How to add night vision ability to you digital camera

The project:

You know that many animals like dogs can see at night in absence of visible light. But human being is different. Without artificial lighting we can see nothing during night. However, like many other natural obstacles, technology has devised way to solve this problem too. And the technology is in general known as night vision (NV). There are different types of technologies available for night vision and most common type is IR or infrared based devices. Infrared is just like any other light except human being cannot realize its presence with bare eyes. Infrared gets reflected and refracted similar to any other visible lights when falls on any object. IR based NV devices captures those reflected rays and convert them into photo signals. People generally see those photo signals on regular displays attached to the devices.

Night vision ability to you digital camera

Invisibility nature of infrared gives it a stealth nature. Worldwide law enforcers and defense people use these devices to conduct operations after the dark. They are extremely efficient and expensive and you could hardly lay your hands on them as they are restricted from entering normal consumer market. But don’t worry. Here doesn't stop the story. We have for you an excellent project. If you can’t buy a NV device, better build one with few regular resources.

Difficulty level: Moderate

Time required: 2-3 hours

Estimated cost: N/A

Resources required:

1 standard digital camera

24 Infrared LED with High Output capacity

220 ohm resistance carbon film type

PC board with grids or grid styled

9 V snap connector with proper insulation

9 V alkaline battery

Bolt, nut and washer

Blue photography filter

Project box in 4X2X1 inches size

Black and red colored insulated wire

Instructions:

To build this night vision device you need to construct two separate devices – object illuminator and infrared sensing camera. The job of first device would emit infrared light, which would fall on the object you target it at. Second one would capture infrared lights reflected by the object. Your digital camera would work as the second device after minor modifications.

1. First you have to open the outer casing of your digital camera by unscrewing. Store those screws carefully as you would need to use them again.

2. After the outer cover, you need to loose the LCDs display a bit from circuit board without tearing connections.

3. Now you could locate the area where lens is connected with sensor.

4. Shake the circuit board a bit. This would release small pieces of infrared filters, placed within the gap between lens and sensor.

5. Now you have to cut blue photo filter in 6 to 8 same size pieces as the IR filter. Put these blue filter pieces in the gap where IR filter was between lens and sensor.

6. Assemble all the untied parts of the camera and fix it properly as before. Your infrared sensing device is now complete.

7. Take the grid styled circuit board and insert 24 infrared LEDs in 3 rows. Each row would contain 8 equally spaced LEDs

8. Remember to insert LEDs is a way that anodes and cathodes would be aligned in a row for all LEDs, placed in a single row.

9. Now join anodes and cathodes for each row separated and solder them properly. Now you have 3 rows of connected anodes and cathodes.

10. Attach 220 ohms resistance to each row of cathodes and finally connect those resistors to a red colored insulated wire.

11. Connect all rows of anodes with black colored wire.

12. Now you have two loose ends of blue and red wire. Solder them with the battery clip. Preliminary IR emitter is ready. You have to just connect the 9V battery with the circuit and your LEDs would start emitting infrared lights. However, you won’t be able to see them with open eye.

13. For final packaging, you have to secure the circuit board with LEDs into the project box.

14. Drill 3 equally placed rows of holes similar to your arrays of LEDs. Each hole must have 8 similarly spaced holes other wise you won’t be able to pass those LEDs through holes properly. You can use either 13/64 inches or 7/32 inches bit for drilling.

15. Your project box is ready. Place the circuit board into the box in such a way that LEDs would pass though each hole.

16. Test the project in a dark room. Connect the battery and shoot with your camera. You would be seeing photo of objects within the room illuminated by your IR LEDs.

17. You can make another whole in any of the side of the project box and fasten a bolt with nut and washer to mount camera on it. but this is optional. You can keep the box separate from the camera too. Just need to place the battery inside the box and close the back cover properly.

Quick tips

The expensive most component in this project is the digital camera. Though in this project FE-47 Samsung camera has been used but you can use your old digital also. The camera used here is easier to disassemble.

Things to watch out for

1. Be careful when handling with grid circuit board and solder. Dust from circuit board is harmful to respiration process and solder could harm your skin if not used properly.

2. Always take extra care and time when disassembling a digital camera. Parts within the camera are very tiny and delicate. If not done properly, that could damage the device.