Infra-red Digital Camera

  1/22/10

So I've been reading up on the flack about turning a regular old digital camera into a Infra-red camera.

The scuttlebutt is that digital cameras capture the Infra-red light spectrum, and I disagreed...they can't, in one sense.

Ok, I was only half wrong. They can capture the Infra-red light wave....BUT....only with some HEAVY MODIFICATION I doubt your "Average Joe/Housewife-TV watching-'ghost hunter wannabe'" is willing to perform, and a stock out of the box camera WILL NOT because of the IR Filter.

There's a big difference between seeing in the dark and seeing an Infra-red source, such as your TV remote bulb.

Lets try something shall we?...Here is a digital camera with an IR Booster.

According to those claiming a digi can see Infra-red, we should be able to take a picture in the dark, right?

Hmmm...well that didn't work out so well, did it?

Another amateur theory shot to hell.

If you want a digital camera TO see in the dark, there's some major surgery required.

There are a hundred different websites out there already that can tell you how to do this, so its not my original idea. I'm just going to walk you through it...

Its very wise to do this with an old beater camera you don't use anymore. You don't want to screw up your good one.

We'll start out with the famous last words, "All ya gotta do is..."

All digi's are designed differently, so the procedure will vary from camera to camera. I vivisected my old Olympus D-360L. The memory card door broke, so yes that's tape holding it closed. Its a common repair method for the high tech crowd.

First, take the batteries out and locate all of the teeeeeeeny tiiiiiny little screws holding the case together. If you have a magnet handy, put the screws on it so you don't lose them.

After you get the back off, VERY CAREFULLY unplug the connections on the LCD screen and VERY CAREFULLY disengage it. On this one, it just folded back out of the way.

All digi's have a large capacitor in them. DO NOT TOUCH IT!!

Doing so will result in possibly frying your camera and/or doubling your vocabulary. They hold a pretty big charge for something battery operated.

Locate the circuit board behind the lens, and remove the screws holding it in place. VERY CAREFULLY pry it loose from it's connections. Leave any ribbon wires connected, and just fold it out of the way. If you crack the circuit board, call it a day you're done. Have another beer and find another hobby.

On the underside of this board is the Image Sensor. This is the IMPORTANT PART of your camera. Don't scratch it or get fingerprints on it. If you get it dirty, just wipe it off with a Q-Tip.

Under that, I found a rubber bushing. Under the rubber bushing was the IR Filter.

It didn't look like anything special, it was just a piece of glass with blue plastic on it. VERY CAREFULLY remove it, and keep it in a safe place...just in case you decide to put it back sometime. If you scratch it or chip it, forget about putting it back.

The websites I read recommended cutting a piece of old developed exposed film, from the end of the roll...the darker the better.

Cut a piece the size of the IR Filter, and place it where the IR Filter was. Again, try not to get fingerprints or dust on it, and try not to scratch or mangle it. These scratches and mars will show up in the photos.

I took this thing apart a dozen times until I finally got it right. The first few times, the camera was freaking out, and turning off and on by itself. I'm guessing the internal components were trying to readjust themselves to the new influx of light. Its fine now...

So after putting it all back together, the photos turned out like this...WTF?!?

I guess the film strip was distorting the light and made the Image Sensor cry.

I looked at the IR Filter again, and painfully cut a piece of clear plexi-glass the same size. Took a lot of fine sanding and filing to get perfect.

Place this on top of the film strip to hold it down flat, and eliminate light distortion.

After that was in, and everything put back together for the millionth time...TA-DAAA!!

(taken in the daytime without the flash)

Now...what these websites DON'T tell you, is that the camera STILL needs a light source to work. You just can't take it into a dark place and start taking pictures, because they'll come out black. You'd need the flash, but that defeats the whole purpose of the camera being IR now. (duh)

If you use a Sony Night-Shot video camera, chances are you also have the IR Booster Light.

NOW you can take pictures in total darkness !!

(late at night, pitch black, no flash)

See the difference between seeing in the dark and only seeing a direct source?

 (modified) 

(unmodified)

NO...an unmodified digital camera WILL NOT "see" in Infra-red. Here's your proof.

Use the IR Booster frame and attach it to your camera.

Ok, so what's the whole long and the short of doing this?

Absolutely NOTHING!!

Its STILL a digital camera...

You'll STILL get annoying bogus dust "orbs"...

And you probably destroyed a perfectly good camera...this is all its good for now.

All you basically did was turned it into a Night-Shot Still Camera...that's all!!

So NO, 'wishful thinking-hopeful-wannabe ghost hunters' out there, its NOT the miracle device you'll want to rub all over your bodies and post 50,000 nothing photos on your websites.

There's NO real use for this in Ghost Hunting, because you'll still get distortions and enhanced shadows from common objects that'll you'll THINK is something worth bragging about, but its not. Its just the way light works...

 ~copyright 2010 Dr. Ken~

None of this material may be used
without the written consent of Dr. Ken