Kodak
EasyShare CX4200 Conversion to an Infrared Only Digicam
January 24TH, 2010
In my quest
to modify digital cameras, I am always looking at different models
to try and modify. On this page you will see my attempts to modify
one of the Kodak EasyShare cameras. The camera is the CX4200.
My first impressions were that it felt pretty cheaply made. That's
good for IR modification though, because cheaper cameras are less
complex. This modification ultimately failed. The original photos
I took using the camera were fine, but after the modification,
the images taken had a grid like appearance to them. There must
have been something more in the hot mirror than was in my replacement
filter.
To start with,
here's a few shots of the outside of the camera.
|
|
Camera
Front |
Camera
Back |
|
|
 |
Camera
Bottom |
Camera
Top |
Step 1:
|
The
CX4200 was pretty easy to take apart. There are 6 external
screws. 3 are on the bottom. There are 2 on the left side
of the camera, and there is one on the right side of the
camera (the side with the battery door.
The
case separates all around the camera, with the silver side
being one piece, and the dark gray part being the other
half.
|
Step 2:
 |
To get
to the back of the camera, with the circuit boards and electronics,
there is one more hidden screw to remove. The last screw
is inside the memory card door. After removing this screw
you will be able to get to the LCD and circuit board.
|
Location
of the last screw.
|
|
 |
Camera
with the last screw removed. |
Step 3:
 |
To get
to the hot mirror, you will need to remove the lens assembly.
There 3 are big black screws on the back circuit board.
two are easy to find. One actually holds the LCD screen
onto the camera.
Remove
the LCD screw and lift it up to find the hidden screw.
|
Remove
this screw to get the lens assembly off and expose the hot
mirror.
|
 |
Step 4:
|
Here
is a photo of the camera with the hot mirror exposed. The
mirror and sensor assembly slide up into the lens assembly.
I removed the hot mirror, and replaced it with my visible
light blocking filter.
|
Here
is a photo with my filter on the camera, ready to reassemble. |
 |
Sample Photos:
Unfortunately,
after I reassembled the camera, the photographs I got out looked
terrible. I ended up removing my filter to see what the problem
was. I don't know what the issue is, but the hot mirror must have
been a specialized material, because all my photographs now display
an odd grid pattern. Here is an example. Click for a large image
and better view of the grid.
|
