Quick start

This chapter is intended to help users wanting to start quickly with basic usage of the cameras, without studying the entire documentation. The information in this chapter duplicates information in the following parts of the manual. Whenever in doubt, please refer to the corresponding chapters of the manual, providing detailed description of given problems.

Prepare the camera

Unpack the camera, connect all the necessary peripheral. If needed, check the interface connectors description in Section, “Connector and cable description” .
Power up the camera using proper 24V power supply.
Assuming that the desired operating system is already pre-installed on the camera, no additional steps are needed and the camera is ready for SynView installation and test. Otherwise, install the operating system, following instructions of the operating system supplier. Install the necessarydevice drivers available from our download area.

Testing the camera

The SynView package contains the SynView Explorer tool, which allows to enumerate, connect and configure camera, acquire images or generate sample source code for SynView API. It is a useful tool for testing both the SynView and camera functionality.

Start the tool from system menu: Start -> Programs -> SynView -> SynView Explorer (under Linux, run /opt/synview/bin/sv.explorer).

Connect the camera to be tested — select it in the list of found cameras and press the Connect camera button.

Configure the camera features as desired. Pay attention especially to features in Image Format Control and Acquisition Control categories.

When prepared, click the Start acquisition button — the camera should start acquiring. If not, verify again, if the camera was not set to triggered mode, while no trigger was attached.

While the acquisition is active, you can still adjust the runtime parameters, such as exposure time or gain. Basic acquisition parameters, such as pixel format or trigger mode become locked when the acquisition starts.

When finished, click the Stop acquisition button and exit.

Basic camera features

This section shows the most essential camera features relevant for the basic tests.

The SynView Explorer displays by default only the “basic” camera features intended to handle the most common tasks. To display also the more advanced features, you need to switch to the “expert” feature level. Note that the third available level, “guru”, is intended just for debugging and should not be used for normal operation.

Image format. The basic properties of the acquired image can be configured through features in the Image Format category:

Pixel format

The Pixel Format feature is an enumeration allowing to specify the type of image data delivered to the application buffer. The available pixel formats differ among camera models. In general, they can be

Monochrome, with various number of bits per pixel, eg. Mono 8 or Mono 12.
Bayer encoded, with sensor-dependent Bayer formats, eg. Bayer GR 8 or Bayer BG 8. In this case the application needs to decode the Bayer encodedimage buffer to get a proper color image — SynView API provides functions for this.
RGB color format, providing true RGB output, in this case the Bayer decoding is performed directly by the camera.

Image size

The camera will acquire full size image by default. The acquired image size can be reduced using the Width and Height features, which set the acquired image size in pixels. The field of view will be automatically centered within the full sensor image.

Acquisition parameters. The luminance of the acquired image can be controlled either explicitly through exposure time and gain functions, or automatically through corresponding auto-functions.

Exposure time

The Exposure Time feature in Acquisition Control category configures the length of the exposure in microseconds.

Analog gain

Analog gain to be applied on the sensor during acquired image digitization can be configured through corresponding features in Analog Control category. Verify that the Gain Selector feature is set to Analog (some cameras models support also digital gain). Now the Gain feature controls the desired analog gain value in decibel.

Auto-functions

Selected camera models support automatic gain and/or automatic exposure functions, when the camera keeps adjusting given parameter automatically, to maintain constant image luminance. The features will be displayed in the feature tree only if the camera supports them. To switch the auto function on, navigate to corresponding control feature, Automatic Exposure in Acquisition Control category or Automatic Gain in Analog Control category and switch them from Off to Continuous.

Triggered acquisition. The camera starts by default in “free running” mode — acquiring continuous stream of image frames. On the other hand in the triggered mode, the acquisition of individual frames can be explicitly controlled by hardware or software triggers. The trigger related features are located in the Acquisition Control category.

Triggered mode

To switch the camera to triggered mode, open the Trigger Selector subtree and set Trigger Mode to On. After starting the acquisition again, the camera will acquire images only when explicit trigger signal arrives.

Trigger source

The Trigger Source enumeration allows to select where should the camera “listen for triggers. You can select either Software or one of the camera's I/O lines. The assignment of the I/O lines to the connector pins is described in Section, “Connector and cable description” .

Software triggering

The software triggers can be issued during active acquisition in triggered mode, regardless whether the trigger source is set to Software or a physical I/O line. To apply the software trigger, select the Generate Software Trigger feature and click the button in the tool bar.

Strobe

The strobe can be configured using features in the Digital I/O Control category, after switching the feature visibility level to “expert”. Select the desired output line, where the strobe pulses should be applied through Line Selector (the I/O line mapping to interface connector pins is described in Section, “Connector and cable description” ). Switch the strobe on for the selected line by setting Line Source to Exposure Active. The camera will issue a strobe pulse aligned with the exposure for every acquired frame. The strobe output is available only in triggered mode. In case the camera has an integrated Strobe Ring, its Strobe can be controlled through the Strobe Control category. Select which Clusters to use with Strobe Enable. Strobe Duration sets the length of the Strobe Pulse.

Information about the camera. It is frequently necessary to query the basic information about the camera. The information is available through features in the Device Control category.

Device identity

The most important features identifying the camera are Vendor Name and Model Name. The camera's serial number is stored as string in feature Device ID (available only in “expert” feature level). Finally, the “nick-name” used to identify the device is accessible (read/write) in DeviceUser ID.

Firmware version

The version of the firmware loaded on the camera is accessible as string in feature Device Firmware Version.