I changed an XT over to IR only and it was pretty easy.
I already did a 300D before that, but this XT is a lot easier, as the circuit board wires are much easier to work with. Theres Plenty of links out there on HOW to do it, but I can give you some tips if your interested.
http://www.lifepixel.com/ir-tutorial...structions.htm

Well ive done 2, one was a 300D and the 2nd was a 350D
The first one was my fault. I popped it open and decided that it wasnt sharp enough for my liking, and after it was all assembled, took it apart, again and again tryin to get the focus better
in the proccess I broke one of the plastic latched that holds the ribbon cables in place.. fixed that with some tape and such, but then decided to one more time, get the focus better (were talking about using it @ 5.6 instead of 8/11 for razor sharp pics - I shoulda left it alone)
Thats when I ripped the ribbon cable coming off the sensor trying to get it back into the board
The 350, which has a totally different layout was much easier and had no problems. The failure in Utah was due to the shutter, and was only because I bought one from Ebay, and over bidding (over paying) for a used one :P should have bought a New one and i Probably wouldnt have had an issue.. I only save about 75$ at the time, and now its going to cost about 200 to fix (but im trading in the broken one to the repair shop so itll be about 100 out of pocket =D)
Then the XT should be 110% better!
So if you do it yourself, I Def recommend a New XT then you shouldnt have any problems

it's funny how my dinky little sony cybershot v-1 has this feature built right in (they call it nightshot), but you've got to go through a LOT of trouble to do it to far more advanced SLRs. plus you can't turn it on and off at will...

are there "high end" cameras out there that have that feature?

interesting stuff.

I think sony was the only one who was "interested" in doing it
The main problem is that flipping a filter out of the way means a LOT of space and designing costs
The DSLRs dont usually expect people to be doing IR (unless its a fuji uv/ir camera) or the 20Da.. and as such, they design the filter to protect the sensor as a dual function and usually put the AA filter on there as well.
The 2 I mentioned dont have a low pass filter on the sensor, but then you have problems with color, so you usually need to post process it to get the best color, not a great idea for a mass market..
The sensors cameras use just have far to much IR sensitivity to produce good color AND have IR capabilities..

excuse my noobness but whats the point of IR?

Same as UV
taking pics in wavelengths invisivble to the eye.
looks different...

are there lens-fitted IR filters available so that you can take "normal" pictures once this mod is done?

yea its really cool - HOWEVER
and this is meant in the nicest way
Dont DO IT to a 300D (Rebel)
The boards and wires are a PAIN IN THE ASS to work with
Save yourself the trouble, go buy a Canon G1, G2, and stick a 50$ 52mm R72 filter on the front, youll get similar results, similar speed and you can pre-compose in IR..
and you wont trash your rebel...
I tried, and after talking to a few people they all agree the 300D is the WORST camera to mod/ repair because the leads on the boards are sooooo short (1-2mm extra)
The new XT, XTi are better (I did an XT) and will only take an hour, 2 at most..

Originally Posted by azn2nr

excuse my noobness but whats the point of IR?

To get photos like the images here
http://gilad.deviantart.com/gallery/#Infra-Red

Originally Posted by BobbyT

To get photos like the images here
http://gilad.deviantart.com/gallery/#Infra-Red

some cool shots in there!

indeed
mine are not nearly as artsy as I dont have nice subjects like that in N jersey

Uugh - it was a rough afternoon - decided to leave early and go pick it up
After a stressful drive through central philly... I got there just before he closed..
Got it and brought it home.
Its great!
Only problem is that its really sharp on longer lenses, not so much on the 10-22 :P
However, I had him get the thinner filter from LifePixel, AND add spacers for the thicker filter, so I am thinking about removing them to increase sharpness a bit..
Hmmmm

I just got my IR rebel XT back from the local repair shop, as I thought the shutter died but apparently the Epoxy I used expanded over a couple months and cause the filter to interfere with the shutter.
In discussing the situation, I asked them to add spacers to compensate the difference for the thicker filter, but it turns out we ended up with a lifePixel filter..
When I picked it up I noticed it was pretty sharp with longer lenses, but its pretty soft on the wide end..
So after a few days of testing, I made these assumptions.
10-22 is soft @ 10 up to about F8 which is then 'reasonable'
18-55 is pretty sharp, depending on what the focus locks on, but usually from 5.6 up its sharp for what Im shooting.
24-70, 100 macro and 70-200 are all sharp from about 2.8 on..

My questions is, my usage of these lenses is pretty much inverse to thier realitive sharpness.. (previously, the wide was sharp, but the longers needed serious focus compensation, making them hard to use)
Should I open it up, and remove previously mentioned extra spacers, to increase sharpness / focus on the wide end.. or just deal with it being > f8 on the shorter lenses, and enjoy the longer Fl lenses now that I can use them

I bought the R-72 filter for my olympus after reading this asticle. Cant wait for it to show up.
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/infrared/e510.html

I got mine here.

http://www.2filter.com/hoya/hoyaR72Rm90filters.html

Do you not use yours? If not why do you have it? The price in the link is not the actual price, mine was $36.06 with shipping.