m33p.be / IR digicam

I read an article about converting a webcam for infra Red use. I had an old UMAX AstraPix 430 digital camera sitting in bits in a drawer and decided to have a go at making it IR only. Like webcams, the camera uses a cheap CMOS sensor.

I found that the supplied lens has an IR filter consisting of a coated lens inside the barrel, I couldn't remove the coating so had to try something else. I have a collection of small CCTV cameras, so I took a lens from one of those and found it was the right size, although fish-eye.

I attached two bits of black film negative to the bottom of the lens barrel and screwed it in place, re-assembled the camera then fixed the focus with blu-tac.



I think it's the cameras auto white balance which causes the difference in colour.

I have managed to take some quite funky pictures, the fish-eye on its own adding to the effect. IR on a bright sunny day produces some quite dramatic looking clouds.

You can see all the infra Red pictures I have taken in my gallery.

Links:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geoff.johnson2/IR/