Webcams for use in your own home are generally very inexpensive, but those who are reluctant to send their own data to foreign clouds or want to implement their own ideas can easily build their own camera with little money and a little manual skill. The core piece is the ESP 32 – camera module for 5 euros, that was introduced in Make 1 / 20. In addition to the unbeatable price / performance ratio, it offers the option of customizing the software and integrating your own functions and sensors.

A suitable housing is of course required for outdoor use. You could do this yourself with the 3D printer, but this requires some time for construction, printing and post-processing. There is already a suitable housing shape. You can find it in (online) electronics stores for a few euros, in different designs, made of plastic or even metal: the dummy surveillance camera. It is supposed to simulate a real camera and usually consists of a housing with a dummy camera and a flashing LED. If you remove the dummy, you have a great housing for the ESP 32 module . In addition, an infrared LED module (IR module) can easily be installed for lighting.

Make camera dummy smart ESP 32 – program the camera module Retrofit infrared lighting Checklist Time required: one afternoon Costs: approx. 25 Euro Programming: Arduino IDE Material Dummy camera housing ESP 32 – Cam module IR-LED-Ring ( 36 LEDs, diameter approx. 53 mm) Lens, suitable for IR , M 12 × 0.5 (e.g. image format 1 /2.7, focal length 6mm, field of view 58 °) Step-Down -Converter 4 × screws (for plastic parts, 2.5 × 6 mm) Self-curing silicone rubber 3D printed parts (1 adapter ring, 2 clips) Disassemble the housing The housing of my dummy could be dismantled in a few simple steps. The first thing I did was to remove the holder to make the conversion easier. This was only attached with a Phillips screw. The sun protection can be pushed back and removed. The front and back were merely “clipped in” and could be levered off with a flat screwdriver. I was then able to dispose of the wrong connection cable. I snipped off the two battery cables at the soldering lugs on the battery box and dismantled the front part. It was held together with three small Phillips screws. The plate with the flashing LED and the dummy lens is no longer required, the adapter ring with the real LED ring comes in here afterwards.

ESP 32 – remove cam camera lens I carefully removed the original lens of the ESP-Cam because a different lens has to be used in the surveillance camera. On the one hand, this is necessary because an infrared filter is glued behind the original lens, with which no lighting in the dark is possible. On the other hand, the lens must be guided through the acrylic glass pane of the housing to avoid reflections from the IR LEDs.

The removed and split lens

To avoid damage to the ribbon cable, the camera connector should first be disconnected. The camera lens is fixed with a bit of adhesive that has to be removed with a small screwdriver or tweezers. The lens can then be removed by turning it counterclockwise with small combination pliers. Then I reconnected the camera to the ESP 32.

Upload software Now the software should already be transferred to the ESP via the free Arduino programming environment 32 Loading. This is still possible later, but you can check whether the ESP 32 works properly. The preparation and configuration of the ESP 32 – CAM are in the make article “Intelligent Webcam for 5 euros “. The example sketch of the camera is sufficient for most applications.

Print adapter ring and retaining clips For attaching the camera, the IR-LED ring and the ESP 32 an adapter ring and two retaining clips are required. I made this available on the 3D printing platform Thingiverse.com. They can easily be downloaded and reprinted. If a light filament color is used, the camera chip may be dazzled by the LED ring. To avoid this, the lens mount should be wrapped with a piece of insulating tape.