Conversion to IR

After a couple of months using the G2 the IR shooting was progressing. Whilst on E-Bay looking for second hand Digital SLR's I came across a listing for a IR conversion of a Nikon D60. I took a look. I had come across these conversions before but had considered them as a expensive luxury, and that I'd just persevere with the filters I already had. 

It didn't take too long before I thought I'd get the conversion. There was one slight problem though, the listing was for a Nikon. I knew that there were a few places out there that did these conversions for Canon DSLR's, as the web was starting to highlight the increase in IR shooting using converted DSLR's. So I contacted the shop that was listing on E-Bay to enquire if they would convert a Canon. 

They did. And it was a similar price to the Nikon conversion.

Now for the tricky bit: Convert my EOS 30D? or look for a cheaper older model of the EOS DSLR range. I had used a EOS 10D before, so I started to see if I could pick one up for a decent price. The 10D is one of the more IR sensitive models, so this seemed a good option. 

I found one pretty easily on E-Bay. It was basically being given away. It had the Err99 fault. This is where the power of the internet helps. A lot. A quick look into the fault code threw up a few possibilities of what it could be, the easiest being dirty lens contacts. I took the chance and bought the faulty 10D. 

It took all of 5 minutes to get it working. Always have a pencil with an eraser on the end handy.

After resolving the fault I send the camera off for the conversion. 

http://www.protechrepairs.co.uk/

These guys are good. I had the 772nm filter conversion performed, which removes the IR blocking filter over the sensor and replaces it with the IR filter. 

And this is what happens after the conversion:

Canon EOS 10D IR 1/45 second @ f8 ISO 100. Shot at 24mm (EF 20-35 f2.8L)

Update: Since posting, the converted 10D has been out on a few trips. The results are inspiring after some basic post shoot processing. As the winter months are now on us, the chance to use the camera may be limited but that doesn't mean it isn't going to make an appearance..

Canon EOS 10D IR 1/125 second @ f8 ISO 200. Shot at 20mm (EF 20-35 f2.8L)