IR Conversion of Nikon D70/D70s... good/bad experiences?

Hi. I'm considering having my D70s modified this summer. Several businesses offer the "service," but I

was unable to find much information on the satisfaction, or problems, people have experienced with a

particular business. I would appreciate it if people would share their observations. Thanks.

I had my Nikon D70 converted by Nikon Canada, and they did a wonderful job. Details about the conversion and using the camera can be found at http://www.evolvingbeauty.com/general/tech/infra-red.htm

If you attempt to do your own, it would take about 5-10 minutes tops.

 

But.. make sure your screw drivers are earthed, do not wear any cloths that create a lot of static electricity and never ever attempt to do it sitting on an wooden floor.

 

It cost me about 400 Euros to share these tips with you.

Vivek. Sorry to hear about your unexpected expense. What happened then? I would prefer

to have someone else do it. My home is just too dusty.

It is a modular unit. The CCD pack (foreground highlighted) is easy to dis-assemble.

 

The connections (only two) that needs to be temporary unplugged are a bit tricky to plug back in. The cable highlighted in Orange did not fit in properly and (without knowing that) I powered back the camera. It did not recognise the CCD unit (everything else functioned at this point). Further dis-assembly and assembly wrecked the whole unit and the camera was D E A D.

 

Interestingly, for the I was more disappointed that I did not have a working camera than the failed DIY work. Costly discovery!

 

BTW, I wouldn't worry about the dust. Least of the concerns!<div></div>

Vivek. And what about this "wood floor" business? because it's a poor electrical conductor?

(or did you drop something?)

 

I am tempted to do it myself.

Didn't drop anything, Johnny. You need a good conductor surface to sink all the static current. Wood is an insulater.

 

As I warned, redoing the cable connections (only two and the second at the bottom- not highlighted- is the even worse!)is tricky and there is no way of knowing if it was all properly done before powering up the whole unit.

 

Good luck!!

Could/Would anyone offer an opinion of any of the businesses that would do the conversion

for me? Thanks.

I just shipped my D70 to LifePixel this week. $266 total cost. If you have a couple weeks to wait, I'll be happy to share my experience and results.

Hello,

 

LifePixel is fine...he did my conversion of a refurbished D50. There is also a fellow in California who does the same conversion for about $200...info about the latter person can be found on the Ken Rockwell site. And, about a month ago, there was also some discussion about him here. If you do a search...Vivek would remember best, so if you cannot find him, you might send Vivek an email.

 

Meanwhile, a recent quasi-color infra-red photo of the forest near the Bronx River here near my home in NYC.

 

rdc/nyc<div></div>

Here is a B/W infra-red of the Bronx River. The "shrub" (actually a stout perennial herb) in the foreground is Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) - quite a noxious, invasive species that covers large sections of several NYC Parks (see also the Ramble in Central Park). It is lovely in infra-red though.

 

Best Wishes from NYC.

 

rdc<div></div>

The person Robert refers to to is Jim Chen.

 

http://www.jimchenphoto.com/digitalinfrared.html

Thanks to everyone for the information.