Project:
Nikon D800 IR mod

Contents:

1. Nikon D800 IR mod
2. Removing outer shells
3. Disconnect the circuit boards
4. Disconnect the sensor circuit board
5. To be continued

Note:
I take no responsibility or liability for what are written here, you use the information on your own risk!

Related projects:

• Nikon D800 overview
• Duo narrow band filter

2: Removing outer shells

I start by opening the camera by loosening the outer shells. In a later step, I disconnect the connections to the circuit boards to finally reach the sensor.

Protection against electrical discharge:

I ground the tools in the home's elements which in turn are grounded in this property.

The black mat is semi-conductive and connected to the grounding socket and the bracelet you wear around your wrist to conduct away electrical discharges. This is to protect the camera's electronics against electrical discharges. I also removed the battery from the camera a week ago so that the camera's flash in particular would have time to discharge. The capacitor for it has several hundred volts which can be dangerous to touch.

I recommend to follow this YouTube video: Nikon D800 / D810 : full spectrum conversion : How to , its good.

Make sure to use screwdrivers that fit perfectly against the screws. If a screw's head get damaged, it will be a lot of extra work to repair.

An extra warning again, there is a high risk of destroying the camera. If you feel unsure, hand the camera over to someone who is a professional at IR modifying cameras.

I will do a complete IR modification. No compensating glass filters to be able to focus with original optics.

Many of the screws are of different lengths, don't mix them up!

Battery lid:

The lid for the battery compartment is easy to remove. Pull it outwards at a slight angle so the pins release from the chassis.

View finder:

There is a small screw on the top of the viewfinder, unscrew it.

It's handy to have a magnet that can catch the small screws. If you drop them on the floor, they're hard to find.

Tilt the viewfinder backwards until the bracket at the bottom releases, do not use any force!

The back of the viewfinder cover, here you can see the curtain that you can use to block out the light. It should always be closed when doing astrophotography.

The screws has different lengths, this screw is black and has a total length of 3.2 mm.

Hidden screws:

At the bottom of the camera body there is a protective rubber plate glued on, it covers some of the screws. It can be loosened with a knife if you are careful.

It is the 4 outer screws that need to be loosened. I use the same screwdriver as before.

Screw length (silver screws):
1, 2 and 4. = 5.4 mm
3. = 4.3 mm

Battery compartment screws:

Screw length (black screws):
1, = 6.3 mm
2. = 4.3 mm
3. = 8.8 mm
4. = 5.8 mm

Memory lid screws:

Both screws are black. The left screw has a length of 4.3 mm, the right screw has a length of 3.9 mm.

The screws are black and has a length of 4.3 mm.

There are a fifth screw hidden behind a rubber panel, I gently open the rubber with a knife. The screw is silver and has a length of 6.3 mm.

When all 5 screws are loosened, pull the lid gently out.

HDMI lid:

Two black screws with a length of 6.3 mm.

Two black screws with length of 3.9 mm. Maybe not necessary to remove these two screws, what's worse, I dropped one, did it go inside the camera? I think so, later I found it inside the microphone connector.

Two more screws hidden behind the rubber panel. Maybe not necessary to remove. 2 silver screws with a length of 3.4 mm.

When the lid is removed you get a look inside, the big black thing is the capacitor for the flash, high voltage!

Now the bottom lid can be lift off.