May 3, 2025

Fujifilm MV-1, Full Spectrum Modification

After repairing it, testing it, and realizing it's not worth much, my only option with this camera is to use it as a base for some "creative" modifications.
It might be fun to try using it despite its obvious limitations.

One simple modification could be turning it into a full spectrum camera.

Basically, you just need to reach the CCD sensor, remove the infrared filter, and that’s it.

Here it is open again. To get to the sensor, I need to remove a couple of screws to detach the entire optical unit.
Fujifilm MV-1 open Fujifilm MV-1 optical unit

Two more screws and I finally reach the sensor.
Fujifilm MV-1 sensor

Fujifilm MV-1 lens Unfortunately, it's not how I thought: the infrared blocking filter is located directly under the lens and not on the sensor. I'll have to unscrew the lens from its housing, and this will unfortunately cause a loss of the factory-set focus.

No matter how I tried, the filter remained stuck.
The only option was to cut a small groove in the plastic with the mini drill to slide it out.
After cutting the groove, I finally managed to remove the filter.
Fujifilm MV-1 sensor

Fujifilm MV-1 focus Now all that's left is to reassemble it and, with a lot of patience, find the ideal focus.
This is a rather frustrating operation because it has to be done by trial and error: slightly rotate the lens, take a photo, and evaluate it by viewing it on the computer.

It's not possible to do it in real-time using the built-in screen on the camera because it doesn't have enough resolution or detail to determine if it's in focus; the same goes for using it as a webcam.

After several attempts, I managed to get a result that is at least decent (at least by my standards).

I went for a bike ride and took some photos. Almost all of them are terrible, I only saved one.
The focus is what it is; obviously, professional results can’t be expected.
Fujifilm MV-1 full spectrum photo

What surprised me is that, more than a full spectrum, it looks like an infrared photo. Yet I didn’t use any filter to block visible light and only let IR pass through. I didn’t edit the photo in any way; it came out of the camera exactly like this.

I can confirm that the screen is invisible in broad daylight; it’s really difficult to take pictures without even an optical viewfinder in these conditions.
In any case, I think I will continue to experiment with this camera.
Since the screen is unusable during the day, it could be transformed into a night vision device.
I will definitely come back to it.
For now, I’ll stop here.

Update of May 10th, 2025: I was trying to do some experiments with a wide-angle lens taken from an old webcam, and unfortunately at some point the camera stopped working. I don’t think I’ll try to repair it further, it’s definitely not worth it. RIP

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