Got an old webcam lying around? Why not modify it and turn it into an infrared (IR) camera that can see and record video in the dark. It’s a fairly easy process, requiring only a screwdriver and an old photography negative; we’ll show you how it’s done.

Use this guide at your own risk. While many cameras contain the same components, we won’t assume responsibility if you break your webcam or don’t get the desired results.

First, you’ll need to take your webcam apart. I’ll assume that you’re bright enough to not leave it plugged into the computer before you do so. For this example, we used an old VEO Advanced Connect Personal Web Camera.

Locate the housing for the optical lens; it should be attached to a small circuit. For this particular camera, the circuit sits in between two plastic holders and simply slides out.

Once the circuit is out of the camera housing, you should be able to remove the casing that holds the lens. This VEO camera had a cap over the lens that merely pulled right off. You may have to do a bit of tinkering with your camera to figure out how it’s put together, but the process should be similar.

The casing that holds the lens unscrewed; this is also usually used as a focus knob for older and low-end cameras.

Located between the circuit and the lens, you should notice a little glass or plastic disc that will have a cyan or reddish hue; this is the IR filter. This filter blocks all IR light from reaching the camera, thereby maximizing effectiveness of the visible light spectrum that reaches your camera.

The IR filter contains a special coating, which some have said plainly scrapes off with a fingernail; however, we had little success with this particular filter and decided to remove it altogether.

If you put your camera back together at this stage, it would receive light from the visible spectrum plus the IR spectrum. To maximize the effectiveness of the IR light that reaches the camera, we’ll need a filter that can block most of the visible light spectrum.

To achieve this, we used a photography negative to block visible light. In most cases, if you look at a series of negatives that have been developed (color negatives only), you should notice a section that is 100% black. Don’t use a dark area that is contained in a taken photo, find the section along the edges or that first square that is completely overexposed.

We’ve seen some instances where the negative was taped this over the lens, and some where the negative was put in the same place where the IR filter was/is. Since this camera had a convenient cap over the lens, we decided to place the negative between the camera’s lens and the outside cap.

Now you put your camera back together (very carefully) and you’ll be ready to test it out.

When you first use your IR webcam, it will most likely display an all-black image. This is due to the fact that there is very little, if any, IR light in your room; a little experimenting, however, will help you obtain visible results.

If you’re looking for instant gratification, you could use your IR camera near a window, as substances in the atmosphere, the earth’s surface, and clouds absorb radiation from the sun and re-emit much of the energy as light in the IR spectrum.

With a bit of experimenting, you’ll find other various sources that emit IR light such as an open flame (candle, lighter) or standard and fluorescent light bulbs, to a lesser degree.

But, that’s not as fun as being able to see in the dark; we’ll need something that emits IR light without visible light if we want our camera to record in the dark.

To do this, and do it cheaply, you could use the remote control for your television or any other electronic device in your home.

The above image is a video-capture from a remote control being pointed directly at the IR camera. You’ll need to press some buttons on the remote to get it to transmit IR light.

If you aim the remote at objects, it almost acts as a flashlight for your IR camera. The below image is a shot of my hand, in complete darkness, using a remote control for a flashlight. I couldn’t see my hand at the time, but our IR camera saw it.

If you look closely at the image below, you’ll notice that the veins are distinctly visible; this is due to the temperature differences between the blood and the skin.

If you want to take it to the next level, you can always purchase an IR illuminator (shown below); these devices can sometimes get expensive, but we were able to find a nice $10 IR flashlight illuminator on eBay.

You’ll have to play around with your IR cam to discover all its nifty benefits, but if your looking for quick ideas, you may want to try looking at different currency, various clothing and material, and electronic devices.

Related:

Studies show playing video games improve night blindness while driving

New security flaw found in Yahoo! Messenger

Portable camera companion

Portable camera companion

Webcams save lives in the ER

Sign up for the BLORGE daily email newsletter

Entry was posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 7:56 pm under Online video, Tips and advice.

Read more entries by George Gardner.
Stumble It!