Life Pixel – Olympus E-PL1 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.

---

You will need at least these tools & supplies to follow the Olympus E-PL1 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.

Flip over the rear cover and disconnect marked ribbon cables.

Disconnect marked cables.

Remove marked screws and angle bracket (blue arrow).

Peel off black tape pad.

Remove marked screws and desolder the grounding wire (blue arrow).

Lift out the sensor assembly from the camera body.

Remove marked screws and dust reduction filter springs (blue arrows).

Cut the dust reduction control wires and remove the dust reduction filter.

Remove the metal filter frame.

Remove the infrared blocking filter.

Remove the filter grommet.

Install the double sided self-adhesive filter gasket.

Install the replacement IR filter and gently press into place to activate the pressure sensitive adhesive. Follow the tutorial from step 9 in reverse to reassemble your camera.