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Minolta Dimage 7x modding

Be sure to read my modding disclaimer here before proceeding.

On the following pages I'll document the disassembly of a Dimage D7. Besides the obvious process, I'll show you how to convert the D7 to an infrared-seeing D7IR. This should also apply to the D7i and D7hi.

Postprocessing shots with the D7x

My Minolta D7IR gallery

In March 2005 I received the first note of a successful conversion by one of my readers:

I am a keen infrared photographer and have been using a Minolta S304 which
is quite sensitive to IR without any modification. I use an 87C filter and
get good results. I have also used a Minolta Dimage 7i for visible work.
Recently I acquired a Canon 10D so that left the 7i surplus so I thought I
would have a go at your modification. The instructions for disassembling the
camera are clear and correct but I have noted a couple of things.

At first I tried relatively thin glass (>2mm thick) over the CCD. This left
the Camera short sighted (Infinity at about 5 feet).
I tried it with no glass at all (Infinity at about 40cm) so I tried a piece
of glass about the same thickness as the hot mirror I had removed.
[Note: From an old picture frame]. The camera now gives sharp images
at infinity without any problems.

The "Hot Spot" is obvious at 28mm but gets less obvious as the lens focal
length is increased. I have shot a plain piece of paper and inverted the
image to use as a mask to correct this. It works pretty well but is not
perfect.

The camera gives shutter speeds of about 1/30s at f8 in sunlight with an R72
filter which is great. I'm going to see if I can get an 87C or similar to
try.

Thanks for the modding advice.

Neil Malton

Thanks, Neil, for the info!
Apart from Neil, David also successfully converted his D7hi. And while Neil and David are having fun (hopefully), hold on to your seats.
;)

To see for yourself what to expect:

Minolta_D7_sample.JPG	Standard D7 IR shot (750kB)
Minolta_D7IR_sample.JPG	D7IR IR shot (950kB)
Neil's shots are of really impressive quality and I am happy to show some of his pictures here.

I am looking for a source for thin cables like this one:

You can see the connector on the printed circuit board behind the cable.
I want to make that cable longer. Especially interesting would be an extension
with normal wires that are flexible in two directions.
Any help greatly appreciated!