Infrared Webcam HOWTO

Geoff Johnson writes "Some of the Slashdot readers may be interested in this page I put together. It describes how to make an ordinary webcam see in the near infrared waveband."

Comments

duh

[oliverthered]

Let me guess, remove the IR filter from in-front of the lens.

Re:duh

[m50d]

Well, and replace it with one to block visible light. But yes, that's about it.

Re:duh

[oliverthered]

You don't need to for 'night vision', which is what I expect most people will be interested in.
Full colour (maybe a tiny bit washed out because of the extra IR) during daylight, and at night switch on the IR light and you've got an IR camera.

Near IR isn't that interesting, except humans cant see it, what would be cool is if the chips could pickup far IR so you could see heat.

Re:duh

[AndroidCat]

He uses a piece black film negative. Would that be the best material for chopping visible light but letting the IR through?

Re:duh

[Gordonjcp]

I used the IR window off the front of a TV remote control sensor. Seemed to work ok, but it was very thin, shiny plastic. Thick diffuse stuff obviously wouldn't work.

Re:duh

[budgenator]

Cadillac has an interesting thermal system, I haven't really dug into it in depth, but basicaly the sensor is a bunch of capacitors similar to a ccd sensor. When the IR image is focased on the sensor, the heat causes the diaelectric between the capacitor plates to warm up and expand changing the charge on the capacitor and make it readable.

Sooner or later someone is going to hack the system for some serious geek factor. I could see someone hackering several of these different systems together for some cool false-color IR video. I used to do quite a bit of IR photography used Kodak's IR false-color slide film, green showed up as blue, red was green and IR was red if memory serves me correctly. The biggest problem was the film used the old-fassioned E4 process, so you either had to send it to Kodak or do it your self

Re:duh

[oliverthered]

Lots of things work, you can easily buy a IR pass filter.

I I've used purple sweet wrappers in an IR remote control, and often the plastic in the housing is good enough to block most visible light but pass IR.

Re:duh

[luna69]

Edmund optical sells some good IR bandpass filters I've used in the past: here

Re:duh

[huge colin]

Cadillac's system was actually a Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) module, developed by Raytheon. It required a thermal differential in the scene from frame-to-frame to be able to see anything, and thus a "chopper" wheel (a rotating slotted disc) had to run in front of the detector. The picture would smear and was generally low-quality. The module used by Cadillac was also rather low resolution (160x120, I believe).

The alternative to BST is microbolometer technology, developed by Lockheed Martin / BAE Systems and others. A microbolometer array consists of vanadium-oxide bridges that vary their resistance when exposed to thermal radiation. The scene will occasionally need to be "shuttered" (i.e., zero all the pixels against the back of a shutter mechanism to cancel the thermal drift that creeps in over time.)

Unlike light-amp, true thermal imaging allows you to see in complete darkness. And unlike projected-IR, it isn't limited in range by any kind of IR-transmitter. And unlike either of those technologies, it allows you to very quickly find humans (or other mammals) in a scene, and it allows you to see where things used to be by the heat-shadow that they've left.

Re:duh

[JohnFluxx]

Couldn't you use normal film, then develop in warm developer (say 35 degrees C) and use chemical swelling to change the color? That would shift the frequency down.
No idea if that works with normal film or not..

Re:duh

[RadioTV]

You can get photo quality filters from B+H.

Re:duh

[Anonymous Coward]

Those cost more than the camera (or wecam as they are called these days).

Re:duh

[budgenator]

basicaly the E4 process you expose the film

1. develope it the reduce the exposed silver halide crystals to metalic silver( results in an negative image)
2. bleach out the exposed silver( removes the negative image)
3. remove the film and expose it to light which exposes the undeveloped silver halide crystals
4. re-develope the film to reduce the exposed remaining silver halide crystals to metalic silver resulting in an positive image
5. fix the film to remove any undevelopes silver halide crystals
6. the silver reacts with the dyes in the film to become visible as color pixels

this results in a postive image or projection slide. The false color means the colors on the film don't represent reality.

Re:duh

[Anonymous Coward]

What do the pictures look like if you remove the IR-filter but don't add the visible light filter?

Re:duh

[tkohler]

Couldn't you use normal film, then develop in warm developer (say 35 degrees C) and use chemical swelling to change the color? That would shift the frequency down.

No idea if that works with normal film or not

It doesn't. The color is formed by dyes. Dye color isn't affected by swelling. Your trick would only work for holography or other system where the color is formed by interference phenomenon. Besides, the colors would shift back after the film dries and cools off. The color sensitivity is not affected by the chemical processing.

Re:duh

[JohnFluxx]

Ah. Yeah I use (or rather work against) swelling in holography. (It's my phd) I didn't really know how colours are formed for normal film.
With holography film, the color doesn't always shift back after the film dries, but that's quite an involved topic. Getting the drying right can be a pita.

Re:duh

[m50d]

Have you seen the Mars rover pictures? A lot of them are VL with near-infrared, if you look at the "colour wheel" on the rover you get a reasonable idea of its effects. Basically it makes things look redder, with a few things being surprisingly a lot brighter or darker but mostly the same.

Oh, great.

[millennial]

Now Paris Hilton's new sex tapes will be done by webcam... meaning even worse video quality! Seriously, though, that's pretty sweet. Props to this guy for figuring out how to do it.

Re:Oh, great.

[WebHostingGuy]

Trust me, this won't happen. No one wants to see her again, and again, and again, and again, and again

#!/usr/bin/perl
# use hard constants rather than soft references
my $parishilton = 1;
my $nakedbody = 1;
while ($parishilton == $nakedbody) {
print "and again ";
}

That being said the author of the article is definately a hardware hacker.

Re:Oh, great.

[Xyrus]

This isn't really anything new. Amateur astronomers have been doing this with webcams for awhile now. Even in the near IR range, some things look a little different.

Not recommended when planet imaging.

~X~

Can it see through clothing?

[Anonymous Coward]

Cause I'd really like to take my PC to the beach and get webcam shots of da honey's.

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

Some backscatter xray and realtime image processing (to normalize skintone color), and you could probably get what you want.

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[rbarreira]

The important question is... Can one do some glasses which work like that? ;)

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[Anonymous Coward]

Some backscatter xray and realtime image processing (to normalize skintone color), and you could probably get what you want.

and thanks to the wonders of backscatter z-contrast, there would be no debate as to who has implants.

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[Anonymous Coward]

Im sure they wouldn't find anything suspisous about a guy with a laptop with webcam attatched.

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[anagama]

This was covered on slashdot a long time agao.

But yes, it can see through clothing to some extent.

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

If there is one constant in technology, it's that every year miniaturization progresses.

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[mp3phish]

Time to start wearing some tin foil braws!!!!

(and panties :)

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can do this with almost any digital camera. A certain generation of camcorders needed no modification at all to be used as "X-Ray Specs" (just use "night" mode in full daylight.) while some later ones need as little as a small scrap of tape stuck in the right spot to fool the camera into allowing the above.

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[Legion303]

Yeah, see, that's what makes the parent post funny.

Here you go: http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict2&Database=* &Query=humor

Re:Can it see through clothing?

[skingers6894]

If you put the camera inside the right piece of clothing you can not only get the pictures but increase your chances of picking up at the same time.

What's a wecam?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well?

Re:What's a wecam?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe it's a weecam for installing in dark washrooms?

infrared wecam!

[Anonymous Coward]

that's just fantatic!

cool

[Anonymous Coward]

cool, (0)

The fun of spelling!

[christurkel]

Its Webcam, not wecam! :)

Re:The fun of spelling!

[harmonica]

Its Webcam, not wecam! :)

Actually, it's Uscam.

Re:The fun of spelling!

[vurg]

iCam just sounds too selfish.

Re:The fun of spelling!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's "it's," not "its!"

Re:The fun of spelling!

[Tore S B]

It's "It's" not "Its"! :)

Re:The fun of spelling!

[Uber Banker]

Grammar nazi is one thing, grammar nazi who gets it wrong another.

's is added as a possessive in most cases, but one of the exceptions is "it", where "its" is all that is sufficient.

Re:The fun of spelling!

[Anonymous Coward]

"it's" is a contraction meaning "it is". go back and read it again...

Night Vision Linux Webcams All the Rage?

[filmmaker]

Infared web cam? Somehow I don't think Bubble Cam would be quite the same at night. :D

I do wonder what the most common applications for Linux/IrDA are, considering the trend I've observed where among the most commonly requested Linux HOWTOs recently have been 'laptop', 'infrared' and 'webcam'. Is everyone building infrared webcams?

cached link of video if it dies.

[Organized Konfusion]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com.nyud.net:8090/geoff.j ohnson2/2004-08-08.avi

Re:cached link of video if it dies.

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course the video has nothing to do with the experiment...

Too interesting to find things

[michelcultivo]

And now you can find the stuff that is under your bed that you never imagine hat has been there a long time.

Re:Too interesting to find things

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean the dead bodies .. right ?

Re:Infrared

[AndroidCat]

Have you tried a universal remote that supports dog? It the pause button works then you need to talk to the patent lawyers.

Wee

[Anonymous Coward]

cam. Body heat activated.

The WEcam...

[mindriot]

...and, soon to come, the THEMcam!

SCNR... sometimes I'm amazed at what kinds of typos make it through to the frontpage.

But besides that, very nice article. I personally found IR very useful for some surveillance-type situations. A few years ago, my father set up an IR-sensitive camera and an IR diode in a birdhouse in our garden, which allowed us to watch the new-born ones without creating any disturbance.

Re:The WEcam...

[Short Circuit]

They don't leave them in "The Mysterious Future" long enough. I've sent corrections several times that didn't get read until after the story was posted.

Re:makezine covered this also

[millennial]

A nice attempt at karma whoring. Geoff linked to this in his story.

IR webcam ok, but...

[LiquidCoooled]

WTF is the timelapse movie doing there?

Its cool and all, but I thought a gallery of instructions would tax his server enough.

Sucker for punishment?

Re:IR webcam ok, but...

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

WTF is the timelapse movie doing there?

That's the guy thinking "before f*cking up my webcam to remove the IR lens, I'll do something normal with it so I won't feel so bad when it ends up dead on my table". His hack worked, so he posts both...

Re:IR webcam ok, but...

[PReDiToR]

I hope NTL don't come down on him too hard for putting a 6,912,000 byte file on the front page of Slashdot.

I don't think NTL limit bandwidth to their ISP provided webspace though, which this guy is using.

For information only, NTL provide cable to most of the North of England. My 1.5Mb (soon to be 3Mb at no extra cost) Hasn't let me down once in 2 years, since I got the standalone cable modem rather than the crappy set top box that did TV badly too.

Re:IR webcam ok, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

Its his ISP's server. homepages.ntlworld.com is the free space you get when you sign up for internet access with NTL.

Re:IR webcam ok, but...

[LiquidCoooled]

Check the NTL pages, they are already advertising the 1/2/3mbit service to customers.
If you haven't been upgraded yet, perhaps you should give them a call..

Re:IR webcam ok, but...

[CheeseyDJ]

Check the NTL pages, they are already advertising the 1/2/3mbit service to customers. If you haven't been upgraded yet, perhaps you should give them a call..

Or, if you have a cable modem, you can upgrade your connection yourself here.

Burgler Cam??

[GreyPoopon]

Does anybody think that coupled with a pure IR source of light this item would be useful in catching would-be prowlers without alerting them? OK, probably a stupid idea...

Re:Burgler Cam??

[GreyPoopon]

Sorry, my fingers must have been thinking of Hardee's when I typed that. (Why on earth, I don't know). It should be burglar, not burgler.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[sharkey]

Don't worry. You're nowhere NEAR Hemos' mangling of the English language. Do we even KNOW what a "wecam" is?

Re:Burgler Cam??

[gregor_b_dramkin]

With a non-alerting burglar cam, you get a picture of the guy who stole your TV, your jewelry, your laptop, ...

With an alerting burglar cam/alarm. The guy sees that he's been spotted, freaks out, and leaves. You keep your stuff.

I guess your choice depends on your priorities.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[shic]

There is a lot more to the idea of video security than the simple "alerting" or "non-alerting" you suggest.

For example, using your example of a car - I'd consider myself a madman if I opted not only to have a car alarm - but also to make it as obvious as possible that I am equipped with one. The snag, however with alerting alarms is that after a few "false alarms" it is widely understood that alarms signals will be ignored - people assume it is a technical fault... and the criminals know this too. Another problem with the alerting alarm is in automatically deciding at what point to take issue with someone's actions. For example, I'm aware of areas in which organised youths check all the car doors in a neighbourhood - hoping someone has forgotten to lock and alarm their car. Under these circumstances an alarm system does no good... It is important to discriminate... Burglar alarms also offer no protection from vandals - whereas a CCTV with night vision may well do - if only by identifying weaknesses in manned security. I imagine an infra-red video surveillance system would be an extremely good way to improve security for applications such as monitoring business car parks; monitoring entranceways to identify where layabouts trespass before any real harm occurs - as well as providing some way to counter graffiti tagging and other illegal unpleasantness.

I've long thought this would be a fun project - but as yet I've not found time to tinker.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[PaulBu]

The snag, however with alerting alarms is that after a few "false alarms" it is widely understood that alarms signals will be ignored - people assume it is a technical fault... and the criminals know this too.

As illustrated in
How to steal a million movie... ;-)

Paul B.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[ebob]

Not so stupid.

A couple of months ago a guy in rural San Diego did exactly that and nabbed some identity thieves stealing folk's mail from their mailboxes at night. Here's the story from the San Diego Union Tribune:

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sandiego/

Re:Burgler Cam??

[deacon]

Sure. But if you want to step up in image quality and view range:

Use this camera, illuminate with this device and use a C-mount lens from this page if you are comfortable with removing the electronic iris in some of these older, but superb qulity, lenses.

You will be able to read a license plate at 75 feet in complete darkness.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[ebob]

Oops. Deeper link to actual story.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[ThomaMelas]

Check your specs again. That illumanator only covers 30 ft. Second, to get a license plate at 75ft is diffcult to impossible. To get a good read off a plate, you need a small FOV, which means that the landscape has to be in your favor. You need a narrow driving path and something to slow them down for a moment.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[ImaLamer]

unless he/she gets pissed and just starts trashing your stuff....

I know when you secure car stereo equipment frustrated theives end up cutting speakers and ruining wire runs.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[ImaLamer]

Or you could get that CSI technology and pick the plate number off of 160x160 webcam images...

Re:Burgler Cam??

[ockegheim]

I'm pretty sure that's what they use on the Big Brother TV series to film people in the bedroom after the lights have gone out. It was possible to identify people because they were using professional cameras and I was familiar with the people already. With a webcam (especially my one), you might not get enough detail to identify someone you didn't know previously.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[trixy_1086]

Some thief pried the face plate off of my car stereo with a screw driver. dufus.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[Forbman]

most US license plates these days are covered with a layer of retroreflective glass beads that happen to work really well with IR light sources.

The cops want front license plates because their radar and lidar guns work WAYYYY better when reflecting off of a front license plate on most cars than without the front plate.

This issue gets rehashed periodically by Car & Driver, Road & Track and Motor Trend.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[TheAwfulTruth]

Such cameras are readily available from Frys and home automation stores everywhere. During the day they work as regular CCD cameras, then at night a ring of IR LEDS around the camera lens turns on and illuminates the area where the cameras unfiltered CCD can then pick it up.

Re:Burgler Cam??

[ThomaMelas]

For cops that works, they just need any angle. For CCTV work you need something within a few degrees of dead on.

Re:makezine covered this also

[David Horn]

I don't know about US money, but British notes look really cool under UV light.

Re:makezine covered this also

[supersuckers]

I don't need to karma whore (mine's excellent), and it's a different link, but ok.

6.9Mb DivX AVI file

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, man. Slashdotting in progress.

Re:6.9Mb DivX AVI file

[Anonymous Coward]

lets see, its been up for a few hours now, 160 comments, and i am downloading the divX movie at 45kb/s, considering the slashdot effect, that is pretty damn amazing...

IR filter

[RikRat]

Hmm, I opened my sweex webcam (the same he has) and unscrewed the lens. But my IR filter is round (so not a square as in his webcam) and won't come out.

Re:IR filter

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait! Don't listen to this guy, he's BALD! That means that he's UGLY. He's a Brit too! That means he has bad teeth, big ears and smells like cabbage.

Re: IrDA != infrared webcam

[Alwin Henseler]

I do wonder what the most common applications for Linux/IrDA are, considering the trend I've observed where among the most commonly requested Linux HOWTOs recently have been 'laptop', 'infrared' and 'webcam'. Is everyone building infrared webcams?

Maybe you're confused here, and should check out some of those HOWTO's yourself (and read the article for once), to see what it is all about?

To use a webcam for looking in the infrared spectrum, is not the same as using infrared light for shortrange communications (IrDA, TV remote etc).

Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[OneDeeTenTee]

If you're lucky the webcam won't have an IR blocking filter.

You may want to check it with a remote (or just put your IR passing filter in front of it) before you take it apart.

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[bcmm]

I have a camcorder (analog, large by modern standards) which has a mode in which it takes infrared images. It has a bright infrared LED on the front, so it can work as an active infrared system in total darkness (it gives weird green-and-white images). The thing is, when it is in normal daylight mode it can still see IR, and you can see, as you say, remote controls as flashing lights. Which makes it's own remote control look silly when we use it to start/stop recording.

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[Lispy]

Isn't this the same technology as the nightvision mode in Nokias vga-camphones?

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[JimmehAH]

I just checked with my 3650 and the TV remote. They are sensitive to IR but the remote is nowhere near powerful enough to use as a torch. I'll have to do some further experimentation.

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[Kr3m3Puff]

Yup, my Color QuickCam express didn't have a filter, so all I needed to do was insert the "Visible Color" filter on top of my lens and I have a IR QuickCam that is easy to "undo".

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[Cmdr TECO]

Not just webcams. I've just checked, and my cheap piece-o-crap digital camera (Olympus D-390) doesn't filter IR.

Excuse me, I have to go out now.

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[bn557]

ahhh, IR sensitivity along with a polarized lens filter will allow you to 'see through' cotton clothing. It's really quite a cool effect.

At my former workplace, we had a sony camcorder that had their night vision mode. If you used the polarized lenz filter, and accidentally left the night vision on, you might accidentally see through somones shirt.

P

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[Zinob]

In fact it does at least mine, but its quite crappy (besides IR is a bitch to block perfectly, haven't seen a single filter that is able to kill to 100% of it, so you will see a remote even though your camera has one). On my QuickCam express it is located behind the rearmost lens i.e. the one located closest to the sensor (which it glued to the housing) so you have to (carefully) pry that one loose (i used a really small screwdriver and an awl), then remove the little clear square of glass behind it (looking just as in the pictures(!)), and wollá! You have even better reception of IR (err considering the quality of the CMOS sensor i guess i should say "less bad").

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[Anonymous Coward]

"If you used the polarized lenz filter, and accidentally left the night vision on, you might accidentally see through somones shirt."

You mispeled skirt.

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[Zinob]

No, doesn't seem like it, IR generates B/W images my phone in "night shot" mode still gives some kind of colour. Not that i'm willing to attempt to take apart the extremely miniaturized and well welded camera housing of my Nokia 5140 cellphone. But from the behaviour it seems more like it is just emulating longer exposure time then the camera is really capable of by taking two (or more?)images at maximum exposure, adding them together and then do something similar to Photoshop's "Auto contrast" filter.

Re:Not all cheap webcams have filters.

[alienw]

Even if you see a remote it will most likely still have a filter. The LED from the remote is bright enough to go through any IR filter. However, if the LED appears a little bluish, you definitely have a filter.

Many high-end web-cams have day/night and pan/tilt

[Anonymous Coward]

We've been buying VB-C50iR cameras from NuSpectra for construction monitoring. We can do all this--perhaps not as cheaply!

Pan/tilt/zoom control, day night filter (changes to IR/Night mode on a schedule)... Plus 26x optical zoom rocks.

NuSpectra has a demo camera out of their office in San Francisco.. See demo in upper right corner of page.

We also use the SiteProxy software that lets us build time-lapse movies from all the camera's preset positions on the fly.

Check em out!

Re:Infrared

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow. Worst spam comment ever.

You could have made it a little less obvious.

The effects of IR on follicles

[TechyImmigrant]

Do you think his hair is transparent to IR, or the IR made his hair fall out?

Re:The effects of IR on follicles

[kgruscho]

actually IR has ocassionally been used in (film) photography to reduce blemishes on the skin, etc.

Re:The effects of IR on follicles

[Fishead]

What's really cool is looking at a person through a 3-5 Micro-Meter (aka "Far IR" thermal camera (think military and very expensive). Your hair looks black near the ends, and red near your scalp. Glasses appear black, veins are sometimes visible, and you can see 2 guys in a zodiac up to 20 miles away (which is why the military likes them so much).

This webcam mod is pretty cool, but only for us normal folk without $40,000 to spend on a REAL thermal camera.

Re:WEcam HOWTO?

[InfiniteWisdom]

I've heard of a webcam, but never a wecam.
Hence the HOWTO, duh!

OK.....

[mr_z_beeblebrox]

So the article details a cool hack, props. What I want to know is.....why was I able to download the 6.9 MB AVI file at the end. Isn't his server supposed to die or something? I can never download the files referenced by a /. link. Is something wrong?

Re:OK.....

[Anonymous Coward]

I just posted about this.

AC is to avoid Karma Whoring.

I was surprised to get it too, even though I'm on the same ISP =)

Re:OK.....

[Anonymous Coward]

because its hosted on NTL which is a large cable ISP in the UK, they laid cables in every street (well nearly) in the UK to lay the fibre (in the last 10years), so they have massive bandwidth capabilities
trying to /. them would be like trying to slashdot Verizon or British Telecom

Re:Infrared Technology and the Chinese Threat

[nounderscores]

Lets hack some cams, stick them on $89 lcd handheld tvs and send them to tibet as freedom fighter nightvision goggles.

It might make the fight more interesting.

this is true of almost all modern cameras..

[Mark19960]

altho, most that ive seen ahve the IR filter directly attached to the CCD.
you would remove the CCD, then remove the 'piece of glass' from it.

some cameras achieve this effect differently, I have not quite worked out how they work.
For example, Sony camcorders that have 'nightshot'
also have an IR filter, but I suspect its something different. the switch not only engages some IR illuminators, but does something in the lens block itself. (switches something in/out mechanically)
I know that the IR filter at the CCD remains there, its in a fixed position.

I am now curious and have to dissasemble a sony lens block to see :)

I used to work on cameras, and I have removed the IR filters on cameras before for a bit of fun.

if you can get enough IR leds going you can get it pretty well lit.
Altho, the resolution is probably not going to be that great at a distance.

Re:this is true of almost all modern cameras..

[Anonymous Coward]

Sony cams, and most camcorders in general that have a NightShot mode, do two things when you flip that cool little switch. The first is mechanical: the IR filter is mounted on a gimble, and is simply moved out of the way to allow IR light in. The second is in the software: the camera goes into "night mode" which locks the aperature into maximum (to prevent the whole see through clothing feasco early camcorders had)and can also do other things, depending on the camera.

Re:Infrared Technology and the Chinese Threat

[Anonymous Coward]

'tibet as freedom fighter'

A can of petrol will do

reminds me of futurama

[Anonymous Coward]

"And now, the award for best cinematography in a non-visible spectrum"

(season 3, episode 8)

This is interesting.

[game kid]

I just wonder why everything turns drab. I guess 'cause it can only get color with the black negative as opposed to the IR filter.

I'm getting fed up of saying whether it's Sweex specific or not.

This came very close to replacing my current "Quick! Get pregnant." sig, but since I just put that on (and I love it) it's on my Bio instead. Absolutely hilarious. I bet the next Slashdot cliché/meme will be "But is it Sweex-specific?"

Re:This is interesting.

[Fishead]

It is because you are focusing on a much narrower spectrum. You are looking at only light that is in the IR spectrum, so it makes sense that all the colours we see and appreciate, all meld into one.

This is the same reason why night vision will never be in colour.

(No, I didn't mispell colour :-)

Re:This is interesting.

[Lifthrasir]

night vision does come in colour. basically, there is a spinning colour filter wheel in front of the lens. This filters out all but one primary colour. The image is then amplified to white, and another spinning wheel near the viewfinder changes it back to colour.

it's kind of like a DLP projector, and might not actually use a wheel, but you get the picture.

Re:This is interesting.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm getting fed up of saying whether it's Sweex specific or not.

But is this /. specific????

Obviously...

[Anonymous Coward]

...the camera for the rest of us.

*ducks*

China steals...

[Anonymous Coward]

the UScam...

Re:China steals...

[harmonica]

"Steals" is such a nasty word. They buy one, figure out how it works and then build it in mass production.

X-Ray Specs

[lildogie]

Wow, just like those funny glasses I bought from the ad in the comic book back in the 60's.

Re:X-Ray Specs

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you sitting there and telling everyone that you remember that era ???

funny

[Anonymous Coward]

people talking about slashdotting an NTL webserver, they dont realise that NTL are a massive UK network supplier, trying to slashdot 'em is like trying to slashdot AOL or Verizon's network, aint gonna happen
so keep clicking !

Doing it as we speak..

[srosebush]

I'm trying this on a Creative Webcam Blaster 3 or whatever the heck it is.. I just got the IR filter free and it's square, Required some drilling and stuff to get the lens free of the housing, now just to go to the photo albums downstairs.. Haha

Re: makezine, ob. They Live reference

[rubycodez]

U.S. notes not too interesting, just big black letters on light background saying "THIS IS YOUR GOD"

Re:Infrared Technology and the Chinese Threat

[budgenator]

Actualy this is pretty much WW-II style technology, the old Sniper-Scopes used active IR like this web-cam mod. Now the problem is passive IR is so common firing up an IR illuminator is like painting a bull's-eye on your forehead. It's so common, we put blue filter on our flashlights to block the near-IR and IR output; visible light is less damgerous the IR at night!

The day is still young...

[Shazow]

Everyone is still asleep from their late-saturday-night D&D sessions.

Give it time... :-)

Re:The day is still young...

[Fishead]

D&D is so yesterday.

The torch has been passed to WoW.

Re:The day is still young...

[Martin Blank]

I haven't done one of those in years.

Now I play Rifts, though I'd prefer to play Cyberpunk 2020.

Re:The day is still young...

[Shazow]

That works, since saturday night was yesterday.

Re:The day is still young...

[M1FCJ]

Wow.. does anyone still play Rifts?

Re:The day is still young...

[Martin Blank]

Yeah, quite a few, actually. The local game store (where I worked once as a wee lad) still has it amongst its top selling game systems, and Palladium has managed to not only stay independent, but to also grow.

One question

[gone.fishing]

Will this mod void the warranty?

(it's funny, laugh)

Re:One question

[Anonymous Coward]

Only if you TELL THEM.

Heat Seeker

[Doc Ruby]

We need a demo of pix of his hot neighbor in her nightgown. Too a HW hacker never sees her that way around sunrise.

MirrorDot Mirrors

[bluenirve]

Mirrors, since the server seems to be killed:

http://mirrordot.org/stories/0f4c16b9b81336a47e2 71 946ea2c4f05/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/500b2d167649654776203 ac4b39a7de7/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/8023a0c789c13d0dc1cdb 3a81af55da4/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/3b70713fbed60adef43ab 1feef78885e/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/89ad040671002eac68ef1 bf16d6d3eb9/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/97bea4a96b68c75421495 db297133986/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/26c7cedee939f9772e8aa c3a1809b8b2/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/1e55c7004a294b10894eb c3a3f593c40/index.html
http://mirrordot.org/stori es/b49760e4925b42e6014ca d32cdf74832/index.html

Enjoy.

Re:MirrorDot Mirrors

[ScottyUK]

Server seems to be working fine......

Look for heat loss?

[crow]

Will this capture the right range of infra red to detect heat? If so, then I could see using it with a laptop on a cold day to see where I need to improve the insulation on my house.

Re:Look for heat loss?

[EggDye]

I'm afraid that this modification won't work to detect heat. Heat is far infrared, and detectors for it (usually called thermal imagers) run in the US $4,000+ realm.

Re:Look for heat loss?

[Fishead]

Over US$40,000 for the ones with the miniature cryogenics module to cool the IR detector to -175C

Re:Look for heat loss?

[Cycloid Torus]

So the guy who figures out that hack wins a "Service To Mankind" Award. Look at you heating bill (if you pay one) and consider the value!!

Re:Look for heat loss?

[SmurfButcher Bob]

Nah, you don't need to spend that much. You can bottom-feed off the low end for about $13 grand for a fixed-notch greyscale bolometer type. Better ones will run up to 20 grand, and offer a full floating, variable width notch with false color representation.

Granted, these are all intended for structural firefighting, so they aren't cheap. But they *are* intended to be dropped, kicked, and roasted. Obviously, you'll trade weight for battery life and heat shielding - the Draegers have full Ni cladding and can survive long exposure, but they weigh a lot. The Scotts are much lighter, but don't get them above 600 degrees...

Re:Look for heat loss?

[ckedge]

No it won't. This stuff is near-IR, just beyond visible. What you're talking about is way way way further away from the visible spectrum, and requires much more expensive technology to see.

Re:Look for heat loss?

[deacon]

It cannot, because it would be blinded by its own temperature emissions.

The type of camera you want has a cooled detector/sensor. The early versions used a vial you would fill with liquid nitrogen. High pressure argon allowed to expand into a cooling chamber was also used. Modern cameras use a peltier type cooler to chill the detector.

About 10K new, several are listed on Ebay for much less.

Re:Look for heat loss?

[thogard]

The CCD sensor is happy to count photon hits not matter what frequency they come in at.

I have a $50 device that will measure temps by looking though a white plastic lens plus and optical filter.

So if I add that filter and cool the thing down, is there any chance it might work?

Re:Look for heat loss?

[Fishead]

The ones I play with are for navigation and marine security. With the odd billionaire's yacht thrown in for good measure. Much bigger budgets, and much better performance. Very cool to play with.

Re:Look for heat loss?

[SmurfButcher Bob]

Heh, I know the ones of which you speak :) Had one to play with for a weekend from a Cable Supervisor with AT&T, a very nice unit used for finding current leakage in the old transcon cables (and even today, bad patches in the jack bays). Although, I have to say - even the $20k units do a fair job of keeping up with it. You can still see your footprints, tiretracks, etc, but because you can't manually specify the notch-width, small temp variations can get lost... meaning you must manage the hottest and coldest region in view if you wish to see subtle gradients.

But, they do work well - you can get anywhere from a quarter to half a degree resolution out of 'em, easily (unless the floor is at 200 degrees and the ceiling is above 2000... but then half a degree doesn't matter, and getting your ass out of there does.) Still, you get about 256 shades to play with from coldest to hottest, so if you manage what's in view, you can get fairly decent results.

Re:Look for heat loss?

[Fishead]

I was having fun looking at vehicles in a parking lot one day. You can sure tell which vehicles were parked all night and which ones were not. You could tell that one tire of a delivery truck was low on air simply because the rubber between the treads on that tire were warmer then the other tires. Also it is easy to tell how someone uses their brakes.

trashed my kensington videocam

[emptybody]

I unscrewed the lense end - the same way you fine tune the focus.

it then proceeded to fall over due to the usb cable coming free in back.

I now have a little stack of lenses that I need to figure out the proper way to orient.

2 lenses - 2 ways = 8 combinations.
a third lense further out = x2 more combinations.
a fourth lense on the outsite = x2 more combinations.

Total 32 possible ways to re-assemble this little bugger!! DAMN-YOU!!!!

Worst of it is, the pink lense is a lense and not a flat glass filter. I cant use this cam :(

Anyone have a blow-up of this cam -
Kensington VideoCAM VGA PC Camera
Model#67015

Re:trashed my kensington videocam

[Anonymous Coward]

"Anyone have a blow-up of this cam"

It sounds to me that you just made a perfect blowup...

Re:trashed my kensington videocam

[emptybody]

Gah!.
the spacers make it even worse!!
up to 128 combinations!!!

I could get an assembled one from ebay sooner than I will figure this out!

Re:trashed my kensington videocam

[murph]

Sorry to hear about you trashing your cam. Do you know of drivers that work for it? I have a 67014, and didn't have much luck last time I looked. (Admittedly, I haven't tried in a while.)

--murph

Re:trashed my kensington videocam

[shadowbearer]

use the se401 module (assuming you're talking about linux :) I have a 67014 and it works fine.

SB

Re:trashed my kensington videocam

[emptybody]

would you mind opening the lenses and telling me their arrangement?
careful - make sure the lense is pointing down when you do it so they dont dump out.!!!

Re:trashed my kensington videocam

[shadowbearer]

I've actually had it apart before, but I don't remember the lense arrangement. At this moment I'm not even sure where the camera is :0

( I got it secondhand for a few bucks and it got dumped in a box somewhere when I got better ones)

If I get some time tonite I'll look for it but don't count on hearing back, it's tax time :-0~

Good luck!
SB

This is cool, but.....

[Enjoi]

I wonder how long it'll be until someone makes a Ultra Violet webcam :)

Re:This is cool, but.....

[Xyrus]

CCD/CMOS sensors are not nearly as sensitive in the UV as the IR.

Some sensors are more sensitive than others however.

The problem is, the lower the sensitivity the longer the exposure needs to be to create an image. Most webcams can only expose for a few seconds or less. So you'd have better luck with a digital slr camera.

You'd probably still need to modify the camera by removing it's cut/IR/antialiasing filter and replace it with UV pass filter.

There are a few places on the web that will perform this service, but of course you void your warranty. And unless you replace the original filter the camera is not useful for visible photographs.

~X~

ahh, the joys of voiding your warranty! nm

[Anonymous Coward]

gfgdfgdfgdfgd

Fortunately none of this touched any software

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice work!

Fortunately none of this touches any software, or you would have been in violation of applicable copyright laws that disallow 'disassembling'.

iCam, youCam, heCam, ...

[ballpoint]

Is the final -e missing ?

And naked

[elpapacito]

Just claim teh cam will take naked pictures of Paris infrared nakedness and you'll sell the mod not only to geeks, but also to freaks. Watch as they mate and take control of the world !

Re:Many high-end web-cams have day/night and pan/t

[Ark42]

Wow, but the important part, and hard part to get in most cases, is a good IR lightsource that can illuminate a big enough area, particularly if you want to use a cam like this for security.
Look at these prices though! http://www.nuspectra.com/SearchResult.aspx?Categor yID=21

Hack to bits your remote,,,

[kid-noodle]

Like I just did, and spend a minute or two rewiring the IR LED..

And then you can use the IR cam, with a constant IR source and see in the dark, presumably.

But I'll have to wait another few hours to test that.

Re:Hack to bits your remote,,,

[Rob T Firefly]

Ha ha! Now you have to get up to change the TV station.

Fun uses with IR

[PxM]

Anyone remember that PR nightmare a couple years back when people found out that using the IR (marketed as a nightvision) system on a certain Sony handheld cam would allow people to see through thin layers of clothing? A Google search for Sony x ray should give the results for anyone who is interested. And on the topic of cheap IR gear, http://www.amasci.com/amateur/irgoggl.html. It's effectively the same thing as this story but it's about what happens if you just stick the filter on a pair of goggles and use them during bright sunlight.

--
Free iPod? Try a free Mac Mini
Or a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox
Wired article as proof

Re:Fun uses with IR

[Anonymous Coward]

Enlarge your penis!

Re:Fun uses with IR

[Forbman]

It's effectively the same thing as this story but it's about what happens if you just stick the filter on a pair of goggles and use them during bright sunlight.

Nothing. Your eyes aren't sensitive to near-infrared light. But many CCDs in video cameras and digital cameras are.

Disgruntled ISP customer?

[The-Bus]

This guy must just be mad at his ISP or whoever does his hosting.

The ~7MB video file at the end of the page doesn't even have anything to do with IR video. It's like he wants us to take the server down.

So do him a favor and just download it 8 times.

Re:Disgruntled ISP customer?

[Anonymous Coward]

"I've also played with timelapse filming using a webcam though not an infra red one. "

He tells that the movie is not related to this IR project !!

Re:Disgruntled ISP customer?

[The-Bus]

That he does. But it's similar to someone writing about their kid's soccer* game and their ideas about how to coach soccer and then having a link to a montage of goals by Pelé and Maradona done over whatever Kylie Minogue song is in vogue now.

Yes, to some extent it is related, but not really.

* Soccer. n. football

If you want a time-lapse capture app for free...

[maird]

...Get one here: http://www.mair-family.org/Downloads/ Geoff says the software he had isn't very good. I couldn't find anything I was prepared to pay for so I wrote my own and publish it at that link. Sorry Windows only and WMV output. You can read the feature list for yourself but, in terms of Geoff's difficulty, it will capture frames at between 4s and one hour per-frame (configurable) and create a 15fps WMV.

Go ahead, /. my web server...Hopefully my ISP is tolerant.

Re:Many high-end web-cams have day/night and pan/t

[Fishead]

I usually prefer to use a high intensity Xenon light with a filter on the front. Xenon has a nice spike in intensity at about 700nM and makes an awesome covert searchlight.

See through clothes!

[SiliconEntity]

We all know the real point of this - to let you see through clothes like the infrared video cameras that came out a few years ago.

Re:See through clothes!

[shish]

He has a picture of himself in a multicolour top; it shows up as a solid colour, but not see-through :(

See through camera

[MaxBlue]

Didn't Sony have an issue a few years back with their digital camera's seeing through bathing suits? Wasn't it have something to do with IR?

Was their fix to add IR filters?

Re:See through camera

[Andy Dodd]

Their fix was to disable exposure control in daylight.

The NightShot cameras have IR filters just like any decent camcorder, which are removed mechanically when you turn on NightShot mode.

Too bad you can't come up with...

[Mongoose]

...a stero camera hack that used VI and near IR -- then you could write a driver to output funky composite, layered image formats like the remote sensing applications use in GIS...

or maybe I like image formats to much.

DNA

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you think his hair is transparent to IR, or the IR made his hair fall out?

Nope, his DNA's genetic programming is what made his hair fall out, just as it has my own, and will probably also begin to happen to yours someday too David.

BTW, having children seems to have an accelerating effect on the male hair loss syndrome.

Re:DNA

[TechyImmigrant]

Time will tell. Right now I need a haircut.

Re:DNA

[Anonymous Coward]

Enjoy it while you still got it. If your DNA doesn't get your hair, then in the blink of an eye your baby daughter will all too soon become a teenager, driving a car and dating boys. That'll do it for sure.

alternative approach

[tverbeek]

Or just accelerate your webcam enough (toward the object you wish to photograph) to blue-shift the infra-red into the visible frequencies. Put it on a really-high-speed ferris wheel or merry-go-round and synchronise the snapshots to its rotation if you want to keep it "stationary". Compensating for the doppler shift in the signal from the camera is left as an exercise for the reader. But no disassembly or modification of the camera needed!

Re:alternative approach

[mp3phish]

the "blue shift" is the "doppler" shift you speak of... They call it blue shift and red shift but it is the equivilent of the doppler shift of sound waves.

Re:alternative approach

[maird]

Er, wasn't the point that the useful (intended) doppler shift comes at the cost of another doppler shift in the signal coming from the camera to the viewer. IOW, when there is blue shift that moves the IR into the visible spectrum as the camera is moving towards the subject the camera is flying away from the receiver so fast that there is a red-shift in the signal from it. That was my understanding at least. FWIW, I didn't know if that would affect a cabled webcam or only a wireless one (obviously for a cabled camera you'd run the wire through a collar at the hob of the rotating parts).

Re:alternative approach

[njh]

Newtonian (dopplerian?) red shift occurs only because the waves are phase shifted/compressed by the motion. With these you wouldn't have trouble if you send the signal to a central receiver because the webcam never approachs the receiver. However, with relativistic doppler you also get a shift due to orbiting sources (I can't remember why though, I think it's because the measuring waves are also affected or something).

To move 310K (body temp) to visible light (at least 3100K) we need a factor of 10 increase in frequency (Wein's law), this corresponds to a shift of (10^2-1)/(10^2+1) = v/c, which is about 98% of the speed of light. That's a very fast wheel :)

Doppler occurs equally in cable and free space from memory (possible with a 0.7 correct for the change in the speed of light).

So I don't think the idea is practical.

Incidently, I think if you want to observe thermal radiation you need cool your sensor significantly below the temperature you want to measure to stop the sensor from light polluting your array. The great Chris Wallace designed the first peltier tree to achieve this.

Re:alternative approach

[tverbeek]

However, with relativistic doppler you also get a shift due to orbiting sources (I can't remember why though, I think it's because the measuring waves are also affected or something).

Is it because of the gravitational difference between orbit and the surface affecting the local shape of spacetime? I don't think that'd be a significant factor with our twirling webcam.

Re:alternative approach

[njh]

I don't know. Look it up and tell me!

Oh man.

[labratuk]

I knew about this, now you all know about this and it makes me feel far less self satisfied and clever now that it's common knowledge.

Re:Many high-end web-cams have day/night and pan/t

[Ark42]

Where can I get such a light, and such a filter? Hopefully for a reasonable ($100 total) price?

Warning: state of USB webcams on linux

[jago25_98]

I bought a sweex webcam like the one in the guide.

Indeed the usb chipset is supported (sn9c103), but the sensor isn't. So I'm sending it off to Italy for Luca the developer, well it's no use to me.

USB webcams can have different sensors within the exact same model, so you never really know when buying one whether it will work for sure.

Hopefully this will change if the USB video standard (similar to firewire video standard), comes about.

In the mean-time think about firewire cameras.

Sell one to me

[jago25_98]

£20 all inc. to UK address and of course, working with linux!

tried it(using just swiss) but whitout the film

[esoinila]

Hardest part was putting the Logitech QuickCam back together the right way -- because which ever way which part was was quickly forgotten in the process. I didn't have any film handy but the cam now shows security marks on 50 Euro bill quite nicely. The picture is more of black and whitish without the filter. It sees through things.

Now just good lighting. I have a bicycle led-light with individual lences for each led. One of these with proper leds might work nicely as home surveillance system.

But sure was and is fun....much thanks to the author.

Re:tried it(using just swiss) but whitout the film

[Anonymous Coward]

So much fun....just sent a message(calling card) with IrDA from mobile phone(6610) to logitech quickcam messenger. All it(the hack) took was 30 minutes and a small swiss pocketknife.

Here's a clip:
http://koti.mbnet.fi/esoinila/irda/IRDA.wmv

Re:tried it(using just swiss) but whitout the film

[esoinila]

So much fun....just sent a message(calling card) with IrDA from mobile phone(6610) to logitech quickcam messenger. All it(the hack) took was 30 minutes and a small swiss pocketknife.

Here's a clip:
IRDA.wmv

Re:tried it(using just swiss) but whitout the film

[esoinila]

A Candle flame looks like the sun and a glowing red hot needle will shine(while) 2 seconds longer on IR-modded cam.

This is great

[eanmeyer]

Five minutes after I read this I dug out my old IBM PC webcam and started tearing it apart. Five minutes later I had a working IR webcam. Now I want an IR flashlight.

Re:This is great

[Zoyd]

You can find IR flashlights and LEDs reviewed here:
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/

Re:This is great

[eanmeyer]

Thanks

Re:This is great

[Zoyd]

You're welcome, though it looks like I was partially mistaken as the only IR LED review I can find now is this one...
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledir.htm
.
. ...and there do not seem to be any IR flashlights reviewed there. The above review links to this IR LED supplier...
http://www.irled.com/
.
. ...which seems to no longer exist. I googled and found this company, though...
http://www.ledsupply.com/
.
. ...selling the following two IR LEDs:
http://store.yahoo.com/ledsupply/l2-0-ir3th60-1.ht ml
http://store.yahoo.com/ledsupply/l2-0-ir5th30-1.ht ml

Re:This is great

[eanmeyer]

Wow, double thanks. I am working on the bluesniper rifle that was posted later that day. I am thinking about putting the IR webcam on the bluesniper with scope optics. I thought that would be an interesting adition to the design. Thanks again.

QuickCam Pro 3000

[blueadept1]

Did it on my QuickCam Pro 3000. The filter was underneath the part that is screwed to the PCB. As the guy from the article says, use blank film (usually at the beginning of every developed roll) for a filter. I used 3 pieces, and it works well. I placed them between the CMOS censor, and the little plastic piece off of the PCB (where the IR filter was). For some reason, when I point my remote at it and press a button, I can see the flash.

Tomorrow on Slashdot...

[servoled]

Tomorrow on Slashdot, how to turn an ordinary car into a convertible by removing the roof.

Their fix

[Anonymous Coward]

What they did was disable all the camera's exposure control and a few other features when night mode is on. That means that if you try to use the night mode in the day, the image is completely trashed.

There are ways around it, though. The main one is to add an IR-only filter to the camera so that it's dark as if it were night, and to stick one of the switches halfway, or solder it.

Re:Hack to bits your remote...

[kid-noodle]

Somewhat to my amazement, this actually worked quite well despite my dramatic ineptness with electronics.

Pictures are in this thread.

I'd post a pic of the setup.. But I'm ashamed of it. Sellotaping wires to a battery just isn't .. y'know.. valid somehow.

Oh dear...

[FleaPlus]

Gee, I wonder what the average slashdotter is going to use this for. (link probably not work-safe)

WE LOVE YOU, PHRUSA TROLL!

[Anonymous Coward]

jew r0ck

Re:Infrared Technology and the Chinese Threat

[Lord Kano]

It's so common, we put blue filter on our flashlights to block the near-IR and IR output; visible light is less damgerous the IR at night!

There are a few natural sources of visible light that can go ignored. Such as a puddle of water reflecting moonlight. Nothing other than human beings should be outputting appreciable amounts of IR and near-IR.

LK

Re:Infrared Technology and the Chinese Threat

[ThomaMelas]

He was refering to things that can view IR.

logitech quickname pro 3000

[Anonymous Coward]

works great with this model, remove the back screw, seperate the focus ring from the ccd housing, unscrew the ccd housing, punch out the redish tinge ir filter on the ccd housing, replace with black film for ir only or simply punch out and reassemble to still use your webcam for normal camming, although of course ir is now included in the image.

Re:logitech quickname pro 3000

[Anonymous Coward]

quickcam^ not quickname.

I suck.

Re:Many high-end web-cams have day/night and pan/t

[Fishead]

Um... You wouldn't be able to buy something like this off the shelf, but you could probably get away with borrowing a xenon bulb from your neighbours audi then get a visible light blocking filter from your camera shop. Thing to keep in mind is not to stare directly into the invisible beam. Or you could just go to and buy a vector beam http://www.global-security-solutions.com/VectorLig ht.htm

Done.

[Easy2RememberNick]

I pointed my TV remote at my Logitech webcam and it detected the IR light.

Did the same thing to a Kodak CX6300 and a CX7300; they detected it.

All I need to do is filter the visible light, no screwing around...or unscrewing.

False Color

[purduephotog]

False color means ... what you 'think' red is is represented by something... what you think 'green' is is something... and what you think blue is is something else.

False Color means applying a dye that is proportional to exposure and it may or may not represent reality. Since we have 3 sensitivities (Excluding night vision) we have three discreet channels for image processing at the same time.

Biggest problem: When Green Grass comes out White because it is IR reflective. Thats when analysts have a fit :)

Did it to my 300D (Digital Rebel)

[purduephotog]

Took the whole camera apart, removed the optical pass filter from the CMOS chip, replaced it with an IR-PASS filter (rejects lessthan 750nm)... and I have a visible focus / IR sensitive camera.

Great shots, too

1st test shot here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/12473546/

Affordable Thermography

[Anonymous Writer]

Does anyone know of any consumer-level thermography DV cams? Something like a regular DV cam with audio that you can plug into a Mac or PC through firewire and do standard video editing with. I came across this on the net, but apparently the infra-red attachment costs around 14 thousand dollars (US). I was hoping there was a much cheaper one out there for hobbyists who are interested in the aesthetic quality of the images.

Re:Affordable Thermography

[blueadept1]

The only thing you need is a regular DV camera, knock out the IR filter, and get a new filter that lets in IR light in the spectrum of 3-8 m. I'm 99% sure that 3-8 m only lets in the IR light emitted from heat.

Not sure if you'll be able to do this for a very low price though.

BGMicro has a nice IR LED array with 36 IR LED's on a 2 inch PCB for $19.95. In their catalogue on page 5ish. This would be ideal for usage with a home made set of night vision goggles, along with a digital camera.

Re:Affordable Thermography

[Anonymous Writer]

Would that be able to show the ROYGBIV type of thermographic images, or would it just be a black & white version?

Re:Affordable Thermography

[BeaverCleaver]

I think the trouble with using CCDs for thermography is that they would be swamped by the ambient temperature. I imagine it would be difficult to detect a ~25deg human (skin temp) on a 25deg day.

Cheap IR pass filter

[Anonymous Coward]

I got this info of a newsgroup and it does work.

You can make a cheap IR pass filter (lets IR light pass only) by developing unexposed film rolls. Just buy a brand new roll of film and tell them to develop it. They will come out dark orange in color and will block out a lot of visible light. With 2 layers you can't even see through it.

The end effect is that the scene is monochrome but blueish. If you bring the camera outdoor the scenes will look quite interesting and have a *ghost* world like effect.

Subject

[Legion303]

Nifty, but videocameras would be much more interesting. I had an older model JVC that picked up the flashing IR of a TV remote...hmmm.

Re:Subject

[Forbman]

CCD-based video and digital still cameras do this as well. Point your TV remote at your video camera. The IR LED should be rather visible through the camera's view finder or monitor window.

CMOS-based video sensors don't do this.

Most of the IR filters on remotes, military MILES sensors, etc., are either visibly a very dark red or purple.

Re:Many high-end web-cams have day/night and pan/t

[Legion303]

Congratulations on finding a new way to subtly spam people with your shit advertising.

Well, maybe not so subtle. I'm noticing this more and more around here lately.

I remember seeing this...

[Khyber]

With my friend Qume over at Brazi and it was fun. He used an old Intel webcam, simply removed the green plastic filter and had fun taking creepy pictures of his face in IR. The extra film isn't needed, just the film that blocks the IR. Kill all lights, turn on your webcam, and spray your IR remote control all over the room. You'll love the results.

Re:If you want a time-lapse capture app for free..

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, this is a great little app, thanks.

Any chance of source/resources? The only decent tutorials I've found about vid cap have been VFW-based and therefore, as you said, a bit of a dead end.

Re:Many high-end web-cams have day/night and pan/t

[Forbman]

A 500W Halogen light would probably work (as long as you don't mind all the wasted visible light), as would an array of IR LEDs.

With the Halogen lights, use your IR-modded video camera to look at the shadowed areas, where people would think they're not visible.

Re:Infrared Technology and the Chinese Threat

[Forbman]

A lot of the "star light" sniper scopes use optical amplifiers: a series of plates held at high electrical potentials. When a photon strikes the first plate, it kicks off a few more electrons, which hit the second plate, which kicks off more, and... So these scopes need some sort of light source, star light is enough.

What this guy has done is take advantage of the CCD in the webcam, that most CCDs react quite well to near-IR light, and modifying the camera to filter out the human-eye visible components, leaving the near-IR part to get to the CCD.

So, instead of ripping apart a $500 video recorder, he's done it with a $30 webcam.

Tibetian freedom fighters?

[willCode4Beer.com]

Before the Chinese invasion, wasn't Tibet a theocracy where the Dalai Lama held absolute power?

Please note, I am not defending the Chinese. I find their form of Communism and the killing of thousands of Tibetians to be despicable. But, the idea of fighting them to restore a regime where one person has absolute control and the citizens have no rights doesn't sound like a "freedom fight" to me.

hmmm...

[Anonymous Coward]

Why not have the camera in/on a pole, moving back and forth continuously at very high speed, and not processing any input that it gets while moving backwards?

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/spec trum.html has the chart from which I'm making a half-educated guess, with some quick math and fading memories of high school physics, that you would need to move the camera forward about 3/4 the speed of light to make an almost-visible infrared wave appear purplish (almost ultraviolet) to your camera, and >140x the speed of light to make an almost-microwave infrared wave appear reddish.

Off-topic: I love the way this plays on guys' fantasies. Very creepy and disturbing, what with actually putting nipples on and all, and also for those who hide non-body parts (drugs, wires, weapons, etc.) taped to their chest or some other "concealed" part of their body. Maybe IR-blocking clothing will be big business when word gets out...

Filters

[OhHellWithIt]

I didn't get very far into the article yet, but from playing around with IR film in the 1970's, I learned that there are commercial filters available to filter out visible light, so it may be possible to do better than the author's suggestion to use a piece of underexposed photographic film for a filter.

Google turned up a very fine article on digital IR photography that lists specific visible light filters.

Re:If you want a time-lapse capture app for free..

[maird]

I'm scared to release the source, though I have thought about it a lot. It's mostly hubris that stops me, plus I'd like to avoid the inevitable abuse about my style and suggestions about how to implement it "properly" ;-) It's hard knowing which kudos to chase: the prospective employer with a million dollar offer for someone that can do this work; or the community. I'm a utopian with a family to feed. As an "anonymous coward" poster you might understand me being a named coward.

The DirectX SDK has some very good Direct Show examples and I used them for the source to real-time display parts of WebCam. There's a little filter builder test tool in the DirectX SDK that lets you chain elements to see what goes together to connect a source to a window.

WMV was an absolute bitch. The examples in the SDK are just rubbish and I ended up doing bizarre things like writing a program to dump the entire state for all of the installed Windows Media profiles in order to find out some of the undocumented properties that are effectively necessary for decent results. The default profiles are fine if you are using "Windows Movie Maker" but not for reasonably configurable applications.

GDI+, OTOH, is just fabulous (to program with). It's pretty well documented and examples aren't really necessary due to its simplicity. Though it's not without its own stupid behaviours, e.g. inability to construct an object to create an EXIF tag (though I haven't looked into whether or not that's just a feature of the .NET framework GDI+ interfaces). One of the other apps on my downloads, Thumber, heavily uses GDI+. That introduced me to another SDK that is just rubbish: the Canon SDK for the RAW image format from its digital SLRs. It's functional but gives very poor access to files.

Anyway, I'd prefer not to publish the source but you can always mail me and I'll discuss the elements of it and address any questions. Send mail to the dmair mailbox in the mair-family dot org domain.

cool when smoking

[cazzazullu]

I have a trust spacecam, a very cheapo thingy. I removed this IR filter and reassembled the entire thing within 2 minutes. Didn't put a visible light filter in though.
Because I don't immediately have a remote control lying around here we are smoking cigarettes in the dark to generate IR light, with the cam on. Very cool effect! Very scary faces when taking a puff... :)

simple answer

[nounderscores]

We give the nightvision goggles to pro-capitalism fighters.

pro-capitalism ?

[willCode4Beer.com]

Wouldn't giving be communist? I think you mean SELL to the pro-capitalism fighters. That would be the capitalist thing to do.

Re:pro-capitalism ?

[nounderscores]

Our mission is to defend capitalism, not to practice it.

Tibetan PhrUSA link

[SeanDuggan]

What, no bizarre segue into the nuns getting vaginally sodomized by the light of IR cameras? You're slipping, man...

For those who think I'm making a non-sequitor, this fellow, or someone with a similar bent, always used to find some way to work in the nuns being sexually assaulted, usually with the item of discussion.