Experience with camera converting companies in Europe?

[ulf]

I am considering getting another camera full spectrum-converted.

 

I wonder if someone here have experiences, bad or good, with companies in Europe that are converting cameras to full spectrum.

Please share your thoughts about made conversions and the service fro the companies.

[bvf]

Is the UK still allowed to call itself part of Europe? If so ...

 

I have had 2 full-spectrum conversions done:

 

1) Canon EOS M, by Protech, http://www.protechre...conversion.html

Were very enthusiastic. Told me about the Nik Collection to process B&W images. I was happy with the service.

 

2) Sony A6000, by Alan Burch, http://www.infraredc...onversions.com/ (he also appears on ebay as "Wightman" - he lives on the Isle of Wight).

Again, very helpful. He persuaded me to avoid converting an EOS M3 because he "noticed there is some Tramline Horizontal banding in the image which is much exaggerated when the camera is converted to IR or Full Spectrum", and suggested I go for the A6000 instead. I took this advice, and have been very pleased with the outcome.

 

If you use these services, make sure you do it before 31/1/2020 - or else you'll have to pay import duty into the EU!

[nfoto]

A member of EU implies the country is European. The opposite conclusion, that not being a member of EU means the country is non-European, is invalid. I do live in a European country myself, and Norway is not in the EU.

[ulf]

I think Bernhard made a sad joke about the present situation, not to be read literally.

I also feel very sad for what happens just now in UK.

That joke also focussed on one of the reasons for my question, that I now realise wasn't that well formulated.

 

Is 31/1/2020 really the sharp date for the cut-off?

I hoped to have some more time before it happens.

 

There has been a terrible mess for handling packages not from inside EU by Post Nord.

I have had several packages lost or retured to the sender.

I don't want that to happen to a converted camera, on its way to be returned to me.

[dabateman]

Enrico recently got a Sony converted. Described here:

http://www.savazzi.net/photography/sony_a7ii_fullspectrum.html

 

Only place I have seen that removes the IR led that causes the dreaded IR shutter monitor problem.

 

[ulf]

Thanks Bernhard for the input.

 

Did you notice any minor defects after the conversion like some dust trapped beside the replacement-window?

[enricosavazzi]

A member of EU implies the country is European. The opposite conclusion, that not being a member of EU means the country is non-European, is invalid. I do live in a European country myself, and Norway is not in the EU.

I think what members in the EU are really asking is whether they are going to pay extra import duties on items shipped from the UK. In my case, for example, from February 1, 2020 I am going to pay a fixed fee of 7€ (regardless of the order value, which rules out very small orders like a packet of screws) plus a 25% surcharge on item price and shipment cost. This means I will have to think thrice before ordering anything from the UK in the future, unless UK sellers will drop their prices and shipment costs by 30%. This also means that UK sellers, to be competitive in the EU market, will have to compete on equal footing with Chinese sellers and their prices (because the UK will no longer have the 0% import fees advantage).

 

Thanks Bernhard for the input.

 

Did you notice any minor defects after the conversion like some dust trapped beside the replacement-window?

The following is not what Ulf is actually asking, but it is good to know.

 

Sony cameras converted to full spectrum by Alan Burch have the built-in UV/IR filter removed and the sensor plane recalibrated. They are not converted by replacing the built-in filter with a UV- and IR-transparent window, so there is no risk of trapped dust. The window of the sensor chip package is exposed to dust and potential scratches after conversion, but this so far has not caused problems for me. Important to note that the sensor chip is not actually "naked", but still sealed behind a thin window that seems to be reasonably hard and resistant to scratches.

[Andy Perrin]

Enrico, or anyone, is there anyone in the US who replaces the NIR LED? At some point if I want to remain with Sony, I am going to have to find someone who does that because the later cameras all have this issue.

[bvf]

Yes, I was making a joke about the sad state this country finds itself in. 31st January is the day the UK leaves the EU. There is then a transition period up to the end of 2020, and I'm not sure what happens during that period: on one website it says "Importantly on the 1st of February 2020 nothing will change for online sellers insofar as selling to the EU goes. This will be the first day of the Transition – a period of time during which all of the current rules stay the same allowing the UK and the EU to negotiate their future relationship and that is due to last until the 31st of December 2020." - so it looks like you should have no difficulty in getting your conversion done in the UK.

 

And no, I have not experienced any problems with trapped dust. I am sure I would have noticed this: because I use focus stacking a lot and any tiny specs become very noticeable lines. One of the reasons I moved from the EOS M to the A6000 is that I sometimes got a bizarre pattern of lines when using focus stacking - something to do with a set of special pixels used by the autofocus system. (I have not experienced any similar problem eith the A6000.)

 

However, I am plagued by dust when using focus stacking - but this is dust getting into the camera when changing lenses. I'm finding it impossible to prevent this orto rectify it - any guidance would be appreciated.

[StephanN]

What about http://www.ultravioletphotography.com/content/index.php/topic/138-sticky-uv-photography-cams-mods-lights-links/ ?

 

Optik Makario did a good job for me with a full-spectrum conversion on a Canon EOS 6D, and IRReCams as well for an IR-conversion (they do offer full-spectrum). Both are very competent with excellent service.

[ulf]

What about http://www.ultraviol...s-lights-links/ ?

 

Optik Makario did a good job for me with a full-spectrum conversion on a Canon EOS 6D, and IRReCams as well for an IR-conversion (they do offer full-spectrum). Both are very competent with excellent service.

 

Thank you Stephan for your feedback.

I am well aware of the stickies and list of converting companies, but the lists do not give feedback or experiences of the result.

[Nisei]

Sony cameras converted to full spectrum by Alan Burch have the built-in UV/IR filter removed and the sensor plane recalibrated.

How important is this recalibration?

I'm thinking about removing the UV/IR filter stack of my A7 myself as I did with my Nex 3-N. This works great and I don't have any focusing problems.