Integrated camera

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Revision as of 13:36, 18 April 2014 by Siemer (Talk | contribs) (perfect rectangular board except a screw hole extending to one side, 10 pin connector)
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Integrated Camera

The Integrated camera

Almost all recent ThinkPads have an integrated camera above the display. This camera (typically called a webcam) is USB attached. On some earlier ThinkPads a proprietary camera was used, but later models use a standard UVC camera which is supported by the uvcvideo driver.

Because of their location above the display the cameras all share a long and thin board layout. But the exact shape varies. Often several models share the exact same form factor, but with different resolutions. DIY upgraders can sometimes use higher resolution cameras from later models or cheaper camera modules from earlier’s.

Also their connector varies. The 4pin connector usually carries two USB data lines and two lines 3.3V power.

Video interface controllers

  • Sonix SN9C201: 0.3MP (linux driver gspca_sn9c20x)
  • Xenon or Xinon or sth.
  • Ricoh R5U875: VGA (640×480 0.3MP) @30fps and both SXGA (1280×1024 1.3MP), UXGA (1600×1200 1.9MP) @15fps
  • Ricoh R5U877: VGA (640×480 0.3MP), UXGA (1600×1200 1.9MP) @30fps and QXGA (2048×1536 3.1MP) @15fps. Has an Image Signal Processor.
    • USB id: 17ef:480d (Lenovo Integrated Webcam [R5U877])
  • Ricoh R5U8710: VGA (640×480 0.3MP) @120fps, Full HD (1920×1080 2.1MP) @30fps, QXGA (2048×1536 3.1MP) @15 or 20fps, ISP


Camera modules

Many modules are made or designed by Chicony.

perfect rectangular board except a screw hole extending to one side, 10 pin connector

3.5 screw holes (but it’s fixed with double sided tape?), 4 pin connector

  • it’s “half” screw hole lets the whole board look like a hook
  • X200 Tablet, X201 Tablet
  • probably available with 1.3 and 2.0MP
    • FRU 60Y5750 is one of them

2 diagonally placed screw holes, one of them in the middle of the board, 4 pin connector

  • comes with a metal retaining bracket, which has 3 screw holes
  • board is not overly long
  • straight edges, but the board is not one rectangle
  • X200, X200s, X201
  • W701, W701ds
  • FRU 42W8015
    • Ricoh R5U875
  • FRU 45N2795
    • Ricoh R5U877

rectangle with another rectangular extension, USB-connected

two screw holes of different size on one side, another half-open screw hole on the other side, 4 pin connector

one big screw hole on each side, long board, narrower in the middle, 10 pin connector

  • one screw hole is not perfectly round, more 0-shape
  • T500, W500
  • FRU 42T3633
    • 2.0MP

five (or six) sections of different width aligned on one side

board is long and covered in foil or plastic or something copper colored

  • the camera module is almost in the middle of the board, while on many other boards it’s more to one side
  • SL400, SL500

of unknown shape and connection

Known Bugs