I have the opportunity to buy an IR converted Fujifilm XE-1 in excellent condition for £350. Is this a good buy at the price? Anything I should know? (I have owned a 720nm converted Nikon D70 in the past, so I’m not completely without experience). The vendor doesn’t know the wavelength of the filter fitted - is there an obvious way to find it out?
Any thoughts/help welcomed…
I just had a camera converted to full spectrum and it cost about that much for the conversion, shipping, etc. So, by that logic, it's a free camera along with the cost of the conversion! I'm not sure what conversion rates are like around you though, so your mileage may vary.
In terms of testing, I don't know of a good way aside from looking at it and/or shooting and looking at the result. The colour of the filter would give you a decent starting point, if it's black it is probably IR only but shorter wavelengths should result in a colour on the filter being visible to the naked eye. If you have some filters from yellow on down to full infrared you could check to see if putting a filter in front of the lens changes the exposure/colour rendering. If a red filter doesn't have an impact, that would mean the built in filter is stronger than red.
It sounds pretty expensive, I don think that it will take more than an hour to do this. It requires a small desoldering and soldering. Otherwise unscrewing/screwing and dealing with ribbon cables. I am not trying to say it is an easy job and someone with no experience can do this, what surprises me the money is asked for that sort of relatively simple process.
Fujifilm X-E1 DIY Digital Infrared Conversion Tutorial
I'm certainly no expert on the complexity of the task. That said, I'm happy to pay someone else with the expertise, parts, and clean room to do it well.
Of course, that's why there are all sort of specialities and professions. I am merely questioning the cost involved, you dont need a licence for this sort of job, no formal qualification needed, it is a completely unregulated field.
But again it is a supply and demand. A good friend of mine did my Olympus EPL1 conversion free after I tried and could not manage.He is an electronic and electrics engineer. I should start a business to do full IR conversions, it seems to me a good opportunity. He charges £30/hour when he comes to me for repairs/services/installations.