CamControl Software Ver. 5.0 User Manual Ref SU-01-E

Transcription

1 CamControl Software Ver. 5.0 User Manual Ref SU-01-E

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3 Contents Installation 3 Uninstall 6 Starting the software 7 Principal Bar 10 Menu Bar 11 File Menu 11 Camera (Ctrl+N) 11 Open (Ctrl+O) 11 Save as... (Ctrl+S) 12 Export frame 17 Export sequence 18 Print (Ctrl+P) 21 Print Preview 21 Print Setup Last Sequences 21 Exit 21 Edit Menu 22 Copy (Ctrl+C) 22 Display Menu 22 Zoom 22 Measurement 22 Brightness (Alt+L) 24 Gamma Correction (only black/white) 25 Pseudo Colors (Alt+C) (only black/white) 25 Control Panel 25 Sequence Preview 25 Toolbar 25 Full Screen [Alt+Enter] 25 Acquisition Menu 26 Video Live 26 Record 26 Playback Menu 30 All 30 Selection Forward (Shift+F) 30 Backward (Shift+R) 30 Stop (Shift+S) 30 Next Image (Shift+N) 30 Previous Image (Shift+P) 30 Goto Image Setup Menu 31 Frame Format & max. Frame Rate 31 Ultra Format (UF) 32 Ultra Speed (US) 32 Frame Rate 33 Exposure Time 33 Image quality 34 CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 1

4 Sensitivity 35 Trigger Source 35 Trigger Sensitivity 37 Synchronisation 37 White Balance (only color) 37 Playback 38 Pseudo Colors (Alt+C) (only black/white) 39 Gamma Correction (only black/white) 39 Logo and Text 40 Personal Setup 42 Rotate 42 Flip Horizontally 42 Flip Vertically 43 Language 43 IP Setup 43 Acquisition 46 Single Sequence 46 Multi Sequence 46 Multi Segment 46 Multislope (CR450x2, CR600x2) 47 Info Menu 48 Sequence 48 About CamControl 49 Additional functions 50 Variable Zoom 50 On Screen Display (OSD) 50 Tool (Icon) Bar 51 Status Bar 51 Control Panel 53 Acquisition 53 Video Live Status 53 Record Status 54 Trigger Info 54 Trigger Status 54 Video Playback 54 Camera Setup 55 Frame Format 55 Frame Rate 55 Exposure Time 55 Nb. of frames 55 Trigger Source 55 Sensitivity 55 Display Control 56 Sequence Preview Display 56 Navigator 56 Appendix 58 Customer Service 58 CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 2

5 Installation The Optronis CamControl software is designed to work with Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista and allows to operate up to 16 CamRecord CR cameras on the Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) Interface of the computer. The cameras / sequences are located in one CamControl application and up to 16 camera / sequence windows.. The software is delivered on a CD-ROM and contains all informations for installing or uninstalling. To install the software please follow the instructions below: 1. Start up your computer 2. Insert the CD-ROM OPTRONIS CamControl in your CD-ROM drive. 3. If the Software Setup starts not automatically, please execute the setup file from the CD-Rom and follow the instructions as indicated in the figures below. (The installation process of CamControl 5.0 is identical to installation process of CamControl 4.0) 4. Choose Next if you would like to proceed or Cancel to stop the installation procedure. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 3

6 5. Change allows you to choose another destination folder as it is provided by default. Choose Next to proceed, Back to go one step backward or Cancel to stop the installation 6. Choose Install to install now the software package Note: CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 4

7 If you would like to start the software from your desktop please copy the CamControl camera icon on your desktop. This can be done by copying the CamControl camera icon from the CamRecord directory to the desktop. 7. Please select Finish to finish installation. 8. If the Setup program is used for a second time, the Program maintenance allows to reinstall (Repair) or to remove (Remove) the program. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 5

8 Uninstall To uninstall the software please 1. double click the Software icon in the system manager. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 6

9 2. Select the CamControl software and remove it. Starting the software When starting the CamControl Software, it will first be checked, if one or more cameras are connected to the Personal Computer or the Laptop. When the software doesn t find a camera, a message box will be generated which informs that the software can only be run with a reduced set of functions. All functions used by the camera are then disabled. Press OK if you would like to use the CamControl software with a reduced function set or cancel the application. When a CamRecord camera is successfully found, the software will open immediately the Optronis CamControl application window, initialize the CamRecord camera and give access to all functions. Best visualization results can be obtained with screen resolutions of 1024x768 or higher. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 7

10 Cameras with Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) interface need an IP address to communicate with the camera (see Setup / TCP/IP menu). If the camera IP address don t fit to the PC IP address, the following message will be created: As indicated in Figure 1 the CamControl application window consist of 1. a Principal Bar, 2. a Menu Bar, 3. a Tool (Icon) Bar, 4. a Camera / Sequence Window 5. a Control Panel, 6. an Image Display, 7. a Sequence Preview Display, 8. and a Status Bar. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 8

11 Principal Bar Camera / Sequence Window Control Panel Menu Bar Tool (Icon) Bar Sequence Preview Display Status Bar Image Display Figure 1: CamControl Application Window CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 9

12 Principal Bar Minimize Application Window Reduce / Maximize Application Window Close Application Window Close Window Reduce / Maximize Window Minimize Window Principal Bar header description for a sequence stored in the camera: Camera / Sequence Window Number Software Name Camera Model Camera Serial Number Camera IP Address Principal Bar header description for a sequence stored on the Personal Computer: Camera / Sequence Window Number Software Name Name and Path of the Sequence CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 10

13 Menu Bar File Menu Camera (Ctrl+N) The Camera option gives access to the camera. Selecting the Camera option gives access to Live Imaging (Video Live), Record and sequences that are stored inside the camera video memory. Each Camera / Sequence Window allows to show either sequences that are stored inside the memory of the camera or sequences stored on the Personal Computer. The Camera option allows to switch between the camera sequence and the sequence of the Personal Computer. Open (Ctrl+O) The «Open» (Open Sequence) option allows to search for image sequences, with extension «.seq» and «.avi», already stored on the local disk of the Personal Computer as shown in the figure below. The Open Sequence window allows to check the parameters and the comments that are stored together with the sequence. This allows to navigate through different sequences and check the comments before finally opening a sequence. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 11

14 The CamControl software offers an integrated AVI player that allows to visualize AVI sequences. During AVI playback, the sequence preview display becomes inactive. Save as... (Ctrl+S) The «Save as...» option allow to save image frame sequences to the Personal Computer. The image frame sequence consist generally of 1. a sequence information file with extension «.seq», 2. the images of the actual sequence in either 8 bit Bitmap black-white with extension.bmp, 8 bit Tiff black-white with extension.tif, CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 12

15 8 bit Raw format black-white or color with extension.img 10 bit Raw format black-white or color with extension.img, (only CR600x2) 24 bit Bitmap color with extension.bmp, 8 bit Raw format with the extensions.opt,.o01,.o02, bit Raw format with the extensions.opt,.o01,.o02,... (only CR600x2) Select a name for the actual sequence (its extension will automatically be «.seq») as mentioned above and add, if desired, a comment to the sequence. Click then on «Save». Then, as shown below, please select the sequence interval and the image frame type you would like to store. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 13

16 Save as ROI (Region of Interest) is not available The «Save each # picture» line allows to store either each successive (1) picture in the sequence or a selection of each second (2), third (3)... image. Start Picture and End Picture can be selected either manually or automatically by the Navigator button in the Sequence Preview Display. Please refer to the Navigator section in the Sequence Preview Display Remark: When saving a sequence from the camera to the hard disk of the host computer, it is recommended to save it as raw (.img or.opt) format. In this format, the whole dynamics or intensity information (10 bit for CR600x2) of the Pixel will be stored. Please note that the dynamics of the sensor can be reduced for CR600x2 to 8 bits by software (see Setup Image Quality) that allows to increase storage time. In this case, only 8 bit raw images will be created, 2 bits will be lost. Bitmap (.bmp) or Tiff (.tif) format are 8 bit formats..img.bmp or.tif stores each image individually. This creates directories with many files that may complicate the handling of the sequences.the.opt format in contrast stores images in a fraction of 100 Megabytes that makes the handling of the files more easy. The CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 14

17 first fraction of 100 Megabytes has the extension.opt, the following fractions have increasing extension numbers.o01,.o02,.o03... To avoid any ambiguity, as e.g. when saving the same sequence with different image formats, the sequence names should be unique. Example Correct: TestA TestB TestC False: Test1 Test2 Test3 As the images will have the same header as the sequence name and additional digits for the image number (00000 to >99999), the number of characters per image may exceed 8 characters needed by older operating systems than Windows 95 or Windows NT4.0. When a sequence is saved with the same name and the same image format as an older sequence already stored on the harddisk, the older sequence will be removed only up to the image value of the new sequence. We recommend to first remove the older sequence with Windows-Explorer. The sequence information file is of ASCII type as shown in the example below. Information File (*.seq) Example: [Sequence] NumberOfFrames=100 balance_g_b=xxxx balance_r_b=xxxx Version = 1 Comments = PIV=0 % Number of frames in sequence % White balance coefficient % White balance coefficient % internal version number % comment % 0 no PIV % 1 PIV [Frames] CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 15

18 Format=0 Dynamic=0 %0: Image Frames in 8bit Bitmap Format %1: Image Frames in 8bit Tif Format %2: Image Frames in Raw.img Format %3: Image Frames in Raw.opt Format %0: 10 bit Raw Format %1: 8bit Raw Format Width=1280 Height=1024 % Number of horizontal Pixels % Number of vertical Pixels Rate=166 % Frame Rate calculated value: % Example: True Frame Rate = 500 fps Each 3. picture saved ==> 500/3=166 % 0: External Synchronisation ExpoMode=1000 %Exposure Time 1/1000 sec Count=1 %Sensor of the camera %1: Black & White images %3: Color images Gain=1 Logo=0 Text=0 FileLength=5 Rotate=0 FlipH=0 FlipV=0 [Camera] Type = 3 [Distance] Pixel1_x=253 % Image sensitivity % 0: no logo inside the image % 1: logo inside the image % 0: no text inside the image % 1: text inside the image % Image rotation % Horizontal Flip % Vertical Flip % Type of camera % (CR450x2, CR 600x2,CR1000x2,CR5000x2) % Parameters of distance measurement CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 16

19 Pixel1_y=552 Pixel2_x=562 Pixel2_y=374 Color=1 iunit=2 Factor=841 [Info] SN=1823-MF-010 SeqFirst=1 SeqLast=10 SeqStep=1 SeqTrigger=1 % Camera serial number % Number of first image % Number of last image % Step interval % Trigger position inside sequence The image files are either of Bitmap, Raw, or TIF type as selected by the Save As... option. Each Raw image pixel offers a dynamics of 8 bits and is stored in 8 bit format (1 byte, 256 grey values). The image size may contain then up to 1,28 MegaBytes (1280x1024 Pixels, Raw type) depending on the frame format. CR600x2 may also have an increased resolution of 10 bits (2 bytes, grey values). So each image may need up to 2,5 MegaBytes (at 1280x1024 Pixels). When reducing the frame format, each frame needs less memory. The 10 bit.opt format saves about 30% of memory compared to the 10bit.img format as it uses an optimized algorithm. Export frame allows to save the displayed image in Bitmap, Tiff, or PNG Format. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 17

20 Bitmap und Tiff are 8 bit formats (3 x 8 bit für color), PNG is a 16 bit format (3 x 16 bit for color). Whereas Bitmap and Tiff have reduced data formats, PNG gives access to the whole 10 bit grey level depth or color depth of the CR600x2 image sensor. PNG can only be saved, when the displayed image has 10 bit dynamics (see Setup/Image Quality). This is not the case, when the image was captured with reduced dynamics (see menu: Setup/dynamics/reduced), or when the image was already saved with an 8 bit dataformat (BMP or Tiff). Export sequence AVI allows to generate special AVI videoformats (Codecs). CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 18

21 Save As... allows to name the AVI sequence. The Create Video Sequence... table is used to indicate the first image, the last image and the interval between images that have to be saved. The Display Frame Rate is the repetition rate of the images that are displayed during AVI playback. 25 fps (frames per second) is standard repetition rate and equals the video standard. Values less than 25 fps (e.g. 15 fps) show the AVI playback in slow motion. The o.k. button leads to the different AVI Codecs. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 19

22 The Codecs are not part of the CamControl software, but will be supplied partly by the Microsoft operating system. Special videocodecs can be purchased by the Internet. A typical Codec which is supplied by the Microsoft operating system is the Microsoft Video 1 Codec. A typical Codec which can be purchased by the Internet is the DivX or the XviD Codec. The configuration of the Codec typically includes the optimization of image quality and compression factor. High image quality leads typically to low compression rate, low image quality leads to a high compression rate. PNG allows to generate sequences with a standard 16 bit PNG Format (3 x 16 bit for color). CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 20

23 Save as... generates single images that are saved in PNG format. As during the storage of BMP, Tiff or IMG sequences, an additional.seq file will be generated that contains parameters of the sequence. The.seq file is stored in ASCII format and can be read by each text editor program. To start the conversion process, the first, last and image interval has to be selected. To export sequences into PNG format, only original images that are stored in.img format with 10 bit dynamic range (CR600x2) can be used. Print (Ctrl+P) To Print the actual image frame Print Preview Look how the image will be printed Print Setup... Setup your Printer Last Sequences Open the image sequences you have stored at last. Exit Exit the CamControl software application CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 21

24 Edit Menu Copy (Ctrl+C) Copy the actual image to the Windows clipboard. Display Menu Zoom Zoom -out or -in the image in the image zone by the following Zoom factors : 400% 200% (Ctrl+4) 100% (Ctrl+3) 50% (Ctrl+2) 25% (Ctrl+1) Measurement Measurement allows to measure the distance and the velocity between any of two image pixels. The first pixel has to be selected by <Ctrl> + left mouse button, the second pixel has to be selected by <Ctrl> + right mouse button. The first pixel and the second pixel will be connected by a line, whereas the color of the line can be selected out of a color menu as shown below. After activation of the measurement menu or after typing <Ctrl> + left mouse button, a measurement window will be opened. The window shows the distance between two image pixels in number of pixels and a free selectable distance value. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 22

25 free selectable distance value distance unit velocity unit velocity value To change the distance value, the first and second pixel has to be selected and a new value has to be entered in the distance value box. After changing the distance value, the <Enter> (<Return>) button on the keyboard and the <o.k.> button on the change parameters box has to be pushed as shown below. After changing the measurement value, its distance unit can be selected. When a new distance measurement is performed, the measurement value will automatically be refreshed. When the distance value will be changed and confirmed by the o.k. button, the new coefficient between pixel value and measurement value will be memorized. When saving the sequence from the camera to the Laptop (PC), the coefficient will then be saved inside the.seq sequence file. This allows to keep measurement values and coefficients for a given sequence. When the measurement value of a sequence that is already stored on CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 23

26 the laptop will be changed and confirmed by the o.k. button, the new coefficient will overwrite automatically the old coefficient in the.seq file. Together with the distance value and the information of repetition rate (frame rate) of the camera, the velocity between two pixels will be calculated. Together with the velocity value, the information box will show the frame number of the first marker (first frame), the frame number of the second marker (last frame) and the frame number between both markers. The distance tool can not be used for AVI files. Brightness (Alt+L) The Black-White images can be visualized using the following grey scale intervals : (lowest brightness 10 bit) (lowest brightness 8 bit) (highest brightness) To change the visualisation brightness please use the contrast icons in the Control Panel. reduce brightness increase brightness brightness 100% CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 24

27 BMP and TIF images are stored as the images are visualized on the monitor. Changing brightness in color images allow to continuously change the brightness values and not in steps. However, brightness values are not stored together with the image. Gamma Correction (only black/white) Activates the gamma correction. Parameters see Setup Menu / Gamma Correction Pseudo Colors (Alt+C) (only black/white) Activates the Pseudo Color Palette. Parameters see Setup Menu / Pseudo Colors Control Panel Allows to enable or disable the Control Panel. Sequence Preview Allows to enable or disable the Sequence Preview display Toolbar Allows to enable or disable the Tool (Icon) bar. Full Screen [Alt+Enter] Allows to show the images on full screen. status and control panels are disabled. Only the menu bar at the top of the screen will be displayed. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 25

28 Acquisition Menu Video Live Video Live is used to visualize the actual image scene without storing the video data into the video memory of the camera. The Video Live option doesn t destroy image sequences which are already stored in the camera s video memory. Video Live is highly recommended for adjustment of the camera parameters during camera setup (speeds, exposure time, focus position of the lens, illumination ). Video Live allows to show camera live images with full resolution. Record The «Record» option allows 1. to perform an acquisition (manual storage), 2. to perform an acquisition and to automatically store the sequence into the memory of the connected Personal Computer (automatic storage), 3. to perform an automatic acquisition of several sequences and to store them automatically into the memory of the connected Personal Computer (automatic storage with Re-Trigger). To cancel Recording (during Single Sequence and Multi Sequence) or to stop Recording (during MultiSegment), please press the Esc button on the computer keyboard. Record images are available on the screen of the Personal Computer and on the VGA connector of the CR cameras during recording. Compared to images in Video Live mode, the displayed resolution may be reduced. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 26

29 The Record Menu as shown in the figure above contains the following parameters: Resolution Frame Rate Maximum Frame Rate Exposure Time Acquisition Frame Number Acquisition Time Trigger Source % Frame Format to be recorded % Basic Frame Rate (fps = frames/second) % Frame Rate limit (limit for external synchronisation) % fraction of a second (e.g. 1/1000 = 1 Millisecond) % Number of frames to be stored inside a sequence or a segment % Recording time of the sequence or the segment % Internal : Trigger Internal CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 27

30 Trigger Position Trigger Time with keyboard <SPACE BAR> % External TTL :Trigger External on rising edge % External Switch:Trigger External on falling edge or mechanical switch % Trigger Position inside the Sequence or inside the Segment. % Recording Time after Trigger Manual Storage (default) % To manually store the sequence into the memory of the Personal Computer Automatic Storage % to store the sequence automatically into the memory of the Personal Computer (only Single Sequence and Multi Sequence) Autom. Storage with Re-Trigger % to store successive sequences automatically into the memory of the Personal Computer (only Single Sequence and Multi Sequence) Video Images are captured by the camera and stored inside the video memory of the CR High Speed camera. Manual storage allows to store this video memory manually onto the harddisk of the Personal computer. File / Save as has to be used for data storage. Manual storage allows also to disconnect the camera during acquistion from the Personal Computer. This may be helpful when the camera is installed e.g. on a moving slide. Before disconnecting the Ethernet Interface between camera and PC, the acquisition has to be started. After an acquisition - performed e.g. by an external Trigger the camera can be reconnected again to the PC and the image sequence can be readout. Automatic storage stores the sequence first in the video memory of the camera and then automatically to the memory of the Personal Computer. To perform the acquisition, a filename and a comment as shown in the figure below has to be defined for the sequence: filename.seq. The sequence contains image files in the.opt file format. Automatic storage can be activated in Single Sequence or Multi Sequence mode. Automatic storage can not be activated in Multi Segment mode. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 28

31 Automatic storage with automatic Re-Trigger stores a sequence first into the video memory of the camera and then automatically into the memory of the Personal Computer. Then, the trigger of the camera will automatically be re-activated to acquire and to store the next sequence. To perform the acquisition, a common filename and a common comment as shown in the figure below has to be defined for the sequences. The final filename has then the given filename and an increasing number for each sequence: Filename001.seq, Filename002.seq, Filename003.seq... Each sequence contains image files, stored in the.opt format. Automatic storage with Re-trigger can be activated in Single Sequence or Multi Sequence mode. Automatic storage with Re-trigger can not be activated in Multi Segment mode. Remark: When Record has been selected, the camera will be armed and wait then for the trigger event. During that time, images are recorded inside the ring-memory. These recorded images are displayed in parallel on the screen of the Personal computer and are available on the VGA connector of the CR camera. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 29

32 When the storage of the sequence exceeds the available memory of the hard disk of the Personal Computer an error message will be shown and the storage will be canceled. Following trigger modes are available : Internal Trigger : Press Space Bar on the Personal Computer Keyboard External Trigger : Wait on rising or falling edge on the external trigger input Auto: Automatic Trigger on intensity variation from image to image CamRecord uses a ring memory which allows, depending on the trigger position, to store images before and after the trigger event. The ring memory is active in Single Sequence, Multi Sequence and Multi Segment acquisition mode. Playback Menu All Play all images of the actual image sequence one after another Selection... Play a selected range of images inside the actual image sequence Forward (Shift+F) Play Forward Backward (Shift+R) Play Backward Stop (Shift+S) Stop the Play Mode Next Image (Shift+N) Show the next image of the actual sequence Previous Image (Shift+P) CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 30

33 Show the Previous Image of the actual sequence. Goto Image... Type the number of the image you would like to show. Setup Menu Frame Format & max. Frame Rate The CamRecord CR cameras allow to select different frame formats and frame rates: e.g. the image area of the CR600x2 Sensor is an array of 1280 columns and 1024 lines which gives the full frame format of 1280x1024 pixels². Maximum frame rate at full frame is 500 fps (frames per second). Partial scan allows to reduce the frame format and increase the frame-rate. Table 1 shows some examples. Please refer to the CamControl software for the whole list of frame formats. Frame Formats for the CR450x2 camera is limited to 800x600 Pixel and to 600x400 Pixel. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 31

34 Frame Format (CR450x2) (Pixels²) Frame Rate fps max. 800x x Table 1a: Frame Formats & max. Frame Rate for CR450x2 Frame Format examples (CR600x2) (Pixels²) Frame Rate fps max. 1280x x x x x Table 1b: Frame Formats & max. Frame Rate examples for CR600x2 Frame Format examples (CR1000x2) (Pixels²) Frame Rate fps max. 1280x x x x Table 1c: Frame Formats & max. Frame Rate examples for CR1000x2 Frame Format examples (CR5000x2) (Pixels²) Frame Rate fps max. 512x x x x Table 1d: Frame Formats & max. Frame Rate examples for CR5000x2 Ultra Format (UF) The Ultra Format option allows to increase the frame format by a factor of 2 in x- and y- direction without reducing the speed range (CR600x2, CR1000x2 and CR5000x2). Ultra Speed (US) The Ultra Speed option allows to increase the speed by up to a factor of 2 without reducing the frame format (CR1000x2 and CR5000x2). CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 32

35 Frame Rate The software allows to select different frame rates from a minimum value (20 fps for CR450x2 and CR600x2 and 50 fps for CR1000x2 and CR5000x2). The table shows some frame rate examples for CR5000x2. Please refer to the CamControl software for the complete list of Frame Rates. Frame Rate examples (fps) Table 2: Frame Rate examples for 512x512 Pixels, CR5000x2 The Frame Rate is internally determined by the camera s quartz generator (internal synchronisation). External synchronisation allows repetition rates up to the maximum frame rate of the selected frame format. The Frame Rate can not exceed, for a given Frame Format, its maximum Frame Rate as indicated in Table 1. Lower frame rates may be generated by saving every second, third, fourth... image. For Ultra Speed option, different frame rate consideration has to be done. Ultra Speed needs additional time for readout. This additional time is related directly to the exposure time. Frame rate during Ultra Speed is then calculated as 1/(1/(Maximum Frame Rate in Non-Ultra Speed)+Exposure time). Maximum Frame Rate can be reached with minimum exposure time. Exposure Time Exposure time examples are given by the following table: CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 33

36 Exposure Time (sec) 1/50 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000 1/4000 1/6000 1/ / / / / / / Table 3: Exposure Time examples Please note that the minimum exposure time is calculated and selected as indicated below: Maximum Exposure Time = 1/Frame Rate. example: Frame Rate = 1000 fps calculated maximum Exposure Time = 1/1000 maximum allowed exposure time = 1/1000 For Ultra Speed option, exposure time values depend on the required frame rate. The higher the frame rate is needed, the lower the exposure time values have to be. Image quality Standard CR600x2: The camera operates with reduced 8 bits dynamic (256 grey levels). This configuration is adequate for most applications where highest image quality and color-depth isn t necessary. In this configuration the sensor sensitivity may be increased up to a factor of 32. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 34

37 High CR600x2: The camera operates with full 10 bits dynamic (1024 grey levels). This configuration supports higher image quality and the possibility to store image data in PNG format. The sensor sensitivity is fixed in this configuration. Sensitivity The sensor sensitivity of the camera may be selected in a gain range from 1 to 4 in steps of a factor of 2. Image quality is best when image sensitivity is low (x1). This is due to the dark noise that increases when gain is increased. Increasing the gain is usefull under difficult illumination condition. Reducing the gain is usefull when high image quality is desired. Trigger Source Internal Select the «Internal Trigger» option when the camera shall be triggered manually by pressing the <Space Bar> on the Personal Computer keyboard. External TTL The «External TTL» option activates the external trigger input on the CamRecord cameras. After starting an acquisition, the camera will store image data in its ring memory and wait until a positive ramp at the external trigger input is detected. After the trigger signal is detected, the recording stops after a defined number of images. Please refer to the appendix of the CamRecord camera manual for information about trigger timing and trigger input specification. External Switch The «External Switch» option activates the external trigger input on the CamRecord camera. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 35

38 After starting an acquisition, the camera will store image data in its ring memory and wait until a negative ramp at the external trigger input is detected. After the trigger signal is detected, the recording stops after a defined number of images. The negative ramp can either be initiated by an electromechanical switch or by a TTL signal. Please refer to the appendix of the CamRecord camera manual for information about trigger timing and trigger input specification. Auto Auto Trigger allows to trigger on the intensity variation (brighter and darker) inside the image. To activate Auto Trigger, several steps have to be performed: 1. Select Auto Trigger as Trigger Source from the Setup Menu or from the Control Panel. 2. Go to Record from the Acquisition Menu or the Control Panel to acquire a sequence. 3. Set the recording parameters and click on o.k. 4. An Auto Trigger Panel will be opened that allows to select the Trigger Sensitivity as described in Setup/Trigger Sensitivity and that allows to activate the Trigger. 5. Before activating the trigger, a window has to be defined in the image, that is used for auto triggering. Select the trigger window with the left mouse button on the computer mouse. The window will appear in green color. 6. When the trigger window and trigger sensitivity has been defined, the trigger has to be activated by selecting the Activate Trigger box. 7. The trigger is now active and waits on an intensity variation inside the trigger window. 8. When a trigger was detected, the color of the trigger window will become red and the images will be stored as defined by the recording parameters. Auto Trigger is a hardware based trigger inside the camera. The trigger delay and temporal jitter is consequently very low (< 1/frame rate). CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 36

39 Trigger Sensitivity Trigger Sensitivity is used for the Auto Trigger, the trigger on the intensity variation inside the image (see Setup / Trigger Source / Auto menu). Trigger Sensitivity is the value that indicates, which intensity variation is necessary to trigger the sequence. The range of intensity variation goes from 10 % (high sensitivity) up to 50 % (low sensitivity) in steps of 10 %. The required value depends mostly on the illumination: High quality film lamps show the lowest intensity variation. In this case, highest sensitivity can be used (10%). Halogen lamps have higher intensity variation. In this case, a Trigger Sensitivity of 20 % or 30 % should be used. Normal light bulbs or fluorescent tubes need Trigger Sensitivities greater than 30 %. Synchronisation Internal Internal synchronisation uses the internal quartz generator of the camera. Using internal synchronisation allows to use predifined frame rates as indicated in Table 2 above. External External synchronisation allows, by using the external synchronisation input on the camera, to synchronize the frame rate of the camera between ~ 50 fps and the maximum frame rate that is indicated in table 1 (Frame Format & max. Frame Rate). White Balance (only color) The White Balance feature is used for the color version of the CamRecord camera and allows to calibrate the basic colors green, blue, and red. New To apply the white balance feature please 1. go into video live CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 37

40 2. install a white surface in front of the camera (the white balance program will use some pixel in the center of the image to calculate the calibration values) 3. ensure that there is no pixel saturation 4. Choose now the White balance option The program is now calculating gain correction values of the three basic colors and will apply the corrected values immediately to the display. The white-balance calibration values are stored in the info (.seq) file. When changing illumination condition or camera parameter, a new white balance may be necessary. To store white-balance calibration values please save your personal profile as described in the Setup-Profile Menu. Reset Actual white-balance calibration values are reset. Playback Setup Playback allows to increase or reduce the playback speed. Normal Playback Speed shows every image on screen. Lowest Playback Speed shows an image 10 times, highest Playback Speed shows each 10. image. The table below shows the possible settings: Playback Speed 10 times (slowest speed) 5 times 2 times Each Image Each 2. Image Each 5. Image Each 10. Image (highest speed) CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 38

41 Pseudo Colors (Alt+C) (only black/white) The Pseudo Colors option allow to color the actual black/white image by eight pseudo colors. The vertical bar is used to attach a grey scale range (1..31) to each of the eight colors in the color palette. The horizontal bar can then be used to place the color range of all eight colors (8..256) inside the grey scale range of the actual image frame. The histogramm gives information about the distribution of grey values inside an image. The vertical axis of the histogramm may either be scaled linear or logarithmically. The pseudo color option allow to detect pixel intensity variations inside an image frame or from image to image with high contrast. Pseudo colors do not influence the storage of the images. Gamma Correction (only black/white) The gamma correction function allows to change the linear greyscale interval to a nonlinear (exponential) grey scale interval as shown in the figure below. The gamma coefficient, which determines the grade of non- CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 39

42 linearity, can be changed between 0,5 (increase contrast of high intensity values) and 5 (increase contrast of low intensity values). Logo and Text Logo and Text allows to integrate a user-defined logo and/or an information related to the acquired sequence. When Enable is activated, Logo and Text may independently be placed inside the image. The positions inside the image are at the top or at the bottom and at the right/left side or in the middle. Logos that are loaded with the Browse button must have Windows Bitmap Format. Their vertical and horizontal resolution have to be optimised by the user (by using e.g. the Microsoft Paint software) for the best fit inside the image. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 40

43 When Logo and Text are placed inside the image, they will be stored in the following way: 1.) Bitmap, Tiff, and AVI image formats for cameras with black/white sensor: Logo and text will be fixed inside the images. Once the sequence is stored, no more modification neither on the logo nor on the information text will be possible. Color logos will automatically be changed to black and white. 2.) Bitmap, Tiff, PNG and AVI formats for cameras with color sensor: Logo and text will be fixed inside the images. Once the sequence is stored, no more modification neither on logo nor on information text will be possible. Color logos will be shown in color. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 41

44 3.) Img and Opt formats for cameras with black/white sensor: Logo and Text are not fixed inside the images and may be modified at any time. The logo which has been selected by the user will be stored inside the same folder as the image sequence. The information text is stored inside the.seq file. Color logos will automatically be changed to black and white. 4.) Img and Opt formats for cameras with color sensor: Logo and Text are not fixed inside the images and may be modified at any time. The logo which has been selected by the user will be stored inside the same folder as the image sequence. The information text is stored inside the.seq file. Color logos will be shown in color. Personal Setup Personal Setup allows to save and restore camera and visualisation parameters. Open Open Personal Setup opens setup files which are stored on the Laptop (PC) Save Save Personal Setup saves setup files. The setup file has.inp extension. Remark: Personal Setup files may be deleted e.g. with the Windows Explorer. Rotate The image can be rotated in steps of 90 degrees. As BMP, Tiff, AVI or PNG, the image can be stored as defined by the angle of rotation. IMG will be stored without any rotation (0 ). Flip Horizontally The image can be flipped horizontally. As BMP, Tiff, AVI or PNG, the image can be stored as it has defined by the Flip function. IMG will be stored without horizontal flip. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 42

45 Flip Vertically The image can be flipped vertically. As BMP, Tiff, AVI or PNG, the image can be stored as it has defined by the flip function. IMG will be stored without vertical flip. Language Selects the language of the software. To activate the selected language, the software has to be restarted. IP Setup Attention: Only for cameras with Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) interface. TCP/IP allows to enter a TCP/IP address for the camera. The TCP/IP address consist of a Sub-Net address and a camera address. The TCP/IP address will only be saved inside the camera, when the Sub-Net address of the camera will be identical to the Sub- Net address of the GigE interface of the PC. The camera address has to be different to the address of the PC GigE interface card. Sub-Net address Camera address The software has to be restarted to confirm the new TCP/IP address. To select or check the TCP/IP address of the GigE interface card inside the PC please open the Network configuration of the PC ( Start / Settings / CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 43

46 Network Connections ). Administrator rights are necessary when changing the network TCP/IP address. After selection of the Local Area Connection, the Property of the Connection has to be selected (Push the right mouse button on the Local Area Connection and select Property ). The folder Local Area Connection Property allows to change the Internet Protocol TCP/IP Property. After Selection of TCP/IP Property the IP address and the Sub-Net mask have to be checked or changed. Bsp: IP address camera: IP address PC: Sub-Net mask: Please change or check first the IP address of the PC Interface before changing the IP address of the camera. When changing first the IP address of the camera, the camera may not find the Sub-Net address of the PC. In this case, the IP address is not permanently stored inside the memory of the camera. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 44

47 CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 45

48 Acquisition Single Sequence In Single Sequence acquisition mode, all the video memory inside the camera is used for the image sequence. The maximum number of images inside the sequence is limited by the video memory of the camera. Multi Sequence In Multi Sequence acquisition mode, the video memory inside the camera may be separated in up to 16 single sequences. The maximum number of images inside each single sequence is limited by the video memory of the camera divided by the number of single sequences. To select a sequence please select a Sequence Nr. in the Menu bar. Each Sequence can record image data completely independent from the other sequences in the video memory. Multi Segment In Multi Segment acquisition mode, the video memory inside the camera may be separated in up to segments. The segments are arranged successively inside the video memory. The segment length is defined by the Nuber of frames, defined in the Acquisition menu. The approximate number of segments that can be stored successively inside the video memory are calculated by the maximum number of frames of the video memory divided by the frame number of the segment. The Multi Segment option only allows for manual download of the CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 46

49 sequence. The Multi Segment option allows full access to pre- or post-trigger options. Multi-Segment allows to re-trigger immediately without time consuming download of the sequence until the video memory is filled. Multislope (CR450x2, CR600x2) Allows to increase the optical dynamic range of the camera up to 90 db (Factor 10000). Standard dynamics of the camera is used when Multislope is disabled. Increased dynamics is used with dual slope or with triple slope. Dual slope and triple slope can be optimized by adjusting the scroll bars. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 47

50 Info Menu Sequence Info Sequence shows a message box with informations about the displayed video sequence. In detail, the message box shows Information Frames Resolution Frame Rate Exposure Time Dynamics Double Frame Description Number of frames inside the sequence Frame Format of the sequence true frame rate example: 500 fps and each 3. image stored = 500/3 = 166 Hz e.g. 1/1000 = 1 Millisecond Sensitivity Quality: Standard (-) High (CR600x2) Not available CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 48

51 About CamControl The «About CamControl» window shows the actual version of the CamControl software, the camera serial number and the available options Options (all cameras): /M: Monochrom Sensor /C: Color Sensor /xgb: Video Memory Size in GigaByte Options (CR600x2, CR1000x2, CR5000x2): /UF: Ultra Format /US: Ultra Speed Options (CR450x2): /MS: Multi Sequence / Multi Segment CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 49

52 Additional functions Variable Zoom The left mouse button allows to zoom into the image (not in full screen). The right mouse button allows to fit the whole image into the image window (not in full screen). To perform the function, the mouse cursor has to be shifted inside the image. On Screen Display (OSD) The [O] button on the keyboard allows to show image parameters on screen as: 1. Frame ID 2. Frames 3. Frame rate 4. Exposure time 5. Resolution 6. Dynamics 7. Double frame (not available for CR series) CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 50

53 Tool (Icon) Bar Info Record Video Live Print Actual Image Save Sequence Open Sequence Status Bar Zoom Brightness Trigger State Frame ID Pixel Intensity Memory State Camera State CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 51

54 Camera State % Not available % Ready % Video Live % Recording Memory State % --- (Camera not available) % Memory empty % Filling Memory % Sequence available Trigger State % ---- % Await Trigger % Triggered Frame ID % Record or Video % Number of Frame which is displayed on the screen Pixel Intensity % Pixel Intensity value at Mouse Pointer Zoom % Visualization Zoom Factor Brightness (only black/white) % Brightness of image display CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 52

55 Control Panel The Control Panel is used to simplify the setup and control of the camera and the image display. All functions inside the Control Panel are also accessible by the different menus of the Menu Bar. The Control Panel is separated into four parts. The first part is the video acquisition part. Acquisition The user can select Video Live or Record (Single Sequence, Multi Sequence and Multi Segment) and will be informed about the Video Live, Record Trigger Info and Trigger Status of the camera (Press the Esc button to cancel Record) Video Live Status % No Video Live activated Transfer Data % Video Live activated CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 53

56 Record Status Memory Empty Filling Memory Sequence Available % No Video Data inside the video memory % Recording % Recording stopped, Video Data inside the video memory Trigger Info Press space button Trigger on keyboard space-bar is activated External TTL signal Trigger on external input of the camera is activated (positive edge on TTL signal) External Switch Trigger on external input of the camera is activated (negative edge on TTL signal or electromechanical switch) Trigger Status % No Trigger signal expected Await Trigger % Wait on Trigger signal Triggered % Trigger signal detected Video Playback The Video Playback icons allow to play the sequence forward and backward. The image number in the center between the icons show the actual displayed image number. The playback scale below the playback icons allow to reduce or accelerate the video playback speed. In the center position, each image is shown in the image display. Going to the left, the video playback will show each image more than one time and so reduce the playback speed. Going to the right, not every image but up to each 10. image will be shown and will so increase the display speed. For more detail please see also in the Setup/Playback menu. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 54

57 Camera Setup The camera setup allows to select the most important operation parameters of the camera Frame Format Frame Format (pixel resolution) of the image Frame Rate Repetition Rate of the images Exposure Time Shutter time of the image sensor s snap shot full frame shutter Nb. of frames Number of frames which are stored in the video memory of the camera Trigger Source 1. Keyboard 2. External TTL 3. Ext. Switch For more detail please look at the Setup/Trigger Menu Sensitivity Camera Sensitivity during an acquisition. Sensitivity can be adjusted from a factor of 1 to 4. See also in chapter: Menu Bar/Setup Menu/Sensitivity CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 55

58 Display Control The Display icons allow to zoom-out or zoom-in the image and to change the image brightness. When storing a sequence from the camera to the harddisk of the Laptop (PC) we recommened to save it as img or opt format. In this format, the whole intensity information (10 bit) of the Pixel can be stored. When storing in Bitmap (.bmp) or Tiff (.tif) format, only 8 bit, as visualized on the screen, are stored to the computer and 2 bits will be lost. Sequence Preview Display The sequence preview display allows to show 10 thumbnails which are placed between the minimum displayed image and the maximum displayed image. Navigator The values at the left and at the right side of the thumbnails allow to set a limit to the minimum and maximum image value inside the sequence. increase the displayed interval reduce the displayed interval Navigator The navigator at the top of the thumbnails allows to navigate quickly inside the sequence. When the navigator is moved, the images inside the Image Display change automatically CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 56

59 When the right mouse button on the navigator is selected, a menu will be open. This menu allows to set an In marker and an out marker. These markers can then be used for saving the sequence. The in marker sets the begin of the sequence, the out marker sets the end of the sequence. CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 57

60 Appendix Customer Service For any questions or problems, please do not hesitate to ask our customer service: Optronis GmbH Honsellstrasse Kehl Tel: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) info@optronis.com In case of problems please prepare the following informations: Name of the device: (e.g. CamRecord CR450x2, CR600x2, CR1000x2, CR5000x2) Serial-Number: (bottom side of the camera) Operating System: Windows 2000 Windows XP (32 bit, 64 bit) or Windows VISTA (32 bit, 64 bit) Software Version: (See Info-Menu / About CamControl... of the Software) Short description of the problem CamControl Ver. 5.0 Ref SU-01-E Page 58