Laptop webcam infrared filter removal

[Brent]

First off, loooooong post, so apologies.

I decided to post this to give a little back to the forum and also, as I couldn't find any info on here or even Google detailing removal so had to carry it out "blind". I'm not hugely confident with this type of DIY but I've removed regular webcam filters before - it was the slightly smaller size and cost implications if things went wrong that worried me with the laptop! It's not a difficult job, but a bit daunting without any sort of guide to follow (for me anyway!) Hopefully this will help somebody of similar or less ability to carry out the mod.

As ever, if you decide to carry out the mod it is at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any destroyed webcams/laptops, etc!

So, a little background.

Having now purchased a camera I can automate capture with, I can leave the rig imaging for extended periods and go indoors. This is absolute heaven after 4 years of sitting outside manually starting/timing/stopping subs!

Unfortunately, at the moment, my sole set up position in the back garden is open to the driveway, and the driveway to the road - no gates. Although in a quiet cul-de-sac with no through pedestrian access, I could never leave all the gear out for more than a few seconds without returning, so decided that I would use the laptop webcam as a security camera. There were two main reasons for this:

1. The laptop's out there anyway, so a separate webcam isn't required.

2. One less USB port used up.

After testing various webcam software I settled on YawCam (www.yawcam.com) as it's free and has no bells and whistles that I don't need  - therefore low system overheads, but also has an option to use motion detection with email alerts if necessary in the future. I open a preview screen of the webcam on the laptop so that when I connect using Teamviewer it's there onscreen. I also turn the laptop screen off (FN + F6 on mine) as by definition of this method it is facing the rig and we don't want to light it up!

Before the filter removal I purchased the cheapest infrared illuminator I could find in the UK (this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380939940839?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - I have no affiliation with the seller, you will need to buy a mains supply plug also) in order to test that my 350D would not be affected by being bathed in infrared light. I was pretty confident as I use a CLS CCD (infrared block) clip in filter. I placed the camera (with illuminator facing straight into the filter) in the fridge and fired off a 10 minute sub, then repeated after moving the illuminator behind the camera to check there was no leakage through the case and that the viewfinder was covered well enough - success, nothing on the sensor in either sub!

For reference, my imaging laptop is a 5 year old Acer Aspire One A110, 8.9" screen netbook, but I would hazard a guess that the webcam size will be similar for most laptops, i.e. tiny!

Okay, on with the removal.

- Switch the laptop off and remove the battery. I would also highly recommend using a grounding wrist strap.

- The frame around the screen of my laptop has 6 screws covered by rubber covers. Once removed the frame just lifts off. I would think that this will be very similar on most laptops.

The webcam with the frame removed:

- On mine there was a single screw on the right hand side of the webcam board and then the board could be unplugged (a small plug on left) and removed.

- Next was unscrewing the lens. Before doing this I carefully used a sharp blade to mark the position of focus at 12 o'clock on the plastic, however, this would change slightly once the filter was removed. (You might be able to use a pen instead, but I couldn't get it to mark). Marking it took the guesswork out of getting it close when replacing though.

Mine had a tiny dab of glue holding focus but starting to unscrew it easily broke the bond.

The lens after removal:

And turned over, showing the infrared filter:

- To remove the filter, it's just a case of carefully using a sharp blade to pop it out.

The board with lens removed:

- Now screw the lens back into the board using your focus mark for reference.

- Replace the webcam board in your laptop and re-connect the plug

- Before replacing the screen frame, replace your battery and switch the laptop on.

- Start your favourite webcam software so that you can fine tune focus at the distance you will be using it. I didn't feel the need to re-glue the focus point as the lens was quite tight anyway.

- Switch off again, remove the battery and replace the screen frame, screw back together.

Test with the infrared illuminator.

Webcam infrared sensitivity BEFORE the mod:

Webcam infrared sensitivity AFTER the mod:

Tested in a dark room in daylight hours - illuminator off:

Tested in a dark room in daylight hours - illuminator on:

And finally, in the "field" with the illuminator switched on - no point posting a picture without the illuminator switched on as nothing was visible!:

My illuminator is placed inside the house and shines through the dining room window without issue.

The only slight problem I might have is that my guidescope and cam do not have any form of ir cut filter, so if the illuminator shines into the end of the scope it totally burns the guide image out. This isn't really a problem for me as I can't image to the west at all and my illuminator is placed on the west side of the scope, but if you have a problem just move the illuminator - job done!

Hope this all makes sense and is useful to somebody