Handheld Ultraviolet Photography by MaxMax.com Camera Conversion

Maxmax.com (the out that I use for my infrared camera conversions) has developed proprietary technology for stripping off the CFA (color filter array) from a digital sensor. This is of particular value in converting a digital camera for ultraviolet photography.

Of course, you’ll need a UV capable lens, like the Coastal Optics 60mm ƒ/4 UV-VIS-IR APO Macro, since ordinary lenses block most UV light.

According to Dan Llewelyn at maxmax.com—

Before the camera can see light at the photodiode, light must pass through the microlens and the color filter. Both the microlens and the color filter block UV light. LDP has the proprietary technology to remove the microlens and color filter without damaging the photodiode underneath. Since we are only talking about removing microns of material, this is a delicate operation to say the least!

Once we have removed the microlens and CFA, the camera become roughly six times more sensitive to UV light. In practical terms, this means you can shoot outdoors handheld versus needing a long exposure time and tripod. Removing the CFA also gives the camera much more resolution in the UV because the blue and green color filters block UV light more than the red filter. For a monochrome camera with no CFA, all the sensor pixel locations can see the UV light equally well which translates into a much higher resolution image

For more on this technology, and image examples, see the MaxMax.com UV page.