Bill Bereza's List of Photo Equipment That He's Used
I've been a fan of the quickcam for quite a while. I bought one for the PC soon after it came out, and had a lot of fun with it. As an undergrad in college I helped design a two-axis servo-controlled mount for the camera. I wrote some NextStep software which would control the mount, and then I wrote a kernel device driver for NextStep which allowed me to use the quickcam on any NextStep-i386 system. I had a pretty nice little app that let you view the camera in a small window while moving it around with some sliders on screen. But the most interesting part was when I added a routine to the app which made it automagically point the camera at any moving object. This camera sat in the lounge area for the CSIS department suite, and people seemed to enjoy watching the camera watch them.
This is the system as it was shown at the openhouse for the new engineering building on campus. But my main goal for the project had been for the camera to be viewed and controlled over the net. Unfortunately I didn't have time to finish it before the semester was over. Writing the NextStep device driver had taken too much time.
Later on, after I had left GVSU I decided to turn the quickcam into an infrared camera. Here's how I did it.
Warning! Following these instructions may cause some minor damage to your Quickcam. Disconnect it from you computer before taking it apart. The quality of the image may not be the same after you remove the IR filter. Do not cry over spilt milk.
On the back of the camera there should be a small sticker. Underneath this sticker is a small hole. Inside this hole is a tab which holds the case together. Use something like a small screwdriver and insert into this hole, pressing back the tab and allow the case to partially come apart. There are three tabs holding the case together; two near the lens at front and the one at the back which you've pushed back. Now pry the rest of the case apart. You will probably break one of the tabs holding the case together. I did.
When you open up the camera, take out all the parts. There should be five pieces in total. They are, the two halves of the case, the black plastic lens hood which was in front of the lens, a metal weight which has the tripod mount, and the circuit board with the lens mounted directly to it.
Check which version of the camera you have. Look at the component side of the circuit board (the side with the chips and stuff). Turn it so the cable connector is at the top. At the bottom left you should see some writing. On my camera it was:
WCAM100
REV.C
If your camera has a different version be careful, because these instructions may not be right.
Turn the circuit board component side up. You should see two small screws. Before unscrewing them, make sure you write down or remember which way the lens is mounted on the board. Carefully remove these screws. The whole lens assembly will come off. Look inside the lens mount. You'll see a foam pad and a piece of blue glass. This glass is the IR filter. Remove it and place it somewhere safe in case you want to reinstall it in the future.
Screw the lens mount back on. Have you forgotten which way the lens was mounted? So did I. It shouldn't really matter though.
This is a special piece of glass or plastic which allows only infrared light to pass through. It should look opaque to the human eye. A cheap IR filter is some un-exposed processed color slide film. Kodachrome works best. If you get a whole roll of exposed pictures processed, there will usually be some scrap end-pieces which you'll get back with the slides. If you're like me, you've recieved thousands of these pieces over the years. Free filters! That's what they are.
Look at the lens. There should be a small screw sticking out of the side. This holds the focus that was set at the factory. But since you removed the IR filter, that changed the focal point of the lens. What you should do now is reattach the camera to your computer while it is still in pieces. Start up some Quickcam viewing software. Loosen the screw on the lens front. The lens should now be turnable, like a regular camera lens. Point it at something close. The letters on your keyboard are good things to focus on. Adjust the lens until the letters look their sharpest. Note: Without the IR filter, the image from the camera will be a little less sharp than before. Infrared light has a different wave length than visible light. Note: Depending on how you'll be using the camera you should focus the lens with or without the visible light filter in front of it. Check out the uses section for info.
You're on your own here.
There are two ways to use your camera, with or without a visible light filter. With the filter, your camera will only pick up infrared light. In other words it will be a true infrared camera. Without the filter it will be a super-sensitive camera able to pick up both visible and invisible light. You'll notice how little light you'll need to use the camera. This is especially noticeable if you have any IR light sources nearby (incandescent bulbs and the Sun are examples of such). There's a lot of light out there that you just never saw before!
What fun you'll have with your new and improved Quickcam. Clothing looks different in infrared. The veins on your body show up as dark lines in infrared light. As a super-sensitive camera you can use it to spy on your neighbors. IR light from street lamps, and the moon are more than enough to illuminate the night.
Bill Bereza's List of Photo Equipment That He's Used
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