Digital cameras are everywhere, but what makes them work? Learn how a digital camera is put together in these photos of a disassembled ViviCam, a common 3.3-megapixel model
This camera has a pretty simple set of user controls. Here's the Vivitar with its lens shield open -- revealing the unit's lens and macro/landscape/portrait switch.
(CNET.co.uk's sister site TechRepublic runs a regular series called 'Cracking Open' in which they take a look inside a variety of gadgets. CNET.co.uk is publishing this excerpt.)
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Once you remove the eight to 10 Philips screws that hold the camera casing's two halves together, you can separate the top and bottom shells, as shown here.
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Here's a look inside the Vivitar's top shell. Among other functions, the orange, brown and red wires shown here work with the slidebar selector to power the device and select portrait, landscape or macro modes.
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Disassembling the ViviCam 3705 requires removing two screws holding the tripod mount on the base of the camera.
The bottom half of the shell contains the unit's main circuit board, as well as the electronics that power the camera's flash.
The large grey plastic piece is the backside of the battery compartment. At the top right corner is the flash itself.
The photo flash capacitor, which stores the energy needed to fire the camera's electronic flash, is the black cylinder-like element seen at the bottom left corner.
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The ViviCam's main circuit board holds the device's LCD screen. In this image you can also see the unit's viewfinder. (It's positioned toward the top left side.)
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This particular LCD is manufactured by AU Optronics. The screen is very thin, as can be seen here.
Reaching from the screen's bottom to the right is the ribbon cable that connects the LCD screen to the main circuit board.
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Once the LCD screen is removed from the circuit board, you can see what's left in its space. This is the main circuit board.
The ViviCam's printed circuit board contains chips manufactured by Samsung, Sharp and Premier. These chips power the camera's image capture, video setting and other controls.
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The ViviCam's photo flash assembly, including the circuit board, flash and photo flash capacitor, is shown here removed from the camera. This particular capacitor is made by Miwecon.
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Removing a few additional screws makes it possible to separate the battery compartment from the camera's circuit boards. A simple ribbon cable, seen toward the back center in this image, connects the batteries to the rest of the device's electronics.
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The battery assembly, shown here, includes a metal framing that connects it with the viewfinder (bottom right), as well as the battery door (far left side).
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Here's another circuit board inside the ViviCam 3705. Looking closely, you can make out a small battery on the bottom right, used to power the camera's date and time features.
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Here's another view of the main circuit board. The black square to the left-hand side serves to hold the memory card within the camera and transfer data from the camera's electronics to the flash memory.
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The viewfinder assembly, when removed from the ViviCam, looks like this.
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Here are all the components that comprise the Vivitar ViviCam 3705.
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