--- Updated 25 September 2001 ---

Since people are still viewing this page, it might be nice to have some background. This was the result of discussions on the old Pixelagogo® Infrared bulletin board. The board is no longer running, so I fill you in on some of the details. People were asking the same question that you are asking, "Can I remove the infrared blocking filter to improve the performance of my camera in near IR range?". The answer is yes, if you are very brave. I am not the first person to perform this operation. I just had two cameras. You can see the resulting image in this picture [link broken. -eric].

Several people have performed this operation. Their biggest problem has been finding a piece of glass to replace the original IR blocking filter. I used a scrape piece of clear glass and a standard glasscutter from the hardware store. It took several tries to get the cut right, but it can be done.

If you decide to try this operation, you are on your own. You can destroy your camera this way. I might also note that the camera will not be good for shooting regular color images after this operation. In case you were wondering, this does void your warranty, so don’t blame Nikon.

James Wooten
jwooten@abe.msstate.edu

This is a documentation of my experience removing the IR filter in a Nikon® 950 camera and is not intended to be a guide for the removal of this filter. All of the basic steps are not included. Use this to decide if you want to take that chance. If you are still brave enough to sacrifice you camera after looking at these pictures, "Good Luck". NOTE: The 950 and 990 are built the same. Some of the wiring and dimensions are slightly different. (Sorry about the picture quality, the lab lighting is terrible.)

Materials needed:

Replacement glass for the filter. The camera will be “near-sighted” without it. I used a optical glass that has about 85% transmission in the IR and visible range. It helps if you have a friend that cuts glass for a living. It would be interesting to put a visual blocking filter here. Also needed are small screwdrivers. [Gary Traveis provides a transmission curve for replacement glass. James offers a similar chart. -eric]

Finally the inner cover is removed and everything falls apart.

!!! - Be careful of the capacitor on the flash (that long metal tube).
It is charged with high voltage even if the batteries are removed.
It also might be a good idea to remove the batteries before you start.

The back electronic board snaps out of a socket.
The underlying board has the CCD mounted on the other side with the IR Filter.
Remove it with two screws.

The filter is mounted in a rubber adaptor and must be removed and replaced with the clear filter.
Watch the finger prints here. I don't know how to clean a CCD.
[Suggestions: use a air or C02 blower, a SpeckGRABBER Pro, or Sensor Swabs and Eclipse cleaning fluid -eric]

Comparison of the IR blocking filter (left) and the new clear filter (Right).
Dimensions for the 950 are 11mm x 12mm, and 2.5mm thick.

The camera hopefully can be used with standard IR filter for high-speed IR photography.
You can use a hot mirror for visual shots, but the color is not exactly correct. (Note the color of the original filter)