Leica CL - Teardown and IR Conversion
Hello everyone!
Today I am back with a new camera mod. This time I converted my Leica CL into a full spectrum camera.
The disassembly process was similar to the Q. Maybe the Q had less screws, but I had to be careful with dust, as to clean the sensor you have to disassemble the camera again which is not ideal.
With the CL, once modified, you can keep cleaning the sensor as usual, if the need arises. There was a bit more of flex cables though.
Removing the vulcanite cover is the part I less like but there’s nothing to be done about it.
Fortunately, it can be reapplied without any additional glue or having to buy a new one.
As always there are hidden screws under the flash mount that keep the top cover in place.
Some additional screws are under the remaining vulcanite adhesive.
Once the back place is removed, we can see the big heatsink used to cool the processor and sensor. The camera can get really hot when shooting continuously and prolonged periods of time.
The sensor itself, it is pretty easy to remove. The IR/UV cut filer is glued as in the Leica Q but on a separate piece of support.
Below a time-lapse video:
Following, some pictures of the process:
ANd to finish, some test shots of with Infrared filter, Ultraviolet, IR Chrome and without filter:
