Life Pixel – Canon DRebel T3i (600D) 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 T3i infrared conversion tutorial:

– Our custom glass infrared filter to replace the hotmirror
– Soldering iron and desoldering wick or desoldering gun
– 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.

Peel up the rubber grip material to expose the screws underneath.

Remove marked screws.

Lift out I/O connectors cover.

Gently lift out and flip down the rear cover – be careful as the rear LCD/button cables are still connected.

Disconnect the 2 marked cables and set rear cover aside.

Disconnect marked cables in red and blue. Disconnect both ends of the cable marked with yellow arrow and set aside.

Remove marked screws, there is one more screw under the cable marked with the yellow arrow. Desolder and set aside the metal shield marked with the blue arrow.

Gently lift up the PCB and move a bit to the right to expose the 3 screws marked with red arrows, remove them. When moving the PCB be gentle as you don’t want to disconnect the cables on the reverse side (approximate location shown with the yellow arrow).

Remove marked screws.

Lift out the retaining clip.

Lift out the outer filter.

Lift out the inner filter.

Be sure that there is no dust on the sensor and the infrared filter then place the IR filter onto the sensor.

Follow the tutorial in reverse 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 and find it objectionable disassemble the camera again, clean the sensor and IR filter until dust free and reassemble.

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