Disassembling a premium webcam

Back in late April, EDN published my teardown of an entry-level webcam, Avaya’s Huddle HC010, at the time selling for $14.99 (but having been priced a few years earlier, in the midst of pandemic-induced home office equipment shortages, for nearly 10x that amount). In the intro to that piece, I briefly mentioned other, higher-end webcams, one of which was BenQ’s ideaCam S1 Plus and Pro series.

Here’s a stock photo of the $169.99 “Plus” variant, whose internals we’ll be examining today:

For $30 more, the “Pro” version comes with a separate wireless remote control (and USB receiver) for the company’s computer-based EnSpire (which BenQ also refers to in some places as Enspire) software suite:

Some upfront qualifiers:

• Unlike some of its comparably-priced peers sold by other companies, the ideaCam S1 series does not support interpolated-pixel digital zoom capabilities, including the ability to “follow” the user’s face as he or she moves around in the frame and thereby present a consistently-centered image to viewers (which Apple, for example, calls “Center Stage”).
• Instead, Benq includes a magnetically attached 15x multiplier “zoom” supplemental lens which the company claims is also “macro”-capable. Not yet sold (at least in the U.S.), as far as I know, but inferred in the user manual is an ideaCam S1 standard version, which dispenses with both the “Plus” supplemental lens and the “Pro” remote control.
• The ideaCam S1 series’ market uniqueness derives from a flexible magnet-enhanced mount, which enables you to attach (and even lock down) the webcam in a “normal” on-display orientation, completely detach it to show something in the vicinity of the computer to your audience, and in-between rotate the webcam near-90° down at the desktop in front of you. In the latter case, the aforementioned EnSpire software driver auto-rotates and keystone-corrects the captured image as well as tweaking autofocus so that what’s seen by others looks as close as possible to what’s actually in front of you.

• Benq calls the ideaCam S1 a “4K” camera, which is close but not quite right. “4K”, at least from a display standpoint, references a 3840×2160 (8,294,400 total) pixel image. The ideaCam S1 captures still images with 3264×2448 (7,990,272 total) pixels. And its video resolution options, in both cases limited to 30 (not 60) fps frame rates, are 3264×1836 (5.992,704 total) pixels in 16:9 ratio mode and 3264×2448 pixels (the same as with still images) in 4:3 ratio mode.
• The webcams are based on an 8 Mpixel Sony CMOS image sensor. It admittedly took me a few tries to realize what the “COMS” reference on Benq’s web page meant Low light performance is surprisingly subpar, per multiple reviewers’ comments, even when the integrated ring light is in use. Here’s Benq’s feedback when I inquired about this quirk: “ideaCam is a webcam designed primarily for capturing objects, so it works best in well-lit environments.”
• I get why Benq made the ideaCam S1 series natively USB-A-interfaced, given the sizeable installed base of computers that offer at least one USB-A port. That said, I’m admittedly surprised that Benq didn’t also include an inexpensive USB-A to USB-C adapter in the box for use with the increasingly common laptop PCs and the like that are USB-C-only.

Upfront thoughts now concluded, let’s get to the tearing down, beginning with the obligatory outer-box shots (after I removed the shiny, reflection-inducing shrink-wrap, that is):

Flip open the box:

And underneath the top flap you’ll first find a plethora of paper (you can alternatively find the quick-start guide in digital form here, along with the digital-only full user manual):

Underneath it (and a thin sheet of protective black foam):

are, clockwise beginning from left, the main webcam assembly, the privacy cover, the “macro zoom” supplemental lens, and the mounting bracket, all cushioned by more foam:

In front of the foam is the bulk of the webcam’s permanently connected USB cable, enclosed within a white cardboard sleeve:

Here are the various constituent pieces out of the box:

Two views of the mounting bracket, which also integrates a ¼” screw hole for a not-included optional tripod or other stand:

Now for the webcam itself. Front view first; the ring light shines through the frosted white circumference when on. Also note the hole for the single microphone input in the lower right corner of the “lens” (curiously, this design doesn’t seem to leverage a traditional multi-microphone array for ambient noise cancellation purposes, instead per product documentation relying on “AI processing”) and the barely visible activity LED “hole” below the lens:

Here’s what it looks like with the supplemental lens installed (note to potential customers; there’s a near-invisible clear piece of protective plastic at the rear of the supplemental lens that, unless first removed, will result in poor image results when the supplemental lens is in use):

And here’s the privacy cover installed:

The magnet that holds both it and the supplemental lens in place is located within the common primary lens assembly to which they both adhere:

The two-switch assembly at the top toggles the ring light on and off and, in conjunction with the EnSpire software suite, freezes the captured image:

At bottom is the magnet-augmented rectangular hole into which you insert the mounting bracket (also note the permanently attached USB cable coming out of the webcam):

And last but not least (or maybe least after all…it’s pretty bland) is the BenQ-branded backside:

Time to dive inside. Next to the USB cable entry point is a tiny Philips screw whose removal would seemingly be a logical starting point:

That’s what I’m talking about:

Next, let’s get the multi-wire harness for the USB cable outta there:

Two more screws to go (the first one had already been removed in conjunction with disconnecting what I assume is the USB cable’s ground strap):

And…nothing’s budging yet. Let’s try those three additional screws visible deeper inside:

Getting them out was a bit dodgy because every time I unscrewed one, it immediately went airborne and adhered itself to the magnet at the bottom bracket hole…but I managed…

Hmmm…still no meaningful disassembly progress, however. Time to turn the webcam around and turn our attention to the front assembly:

That’s more like it!

Even with the screws removed, it had still been tenuously held in place by the four-pin connector that mated the PCB to the two-switch topside assembly:

Front and back standalone views of the chassis now absent the front assembly:

And now what you really care about; the first unobstructed view of the system PCB’s backside:

As you may have already inferred, there’s a gyro IC (likely MEMS-based) in the webcam that determines (and communicates to system software) whether it’s in its “normal” or downward orientation. Fortunately, BenQ provides an exploded-view video that shows where it’s located:

Specifically, assuming the video is accurate in pinpointing what it calls the “Webcam flip sensor,” it’s the tiny five-lead chip labeled U12 on the PCB and marked FT8DSN, below and to the left of the left-side PCB hole. To the right of the flip sensor and toward the center of the PCB is a larger IC whose identity I unfortunately can’t discern. It’s marked as follows:

IG1600
2109AAD
TP1X841
0570011

Ideas, anyone? And while we’re at it, does anyone know the identity of the tall rectangular eight-lead chip at far right, above the USB wiring harness connector, and marked as follows (accompanied by a yellow paint “dot” in its lower left corner)?

GD
N1C0
UF8096

Flip the front assembly over:

and with the retaining screws now removed, the cover portion lifts right off:

The clear plastic middle region is purely protective, as far as I can tell, with no meaningful optical properties of its own that I can ascertain:

Note the holes for the microphone input, in the black piece’s lower left region, and the activity LED, below and to its right (and at the black piece’s bottom). And around the perimeter is the frosted white opaque plastic thru which the ring light LEDs diffuse-shine when illuminated.

Speaking of which:

Items of particular note include the lens assembly at center (with the aforementioned 8 Mpixel Sony CMOS image sensor unseen behind it), the system processor to its left (a Sunplus Innovation Technology SPCA2680A, not found on the manufacturer’s website, although note the presumably related SPCA2688), and the surprisingly large MEMS mic to the lens’s lower right. Along with, of course, the activity LED below the lens and the six-LED ring around the perimeter.

I’m going to stop at this point, in the hopes that if I’m careful with my reassembly, I might actually be able to return the ideaCam S1 Plus to its original fully functional condition…

Success! It still works! Over to you for your thoughts in the comments.

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the company’s online newsletter.

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