Nikon D70 IR conversion gone wrong. "This card cannot be used"

Ruthjones · Aug 20, 2015

Hello,

I purchased an old D70 off eBay recently with the plan to convert it to infrared, it was working perfectly beforehand. I undertook this conversion yesterday very carefully, but upon finishing I have a couple of issues.

The main one being the message "This card cannot be used" coming whenever I try to take a shot - the card is registered and capacity is noted on the top display, I have made sure all the ribbons are correctly back into the slots and cleaned any dust from them as well as inside the card slot. (I have used a couple of different CF cards)

The second (smaller) issue is that I cannot use the right cursor button for navigating menus, all the other buttons work - I can live with this despite its frustrations!

If you have any tips about how I could fix this is would be very grateful.

Photo Anonymous · Feb 8, 2018

I ran into the same problem twice!!

You ever found a solution for this?

David Lal · Feb 8, 2018

Photo Anonymous said:
I ran into the same problem twice!!

You ever found a solution for this?

The OP, Ruth Jones, only posted once and that was 3 years ago - so no point in replying to her.

I'm afraid I don't have a solution to your problem. Older DSLRs professionally modified for infrared are so cheap secondhand that I don't think it worth attempting one's own modification. The whole thing is fraught with problems, particularly the need to shim the focussing screen. Then, although cable ribbons may go back onto their connectors OK but who's to say an inner conductor has not been snapped?

My IR camera is a D90 modified for IR at 720nm.

D90; IR hot mirror at 720nm; Nik 16-85mm

I'd be pretty sure you have a connection issue. Check for dry-soldered joints. Good luck with your problem

davesurrey · Feb 9, 2018

David, a beautiful scene.

Excuse my ignorance but when you say 720nm hot mirror do you mean your camera has the usual infrared stopping filter removed from the sensor and you add in place an IR pass from 720nm upwards? Is it added to the sensor or in front of the lens?

David Lal · Feb 9, 2018

davesurrey said:
David, a beautiful scene.

Excuse my ignorance but when you say 720nm hot mirror do you mean your camera has the usual infrared stopping filter removed from the sensor and you add in place an IR pass from 720nm upwards? Is it added to the sensor or in front of the lens?

Dave,

Thank you for your kind remarks. Yes, the bit of glass (antialias filter, call it what you will) that normally sits in front of the sensor is completely removed and then a new bit of glass put in its place. That is the infrared pass filter and I chose 720nm and upwards because I liked the effect but you can have other wavelengths, especially, say 690nm.

So, no, nothing goes in front of the lens.

There can be issues with the thickness of the new bit of glass and also, infrared does not focus at the same point as visible light. So, the camera has to have focus adjustment, sometimes requiring shimming the focus screen.

I am a very 'handy' DIY/home engineer kind of person but I preferred to have somebody with bags of experience and the right tools do all this work, so I bought a ready-made (secondhand though) IR modified D90.

This guy in fact:

Pardon our interruption...

I don't think it's worth converting a camera as old as the D70.

John Michael Winterbourne · Feb 9, 2018

I've been interested in buying a converted camera on and off for several years, so I followed your link and looked at the "other items", and there are a lot of older Nikons on there, including several D50s.

So wondered about why you think the older ones aren't such a good choice?

There have been a few recent threads about how nice the colours are from the CCD sensors* on the D50 and D70 and I wonder if that feeds through to an IR conversion?

* I think that the consensus is that it isn't CCD per se that gives the perceived colour difference, but that the switch to CMOS coincided with a different Colour Filter Array being used? And is the CFA part of what comes off to allow the new IR filter to be added?

Sorry, quite a lot of questions there!

David Lal · Feb 9, 2018

John Michael Winterbourne said:
I've been interested in buying a converted camera on and off for several years, so I followed your link and looked at the "other items", and there are a lot of older Nikons on there, including several D50s.

So wondered about why you think the older ones aren't such a good choice?

There have been a few recent threads about how nice the colours are from the CCD sensors* on the D50 and D70 and I wonder if that feeds through to an IR conversion?

* I think that the consensus is that it isn't CCD per se that gives the perceived colour difference, but that the switch to CMOS coincided with a different Colour Filter Array being used? And is the CFA part of what comes off to allow the new IR filter to be added?

Sorry, quite a lot of questions there!

John, it isn't that I think the images from, say, a IR-converted D70 aren't nice but rather all the reasons that people tend to prefer more modern cameras for conventional photography: bigger and brighter viewfinder, better autofocus, more megapixels therefore more room for cropping, possibly better controls and so on.

I don't know enough about CCD/CMOS colour differences to offer much comment on the rest of your questions

Jonsi · Feb 9, 2018

David Lal said:
Photo Anonymous said:

I ran into the same problem twice!!

You ever found a solution for this?

Click to expand...

The OP, Ruth Jones, only posted once and that was 3 years ago - so no point in replying to her.

I'm afraid I don't have a solution to your problem. Older DSLRs professionally modified for infrared are so cheap secondhand that I don't think it worth attempting one's own modification. The whole thing is fraught with problems, particularly the need to shim the focussing screen. Then, although cable ribbons may go back onto their connectors OK but who's to say an inner conductor has not been snapped?

My IR camera is a D90 modified for IR at 720nm.

D90; IR hot mirror at 720nm; Nik 16-85mm

I'd be pretty sure you have a connection issue. Check for dry-soldered joints. Good luck with your problem

Very nice shot, David.

Hopefully the very active OP won't mind me hijacking their 3 yr old thread, but I am wondering...

If you get bored at anytime this weekend, could you please explain how the the different thicknesses of glass will affect the image? (720nm vs 715nm vs 665nm vs "full spectrum", etc).

And if you can do me a favor... dumb it down as if I'm an idiot. Since... well...

John Michael Winterbourne · Feb 9, 2018

Thanks David. I think I'm going to take the plunge this evening - probably with a converted D50 from the link you provided. A D70s was my first Nikon DSLR, replaced by a D80 - the one I started to get a grip with digital photography. That was sold, but nostalgia made me pick up a replacement a year or so ago. Doesn't see much use, but I'm glad I have it.

But I've never had a D50 so I think it's time I did! Especially as they are the cheapest on offer, presumably for all the valid reasons you mentioned. Still to do some research on the wavelength aspect, though.

Thanks again

John

P.S. Changed my mind about the D50!! I hadn't realised that he offers a conversion service, a snip at £95. So my nostalgia D80 will be on its way to Shoreham by Sea in the very near future.

P.P.S I don't think the OP is going to worry about this thread getting hijacked ;-)

David Lal · Feb 9, 2018

John Michael Winterbourne said:
Still to do some research on the wavelength aspect, though.

John, this is very important - especially if you like IR faux colours, as I do.

An IR-pass filter at around the mid 600 nanometers lets through a lot more (visible) colour information and so it is easier to work with and make colour images. By about 720 nm the amount of visible colour coming through is reduced quite a bit and by the time one gets to the 800s (I think) images are nearly all monochrome and faux colour is not possible.

I chose 720nm because I prefer a somewhat understated final impression. This does mean that one has to work quite a bit harder in postprocessing; not quite swapping all of the red and blue channels; upping saturation, brightness + contrast adjustment and so on and so forth.

I hope you enjoy postprocessing?!

Good luck - I hope you have a lot of fun. That Shoreham guy is a nice person and knows what he's doing.

John Michael Winterbourne · Feb 9, 2018

Thanks again David. I sent him a message a few minutes ago in ebay - it wasn't entirely clear if he does more than one wavelength for a D80, although I'm sure he can.

And no, up until now I have not been very keen on PP, but only because I don't know much about it. Retirement is getting close now, and people are increasingly asking me "what are you going to do?" I now have an answer: I'm finally going to get to grips with Post Processing digital images, so I won't have to think about anything else for a few months. Or perhaps longer....

Signing off for now, but I'll let you know how I get on.

David Lal · Feb 9, 2018

Jonsi said:
Very nice shot, David.

Hopefully the very active OP won't mind me hijacking their 3 yr old thread, but I am wondering...

If you get bored at anytime this weekend, could you please explain how the the different thicknesses of glass will affect the image? (720nm vs 715nm vs 665nm vs "full spectrum", etc).

And if you can do me a favor... dumb it down as if I'm an idiot. Since... well...

Thank you for your kind remarks Jonsi.

Those numbers do not refer to thickness of the glass but rather to the peak wavelength of the light that can get through the IR-pass filter.

See my response to John, above. Starting at around 650nm less and less ordinary visible colour gets through the filter to reach the sensor. Beyond around 800nm all images will be pretty much monochrome. I like 720nm, a compromise.

There is loads of information on the Internet. You might find this site worth a visit:

http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/photo-ir-uv.htm

The Lifepixel site also has a lot f useful information:

https://www.lifepixel.com/introduction

The village green where I live:

D90; Nik 18-35mm. Cherry blossom, village green and then the sea

davesurrey · Feb 9, 2018

David,

Thanks for your reply and also for the valuable link to the IR conversion guy, although he does seem to do just Nikon DSLRs.

I just got a converted Canon Ixus 65 (720nm filter) off eBay for £40 so will have a play with that before I offer up one of my more capable cameras for conversion.

It does look like fun but I take your point that 720nm shots need more PP. Perhaps I should get one converted to 690nm so I can then add a filter to the lens if I want to shoot at 720nm sometime. Best of both worlds.

Lastly can you recommemd a good book on digital IR photography. All I've seen so far either are very waffly or are mostly on the PP side not so much the initial camera work.

Cheers

Dave

John Michael Winterbourne · Feb 10, 2018

David - thanks again - I think I can speak for the three of us you've helped so far, you've been a great mentor.

But also a great tempter - the image in this post is what I will be aspiring to. It did of course make me wonder where it was taken , because it reminded me of some of the landscapes I used to enjoy when I lived in Brighton in the 70s and 80s. So I peeked at your profile, and now I'm feeling a little bit smug, and a bit nostalgic.

David Lal · Feb 10, 2018

John Michael Winterbourne said:
David - thanks again - I think I can speak for the three of us you've helped so far, you've been a great mentor.

But also a great tempter - the image in this post is what I will be aspiring to. It did of course make me wonder where it was taken , because it reminded me of some of the landscapes I used to enjoy when I lived in Brighton in the 70s and 80s. So I peeked at your profile, and now I'm feeling a little bit smug, and a bit nostalgic.

That's a very nice thing for you to have said John. I'm pleased if you like the images but more pleased still if I have given some avenues for others to explore - so thank you.

Had you guessed the cherry blossoms were photographed at the village of East Dean on the Sussex coast?

When you get your modified camera I hope you will have as much fun with it as I have with mine.

DStan · Feb 10, 2018

David Lal said:
John Michael Winterbourne said:

David - thanks again - I think I can speak for the three of us you've helped so far, you've been a great mentor.

But also a great tempter - the image in this post is what I will be aspiring to. It did of course make me wonder where it was taken , because it reminded me of some of the landscapes I used to enjoy when I lived in Brighton in the 70s and 80s. So I peeked at your profile, and now I'm feeling a little bit smug, and a bit nostalgic.

Click to expand...

That's a very nice thing for you to have said John. I'm pleased if you like the images but more pleased still if I have given some avenues for others to explore - so thank you.

Had you guessed the cherry blossoms were photographed at the village of East Dean on the Sussex coast?

When you get your modified camera I hope you will have as much fun with it as I have with mine.

How does Taffie look in IR?

Jonsi · Feb 11, 2018

David Lal said:
Jonsi said:

Very nice shot, David.

Hopefully the very active OP won't mind me hijacking their 3 yr old thread, but I am wondering...

If you get bored at anytime this weekend, could you please explain how the the different thicknesses of glass will affect the image? (720nm vs 715nm vs 665nm vs "full spectrum", etc).

And if you can do me a favor... dumb it down as if I'm an idiot. Since... well...

Click to expand...

Thank you for your kind remarks Jonsi.

Those numbers do not refer to thickness of the glass but rather to the peak wavelength of the light that can get through the IR-pass filter.

See my response to John, above. Starting at around 650nm less and less ordinary visible colour gets through the filter to reach the sensor. Beyond around 800nm all images will be pretty much monochrome. I like 720nm, a compromise.

There is loads of information on the Internet. You might find this site worth a visit:

http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/photo-ir-uv.htm

The Lifepixel site also has a lot f useful information:

https://www.lifepixel.com/introduction

The village green where I live:

D90; Nik 18-35mm. Cherry blossom, village green and then the sea

Sorry to reply so late.

Yes, I did read your other response, and along with this one you have really answered everything. I have done some reading online also, but most of it is a bit too technical and doesn't keep my interest.

IR is something I have been interested in, but never really committed to. I have a D80 sitting in a case somewhere and I see for $200 (US) I can get it converted. Saw some tutorials online, but most involved a glue gun... which only makes me think of the mess I'd make.

I may send it in, not sure yet, but your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again David.

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Nikon D70 IR conversion gone wrong. "This card cannot be used"

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