters? Can you share what those are? Im looking for a deeper orange like this! I purchased a Tiffen Blue80A but the oranges it gives are on the washed out side. Thanks for your videos! I enjoy learning more about obscure fun vintage cameras! :D
if you google "IR chrome alternative" you'll see some good threads. I keep meaning to try some out and then report back to people, but haven't had time.
i modded the dsc h50 so the switch for the nighshot now is full spectrum mode with all featusers including manual mode all i did was snip a ribbon cable to a sensor that detects when the glass moves. so now i have 9.1 megapixle full spectrum and normal mode camera was like $80 on ebay it is the exact same mod as the dsc h9 infrared mod someplace on yt.
I still have my old Olympus E-PL2. The colors are simply gorgeous. I also have an E-PM1 .. I’ve been wanting to try this mod on that. Will this process be the same.? I do have a fine tip solder iron. Thank you. 💁🏻♀️💕
So good. I did it with my Nikon j1. Solid hahahaa. Imagine someone do this mod with their A7s hahaha. Better have some manual lenses since the. Infrared focus is much closer. I have the red line infinity focus for infrared in nikkors.
you dont need to select bw for the 850nm effect you should be able to auto white balance and it will go show up in black and white, damn i should to a video on this
Is the future project removing the Bayer layer from the sensor to make it true monochrome? That's what came to my mind when talking "ruining the sensor".
Any chance you’ve tried one of those variable IR filters. I’ve got an IR modded GoPro and was trying the vari IR with it and got questionable results. More experimenting underway.
@@snappiness Modded GoPro is one of my favorite camera platforms since you can mount so many types of lenses on, and I’m a fiend for c mount lenses. The vari IR was a Prime Day deal, but even at full price it’s around $25-30. I have a feeling I might know why it’s so cheap.
So this would mean, that the camera itself doesn't shoot with pictures recoding IR light out of the box, with us just not being able to see them. The camera actually needs a filter for it.
Is there a MFT with a monochrome sensor? I have an OM with several lenses and would love to be able to shoot just B&W with the quality of a Leica Q2 monochrome.
@@snappiness a UV pass filter, which is impossible to find in a sea of uv filters hah. There also exists a filter that blocks visible light but passes UV and IR. It’s used for farming. Hard to find. I think it was called a dual band IR UV pass filter
One of my kids was next to me when I got shocked, I explained what happened, then got up and starting running around pretending I got super powers xD (now that I think of it, that's probably terrible parenting. Now they're gonna want to shock themselves...)
No worries, all of the early Olympus MFT cameras are dirt cheap, and all have a similar sensor arrangement. You could get an E-PL1 or E-PM2 instead, for example.
Snappiness, single handedly proving you don't need expensive cameras to take great shots.
The evidence has been out there for a long time for anyone willing to look ;)
I converted my Canon EOS R to Infrared. No regrets. Love the IR images. Autofocus works, even with a 24-105mm lens.
Wow, you did it yourself or had it done? Thats gotta be a great setup!
@@snappiness I did it myself. It's not my main camera, so it was worth the risk. I went full-spectrum. I've modded a few Canon models for astrophotography, so I was pretty confident I would be able to do it.
@@stew_redman that's awesome, way to go!
@@stew_redman Wow!
I have a spare Canon 6D that is love to try doing this to, I'll have to look for a tutorial
Infrared focusses slightly differently to the visible spectrum due to the wavelength. Many vintage manual lenses have a small red mark to the side of the focus mark for infrared. When using infrared film you would focus normally and then move the focus point from the normal mark to the infrared mark for accurate focus.
That doesn't matter for mirrorless cameras, as they use the sensor to focus. In this case auto focus was a bit out of wack because of the hot mirror filter he removed, if he would have replaced it with a clear glass, it would autofocus normally (probably because the glass of the original filter and the replacement glass slightly refract the light).
But it you don't have LiveView or if you do Analog, you need to adjust the focus as you said.
Props for shouting out Flickr and the reward of hitting the Explore page.
Watch the price skyrocket now lmao
you give them too much credit, you can do this with ant cheap camera
@@gamingsoups I know lmao
Already did it with a canon digicam but it doesn’t support raw so I can’t change white balance post shooting
Oh and auto focus is broken and it doesn’t have manual focus
That’s why a mirror less is better you have more control
Not the way it works.
Have you played with CHDK yet? It's an alternative firmware you can load that lets you have full manual control over most Canon point and shoots. Very fun to play with.
@@snappiness I would but unfortunately it’s not supported on the camera I have
It’s an ixus 145 or ELPH135 for the American model
Edit : nvm I found an alpha firmware
I’ll give it a try
THIS MAN SINGLE-HANDEDLY DESTROYED THE USED CAMERA ECONOMY 😭😭😭
"It's really quite beginner friendly!"
*shows the naked insides of a camera with wires everywhere"
😂 that was such a good cut. These images are fantastic! I've got a converted Sony that I still haven't been brave enough to try yet. If I can get images half as good as yours I'll be very happy indeed!
@@MicroFourNerds I'll be excited to see that!!
As high tech appliances go, this is fairly easy ;) a few screws, easily accessible flex cables and just a single, broad connection to unsolder.
I worked (or rather, tried to work) on a few of the Nikon 1 1" system zoom lenses, they often have the issue of a plastic cog in the aperture mechanism breaking, and they're a nightmare compared to this.
@@fricki1997
Yeah, Olympus' internal design and organization is one of the best in the industry. Well, was, anyway 😢 Nikon are infamous for the opposite, or used to be at least.
Get out there with that Sony....I keep looking at my A7 and thinking...full frame, full spectrum....but for now my NEX-5n will have to do.
It's literally as simple as it gets. If you can unscrew a screw that's all the skill you need. Nothing more involved. Caveman easy
The Olympus e-pl1 can have this done to it as well. I found one on eBay in the USA last week with a lens and all of the accessories for $75. The lens could sell for more than that alone, so it was a solid deal.
my dyspraxic ass would 100% brick my camera in seconds trying to do this lmao but you *have* made me genuinely consider buying an IR modded camera for the first time... those aerochrome style images are really beautiful! maybe a 10mp era dslr.....
I love the Aerochrome look. I might have to start looking for an old Olympus.
it's also super easy on Nikon, Canon and Sony DSLR
Great video as always!
I did this to an EM-5, initially I didn't replace the filter which led to some pretty bad focus issues, so had to disassemble it again to put a clear filter in. From my understanding removing the filter effectively increases the flange distance (and m43 sensors generally have quite thick filters making this more pronounced). If you have a lens that can focus past infinity this shouldn't be an issue.
There's a lens rentals article that goes into more detail about it.
Highly recommend doing the converstion, IR photography is a ton of fun!
Em5 is weather proof. Did you have a removal video to follow. It seems to be more difficult to open.
@@danc2014 I don't have a video sorry. But the weather sealing didn't make it too difficult (as long as you're fine not maintaining the weather sealing).
The tricky bit was dealing with the IBIS module and the fact that some (fairly minimal) soldering is required.
I bought an epl2 and a 14/2.5 after seeing your short on this, intending to do the IR mod, but after shooting with it for a bit I'm just going to keep it as is. Really killer little camera/lens combo.
It is a killer setup - enjoy!
Cheap IR Chrome filter:
Lee 115 (a lighting filter you can buy in sheets) + GRB3.
I've posted these on the ultravioletphotography forums.
I did the same to a Sony Nex3. And also love the results! It's amazing!
That would be a great one to try next!
I think the focus issue is because IR light focuses at a different point. I used to shoot infrared film many years ago on a fully manual Pentax K1000. The 50mm lens had a little red dot on it which was the infrared focus point. If you were shooting wider than about F8 you had to focus the lens visibly, put your filter on, and then adjust the focus basically with guess work.
Agree. And wide angle lenses, and smaller aperture result in large depth of field, making AF less critical.
Great video, I like the way you operate the camera, very sensitive, unlike some other videos where I had serious concerns about the camera surviving. And you´re fotos are amazing. There is a further option to get a infrared camera without opening the case, I have a Sony DSC f828 which comes with an infrared mode out of the box. You only need a neodym magnet and a filter and you´re ready to go. This also works with some earlier Sony cams. All in all a very affordable option for first timers.
Literally just few days ago I dove deep into infrared coversions and decided to do one myself and now I see you making video about it. What a coincidence. Planning to covert my old Sony RX100 II. If anyone has any experience with it, please let me know.
Good luck, that should make for an awesome setup!
I did this conversion to that exact model. It works great! Focus seems reasonable good, images are sharp.
@@sidmiller8840 Funnily enough I did not convert the RX, but bought a new a6000 and converted that.
But I'd like to know how is the RX working for you?
A couple months ago I did this same modification myself on a pen epl-1 and thought I was so unique and cool 😂 it’s super cool to see you do the same thing though it is a fantastic setup for infrared
You are unique and cool!! I am just late to the party, someone else told me about how easy these were to convert.
@@snappiness hahaha all in good fun, but seriously it was such a rewarding thing to successfully convert and get amazing results
Great video and lovely photos! I bought an already converted Fujifilm X-M1 a long while back that I've been meaning to make a video on. I LOVE the look of IR photography. Particularly the colour shots. 😍
This video inspired me to try this with my Fujifilm X-T100 and it worked I think. Meaning it’s back up and running after taking the filer out. But I have barely tried it yet.
I made mistakes and I think I damaged some screw hole threads, one screw got unusable and I forgot where some of the screws goes, so I ended up with unused screws. This was my first time taking a camera apart, or even any electronics apart. First time dealing with ribbon cables and first time since I was a young kid using a soldering iron. Had to take it super slow so it took many many hours. But the main thing is, this is totally doable on the X-T100! (Just so it’s clear, this is not the expensive overhyped X100v or whatever. It’s a beginner camera from Fujifilm that came out in 2018.)
I've bought an already converted Sony a6000 back in December. Originally I just wanted to just do astro and deep sky with it, but then also got a 550nm and a 720nm filter for it, which resulted in really interesting photos (with the 550, deep blue leaves, which then can be channel swapped to a really interesting turquoise kinda color, or to the "classic" red leaves look).
Started with a Sony Nex 3-N and then converted a Sony A7 to full spectrum. Just got a nice deal on an A7R which I'm going to convert. I don't like doing it but it saves quite a bit of money if you DIY.
I highly recommend that if anybody plans to do this that they invest in some glass to replace the filter.
Why is that? What does it do?
@@Hugh_Jundies As the video pointed out, after the conversion the camera had trouble focusing to infinity at wider aperatures. Replacing the glass will eliminate that problem.
I've done a few IR conversions in my time, and the best tool, for money and sanity, is a pencil electric screwdriver like the Xiaomi 24 set. It's super comfortable to use, good torque, charges via USB C, and has a good selection of magnetised heads. Soon you'll be taking everything apart with it.
To add to this, in the high torque setting (there's only two) it gets through screws fastened with Loctite adhesive with ease. That said I'm in a high humidity location so YMMV.
Thanks for the tip!
THX for the share.
I have a Panasonic GF2 and GF3 that I wanted to sell on Ebay, your vid changed my mind and ill will mod one of them.
I converted a GF2 a few months ago! I found a website that talked about converting it and included pretty good step by step instructions for disassembly. Good luck!
@@rumperdumper Ill have a look, thanks!
I just cut a piece of glass and stuffed it into the filter holder of my full spectrum D40X, I now have infinity and auto focus!
Yup I used microscope viewing glass that is also the exact thickness of the original hot mirror, cut it to size, and my d70 hasn't lost any function at all
The original film olympus pen models are also pretty easy to work on, nice to see that the digital ones do too
Beautiful demonstration
Great pics man
Thank you Rob :)
I've converted my old Canon 600d to infrared a couple of weeks ago. Combined with magic lantern, it's really fun to shoot! Also, I use just a generic Orange filter and with a channel swap in Photoshop, I get amazing results. The pictures are on my instagram in my Highlights.
Awesome!
Great video! We astrophotographers do the same process for modifying DSLR/mirror less cameras for astrophotography. There is a small difference where you take out the IR cut filter and take out the 2nd filter and put back the IR cut filter. My first time I actually broke the IR cut filter and now I have an astro modded Canon rebel t5 and an IR canon rebel t5 :D
By second filter are you talking about the bayer CFA? so it's monochrome? That's the next mod I'm going to try. I have a notebook full of the different techniques to try. Any tips?
@@snappiness nopes, not the cfa rather the color balance filter (these are separate on Canon DSLR models while they are glued together on cameras like nikon and Sony). The color balance filter blocks a good amount of a crucial wavelength of light needed for astrophotography.
As far as the CFA mod is concerned I was deeply interested but never found the time to try it. Let me know how it goes, I'll be waiting for the video!
@@rayyanimran1557 Oh that's interesting. I wasn't aware that was a thing.
Yeah, the CFA seems difficult so I'm going to try a bunch of different things starting from the easiest suggestions to the hardest and see if I can get anything to work. It will be fun because besides some ancient forum posts, there's not a lot of modern attempts I can find well documented, so maybe it will be helpful for others.
@@snappiness I have some research piled up from the covid era, if you'd like I can email to you everything I know
@@rayyanimran1557 that would be great! I can compare notes. In case my email isn't listed anymore it's: James.warner@classiccameradatabase.com
This is technically a full spectrum mod as it also allows UV light in, which you could probably get some interesting shots with an IR and visible light filter as well, but some of the replacement glass out there makes it to where it only allows visible and specific IR wavelengths in which works amazingly for astrophotography
Great video! I’ll admit that the part where you let the adjustment shims of the SSWF plate fall off did give me heartburn, though. They’re supposed to be factory-calibrated and each one has to go back to its original post, or you can get alignment issues.
Ohhhh that makes sense, I've heard of that before. Didn't realize what it was while working on it.
Yes. There are 8 under the sensor, in 4 pairs. Maybe that will help someone.
Nicely done! Great images.
Lol, just started converting my first camera for IR photography when you uploaded this video
I converted a Lumix GX-1 to full spectrum, following a LifePixel guide, and a replacement clear filter from eBay. It was kind of crappy (rusty hotshoe, most rear buttons don't work) but within budget and I didn't feel bad about risky it for a DIY project. It's fun paired with the Kolari IRchrome filter on the lens.
where did you get the clear filter ?
I can't wait for the Kolari competition!!
I have one of these in the cupboard. Need a better workspace to pull it apart and try this out
the olympus colors i love seem to do really well with the infrared info. pleasing i guess i would say.
i have an EPL3 and i kinda want to open it to repair the ibis .. but it still works so .. probably I'll just deal for i love the thing. nobody wants the old 12mp olympuses but it's actually my favorite even if not "the best" camera i have.
the best camera to convert to full spectrum is sony nex 3!
you DON'T GET focus issues if you remove 3 brass\copper brackets which regulate the sensor focusing distance, which means you dont need to buy additional sensor filters and any e-mount lens will focus to infinity 😉
my first converted camera was nikon 1 j1, and i can use only soviet manual lenses, mounted with 3d printed adapters to focusing to infinity
my second converted camera is sony nex 3, which i can use for infrared photography with 18-55 kit lens
(sorry for my bad English)
I think all Sony Nex cameras have these little brackets. Also the a6000 definitely has them.
I think the actual term for these is spacers.
@@dominikbessler2507 yes
I recently got a full spectrum converted Panasonic GF3 it came with a 14-42mm lens and a 590nm filter but I definitely need that 14mm 2.5 and an ir chrome filter for sure!
Sweet! Already converted cameras are a smart way to go. There's some great deals out there.
save your money, the kolari filter is very expensive, the combo he eludes to in the video is a blue filter and a weak uv/ir cut filter, coupled with a custom white balance. Get them off ebay etc. Or there's a way of doing it with channel swapping in post plus using a yellow 15 filter and a UV filter (I do it this way), but its a bit more involved.
@@theBaron001 Thanks for the recommendations, I have been looking at ways of achieving the same look and done the channel swap method before but I am definitely looking to get the same look SOOC, feels a tad forced to do heavy editing in my opinion.
Great vid James! Now I'm tempted to take some cameras apart lol
There hasn't been a single person in human history that didn't shock himself while disassembling a camera :D
Holy shit! I have seen so many of your photos reposted in random places and had no idea they were all taken by the same person.
Have you tried UV filters? They are a lot of fun with people, flowers. Some interesting effects!
I haven't but I should!
USE THE ANTISTAT WRIST STRAP!
So the lens that can't reach infinity - did you put the washers back that are between the sensor and the lens mount? If you did, take them back out. That moves the sensor closer to the mount and helps a lot of lenses reach infinity.
If that's not enough, you can replace the hot mirror filter with clear glass, but it shouldn't be the same physical thickness - it needs to be the same optical thickness.
Thank you kindly for that comment. It really saved my day. I was converting Olympus E-PL1, with Ifixit and Lifepixel guide, but they didn't mention that washers have unique combination.
I noticed diffrent thickness after the fact, so there was no way to know original postion. I found this comment after half hour of googling anxiously, and i worked perfectly. Tested it and and it focuses properly on full zoom range with olympus old kit (14-42mm 3.5-5.6 L ED). No clear glass, only removing hot mirror and these 8 washers.
Hi. I am planning to do the same on a pl1, can you be a bit more specific, would help me a lot. Thks
@@marco4lin the best way to convert your camera is to purchase, from Aliexpress or eBay, replacement glass to replace the IR filter you'll be removing. You can get transparent for full spectrum, 590 nm, or 720 nm.
If you get replacement glass, be careful to not drop or lose or mix up the small washers on the four screws that connect the sensor assembly to the lens mount, and put them back in the exact same spots.
If you don't buy the replacement glass, remove all the washers and leave them out. Reassemble, and take test photos with a wide angle lens. If your photos are not sharp from left to right and top to bottom, you will need to take it apart again and use a few washers, as few as possible, to tilt the sensor back to being perfectly level with the lens mount. And no matter what you do, without replacement glass, some lenses may just not be able to focus to infinity.
Thanks for replying. What do you say makes complete sense, considering the washers are there for a reason, calibration in factory. But regarding the glass it has to be the exact same thickness of the original I suppose. Looking for it now. Also I assume the autofocus might be the most affected if no glass is installed, but for me I intend to use with manual glasses, 17mm 24mm and 28mm. I assume manual lenses, old in particular, can focus a bit past infinity usually if not wrong.
@@marco4lin the glass must be the same optical thickness, not the same physical thickness. The IR-reflecting hot mirror filter that comes from the factory is quite different than a piece of plain glass. Sourcing the replacement glass from someone who understands this and has already calculated the difference for you is important.
Vintage lenses rarely focus past infinity, unless they are very long focal lengths, because they come from the days when lenses and cameras were carefully calibrated in the factory. Modern cameras have very sloppy assembly, so modern lenses (MF or AF) are designed to focus well past infinity. I have an E-PL2 that was improperly converted by someone else, using just a standard piece of Hoya 720nm filter that is the wrong thickness, and every AF lens I have will reach infinity, but not a single MF fisheye lens can reach infinity - the Olympus body cap lens, Samyang, Brightin Star, Cheecar, Meike... wider focal lengths are more likely to have issues than longer focal lengths.
I worked in a 1 hour photo a long time ago. To develop the single use flash cameras we would just pull them apart. The film is wound into the canister as the shots are taken, so once it expended, the film is wound up into the canister ready for processing. Anyway, we would rip the cameras apart to get to the film canister. This would expose the flash circuit. I'd intentionally charge the flash circuit and leave it laying around where someone would have to pick it up. Most of the time, they would shock themselves.
menace in the workplace huh?? 😂 for no reason too!!
I love my converted PL-8. Nice to get the optional EVF though since the screen washes out in bright light.
I love the “aerochrome” look but I also love my e-pl2 too much to do this mod to it lol
I just picked up an E-PL1 with the Lumix 14mm f2.5 for a hundred bucks, and was thinking of attempting this, so this is perfect timing for me.
Sweet! Life pixel has a guide for the epl1 as well. Looks really similar
I just did on my E-PL1, it still autofocus after with the 17mm 1.8 (so i'm lucky), there is also a guide step-by-step for the disassembly on ifixit.
By the way, I have not de-soldered the 3 cables, I just removed the screws and leaned the glass on the side, then removed the sensor lens. I don't get why they don't suggest this procedure instead, much simpler
Awesome, thanks!
Getting shocked from the flash capacitor could be a serious case. Take out the camera battery and let it at least sit for 30 minutes before starting the dissasembly. Capacitors decharge naturaly over time.
Good idea. I've heard even a day or two just to be safe. I'll be doing that next time, along with other more safety precautions. I was an idiot, because I had just played with the flash and then immediately took the camera back apart (I had heard a washer loose in there shaking around). Completely forgot about the capacitor.
@@snappiness I have a tweezer with a resistor across for just that reason. Discharges immediately without any snap, crackle or pop (or risk of detonating your pacemaker).
@@snappiness just use a ceramic resistor in the ohm range, much safer and instant. Or use a screwdriver if you like sparks XD
I bricked 2 Lumix GM2s trying this 😅 But I was successful with a ZS1. Using the LifePixel Hypercolor filter for purple vegetation.
Yeah I will pay gladly to get it done this is an advanced + project
Or find one already converted used! Honestly not that much more than this camera cost and would you save you all the hassle.
oh, boy. that reminds me of all the times I disassembled my GRII to perform a very precarious sensor cleaning.
That would be extra intimidating because of the price. But all was well?
@@snappiness it worked! but after a few more times getting dust in the sensor with difficult access to it, I sold the camera, unfortunately.
@@dansuzukiphotography it does get dust in there quite easily
Advice to anyone disassembling cameras or any electronics - wear gloves, don't touch internal parts (except plastic) with bare hands to avoid oxidation.
Good tip
You can achieve more or less the same effect as the IRChrome filter much cheaper if you use a UV filter + some Lee Filters 729 scuba blue lighting gel. There are some other (more expensive) methods that have a slightly closer SOOTC look, but this has redder foliage than the IRChrome, at least on my Sony, so it's honestly better imho.
Regarding 12mp, it's worth noting that you're not going to really get more resolution out of higher MP cameras, as diffraction affects IR sooner & sharper modern lenses aren't particularly compatible with IR in many cases.
ive been editing some of my photo to aero chrome look lately. this is such an interesting mod for a camera. would like to do this but my hand too shaky for it.
Please try using a yellow fitler + channel swapping for aerochrome like look. After the yellow filter your blue channel is only IR, other channels are their color + IR, so AFAIU all you need to do is subtract IR from those channels and do the swapping.
Hey
I'm curious as to what you are saying. Do you mind expound a bit on this? Are talking about in channels in photoshop?
I have an old Olympus E-620 that i have been wondering what to do with... Now I know!
@8:20 you mentioned a much cheaper option using a combo of filters? Can you share what those are? Im looking for a deeper orange like this! I purchased a Tiffen Blue80A but the oranges it gives are on the washed out side. Thanks for your videos! I enjoy learning more about obscure fun vintage cameras! :D
if you google "IR chrome alternative" you'll see some good threads. I keep meaning to try some out and then report back to people, but haven't had time.
i modded the dsc h50 so the switch for the nighshot now is full spectrum mode with all featusers including manual mode
all i did was snip a ribbon cable to a sensor that detects when the glass moves.
so now i have 9.1 megapixle full spectrum and normal mode camera was like $80 on ebay
it is the exact same mod as the dsc h9 infrared mod someplace on yt.
That's awesome, very smart!
It's crazy how the camera price increased a lot right after this video was uploaded.
Great DiY project
I have two E-PL2 bodies still sitting in a shelf. Unfortunately the mode dial failed on both of them :(
Why dont you include the camera details in the description. I
I still have my old Olympus E-PL2. The colors are simply gorgeous.
I also have an E-PM1 .. I’ve been wanting to try this mod on that.
Will this process be the same.? I do have a fine tip solder iron. Thank you. 💁🏻♀️💕
@@Koji-888 I can't say for certain how similar they are on the inside, but I don't think it would be too different.
E-pm1 is related to e-pl3, which is a different sensor range.
So good. I did it with my Nikon j1. Solid hahahaa. Imagine someone do this mod with their A7s hahaha. Better have some manual lenses since the. Infrared focus is much closer. I have the red line infinity focus for infrared in nikkors.
I have taken apart many cameras. Ask me how many i put back together 😁
lol!
Bayer removal coming up? :D
Can this be set up for recording night vision type videos?
Your thumbs are working mysterious way
I really want to get into this, but don't have the equipment. Is there any way to buy a camera that is built for this type of photography?
you dont need to select bw for the 850nm effect you should be able to auto white balance and it will go show up in black and white, damn i should to a video on this
Interesting, maybe it's because this is a cheap filter so probably not accurately 850nm?
Great video. What camera strap is that?
Luckily I was able to get one for just $60 with the 17mm f2.8 lens. steal deal
I'm really curious about that "combo of much cheaper filters" mentioned at 8:17. Can anyone link me?
You can now take photos of some ghost. Haha.
Is the future project removing the Bayer layer from the sensor to make it true monochrome? That's what came to my mind when talking "ruining the sensor".
👍 yes. Going to try some different techniques
@@snappiness that's awesome! Looking forward to it.
is that the ottumwa bridge? @8:16
Yes, that's where I'm at now :)
Which Olympus model was that?
Epl2
Can you use it as just monochrome with this hack
Can you still shoot "normally" (only visible light) if you use an external IR filter? If so, what type of filters should I look for specifically?
Any chance you’ve tried one of those variable IR filters. I’ve got an IR modded GoPro and was trying the vari IR with it and got questionable results. More experimenting underway.
I have not, that sounds interesting. I also have a modded GoPro :) it's very fun.
@@snappiness Modded GoPro is one of my favorite camera platforms since you can mount so many types of lenses on, and I’m a fiend for c mount lenses.
The vari IR was a Prime Day deal, but even at full price it’s around $25-30. I have a feeling I might know why it’s so cheap.
I just grabbed one for $70 in meh cosmetic condition. This sound like a fun weekend project and at worst I'm just $70 short
Good luck! Make sure to follow best practices to discharge the flash so you don't get shocked! (maybe you already do a bunch of this and know)
Can you still focus to infinity with manual focus?
So this would mean, that the camera itself doesn't shoot with pictures recoding IR light out of the box, with us just not being able to see them.
The camera actually needs a filter for it.
Great pics! RAGBRAI?
yeah!
@snappiness, Did you have to re-solder that grounding pad back on? Thanks
Is there a MFT with a monochrome sensor? I have an OM with several lenses and would love to be able to shoot just B&W with the quality of a Leica Q2 monochrome.
Very nice where do I send mine for you to do this ?? lol Thanks very cool
Yikes no way lol I would feel so scared on someone else's camera
it might also capture uv
Gotta try a UV filter sometime
@@snappiness a UV pass filter, which is impossible to find in a sea of uv filters hah.
There also exists a filter that blocks visible light but passes UV and IR. It’s used for farming. Hard to find. I think it was called a dual band IR UV pass filter
About month later and that camera price is “about” 100% more
I ordered 7artisans 25mm for my epl 2, it has yet to come… What do you think about the lens?
as a kid i got shocked probably 50 times playing with cameras flash capcitors , it's not that bad really :D
One of my kids was next to me when I got shocked, I explained what happened, then got up and starting running around pretending I got super powers xD (now that I think of it, that's probably terrible parenting. Now they're gonna want to shock themselves...)
Curious could you convert it to shoot just monochrome like the Leica cameras
that's my next mod attempt (I saved it for second because it's less likely to succeed lol)
Wait, is this a full spectrum camera or only IR-less camera ?
Why is there an edit at approx 4.44?.
NOOO i've been looking into these and now the prices are gonna skyrocket 😔
No worries, all of the early Olympus MFT cameras are dirt cheap, and all have a similar sensor arrangement. You could get an E-PL1 or E-PM2 instead, for example.
@@Ildskalli I wasn't sure if it was specifically this model or not, so that's pretty comforting to know lmao