Canon Ixus 800IS (SD700 IS) IR conversion done (in 10 min) & initial tests.
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Benjamin Franzmayr
Jul 7, 2013, 7:32:57 AM7/7/13
to plots-i...@googlegroups.com
Hi
I have just joined this group after supporting the Infragram kickstarter project (for the filter only). I was hoping to put this information on the Public Lab website but I've not used Wikis before and can't figure it out (happy for this to go on there if someone else can do it).
Yesterday I removed the IR-block filter from our old Canon Ixus 800 IS and it turned out to be much easier than I expected (instructions below). After removing the filter (referring to some online guides) and re-assembling in about an hour or less, I found a speck on the sensor and so dis-assembled, cleaned the sensor and re-assembled the camera again in 10 minutes.
I tested the camera last night and confirmed that, indeed, it was now sensitive to IR light, being able to illuminate parts of my dark room with our TV remote control. I also discovered that the IRDA port of my laptop lights up every 30 seconds or so. Today I tested the camera in daylight and was able to replicate the visible+IR photos that I've seen around the web where plants were a lighter orange-brownish colour. I had some unexposed developed slide film around from when I was testing IR photography on an un-modified Canon S45 a few years ago so I put that in front of the lens and was able to get nice looking IR-only photos of the backyard looking like it was covered in snow. So it was working.
Issues: I was having trouble focusing with this camera setup. Using no filter, I could focus OK but the portions of the picture with lots of plant foliage looked "fuzzy". I think that the camera was focusing with visible light and that the IR light was considerably out of focus. The camera is not known for low chromatic aberration so I expect that the IR portion is considerably out of focus. I theorise that lenses with low visible light chromatic aberration will also focus best with IR light. When using the slide film in front of the lens, I could not focus properly and many photos came out blurry. Not sure if that was just because I was using imperfect plastic film or whether the camera was having genuine problems focusing in IR light. So I'm not sure if this is a good camera to convert because of this reason, perhaps it'll just be a bit lower resolution than expected.
Anyway, here are the instructions for converting it. Only requires a very small Philips screwdriver:
I followed the great instructions (steps 1-8) from this page to the point of removing the LCD screen:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+Canon+PowerShot+SD700+LCD+screen/5662/1
I actually left the ribbon cables plugged in and just moved the LCD to the right. Only difficulty is that beside the two screws holding the LCD frame in step 7 are two little circles of stamped metal (on the camera frame) that fit into little holes on the LCD frame, preventing it from moving up, so I had to stick a screwdriver in between the two bits of metal before I could move them apart.
This exposes the back plate of the CCD sensor. The next steps of unscrewing the sensor and removing the filter are very similar to those shown in the latter half here:
http://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials/canon-powershot-sd940-ir
or steps 7-9 here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-a-Canon-camera-into-a-Plant-Health-Analyzer-u/?ALLSTEPS
I tried to scrape the epoxy glue off the corners of the back of the sensor but was not getting far and risking cutting myself so I just removed the screws and levered the sensor plate up which broke the glue. The IR-cut filter was just sitting behind the lens (ie in front of the sensor but not attached to it - it stayed beside the lens) with some sort of flexible foam holding it in place so I just had to gently lever it upright and pull it out. Very easy. Re-assembly in reverse. See attached photos for these last steps.
That's it. Hope this helps some people. I've been interested in trying IR photography for years but never well off enough to dedicate an expensive camera to it and afraid that it would be too difficult. Now that older but decent digital cameras (compact and DSLR) are cheaply bought secondhand (or already lying unused in a drawer in your house) I decided to finally go ahead and it turned out to be a piece of cake. Looking forward to using the camera for both IR photography and Infragram/Superblue trials (I work at AgResearch NZ Ltd and will test this for automated phenotyping of plant health in our trial plants).
Regards,
Dr Benjamin Franzmayr
I have just joined this group after supporting the Infragram kickstarter project (for the filter only). I was hoping to put this information on the Public Lab website but I've not used Wikis before and can't figure it out (happy for this to go on there if someone else can do it).
Yesterday I removed the IR-block filter from our old Canon Ixus 800 IS and it turned out to be much easier than I expected (instructions below). After removing the filter (referring to some online guides) and re-assembling in about an hour or less, I found a speck on the sensor and so dis-assembled, cleaned the sensor and re-assembled the camera again in 10 minutes.
I tested the camera last night and confirmed that, indeed, it was now sensitive to IR light, being able to illuminate parts of my dark room with our TV remote control. I also discovered that the IRDA port of my laptop lights up every 30 seconds or so. Today I tested the camera in daylight and was able to replicate the visible+IR photos that I've seen around the web where plants were a lighter orange-brownish colour. I had some unexposed developed slide film around from when I was testing IR photography on an un-modified Canon S45 a few years ago so I put that in front of the lens and was able to get nice looking IR-only photos of the backyard looking like it was covered in snow. So it was working.
Issues: I was having trouble focusing with this camera setup. Using no filter, I could focus OK but the portions of the picture with lots of plant foliage looked "fuzzy". I think that the camera was focusing with visible light and that the IR light was considerably out of focus. The camera is not known for low chromatic aberration so I expect that the IR portion is considerably out of focus. I theorise that lenses with low visible light chromatic aberration will also focus best with IR light. When using the slide film in front of the lens, I could not focus properly and many photos came out blurry. Not sure if that was just because I was using imperfect plastic film or whether the camera was having genuine problems focusing in IR light. So I'm not sure if this is a good camera to convert because of this reason, perhaps it'll just be a bit lower resolution than expected.
Anyway, here are the instructions for converting it. Only requires a very small Philips screwdriver:
I followed the great instructions (steps 1-8) from this page to the point of removing the LCD screen:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+Canon+PowerShot+SD700+LCD+screen/5662/1
I actually left the ribbon cables plugged in and just moved the LCD to the right. Only difficulty is that beside the two screws holding the LCD frame in step 7 are two little circles of stamped metal (on the camera frame) that fit into little holes on the LCD frame, preventing it from moving up, so I had to stick a screwdriver in between the two bits of metal before I could move them apart.
This exposes the back plate of the CCD sensor. The next steps of unscrewing the sensor and removing the filter are very similar to those shown in the latter half here:
http://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials/canon-powershot-sd940-ir
or steps 7-9 here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-a-Canon-camera-into-a-Plant-Health-Analyzer-u/?ALLSTEPS
I tried to scrape the epoxy glue off the corners of the back of the sensor but was not getting far and risking cutting myself so I just removed the screws and levered the sensor plate up which broke the glue. The IR-cut filter was just sitting behind the lens (ie in front of the sensor but not attached to it - it stayed beside the lens) with some sort of flexible foam holding it in place so I just had to gently lever it upright and pull it out. Very easy. Re-assembly in reverse. See attached photos for these last steps.
That's it. Hope this helps some people. I've been interested in trying IR photography for years but never well off enough to dedicate an expensive camera to it and afraid that it would be too difficult. Now that older but decent digital cameras (compact and DSLR) are cheaply bought secondhand (or already lying unused in a drawer in your house) I decided to finally go ahead and it turned out to be a piece of cake. Looking forward to using the camera for both IR photography and Infragram/Superblue trials (I work at AgResearch NZ Ltd and will test this for automated phenotyping of plant health in our trial plants).
Regards,
Dr Benjamin Franzmayr
Liz Barry
Jul 8, 2013, 9:26:02 AM7/8/13
to Benjamin Franzmayr, plots-i...@googlegroups.com
Hi Benjamin,
Great to hear from you!
If you have any trouble with the wiki, myself or one of the organizers would be happy to do a quick call (with optional Skype screensharing) to get you oriented. t would be great for your contributions to infrared photography to get accredited to you by recording them on the website -- the website is our primary means for tracking contributions since all edits and research notes will get accredited to your username.
Liz
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