Disassembly of my 30D!

mikezs

mikezs

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So... This was not a fun task!

I converted my 30D to full time infrared by replacing the high pass filter with a visible blocking piece of glass. This meant I had to strip the 30D without assistance and replace the glass myself. I have converted a 300D to infrared before, but that was a walk in the park compared to this!

Anyway, I've finished converting it now. I just need to adjust the focus before I can use my 50/1.8 lens :)

I've written a tutorial on the disassembly on my blog if you want to check it out, but here's some of the pictures:


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Any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)
 
woh... nice guide :)
Are you going to have a focus adjustment guide as well?

Looking forward to seeing the photographs from this.

Thanks!
 
adamadam said:
woh... nice guide :)
Are you going to have a focus adjustment guide as well?
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

Yes, I will make a guide for the focus adjustment. I'm waiting on a set of precision allen keys before I can adjust it (come on Mr Postman!)

I've had a lot of people in the past ask about doing an infrared conversion (because doing it yourself costs about £40 if you have screw drivers, a soldering iron and some glue) and there are no guides online about taking the 30D apart, so I made one :)
 
Mikez, where did you get the glass for your 300d can I ask?
 
Top class sir!, I've ordered some for myself, now I just need to find a friendly glass cutter :)
 
I just phoned my local merchant and asked if they were happy to cut it for me. They were a bit weary, but said they would give it a go.

When I got there the seasoned pro glass cutter came out and said he could cut it at my own risk "for a couple of quid". He cut it into 3 pieces nicely and charged me £1 :)

Had to wet & dry the edges a bit for a perfect fit, but it went really well!
 
Your a braver man than me, thats all I can say :)
 
Yikes, I came out in a cold sweat just looking at that.:eek:
 
cutting glass is actually **** easy, just run a glass cutting knife next to a metal ruler and then apply pressure to both sides (preferably one hanging off the end of the table :P)

granted it might be a little harder with smaller glass but a small hammer with cloth over the end should suffice for sharp pressure

but aye definately brave and something i'd been considering for my d100
 
alexkidd said:
cutting glass is actually **** easy, just run a glass cutting knife next to a metal ruler and then apply pressure to both sides (preferably one hanging off the end of the table :P)

granted it might be a little harder with smaller glass but a small hammer with cloth over the end should suffice for sharp pressure
Click to expand...

I've cut glass before (using a tungsten carbide scribe and pressure) but when you've just shelled out almost £50, and you need it to a 0.3 of a mm correct, you start to doubt your skills.

The camera was "only" £300, and I've converted one before. Just needed something to keep me busy!

Adjusting the focus is proving to be hard without the proper tools (a 1.3mm allen key) but I cant seem to get keys the right size (I bought a set with 1.3mm and it's 1.25mm, also the 1.5mm is 1.46mm. One too big, the other too small)

If anyone has an allen key 1.3mm at it's smallest point and some vernier calipers to check, could I borrow it please? :thumbs::thumbs:
 
Any example pictures taken with the old camera or with the new one if you have the focus sorted?
 
Here is one from the new camera:
IMG_8458.jpg


And from the old one:
CRW_0074.jpg


Both taken directly from the camera without editing (but resized)

Sorry about the quality, but the TP gallery isn't playing nicely with me!

They have a white balance of around 50000K :)
 
Lifepixel have a guide online for DIY Nikon conversions, the likes of the D50, D70/s are fairly straighforward, but some others require soldering etc.

I did my D70s in about 20 minutes, start to finish :) Unfortunately I ended up with a tiny bit of dust under the filter :thinking: and when I stripped it down again I managed to break one of the tiny cables :bonk: Now, Nikon won't sell you any parts like that, so now I'm going to have to strip down another D70 for bits :thumbsdown:
 
That sucks, the only thing on mine is the focus. I added 0.15mm shims to correct the refractive index for focusing, but it's still slightly off!
 
Mine was actually pretty good focus-wise, I'll give it a tiny wee tweak when it's back in operation and get it spot on, but it's dead easy to do, so no great worries :)
 
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