Hi Eric,
I haven't had my camera done yet - I'm sending it to him next week. I found he was a bit slow to reply to my emails - but then he had been in WA for a few weeks, dropping very expensive Canon 'L' series lenses down mountain-sides. Best way is to give him a phonecall. Have a look at his www page for contact details -
www.burren.cx
As for using the camera for normal stuff, I bought two 67 mm B+W UV/IR blocking filters for the front of my lenses. Basically, I'll use them like a normal UV filter on the front. One is a 486 which is clear and transmits the whole visible spectrum and the other is a 489 which starts to cut off at about 550 nm and has a pale green tint. The way I see it, the 489 should compensate for the extended red sensitivity and so bring the camera pretty much back to standard spec. But I'll have to wait and see.
Have a look at
www.filtershop.com.au or
http://www.madsens.com.au/hoyacart/b%2Bw/screw.htm and
http://www.mainlinephoto.com.au
I think that the camera's white balance (on a manual or custom setting) will actually cope without a filter but I suspect that the image quality will drop as the UV and IR will be out of focus with the visible light.
I'll let you know in a few weeks..
Susan