turned my webcam into an Infrared WEbcam [Archive]

Hamspiced

08-07-05, 03:54 AM

i read a tuitorial of sorts about it on thsi site here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geoff.johnson2/IR/ so i tried it.

I used a Dynex Brad cam and everything turned out great.

basic steps...

aquire webcam

Disassemble webcam

Loook for a piece of glass with a red film on it in front of the lens

Remove said glass

cut two small strips off of a negative from a camera where there is no picture . Usually before the actual pictures start theres a bunch of the negative that is all dark, use that and put the tiny square where the red filmed glass was.

Secure the pieces of negative in place and reassemble.

i have my webcam setup now. you can view it at

http://68.248.73.146:8080/

Ven0m

08-07-05, 05:29 AM

That's great, however your webcam link doesn't work. How does it work at night?

Viper2004

08-07-05, 05:47 AM

Not working for me either. Seems like a pretty cool idea though. How much did the webcam cost?

Hamspiced

08-07-05, 11:24 AM

yeah sorry guys. i turned my computer off earlier today...

It should be working now... ill keep it on for the rest of the day..

the cam origionally costs around 40$ at your local bestbuy, there are only two dynex models there, one with a microphone and one without. im an employee so i got the cam without ridiculously cheap just so i could do this mod. It took around.,... 5 minutes tops to do the mod and that includes software installation and a reboot.

at night the cam works really well, however i found i need to make sort of an Infrared nightlight so it works better. im considering putting an IR Led on the top of the cam.

Viper2004

08-07-05, 11:40 AM

Neat, there seems to be a problem with the message log though. I think the text is black which isn't viewable with your black background. You gotta highlight the area to see what is being said.

Tyreal

08-07-05, 12:01 PM

thats pretty awesome. Yea. i could see you so it works.

Its just the message log doesn't work very well. the text never really appears.

Hamspiced

08-07-05, 12:03 PM

lol, thats a problem with the program im using to broadcast. not the actual cam. should be fixed now tho

informalmyx

08-07-05, 12:06 PM

that is the coolest mod to a webcam i have seen

Sjaak

08-07-05, 12:19 PM

Does it allow you to look through tight womens clothes like the sony infrared phone cam did?

Tyreal

08-07-05, 12:54 PM

:O
ARE YOU SERIOUS!

thats awesome! your joking right?

@Hamspiced: Damn, your scary dude, you look liek a thug or something

Ven0m

08-07-05, 01:42 PM

I found some webcomes @ net starting around $15... Maybe I should buy one along with some IR LEDs...

This should work with any camera?

k3nshin

08-07-05, 02:05 PM

nice, i want to see how it looks at night though!

JDXNC

08-07-05, 04:35 PM

w00t! I just finished modding my IBM PC cam and its working like a charm! my VCR remote makes a wondeful flashlight :D

Hamspiced

08-07-05, 05:15 PM

yea, remotes make badass flashlights.

The cam will be running all night so feel free to check in. I garantee everything will be safe for work.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Tyreal

08-07-05, 06:27 PM

I garantee everything will be safe for work.
Great. I'll take your word for it.

Dell_Axim

08-07-05, 06:40 PM

You can also take IR LEDs out of broken remotes or buy some at a store and wire them up to USB (be aware; IR LEDs may require different resistors than normal LEDs and can often take more current than regular LEDs along with a lower voltage drop) for a light that does not require batteries.

JDXNC

08-07-05, 07:05 PM

four4875

08-07-05, 09:28 PM

im considering doing this to my ibm pc camera, if i could find some negatives aroudn here. what happens if you just take off the red crap?

MrSelfDestruct

08-07-05, 10:57 PM

I did it to my IBM net cam. First time I've used it in years. Hardest part of doing the mod was finding the negatives. Once I found them it wasn't too hard. It's fun to play around with...

eaglescouter

08-07-05, 11:01 PM

The live webcam looks awfully dark to me, is that because there is no IR light source?

Yuriman

08-07-05, 11:17 PM

Geez, I wish I had my webcam with me. I just moved, its still back at the other house... man I have always wanted one of these.

Chris_F

08-07-05, 11:32 PM

The live webcam looks awfully dark to me, is that because there is no IR light source?

If your indoors or outside at night you would need a UV light source. If your outside during the day you wouldn't.

Captain Slug

08-08-05, 01:30 AM

You can also purchase IR transmissive plastic which if used as a lens cap for certain digital cameras will allow you to take IR-only photographs without any modification to the camera. Most affordable digital cameras do not include a very effective IR filter and can still see a wide range of that part of the spectrum. I've used my cheap digital camera to check the functionality of old remotes.

Hamspiced

08-08-05, 01:52 AM

where can this plastic be purchased mr Slug?

Captain Slug

08-08-05, 02:10 AM

I saw some randomly in the scrap pile at my local plastics shops, and after doing some research I should go pick it up since it's a rather rare find in sheet form.

I've done some seraching already and have discovered that there are a number of IR filter lenses available for various cameras (http://dpfwiw.com/ir.htm#r72), or you can make your own with light gel sandwiches (http://www.amasci.com/amateur/irgoggl.html).
I was able to find products of either type on ebay.
For example this seller that offers the light gels for under $3 apiece.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ANY-4-LEE-LIGHTING-GEL-MR-16-LEKO-PHOTOGRAPH-CAMERA-DJ_W0QQitemZ3780904095QQcategoryZ29944QQssPageName ZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Veland

08-08-05, 02:51 AM

Did this to my logitech Zoom last night (after seing this post)! Worked great and really fun to play with. But I just removed the IR filter, didn't add the negative. But then I've got some daylight filter coming soon, so..

Anyway, modding the logitech was kinda hard. Not a separate filter, it's a coated lens. Tried Acetone, but didn't work. So I had to remove the lens and scrape the filter coating off. Worked ok, but a bit tricky.

As for the results, they are very good! At night, it really makes a difference. I could see my garden clearly with the camera even at pitch dark. And you notice strange stuff indoors, as well as the ability to see through all those IR transmitter coverings on remotes, phones and stuff.

As for the "see through clothes" stuff, it should sort of work. But this must be done in sunlight and with a good daylight filter installed. The theory is that synthetic fibres are normaly transparent. So, the are colored when used as clothes. But just because they reflect visible light (therefor have color) this doesn't mean that they also reflect IR light...

ghettocomp

08-08-05, 03:17 AM

link not working

Hamspiced

08-08-05, 04:38 AM

works for me

JFettig

08-08-05, 06:29 AM

looks interesting, a little dark right now so I cant see much, I made me a sharkcam out of my webcam:) underwater camera. First time out it leaked so I have to remake it.

Jon

Borgy

08-08-05, 05:16 PM

not bad just seen you....
bit jurky tho
what model of webcam was it ?
I use my Fuji finepix 3600 Digi at the mo
for talking to my folk back in England via MSN

Borgy

Lat

08-09-05, 03:10 PM

woah, that's absolutely sweet. if only i had a webcam. maybe i should go grab one now

sunrunner20

08-09-05, 04:28 PM

Sounds fun, wish I had a webcam.

Ven0m

08-09-05, 05:18 PM

Guys, webcams can be bought for around $15 - go go go :D

Perhaps we'll have switchable normal/UV/IR webcams mods soon :)

Snipe3D

08-10-05, 03:33 PM

me and a friend went out and found 2 open box (discount) dynex webcams, and this mod worked perfect on these as well. heres some of the pictures i took with mine (i just happened to have the same cell phone as that guy in the guide)

http://www.daviddougherty.info/images/ircam

side note, we only used 1 piece of negative film instead of two, and it works just fine. what software are you using to put it on the web?

JTanczos

08-10-05, 05:16 PM

That is a prety cool mod. I subscribed to the thread to keep it around if I ever need to mod a webcam for that use. :)

You link isnt working tho. You need to leave your computer on 24/7!! :p

JT

ghettocomp

08-11-05, 12:27 AM

Guys, webcams can be bought for around $15 - go go go :D

Perhaps we'll have switchable normal/UV/IR webcams mods soon :)

Computergeeks.com (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=MINI-302C-N&cpc=SCH&srm=0) has webcams for as low as $9.95. Sometimes you can luck out and get them during one of their special sales (they have several a month) for around 2/$10.00.

I have purchased several on sale from them at those prices.

ghettocomp

08-12-05, 04:40 PM

Just in case anyone was interested in doing this mod, Here is a USB webcam (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=MINI-302C-N) on sale for $6.99 for the next few hours.

TekeTorvo

08-13-05, 01:45 PM

After doing this Mod, does the Web Cam still operate like normal during the day?

JDXNC

08-13-05, 01:46 PM

After doing this Mod, does the Web Cam still operate like normal during the day?

Sort of, you can see everything as you would have before but not in color as its seeing IR light not visible light.

Yamiyanazz

08-13-05, 03:09 PM

Yeah, and it doesn't actually work so well at night if you don't have any good IR light sources. Anyone know a good place to pick up a bunch of cheap IR leds?

TollhouseFrank

08-14-05, 11:45 AM

SWEEET

i'm gonna hafta do that myself...

four4875

08-15-05, 02:35 AM

update... i got the negatives in my cam, but now i can not get the cam focused, i either got the lense and negatives all blurry, or i moved it or knocked it crooked. im going to try again as soon as i get the super glue off thats holding it in place. i think ill use some kinf od weaker glue next time, so i wont have this problem taking it apart.

Veland

08-15-05, 03:36 AM

As for IR cam and night time, the quality of the sensor really matters. Got two cameras modded to IR so far, one Logitech Zoom and some "NoName" camera. Both the same resolution and the same results in good lighting. But at night, the NoName gives no image at all, while the Logitech is pretty amazing.

Oh, and I'm using daylight filter material instead of the negative. This stuff is designed to only let IR through. You can get it where they sell IR receivers and stuff like that...

As for normal operation of the cam, maybe external filters is the way to go? Have a clip on filter, one IR filter (for daytime color operation) and one daylight filter (for low light IR use)

Hamspiced

08-15-05, 05:19 AM

yeah, i dont like leaving my computer on 24/7 so sorry guys...

i think im gonna buy a logitech cam and remove the ir filter and buy external filters like what was listed above.

4GHZ_or_bust

08-16-05, 11:12 PM

I just tried the mod with my Quickcam Pro 3000 and it worked as well. I didn't put in film or IR filter yet but it does pick up IR light easily.

As fir the focus issue, the len of many web cams are designed to turn to adjust the focal length. Try turning the front piece.

four4875

08-16-05, 11:44 PM

oh, believe me ive turned it from where it just about to fall out to being clamped ocmpletely down, it seems like it's best focused when its closest in, so i tihnk i may have put the lense in backwards. i still havnt gotten around to messing with it, work and case mods keeping me busy.