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Dave Groen



Joined: Thu Apr 5th, 2012
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My D800 arrived at Roberts Imaging in Indianapolis IN. It's on the way to me in St. Louis as I write this, in time for my trip to Colorado in June.


Decisions to make:

Keep my D700 (less than 3500 actuations) or sell it?

Convert my D2X to IR? It has been my backup, but I liked the D700 so much that I rarely used the D2X. I converted my D1 and D70 to IR myself, but the D2X is supposedly much more difficult. Lifepixel wants $300 to convert it, parts and labor.

Robert



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I would be concerned about converting the D2x, I am not sure it has the best response because of the sensor, need to check that out.

D2x Can be modded but still check out the response... It's not a common choice. Apparently the D7000 is OK especially good because of the live view, which brings the D3100 into the arena?

$300 sounds a good deal to provide and fit the IR filter, have you tried the other company who do it? I just can't remember their name, will come back on that. Remember to do it right involves calibrating the AF, which will be included.

http://www.maxmax.com/IRCameraConversions.htm

jk



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Well done Dave.
Hope you enjoy the new camera.
I know that Rick Dembrowski might be interested in the D700 but I think he wants a new Nikon.
I might be tempted to get the D700 converted to IR but I think that the D2X might be a better choice as in reality most of the time you dont want to use more than 400ISO for IR.


Still looking for a D800 to buy for myself!!!
None in the shops maybe I need to go back to UK and get one. No gain without pain!!

Robert



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Do NOT be tempted to get the D700 converted.

The D700 and the D3, D3S and D3X have an Infra Red LED which shines through the shutter during the exposure to monitor the shutter speed duration.

If you replace the standard Low Pass Filter (LPF) with one which transmits 720nm you will get fogging and patchy exposure caused by the IR LED. In normal use the LPF stops the IR the LED transmits.

Since then the D7000 has been redesigned using an LED which transmits at a longer wavelength which does not cause a problem for normal 720nm IR photography.

Regarding ISO, a bit higher usable sensitivity could be handy to raise shutter speed and close aperture. That really comes into play with UV because long exposures of up to a second are normal, precluding hand holding.

jk



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Seems like the D7000 is a good camera fro IR conversion.
Also it fits into my underwater housing for my scuba diving.

Maybe when the D7000 is updated I will get a couple for my scuba diving but I still say that for me that the D70 is OK.

Dave Groen



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Robert wrote: I would be concerned about converting the D2x, I am not sure it has the best response because of the sensor, need to check that out.

D2x Can be modded but still check out the response... It's not a common choice.
I called LifePixel and they said the D2x should not be a problem. They also recommended their Super Color IR filter ($50 more, of course). This passes more wavelengths than the standard IR but since you have more of a spectrum with which to work, you can recreate the effect of the standard IR and much more through Photoshop tweaks.
See here: LifePixel Video

I also searched online. The D2x has a very effective IR cut on its AA filter. This is bad if you're just using IR filters on the lens, but should not be an issue if you replace the AA with an IR pass filter. However, Thom Hogan wrote that
Nikon also seems to note that IR blockage is no longer a separate layer in the filter stack, but has been incorporated into the Bayer filtration layer.
This vaguely implies that removing the AA filter will not remove all of the IR filtration.

That said, there were also many posts from happy IR-converted D2x owners.

jk



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Good luck with the D2X conversion Dave.
Nice camera to have as an IR camera.

Robert



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Dave Groen wrote:
Robert wrote: I would be concerned about converting the D2x, I am not sure it has the best response because of the sensor, need to check that out.

D2x Can be modded but still check out the response... It's not a common choice.
I called LifePixel and they said the D2x should not be a problem. They also recommended their Super Color IR filter ($50 more, of course). This passes more wavelengths than the standard IR but since you have more of a spectrum with which to work, you can recreate the effect of the standard IR and much more through Photoshop tweaks.
See here: LifePixel Video

I also searched online. The D2x has a very effective IR cut on its AA filter. This is bad if you're just using IR filters on the lens, but should not be an issue if you replace the AA with an IR pass filter. However, Thom Hogan wrote that
Nikon also seems to note that IR blockage is no longer a separate layer in the filter stack, but has been incorporated into the Bayer filtration layer.
This vaguely implies that removing the AA filter will not remove all of the IR filtration.

That said, there were also many posts from happy IR-converted D2x owners.


Interesting Dave, I only hesitated because I have seen relatively few D2x IR conversions. Better to check than be sorry.

jk



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Looking forward to seeing some IR shots from the D2X in the future.


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