Infragram Point and Shoot Starting Instructions

Introduction

These instructions will guide you through the disassembly of your mobius camera and will make available and explain the necessary software that will be uploaded. If you [bought your Infragram Point and Shoot on the Public Lab Store] then it is very unlikely that you will need a software update(http://store.publiclab.org/collections/diy-infrared-photography/products/infragram-point-shoot-plant-cam).

These assembly Instructions are an activity and you can check the linked activity grids for more ways to use your plant cam. And as public lab is an open community, we also ask that you post your own research and activities for others to follow.

If you come up with a modification to your plant cam, such as using a different filter which is something user cfastie did

Assembling the Plant Cam

To install the IR lens (or any lens) into a Mobius camera, you will need the camera, your new lens, a size 0 philips screwdriver and a small hex screwdriver.

In order to begin disassembling the camera, flip it over. You will see two screws at the corners of the camera on the side nearer to the lens.

Loosen the two screws thoroughly. They may not come out, and you don't really want them to come out because they are small and easy to lose. If you loosen them enough, you can remove the back casing from the camera without needing to take them all the way out.

At this point you can see the lens. The lens is only attached to the ribbon, so you can use finger strength to remove it and get access to the screws that hold it on. There are two screws holding the lens to the camera.

You can remove both of these screws with the screwdriver

BE CAREFUL

The screws are small and very easy to lose. Place them somewhere safe, clean, and away from your working area. You may want to use play doh to hold them, as jewelers do.

Once you have removed the screws and placed them safely, you will find the lens cannot yet be unscrewed. This is because there is a hex screw holding the lens in place, preventing you from removing it. Use the hex screwdriver to remove it.

BE CAREFUL

The hex screw is also extremely small and can easily be lost. Put it in a safe place!

Once you have removed the hex screw, you can use your fingers to unscrew the lens. It may be difficult to get started, but fingers are a good tool to use for this.

We do not recommend replacing the hex screw until you have focused the lens!

Remove the old lens and replace it with your new lens, then replace everything how it was sequentially. We do not recommend replacing the hex screw until you have focused the lens! You may need to focus your lens, but we will get to that after we install the files.

After you've put everything back together, you may need to install files.

File Management

Your Mobius camera uses a micro SD card. If you purchased your camera from the Public Lab store you should not need to install any additional files as we install them for you we ship the cameras.

If you did not order your item from the Public Lab store, or if you have been directed for some reason to download these files, then you will first want to install the .bin file onto your SD card FWTLCAM.BIN

After that has been installed and the SD card has been placed into the camera, you will want to hold the power button down until the LED starts quickly flashing blue. You will see that it will continue flashing blue for some time, and then the LED will become yellow.

Once it is yellow, press the power button again to turn the camera off.

Next, you will install the config file onto the micro SD card. You may notice that where the SD card had previously been plank, now you see a file named SYSCFG.TXT; what you want to do is replace that file with our new file. Delete it, and install this file with the same name SYSCFG.TXT

Place the SD card back in the camera and this time hold BOTH the power button and the mode button until the LED flashes red. You will have to hold the two buttons for notably longer than you had to hold the power button last time, as long as 7 seconds, before the LED begins to flash red.

These files are not extremely complicated and can be manipulated by you at any time. If you find a configuration that is more optimal than ours, please post it as an upgrade. Public Lab is an organization that does its best to offer low cost and accessible tools and techniques in an open manner, and we rely on community members like you to give back with information for all.

Focusing the Camera

Focusing the lens may require some trial and error. To begin, you will want the lens to be fairly tight. Not entirely screwed to its maximum limit, but it should definitely sit slightly recessed from the case when the case is closed; perhaps by 1mm or the height of a fingernail.

To begin, make sure that the hex screw that holds the lens in is removed and placed in a safe space. Place a pencil mark on the bottom of your lens and take some photos. Remove the SD card and look at the photos. Adjust the lens, and try again.

Once you find the lens fairly focused, make a mark at the 6 o'clock point where it stands. If you later on choose to take photos of closer pictures, rotate that notch to the points marked in this photo taken by user cfastie and taken from his guide here :

The caption on this photo reads: The scratch at six o'clock on the front of the lens is at the factory focus point. By rotating the lens a few degrees counterclockwise, the lens will focus at about three feet (yellow arrow) or at about seven inches (green arrow). The lens can be rotated with a sharp object inserted into one of the notches around the lens housing.

After you have focused the camera you want to remember to re-install the hex screw before closing everything up.

If you have any questions

For general questions, please post to our community at http://www.publiclab.org/questions.

If you have specific sales, customer service, partnership, or shipping related questions please send an E-mail to kits@publiclab.org

Source: Infragram Point and Shoot Starting Instructions