LifePixel

I just found this site thanks to Barney. Pretty cool use for an old digital camera. I see these infrared photography photos at those art and wine festivals and they always sell for so much money because they look artistic and are difficult to take photos of them. I would enjoy trying my hand at this type of photography but it does appear it is rather pricey to get your camera converted by them. They sell filters for cheap and even give you instructions on doing it yourself. Might just spend a day tearing apart my old camera.

Converted a D800 and the compact flash slot stopped working. Due to travel I was unable to ship it for repairs before the warranty ran out. I had lengthy communication prior to the trip and was NEVER told not to use the camera. Upon my return they said I may have damaged the camera and they wouldn't stand behind the conversion. The SD slot works but the compact flash doesn't. They never offered to even take a look but played a game of trying to blame me for a problem they created. More amazing to me is they never ever tested the cameras functionality prior to returning it to me. I wouldn't go near a company that is so unscrupulous. Keep away. There are other companies doing conversions that don't slam the door on their own faulty workmanship.

I recently purchased a used Nikon D80 for the sole purpose of having it converted to infrared. I sent the camera to lifepixel.com for conversion. The photos the D80 took were great. While changhing from color to black and white the shutter broke, not Life Pixel's fault. I called their office and they said that all I had to do was return the camera and they would check it out. About a week late a fine fellow named Daniel Malkin called me and said they could not repair it. They did, however, tell me they would buy another D80, convert it, and return it for no charge. Great service! So far I have had two other D80s converted and given them as gifts to friends.

Convert your old DSLR to an Infrared camera - I sent in my old Canon 10D and they did a great job of turning it into an IR camera. It only took them a few weeks from the time I sent the camera off to when it was returned to me. If you don't know what an IR photo looks like take a peek at one off their site


Definitely better than selling or giving away an old DSLR, just turn it into an IR camera.

The price tag to convert your camera to an IR camera is fairly steep... $400 for my old canon DSLR. The images however are amazing once they convert it. They calibrate it to a standard 50mm 1.8 lens and if you shoot wider you might want to send in your lens for calibration along with it. I usually shoot stopped down to f11 so it is not a big deal but I have heard of others who shoot at f2.8 and such needing calibration. You could also order the filter and have a local shop do it for you, but these guys do a great job and this is all they do so I would use them over a local shop. I would not recommend the DYI guide unless you are really really good. Nice they provide that though