[thedoc (OP)]

See the world from a completely different point of view using an old webcam
and some exposed film.

Read more about this kitchen science experiment.

 

[rosy]

Hehe. This is deeply cool. You should all do this

[techmind]

I've lots of experience with infra-red cameras. Most black and white "security" cameras don't have any IR-blocking filter, so you don't need to take them apart. Just add a visible-blocking filter (black exposed negative film etc) as described.

Other possible visible-blocking filters include most transparent-but-dark-coloured plastics, including theatrical "gels", or even Quality Street wrappings (although the optical quality won't be so good).

Colour cameras invariably have IR-cut filters built in (usually the green-cyan coloured chip of glass) as the red/green/blue "colour" filters within the CCD are all IR-transparent so without the IR-cut filter you'd get a colourless black-and-white (infra-red) image.

I didn't know about the banknote ink before though. Cool!

[Cameron Lapworth]

I'm a science teacher,  this is a fantastic thing for me in the classroom.  Works great!  thanks guys.  One word of warning if any other teachers plan to use it in class.  I pointed it at my wife and her bra showed up straight through her otherwise opaque top.  Might get yourself into some trouble and cause some significant embarrassment if you go pointing it at girls.  Suggest if using it in class you keep it away from the girls.

Again Thanks very much great job. 

[RD]

Monochrome Infra-red film for 35mm cameras is available while stocks last ...

As of November 2, 2007, "KODAK is preannouncing the discontinuance" of HIE Infrared 35mm film stating the reasons that, "Demand for these products has been declining significantly in recent years, and it is no longer practical to continue to manufacture given the low volume, the age of the product formulations and the complexity of the processes involved." see notice: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/discontinuedNotice.jhtml?id=0.2.26.14.25&lc=en At the time of this notice, HIE Infrared 135-36 was available at a street price of around $12.00 a roll at US mail order outlets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_photography

[paul.fr]

Old webcam stripped down and ready, now i only have to find the drivers for it!

In the meantime, a quick question. If webcams have the filter fitted, how do software programmes work where you can view the image in 'nightvision / IR' mode'?

[daveshorts]

I have no idea what the software is doing. What does the result look like? Does it work when the room is dark and you illuminate something with a remote control, or is it just an aesthetic thing?

[paul.fr]

I have no idea what the software is doing. What does the result look like? Does it work when the room is dark and you illuminate something with a remote control, or is it just an aesthetic thing?

My own thinking was that it was simply aesthetic, applying a reddish tinge to the image, i was hoping to be wrong. I will  post/take some pictures when it gets dark.

I can say that it does not give an image like the one you posted above.

[another_someone]

I have a 'night vision' on my webcam, but all that is is a row of leds beneath the camera that illuminate the subject, so there is no actual light detection outside the visible spectrum.  I cannot say if this is anything like what your webcam is doing.

[turnipsock]

I also bought a cheap 'night vision' webcam. All it is, is a webcam with some high intesity LEDs that kick in when it gets dark.

What I really need is a webcam that works like my security cameras...that is, it works like a normal camera during the day and then switches infra red when it gets dark.

I have a web cam that runs 24-7 (but has been having problems recently) that shows the garden to the world. During the winter months there is not much daylight.

http://www.gadgetreview.com/2006/01/genius-videocam-trek-310-infrared.html I might try one of these.

I did see some pages where you removed a filter in the webcam...and then the camera became 'infra red'. I have taken a few cameras apart and not found this filter.

[turnipsock]

At long last, I have my infra red camera working...and working well.

http:\\turnipsock.camstreams.com

You can see the dogs bowl and me playing with telescopes on a clear night. During the day, you get a view of the garden...and the dogs bowel.

[RD]

At long last, I have my infra red camera working...and working well.

You can see ... the dogs bowel.

It must be an endoscope  [].
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4145984.stm

[Pedro]

I have noticed that the infrarred light of the TV remote control can be seen as a blue light on with my digital camera, but...why blue and not red?.

It is strange that IR light excites de same detectors or cross the same filters as blue light, instead of exciting the red ones.

[Gopakumar]

This is aweosme, but is it possible to detect UV with a webcam like this, I am looking at measuring combustion efficiency looking at flames through a webcam..tIs there a lower wavelength limit just like the upper wavelength limit for the commercially available webcams?

Thanks and regards

Gopakumar.S

[Ron]

hi, great topic

i want to turn a still camera to use in nighttime for animals i was told i can remove a IR filter, have you done this before and could you explain to me how, regards Ron

[Technoshaman]

I tried it with my salvaged CCD security cameras. One thing to note is the change in focal distance. After removing the filter (I tried to grab the filter with pliers, and got crushed glass in my eye, that was stupid of me - a slight push to the side was enough) a regular 3.5mm lens could not focus the image, so I used a 6-60mm zoom lens. It works great (seeing in the dark, through clothes and dark transparent plastic). You can still see light from my small IR torch (12 small IR LEDs) without removing the filter, yet when you remove it's 100 times stronger I'd  thought my IR torch was weak, but it was just the filter. Thank you for this article.

[E]

@Gopakumar: As far as I know, the sensor of the webcams are limited to the VIS & IR range only. You can get lucky by using the sensor of a DSLR which captures a tiny bit, and then using long exposure to get pics.

[Marcel dot]

 Glad to see it is here! I work in forensics and the near infra-red (NIR) is used to distinguish pen inks that look the same to the naked eye but are different under NIR... like a few zeros added to a cheque with a different pen. ....Of course ... for bank notes... Dyes are transparent to NIR but not pigments. Dyes get their color from being in solution while pigments have their color just as being a solid. Chlorophyll in plants gets its color from being in solution. It is a dye and this is why green plants look white in NIR.

  As for experiments, I have done all the above. I like dark clothing or dyed hairs that appear white in NIR .. Even with my digital camera and a two layer exposed color film
I can take NIR pictures in full sunlight.

Near infra-red is also called 'actinic' infra-red because it behaves more like light than heat.. Kodak had a nice booklet on infra-red photography ...

You can get infra-red luminescence .... Excitation of some materials with a strong blue light devoided of NIR may produce infra-red luminescence. Powerful Blue diodes do work or .... incandescent lamp (bulb with filament) light filtered by a copper solution (copper wires half way into vinegar- few days)  that absorb the NIR; best test subject is brown-orange Cadmium sulfide from a photo-resistive cell (very strong)..

Marcel
 

[Matt]

I was shown this page after having just completed this hack on a webcam myself! It's great fun isn't it? Am now wondering how easy this would be to do with mobile phones..
I love the explanation and examples here - and the £5 trick is really cool! Works with a £20 too...

[RE.Craig]

If you have an LCD microscope or one with a USB camera, switch it to B&W mode then put flower petals on the specimen stage and illuminate it with a remote control. You will see wonderful markings and designs that only Bee's and Hoverflies ever see! They are awesome. Insects also are seen in a new "light" pun intended. See the pics below!