Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

[raichea]

Having almost completely switched to u4/3 from 4/3, I have an E-600 that gets little use. I was thinking of converting it to IR but have not found a service that can offer this. Does anyone know of a company that could do this for a reasonable price?

If not, I guess I may have to sell my remaining 4/3 kit:

E-600
HLD-5
35mm Macro
12-60mm
EC-14
Sigma 70-200mm

Assuming I sell the above, I also have the following (but tempted to hang on to them).
MMF-3
Sigma 105 Macro
Lensbaby Composer

...haven't priced any of these as yet, as hoping the IR conversion might be a goer.

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Hi there Raichea!

A couple of years ago I did my own conversion of an E-420, using a piece of quartz glass to replace the hot mirror so that I could use infra red filters. I did a post at the time showing the conversion here:-

http://e-group.uk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26154

Although a little nerve-wracking it was possible to do this job yourself with a minimum of tools but plenty of care and patience. I would suggest that this might be a possible course of action for you as it gives you an option to use various different types of IR filter. However the downside of a conversion like mine is that by putting a filter on the front of your lens you are forced to use LiveView, but this does mean that you are using contrast AF so there are no focussing issues caused by the PDAF sensor.

By the way, which m43 body do you use, because the sigma 70-200 works brilliantly with my E-M1 and adapter - and is probably my favourite lens. I certainly would never consider selling it!

I seem to remember that in the later comments on my conversion thread there were some links to companies which will do a conversion for you. I hope this is of some help to you (just looked and it's post 38 - a link to Advanced Camera Services).

Cheers,

Ralph.

[Graham_of_Rainham]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Get in touch with MargaretR. She had a camera converted.

http://e-group.uk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36481

[raichea]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Thanks for the feedback... I think I saw those threads some time ago... will check them out again.

Agree about the 70-200 on the EM-1... I've used mine in the same way and it does work very well, but I have the 40-150 and MC-1 so, although it has some extra reach, not sure I'll use it that much.

[raichea]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Forgot to metion, I've previously contacted both Advanced Camera Services and ProTech Repairs.... both have confirmed that they don't/no longer covert Olympus cameras

[raichea]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Umm.. the DIY conversion looks tricky.... the E-600 has IS which can cause problems according to Ralph's write up... not that I'm averse to a bit of hacking. Lifepixel (used by Margaret) only seem to convert mirrorless Olympus cameras (and the E-510). There does seem to be a lack of coversion support for the later members of the E-series

[Graham_of_Rainham]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Ian has a PEN that has been converted to IR.

You could try it out and see if it's really what you want

http://e-group.uk.net/hire/camera_hire_prices.pdf

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Umm.. the DIY conversion looks tricky.... the E-600 has IS which can cause problems according to Ralph's write up... not that I'm averse to a bit of hacking. Lifepixel (used by Margaret) only seem to convert mirrorless Olympus cameras (and the E-510). There does seem to be a lack of coversion support for the later members of the E-series

Hi there Raichea!

I think that if Lifepixel can convert an E-510 they shouldn't have an issue with the E-600, so it might be worth asking them. As for trying it yourself, the issue with IS is that the sensor "floats" so it is more difficult to remove the screws on the SSWF and pry out the clip for the hot mirror without damaging the IS mechanism, however it must be possible as all the PEN cameras have a similar set-up (except the E-P5 which has the 5 axis version).

Cheers,

Ralph.

[MargaretR]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Get in touch with MargaretR. She had a camera converted.

http://e-group.uk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36481

Yes, that was an EM-10, done by LifePixel in Seattle. They did a grand job, but the hassle of exporting/importing body to/from the States was something of a pain. And not exactly cheap. But as Ralph says, worth asking Lifepixel just to know the answer. I went to them because ACS in the UK wasn't interested in tackling a mirrorless, don't know why.

[Ian]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

Forgot to metion, I've previously contacted both Advanced Camera Services and ProTech Repairs.... both have confirmed that they don't/no longer covert Olympus cameras

ACS still has Olympus Pen and Panasonic G-series Micro Four Thirds cameras on their price list. I think ACS did our hire Pen E-PL1 and they did a very good job. The latest OM-Ds may have a more complex and fragile stabilised sensor system that puts them off, but that's only a guess.

Ian

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: Wanted: IR conversion for E-600

ACS still has Olympus Pen and Panasonic G-series Micro Four Thirds cameras on their price list. I think ACS did our hire Pen E-PL1 and they did a very good job. The latest OM-Ds may have a more complex and fragile stabilised sensor system that puts them off, but that's only a guess.

Ian

I think you may have hit the nail on the head there Ian - just looking at the sensor mechanism in my E-M1 it does seem a lot more delicate than the one in my E-PL3, however the E-600 should have something similar to the E-PL1 you had converted, so they may still be able to do it if you email them Raichea.

Cheers,

Ralph.