Busy hands | Disquiet mind

Base layers. Not the cold weather kind, but the kind that protect you from your clothes, and your clothes from you. Made from a, well, slippy-er, fabric, this could be part of a slip. But as it is, it's just a camisole. Perfect for under tops like shirts, where unruly buttons might cause embarrassment. To reduce a certain degree of clinging, and nuisance bodily fluids. And foiling transparency. But not something I would consider wearing on its own.

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Hush-A-Bye camisole, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

The Olympus Pen E-P1 is 16 years old this year. So is my personal one. A first gen micro-four-thirds camera, it's specs don't compete nowadays, but I've always loved holding and using this camera. There is something really satisfying about it. Especially paired with a pancake lens. When I upgraded to a newer, fancier camera, I just couldn't part with the E-P1. I've had the vague intention of converting it to become a full-spectrum camera for almost as long as I've had it. Ever since reading about how that is a thing that actually exists, and that it's an easier process with the mirrorless cameras, because you don't need to recalibrate the focus afterwards. Guess what. I've finally gotten around to doing it.

Front photo of an Olympus Pen E-P1
Photo by chebe

Firstly, what is a full spectrum camera? Basically, digital cameras are sensitive to more wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum than human eyes are. This makes their images look wrong, so the manufacturers put a filter (the hot mirror) in the cameras to remove the unwanted ultraviolet and infrared 'noise'. (Early mobile phone cameras didn't have this, back when you could use them to see if the LED on your remote controls lit up when you pressed a button.) But you can get some very interesting photos without this limitation.

And it seems a lot of people agree with me, because multiple businesses have started up to provide these conversions, and filters. Which makes things a whole lot easier for me. Now I can just buy the correct specific replacement glass for my camera from places like;

Kolari internal filters for DIY
Life Pixel internal filters for DIY

There is however a bit of a problem with the age of my camera. It has fallen out of the memory of the internet. I can no longer find the guides I had seen before. I did find Life Pixels E-P3 conversion tutorial, but the E-P3 is not exactly the same as the E-P1. I dug through some old forum links, and found Digital-Photography.pls E-P1/E-P2 conversion on The Way Back Machine. It has some good pointers, and high resolution images, but also a lot of 'like usual', 'like last time', and 'check my previous tutorials' (which also don't explain). Nonetheless, armed with both tutorials, I dived in, figured it out, and recorded the whole thing. What follows are (found footage) stills of my adventure. To make it easier for whomever follows. At their own peril.

Required tools

- Phillips head screwdriver, mine was size 1.4x40mm,
- Thin tweezers,
- Air blower,
- Soldering iron,
- Anti-static and safety precautions.

If changing the hot mirror, you'll need;
- the replacement glass,
- glass cleaning cloth.

Preparation

Remove the lens, battery, sd card, and hot shoe protector.

Case Disassembly

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Body Disassembly

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Hot Mirror Assembly Disassembly

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Re-assembly

Do everything in reverse.

Result

If everything goes well the camera will look just like it did before. Except for when you look at the hot mirror without a lens in place. With the original hot mirror you see the light filtering appearing as colour, typically red. With the clear glass that colour is gone.

( Before and After )

Many hours after removing that first screw I was relieved to have my camera still working, and displaying very interesting colours. Green plants are orange. A sunny day is light orange. An overcast sky is reddish-orange. A snow filled sky is very pink. The evening sky is much brighter. And that's just with natural light. Candles burn purple-red. Does it really matter if I have two washers/spacers left over and no idea where they came from? *cough*

The next step for me is to get some external filters to see what else the world holds for my camera. And possibly some external (safe) UV/IR light sources, for more forensic explorations.

I have tried self-drafting basic blocks a few times before. Unfortunately I have not yet found any instructions that actually work for my body proportions. I have, however, gotten fairly competent at altering existing patterns. So how about I try that route instead?

Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book is a course in book form, about learning how to fit the basic blocks of dress patterns (from woven fabrics), and then mix-n-matching for near endless possible combinations. The Floral Day Dress project is the most basic there is; basic bodice, a-line skirt, no sleeves, all-in-one facing. The prefect place to start.

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V-neck bodice with a-line peplum, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

Simplicity 8228 is a stretch lace bralette and knickers pattern, in sizes from 32A-42DD, and XS-XL. For the bralettes, you prepare the fabric by spray gluing (with temporary fabric adhesive) the stretch mesh to the stretch gallon lace, before cutting. The panties are stretch knits, with stretch lace panels. Which is quite the process, so first I'm going to make mockups in just straight stretch mesh.

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And back to underwear. Pin-Up Girls Cheryl is a knit knickers pattern that had me puzzled for quite some time. Until I realised that it's a one-piece (plus crotch piece) pattern, with a single seam, down the centre back. Light-bulb moment.

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