Life Pixel – Fujifilm Finepix S3 Pro DIY Digital Infrared Conversion Tutorial

Disclaimer: This tutorial is intended for experienced professionals and made available to you for informational purposes only. Tampering with your camera will void your manufacturer’s warranty. If you decide to perform the conversion you could damage your camera or be hurt or get killed from the high voltage present – you do so at your own risk, we are not responsible for camera damage or any harm you may suffer or any special or consequential damages. Also, by visiting this site you are legally bound by our Terms of Use Agreement, we highly recommend you read it.

Focus Warning:  Because of the complexity and requirement for specialized precision equipment, advanced training and experience, we do not provide any information regarding focus calibration whatsoever.

The mere act of removing the sensor from within the camera could potentially ruin the original factory calibration and render your camera completely incapable of achieving proper focus. If this happens we will be unable to help you and even the manufacturer may refuse to service your camera. This is very serious stuff folks.

Focus and dust are in fact the most difficult parts of the conversion process. We highly recommend you send your camera in for conversion instead of attempting to do this yourself.

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You will need these tools & supplies to follow the S3 infrared conversion tutorial:

– Our custom glass infrared filter to replace the hotmirror
– Small philips type screwdriver
– Tweezers
– Canned air
– Lens cleaning solution & tissue
– Grounding strap /w current limit resistor

If you prefer not to risk damage to your camera, have us convert it to infrared for you. It would be best to perform the conversion in a well lit area that is as clean and dust free as possible. Wearing a grounding strap will minimize the chance of zapping your camera with static and most likely rendering it dead.

Remove marked screws.

Remove marked screws.

Remove marked screws.

Remove marked screws, lift out and flip over to the right the rear cover. Remove marked cable.

Remove cables marked with red arrows and screws marked with blue arrows.

Remove black plastic shield.

Remove marked screws.

Peel up the copper tape.

Remove marked screws and lift out sensor assembly.

Remove marked screws.

Lift out the hot mirror filter assembly.

Remove the hot mirror filter clip/spring.

Lift out the hot mirror filter.

Place our infrared filter into position, attach the filter clip/spring. Clean the filter and make sure it and the sensor are dust free.

Follow the above instructions backwards to reassemble the camera. Set a custom white balance per our instructions page and take some test shots to make sure there is no dust trapped between the sensor and infrared filter. If you find dust that is objectionable disassemble the camera again, blow off the sensor with canned air (make sure only air and no liquid is coming out by purging and holding it upright) and re cleaning the infrared filter.

If you prefer not to risk damage to your camera, have us convert it for you here.