On Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:18:08 +0100, N_Cook wrote:

On 23/06/2014 14:29, Pat wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:47:52 +0100, N_Cook wrote:

On 22/06/2014 15:08, Pat wrote:
I have had a Panasonic BL-C131A IP Camera a long time ago. For a
while, it was on a window sill aiming outside. It worked like that
for years. However, one day I noticed that it appeared to be slightly
out of focus. It took a while to figure out, but the lens appears to
have been damaged. I used a microscope to look at it and am surprised
it works at all since there are areas that are clearly pitted. I will
guess that something reflected direct sunlight into it and caused the
plastic lens to melt. The camera works perfectly except for the lens
damage. (ie, ethernet, wi-fi, internal processor, pan, tilt,
microphone, etc. all work). I hate to throw away things that still
have value, but repair parts don't seem to be available anymore. If
only I could somehow replace the lens, I would still have a good
camera. But, the lens in tiny - approx 1 mm in diameter and buried
inside layers of boards and plastic parts. Unless anyone has any good
ideas, I guess I will just throw the whole thing in the trash.

Pat



Could it be just an anti-reflection or whatever coating that has
partially flaked off and perhaps you "only" need to ablate the rest of
that coating to go back to a smooth surface .

FYI. Here are two pictures of the lens. Like I said in my original
post, I am amazed that the only symptom is a little fuzziness.

http://tinypic.com/r/2wm17nq/8
http://tinypic.com/r/2ngstv8/8

I hope the links work. I never tried posting pictures this way
before.
Pat


Near top of eruption in 8 image, is that unaffected lens showing where a
patch of coating has flaked off. Excavated the crud with a needle under
the microscope?

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. You see an eruption
while I see a canyon. I interpret the orange areas an undamaged lens
(not sure where that color comes from) and the gray area as being cut
into the lens. However, it is easy for optical illusions to make a
person see what isn't really there. I hope you are right and I am
wrong. I did try a sharp pin/needle but I think I made it worse. Here
are a couple more pictures. One shows how tiny this thing really is.
The plastic circles give the impression the lens is bigger than it is,
but it is only the small dot in the center that is shown in the
earlier close-up. The other picture shows what the camera image
currently looks like.

http://tinypic.com/r/301kl7n/8
http://tinypic.com/r/1490e92/8

Thanks for taking the time to help.

Pat