Protecting a Camera Ribbon Cable ​

The ribbon cables that these cameras use are notoriously prone to damage rendering them useless.

By wrapping them in tape such as electrical tape and following best practices covered in the guide, you can significantly reduce the risk of killing a camera.

It is recommended to do this before building your setup so you are less likely to kill a camera in the process of building a setup.

Wrapping the Camera Ribbon ​

First get a roll of electrical tape to wrap the camera ribbon. It does not strictly need to be electrical tape, but that is what I have found to work good, (and look good too).

Place the camera on the tape so that the entire bottom area including the sensor are covered and that one side of the camera ribbon has slightly more tape (helps make it look good).

Cut the tape from the roll, here I used flat cutters. Be careful to not cut the camera connector in the process.

With the tape cut from the roll, lay it down and get out a X-ACTO knife.

Begin to cut around the camera connector so the tape can be peeled off.

When each side has been cut, begin to peel off the part that covered the connections.

Now, carefully cut around the camera sensor part to remove its "skirt" leaving tape on the back of it.

Gently pull off this outline of tape from the camera.

Begin to wrap the tape along the ribbon cable by first folding in the slightly shorter side.

Fold over the other side.

And you are done!

Best Practices When Handling Cameras ​

• Do not pull or jerk on the ribbon
• Do not fold tightly or bend the ribbon cable sharper than ~45 degrees if possible
• Do not expose to sharp objects or crevices
• The less wear while handling or putting on/off a headset the better

Conclusion ​

You have successfully wrapped your camera to be protected and learned the best practices with handling cameras!