Personal & toysCommon

Digital camera

Also called point and shoot, camcorder.

Glass, a tiny gearmotor or two, and a lithium cell of a proprietary shape. The sensor is not a webcam. The flash capacitor bites.

A donor is the dead machine. The parts below are what is still worth removing from it. “Leave it” is a part that is physically in there and should stay in there: too dangerous, too worn, or only useful as part of a repair you are not doing.

What you are looking at

A scrapped machine is a box of parts that failed at different times. The reason it was thrown out is often one bad piece. The motor, the cord, the supply, and the screws are frequently still good. This index says which is which.

Why it is in the trash while the parts are not

A dead battery door, a stuck lens, or a phone replaced it. Stuck-lens cameras often have a stripped gear.

Before you open it

Do this while it is still unplugged, cool, and not leaking. Remove the cell. The flash capacitor holds a charge. Do not touch the flash board.

Where the dead machine usually is

Junk drawer and cable box — In the house
Thrift store — Retail
Living room and entertainment stack — In the house

Thrift stores. The battery and charger are usually missing.

How it comes apart

Screws under the covers. The lens barrel comes apart in layers; photograph each one if you intend to see it work again. You probably do not.

Tools: Phillips 00, Spudger.

Words on this page

capacitor: A part that stores a small amount of electrical energy. Large ones in power supplies can stay charged after you unplug. Discharge them before you touch the leads.

What to take

The table is the short version. The notes under it describe that part inside this machine, not only the general description.

Parts in this donor
Part	Call	How many	How often	Where to look
Lens and optical glass	Prize	a group	usually	The barrel.
DC gearmotor	Worth pulling	1–2	usually	Zoom and focus.
Lithium pouch cell	Bonus	1	sometimes	The battery.
Tactile switch	Bonus	many	usually	Buttons.
LCD panel	Leave it	1	usually	The rear.
Electrolytic capacitor	Leave it	1	usually	Flash board.

Prize

Prize — take this firstLens and optical glassa group · usually
Several glass elements. Fungus is the reject.
The barrel.
Keep the group intact if you want it to be a lens.
Fungus etches coatings.

Worth pulling

Worth pullingDC gearmotor1–2 · usually
Tiny, plastic gears.
Zoom and focus.
The stripped one is the fault. Its neighbors are fine.
Mixed.

Bonus

Bonus, if you are already in thereLithium pouch cell1 · sometimes
A proprietary pack with a BMS.
The battery.
Test. Do not peel it.
Often tired.
Bonus, if you are already in thereTactile switchmany · usually
Small tact.
Buttons.
Desolder.
Good.

Leave it

Leave it — present, not yours to reuseLCD panel1 · usually
A small panel on a flex, model-specific.
The rear.
Not a general display.
Fine and useless.
Leave it — present, not yours to reuseElectrolytic capacitor1 · usually
A photoflash capacitor at a few hundred volts.
Flash board.
Discharge if you are qualified. Otherwise leave the board alone.
Charged.