Thinkpads Forum

I'm considering installing the factory webcam in my T61. It's a 14" widescreen with a 1440x900 display.
There are two things I was hoping to answer before spending any money:
1. I've heard that the 1440x900 model wasn't available with a webcam, for whatever reason. This would leave me to believe the screen bezel either wouldn't fit properly or there's some other conflict (ie the LCD assembly being too large). Is there any truth to this?
2. My T61 has bluetooth, and I get the impression that the ribbon cable assembly that connects to the bluetooth adapter is the same cable that the webcam uses. Would I be right in assuming (without tearing my screen apart), that if I have bluetooth, I already have the cable in place to connect to the webcam, or are there two versions of said cable--one for bluetooth & webcam, and one for bluetooth only?

Finally, do all T61 motherboards have provisions for the webcam, or am I SOL if it didn't come with it from the factory?

Thanks!

The camera is an usb device. It will show up, added it on a R61 which didnot come installed from factory. The LCD cables are interchangeable between R61 and T61. So the camera should work.

Fitting it in the case might be a different story. Not sure if R61 bezel for 14" wide screen and T61 are interchangeable.

From a cost/benefit/complication standpoint, why not just get a small USB clip on cam? Logitech makes good cams, probably a lot better resolution than a Lenovo one. Sure the fit and finish will be nicer to have it built in but it reminds me of kids who put $1,000 chrome wheels on a 10 year old Honda.

BTW I have a T61 14" WS and can see the slot on the lid for the camera. I beleive these did come with cams as an option but I passed due to cost/return on usage/need considerations.

You can also check the Hardware Maintenance Manual for schematics to be sure.

Bánh mì wrote:From a cost/benefit/complication standpoint, why not just get a small USB clip on cam? Logitech makes good cams, probably a lot better resolution than a Lenovo one. Sure the fit and finish will be nicer to have it built in but it reminds me of kids who put $1,000 chrome wheels on a 10 year old Honda.

BTW I have a T61 14" WS and can see the slot on the lid for the camera. I beleive these did come with cams as an option but I passed due to cost/return on usage/need considerations.

You can also check the Hardware Maintenance Manual for schematics to be sure.

Of course a clip on camera is the most cost-effective solution, but it's not nearly as portable or convenient. I would definitely be willing to pay a bit more for OEM fit/finish/portability. This is why practically any new laptop has an integrated webcam.
I wouldn't say it's like putting $1,000 chrome wheels on a 10 year old Honda. If I was putting LEDs in the case, sure, but this would be more like putting Civic alloys on a same-generation Civic that came with steelies.

OK, maybe the chome wheels are an exagerration. But still you got a circa 2007-08 notebook that is one Intel iteration away from obsolesence and you still want to spend CAPEX on it? Why not get something portable in terms of the cam which you can use or sell or give to someone whne you are one iteration away from the latest. The "bling" of modding your T61 at this point is not worth the cost. I see very little upside from additional CAPEX as I own the same notebook as you. I mean you are better off getting an SSD than modding a cam in now. Why not spend the money on an iPad 2 or an iPhone and use FaceTime instead? Clearly the SSD is more justified than the cam today. You drive a "rice rocket"?

Bánh mì wrote:OK, maybe the chome wheels are an exagerration. But still you got a circa 2007-08 notebook that is one Intel iteration away from obsolesence and you still want to spend CAPEX on it? Why not get something portable in terms of the cam which you can use or sell or give to someone whne you are one iteration away from the latest. The "bling" of modding your T61 at this point is not worth the cost. I see very little upside from additional CAPEX as I own the same notebook as you. I mean you are better off getting an SSD than modding a cam in now. Why not spend the money on an iPad 2 or an iPhone and use FaceTime instead? Clearly the SSD is more justified than the cam today. You drive a "rice rocket"?

Thank you for your input. While I agree with you that installing new parts into an outdated laptop is totally absurd (which is why there's clearly no market for inexpensive memory or hard drive upgrades for laptops), my normal schedule of annually burning laptops to replace them with new units (for the new features) was cut short by EPA agents telling me something about "harming the environment," but don't worry, I plan on breaking the laptop into several small fragments and feeding them to my dog, instead, by the end of the year. This way, rather than spend ~$80 on an upgrade, I can continue my usual practice of buying a new $1000+ computer every year.

In the time being, I appreciate your condescending financial advice and while the $85 pricetag (for all necessary parts to retrofit the webcam) is enticing, I definitely agree with you that spending $600 on an iPad is certainly a more cost-effective solution, and carrying around two large slate-shaped objects is by far more convenient than having an integrated webcam. This would carry the added benefit of being able to tell people who want to Skype with me "Oh, you use Skype? I use an iPad. You don't have an Apple product with facetime? I guess we don't need to talk, then."

Also, while I was looking for something that would take pictures and let me video chat using Skype, I think your recommendation of an SSD is a good alternative, though I'm not sure it will take the same quality of pictures as a webcam. While we're on the topic of cost-effective solutions, I was thinking about getting some Silly Putty and when someone requests a Skype conversation, I would simply mail it to them and ask that they press it to their face, then mail it back. I was also thinking about buying and training a bird to fly the silly putty parcels to my friends, and for cost-effectiveness I could probably buy a parrot. The parrot would "record" my conversations mentally and repeat them to the person with whom I am conversing. It's my understanding that African Greys have the most advanced speech center of all tropical birds, and for only ~$2000 I can pick one up. And being that birds fly, this would be far more portable than an integrated webcam. The cost of my topical bird parcel system would be offset by the money I will save when I uncheck the option for an integrated microphone when I purchase a new laptop next month.
However, I feel this route might be a too decadent and therefore unnecessary and I would probably be better off allocating funds into financing a replica of Darth Vader's holographic telepresence device. If I'm having a conversation with subordinates who don't successfully capture rebel princesses, I could strangle them with my mind.

When I was younger, I used to be an avid Pokemon fan, like many from my generation. A few years into it, a new craze called Digimon entered the market as a virtual competitor to Pokemon. Despite spending hundreds of my parents' dollars on Pokemon merchandise, when Digimon came out, my brother immediately jumped ship because he felt they were way cooler than Pokemon. When I explained to him that Digimon had no special abilities over Pokemon and that, in any given situation, there was a Pokemon out there whose skills could satisfy your requirements, he exclaimed "STOP LIKING WHAT I DON'T LIKE!" and kicked over my Lego town (which I had affectionately and creatively dubbed "Poke Town", for which I had also made a label using the Pokemon logo's font). While my father's assertion that my brother should "stop being a little [censored]" was a compelling one, this experience taught me a lot about having different needs or wants from other people, so now when people come into my burger restaurant and ask that I make them a sandwich without pickles or tomatoes, I sit them down and condescendingly explain to them that it would be much more cost-effective to just buy their own burger franchise to make topping-free burgers, and to simply FedEx tomatoes and pickles in on the rare occasion when someone decides to "rice out" their burger.

To answer your question, I suppose you would consider my car a rice rocket. It's a 1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo/5spd. I've spent quite a bit of energy doing blingy, ricey mods like regular scheduled maintenance and repairs. However, I once installed OEM power seats (removed from a Z which came with them from the factory) in my car, and it came with manual seats, so I guess I've done some more extreme bling mods. Although, due to the fact that older things obviously cannot be useful in a modern world, I'm probably going to break my car into several small fragments and feed them to my dog so I can replace it with a newer model.

I'm leaning towards either the Silly Putty Parrot or the Empire Hologram for the time being, but if anyone has any relevant technical input regarding the topic of installing an oem webcam into my T61, I suppose I could still consider the idea.

I really have to rethink The Board Room's bad habits of refurbishing motherboards.
Apparently it would be much more cost-effective to pay Lenovo hundreds of dollars for a (new old stock) motherboard!

I wanted to waste some serious money on building a webcam in my daughter's T61 with 14.1" Standard (4:3) LCD, but there was no way to make this dream come true, even though money was no object.

What I did find out is, that all the widescreen 14.1" T61 are 'equippable' with a webcam.
All you need is the corresponding:
- LCD-cable with webcam and Bluetooth (93P4396)
- LCD bezel with webcam opening (42X5059)
- webcam module (42T3106)
Maybe a screw or 2.
The above is the same for WXGA and WXGA+.
Enjoy being decadent!

The thick irony in this thread is only thick when viewed from a particular angle. From other angles, in certain places it may actually seem almost razor thin...and sharp enough to cut someone with, at any rate. I would encourage all sides to watch to keep their edges a bit softer before someone gets hurt (or someone gets warned for making personal attacks).

Let's all play nice in here.

Phil.

Amazing how a little levity mixed with a devils advocate suggestion injected into the discussion somehow turned into something else beyond the scope of the subject. I skimmed the first chap of your War and Peace essay on cams. Good thing I'm not in the same room. I fear you would use a weapon next. PEACE?

Hi guys,

I am battling with the retrofit as well, I have already bought 3 LCD cables and camera modules, however after fitting I could see camera in device manager just for a moment. I have disconnected camera module from the LCD cable, when the laptop was switched on and from that moment I can't see camera in device manager anymore. I have tried flash BIOS, disconnect BIOS battery, reinstall system but laptop doesn't detect camera at all. Is there anything what I can "reset" to get it working?

Thanks
George

You most likely blew the camera module, but a short on the LCD cable is also a possiblity.
Since you say you have 3 of them, try another set, or swap lids, if already built in.

Be honest I have bought another T61 (widescreen but 1280x800) just to test if these cables I already bought are fine. It had Vista installed and after connecting lid from my first laptop (running XP Prof 1440x900) Vista recognized "Integrated camera" but I could not resist and disconnected camera module from ribbon to try another camera module and from that moment camera is not detected on this laptop as well. There must be some process of disabling/enabling the camera module in the system but I don't know where. I looked in BIOS where you can enable WIFI, Bluetooth etc, but camera.

(I have three LCD cables and two camera modules to be exact )
Any ideas?

George

Did you switch off the laptop, removed battery and AC adapter, before disconnecting that cam?

Unfortunately laptop was on......

Just realised, if the camera is physically connected but not detected would be possible to reset USB controller responsible for this camera? If I knew which one?

Just reinstalled Win XP Prof again but can't see any sign of camera in device manager and driver for camera says "No camera found".

check in bios under security to see whether there is an option to enable it.

Sorry if this has been answered, but I had a 1440x900 t61 that did have webcam, so they did come that way.

lead_org wrote:check in bios under security to see whether there is an option to enable it.

Not such a option in I/O security section, current BIOS version is 2.29. I know latter models T400, T500 etc. should have it in BIOS but T61.

My original laptop was T61 Nvidia 140 1440x900 where camera did work for a moment but picture was blurred and discoloured. When was the webcam disconnected/reconnected with new module, it doesn't appear in device manager anymore.