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1. 0000 cee eee eee 3 software Installation lt lt IA eters Ree ores 3 1 Installing Basler pylon 0 00060 eae 3 2 Configuring the Camera Link Serial Port 4 Acquiring Your First Images ee 4 1 Getting Started with the pylon Viewer 5 Adjusting Image QUAIlity iii O INCXESICDS esorta ARL AEREA REVISION FASO Viv ira Hehe eerie tig AR deine a Basler aceCamera Link Table of Contents Basler aceCamera Link Introduction 1 Introduction The procedures in this guide assume that you want to get your camera operational and begin capturing images as quickly and as simply as possible Accordingly the procedures describes the installation for one camera in a test setup on a desk top The procedures also assume that you will be using the Basler pylon software package to set the parameters on your camera and that you will only have Camera Link cameras connected to your computer 1 1 General Preparations Make sure that the following items are available before starting installation A Basler ace Camera Link camera The appropriate Camera Link cables If you will be supplying power to the camera via Power over Camera Link PoCL make sure that the cables are specified for use with PoCL If you are not using PoCL to supply power to the camera obtain a power supply for the camera Make sure that the power supply meets all of the requirements listed in the camera user s man2. To adjust your camera settings we suggest that you use the Basler pylon Viewer The pylon Viewer will give you the most complete access to your camera s parameters The steps below assume that you are using the pylon Viewer The pylon Viewer cannot display the images acquired by Camera Link cameras this is due to the proprietary methods used by frame grabbers to assemble the image data captured by the camera To view the images you are acquiring we strongly suggest that you use the software supplied with your frame grabber Most frame grabbers include software for viewing acquired images If you have not already done so you should install this software now and you should review the instructions for how to use it The procedure below assumes that you are using your frame grabber s software to view captured images Note that when a new ace camera wakes up it will be loaded with a default set of parameters and will be set for free run This means that as soon as you apply power to the camera and the camera finishes booting up it will begin acquiring images and transmitting pixel data Check the Camera Link Clock Speed Compatibility All ace camera models have a default Camera Link pixel clock speed of 82 MHz Not all frame grabbers are compatible with a clock speed this high Check the documentation for your frame grabber and see whether it can handle a 82 MHz clock speed On ace cameras the clock speed can be changed to 32 5 MHz
3. Click the Install button in the Ready to Install the Program window The program will be installed and when the installation process is complete a Completed window will open Basler ace Camera Link Software Installation 9 Click the Finish button An Installer Information window may open informing you about the need to restart the computer If you want to restart the computer now click the Yes button If you want to restart the computer later click the No button If the Installer Information window does not open there is no need to restart the computer 10 Note that the installation program has added a shortcut to the desktop for the Pylon Viewer 11 To see all of the installed software features Click Start gt All Programs gt Basler Vision Technologies gt Pylon x x Basler ace Camera Link 13 Software Installation 3 2 Configuring the Camera Link Serial Port To communicate with the ace camera the pylon software uses a serial port that is built into the Camera Link interface on your frame grabber Before pylon can communicate with the camera you must configure the serial port To configure the Camera Link serial port 1 Click Start gt All Programs gt Basler Vision Technologies gt Pylon x x gt Pylon CL Configuration Tool A pylon CL Configurator window will open as shown below A list of ports that are supported by the Camera Link interface will be displayed in the window 7 pylon CL Configurator Check
4. Link Driver E Xy Additional Runtimes 39 Extend PATH Environment Variabl This feature requires 11MB on pylon Viewer na ae ane z bes of 5 oe cubfeatures require 9716K8 on pylon DirectShow Driver your hard drive pylon TWAIN Driver pylon runtime environment needed for all uses pylon SDK for C pylon SDK for C pylon SDK for YB6 pylon SDK for NET pylon Debug Runtime Environmen y gt Install to C Program Files Basler Pylon Ce Cae Coso Cera In the Custom Setup window a Deselect the features you do not want to install To deselect an item click the sar button beside the item and select the red X from the drop down menu that appears In the example shown above we have deselected the Pylon GigE Vision Drivers and the Pylon IEEE 1394 Drivers If you will only be using Camera Link cameras with your PC we strongly suggest that you do not install these two features We have also deselected the Speed O Meter the DirectShow Driver and the Twain Driver These features are not useful for Camera Link cameras We have selected the SDK for C and deselected the SDKs for all of the other available programming languages You should select the SDK for the programming language s you use and deselect those you do not use Features that you do not install now can easily be added at a later time by rerunning the installer b Click the Next button A Ready to Install the Program window will open
5. tap geometries The camera file must be installed in the correct location on your PC This location varies depending on your frame grabber supplier Consult the documentation for your frame grabber to determine where the camera files should be installed The camera must be set for your desired pixel data format and tap geometry You can set the camera s pixel data format and tap geometry using the pylon software you will be installing later in this guide Basler ace Camera Link 3 Introduction 4 Basler ace Camera Link Hardware Installation 2 Hardware Installation 2 1 Avoiding EMI and ESD Problems The cameras are frequently installed in industrial environments These environments often include devices that generate electromagnetic interference EMI and they are prone to electrostatic discharge ESD Excessive EMI and ESD can cause problems with your camera such as false triggering or can cause the camera to suddenly stop capturing images EMI and ESD can also have a negative impact on the quality of the image data transmitted by the camera To avoid problems with EMI and ESD you should follow these general guidelines Always use high quality shielded cables The use of high quality cables is one of the best defenses against EMI and ESD Try to use camera cables that are the correct length and try to run the camera cables and power cables parallel to each other Avoid coiling camera cables If the cables are too long use a me
6. 48 MHz 65 MHz or 82 MHz If you need to set your camera for a lower clock speed so that it will be compatible with your frame grabber do it now The easiest way to change the clock speed is to use the pylon Viewer To use the Viewer to change the clock speed Follow steps 1 through 3 in the Getting Started with the pylon Viewer procedure that starts on page 19 Expand the Transport Layer parameters group that appears under the camera name Look for the Pixel Clock parameter and set it to your desired value Go on with the To Get a First Look at the Acquired Images section on the next page Basler ace Camera Link 17 Acquiring Your First Images To Get a First Look at the Acquired Images 1 If you have not already done so mount the camera in your test setup The test setup should mimic as much as possible the way that you intend to use the camera in your system Make sure that your frame grabber has the proper camera file installed see Section 1 2 2 on page 3 Make sure that the object your are viewing is properly illuminated If you need assistance in determining the optimum illumination for your application contact Basler technical support The contact numbers appear in the title pages of this manual Start the viewing software that is included with your frame grabber and make sure that you can view acquired images You will probably need to focus the lens and you may need to adjust the lens aperture to obtain reasona
7. Basler ace INSTALLATION AND SETUP GUIDE FOR CAMERA LINK CAMERAS Document Number AW000996 Version 01 Language 000 English Release Date 6 June 2011 BASLER Contacting Basler Support Worldwide Europe Basler AG An der Strusbek 60 62 22926 Ahrensburg Germany Tel 49 4102 463 515 Fax 49 4102 463 559 bc support europe baslerweb com Americas Basler Inc 855 Springdale Drive Suite 203 Exton PA 19341 U S A Tel 1 610 280 0171 Fax 1 610 280 7608 bc support usa baslerweb com Asia Basler Asia Pte Ltd 8 Boon Lay Way 03 03 Tradehub 21 Singapore 609964 Tel 65 6425 0472 Fax 65 6425 0473 bc support asia baslerweb com www baslerweb com All material in this publication is subject to change without notice and is copyright Basler Vision Technologies Table of Contents Table of Contents introduction css tarli iva seit i one Sis Seba ee ee eee 1 1 General Preparations 2 0 0 0 0c eee 1 2 Frame Grabber Preparations 0c tees 1 2 1 Location of the Serial Port File 1 2 2 Frame Grabber Camera Files 2 Hardware Installation vedi iraniana 2 1 Avoiding EMI and ESD Problems 2 2 Hardware Installation Procedure 0 0 00 cc ee 2 21 Precautions eena re era ea i aa ol 2 2 2 Hardware Installation Steps When Powering the Camera Via Power Over Camera Link POCL 0 2 2 3 Hardware Installation Steps When Powering the Camera with a Separate Power Supply
8. Trigger Mode Generate Software Trigger Trigger Source Trigger Activation Trigger Delay Abs us Exposure Mode Exposure Auto Exposure Time Abs us Exposure Time Raw ating Fe Use the frame grabber program to display your captured images At this point the images should be very dark or completely black Gradually increase the Exposure Time Raw setting so that your image brightness is almost at the desired level Adjust the focus ring on the lens so that the image is properly focused If required increase the Gain Raw setting slightly to improve the contrast Adjust the lens aperture to fine tune the overall image brightness Also take note of the depth of focus in the acquired images Adjusting the aperture affects the depth of field Adjust the Black Level Raw setting to ensure that detail in the dark parts of the acquired images is still visible Continue making adjustments to the Exposure Time Gain Raw and Black Level Raw until you are comfortable with these settings and you have improved your images as much as possible Now that you have made the basic adjustments to your image quality go on to the next chapter of this guide The next chapter provides more detailed information about making adjustments to achieve the best image quality Basler ace Camera Link 23 Acquiring Your First Images 24 Basler ace Camera Link 5 Adjusting Image Quality In the following descriptions image quality is
9. ad length is used the camera can be damaged and will no longer operate properly Refer to the Ace Camera Link User s Manual for more details about the maximum lens thread length 6 Basler ace Camera Link Hardware Installation 2 2 2 Hardware Installation Steps When Powering the Camera Via Power Over Camera Link PoCL To install the camera hardware follow these steps 1 Make sure the power to the host PC that contains your frame grabber is switched off mount To avoid collecting dust or dirt on the imaging sensor be sure that the lens O In the following step you will be removing the plastic seal from the camera s lens mount is pointing down when you remove the seal Remove the plastic seal from the lens mount on the camera and mount a lens on the camera 3 Mount the camera in your test setup 4 Plug one end of a Camera Link cable into the base SDR connector on the camera and the other end of the Camera Link cable into the base configuration connector on your frame grabber 5 Plug one end of a Camera Link cable into the medium full SDR connector on the camera and the other end of the Camera Link cable into the medium full configuration connector on your frame grabber Note if you will be operating you camera in a fashion that only requires the base Camera Link configuration it is not necessary to attach a cable to the medium full connector For more information about when a camera will use the base
10. andering path rather then coiling the cables Avoid placing camera cables parallel to wires carrying high current switching voltages such as wires supplying stepper motors or electrical devices that employ switching technology Placing camera cables near to these types of devices may cause problems with the camera Attempt to connect all grounds to a single point e g use a single power outlet for the entire system and connect all grounds to the single outlet This will help to avoid large ground loops Large ground loops can be a primary cause of EMI problems Use a line filter on the main power supply Install the camera and camera cables as far as possible from devices generating sparks If necessary use additional shielding Decrease the risk of electrostatic discharge by taking the following measures Use conductive materials at the point of installation e g floor workplace Use suitable clothing cotton and shoes Control the humidity in your environment Low humidity can cause ESD problems Installations provides much more detail about avoiding EMI and ESD The Basler application note called Avoiding EMI and ESD in Basler Camera O The application note can be downloaded from the Basler website www baslerweb com Basler ace Camera Link 5 Hardware Installation 2 2 Hardware Installation Procedure 2 2 1 Precautions NOTICE If you are supplying power to the camera via Power over Camera Link PoCL y
11. ble quality images at this point On some systems you will may be able to operate your frame grabber s image viewing software and the Basler pylon viewer at the same time If you see errors when you try to use both at the same time then you will need to close the grabber s image viewing software when you are using the pylon Viewer and close the pylon Viewer when you are using the grabber s image viewing software 18 Basler ace Camera Link Acquiring Your First lmages 4 1 Getting Started with the pylon Viewer In this section we introduce using the pylon viewer to adjust the camera s parameters One of the main objectives of this section is to familiarize you with how three particular settings gain black level and exposure time impact image quality 1 To start the pylon Viewer double click on the Pylon Viewer icon on your desktop The pylon Viewer will open as shown below Basler ace Camera Link 19 Acquiring Your First Images 2 Click on the ace camera s name in the device tree to select the camera A camera Feature pane will open in the pylon Viewer as shown below Notice the user level selector drop down box that now appears in the lower left corner of the Feature pane You can select the beginner expert or guru user level For the beginner level the Feature pane will display only the most basic camera settings For the expert level the Feature pane will display all of the most c
12. configuration and when it will use the medium full configuration see the camera user s manual Medium Full O O O Base SDR SDR Connector Connector 6 Use the locking screws built into the Camera Link cable connectors to securely fasten the connectors to the camera and to the frame grabber If the connectors are loose they WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS with your images and may cause electrical problems that can damage the camera 7 Switch on the power to your host PC and let the PC boot up Hardware installation is complete Go to the software installation procedure that starts on page 11 Basler ace Camera Link 7 Hardware Installation 2 2 3 Hardware Installation Steps When Powering the Camera with a Separate Power Supply To install the camera hardware follow these steps 1 Make sure the power to the host PC that contains your frame grabber is switched off mount To avoid collecting dust or dirt on the imaging sensor be sure that the lens O In the following step you will be removing the plastic seal from the camera s lens mount is pointing down when you remove the seal 2 3 4 Remove the plastic seal from the lens mount on the camera and mount a lens on the camera Mount the camera in your test setup If you obtained the power supply for your camera directly from Basler a Make sure that the power supply is not plugged into an AC outlet The power supply must n
13. discussed in terms of focus depth of field brightness and contrast You can adjust image quality with regard to these criteria by choosing appropriate settings However the best image quality will depend on the specific requirements of your application and therefore no generally applicable best settings can be recommended The adjustments will involve the following Adjusting the brightness of the illumination Adjusting the focus Setting the lens aperture Setting the gain Setting the black level Setting the exposure time We recommend carrying out all fine adjustments with the illumination that you will be using in your actual application You should be aware that your choice of lens is a major factor in determining image quality Using a high quality lens will give you much better images than using a low quality lens If you need assistance in determining the best lens for your application contact Basler technical support The contact numbers appear in the title pages of this manual Focus You will obtain a focused image only if the lens is correctly mounted on the lens adapter of the camera and if the glass surfaces are clean The object to be imaged must be within the range of focus of the lens You can obtain a focused image by turning the focal ring on the lens Depth of Field If the objects you want to image are located at different distances from the camera you must consider depth of field Depth of field is usua
14. e a default Camera Link clock speed of 82 MHz however not all frame grabbers are compatible with a clock speed this high You should check the documentation for your frame grabber and make sure that it can operate at a 82 MHz pixel clock speed If it cannot the clock speed on the camera can be changed to 32 5 MHz 48 MHz or 65 MHz For more information about changing the Camera Link pixel clock speed see Section 4 on page 17 1 2 1 Location of the Serial Port File All Camera Link compliant frame grabbers must be supplied with a dll file that describes the characteristics of a serial port that is built into the frame grabber This serial port is used for communication between your PC and your camera via the Camera Link interface The name of the file supplied by the frame grabber manufacturer will have the form clser dll where is determined by the manufacturer of the grabber and usually represents the manufacturer s name For example a frame grabber made by the Acme company may supply a file called clseracme dll In order for PC to camera communication via the serial port to work properly the clser dll must typically be present in the PC s Windows system folder usually C Windows System32 on 32 bit systems or C Windows SysWOWG64 on 64 bit systems Check your system folder and make sure that a copy of the clser dll file is present in the appropriate folder If the file is not there look for it in the software supplied by yo
15. els the overall image loses contrast Low Black Level Normal Black Level Very High Black Level Exposure Time The exposure time setting determines the time interval that the sensor is exposed to light during each frame acquisition Increasing the exposure time is a good way to increase brightness But keep in mind that increasing exposure time too much may reduce the camera s maximum allowed frame acquisition rate Gain Gain amplifies the values output by the pixels in the camera s sensor Increasing gain will increase the image brightness You can also increase the contrast in the image by increasing the camera s gain setting Unless your application requires extreme contrast make sure that detail remains visible in the brightest portions of the image when increasing gain Set the gain only as high as is necessary Because the gain function amplifies the signal and the noise proportionately increasing the gain does not improve the signal to noise ratio Basler ace Camera Link 27 Adjusting Image Quality Contrast Strong contrast in an image is obtained when objects of different brightnesses are represented by very different grey values For most applications optimum contrast is achieved when the image displays a wide range of gray values with fine detail remaining visible in the darkest and brightest parts of an image Some applications however may require extreme contrast You can increase the contrast in the i
16. era Link 3 4 Software Installation In this step you will probe the checked port s to see if an ace camera is connected to the port When the port is probed the port configuration will be changed as required and then the configurator will attempt to establish communication with any camera connected to the port To probe the checked port s click the Probe Selected Ports button The checked port s will be probed and if an ace camera is detected it will be indicated in the tool as shown below This indicates that serial communication is working correctly You can also probe an individual port by right clicking on a port ID in the list and clicking on Probe this port from the menu that appears 7 pylon CL Configurator Check the ports you want pylon to search for Camera Link cameras To speed up the detection process later we recommend that you only check ports having actually a camera connected to it Port ID Connected Device Acme Inc Port 0 Basler Aviator av41000_120km Rev 1 2 12334455 C com_Port com1 Probe All Enabled Ports Click the Save button to save the port configuration and then click the Close button to close the tool Basler ace Camera Link 15 Software Installation 16 Basler ace Camera Link Acquiring Your First Images 4 Acquiring Your First Images Before attempting to acquire images make sure that the camera hardware and software have been installed as described earlier in this guide
17. lar choose the lens and the illumination required by your application Before making the additional camera settings you must know the requirements for your application regarding depth of field image acquisition rate size of the AOI and contrast And you must know what the priority of the requirements are since some of the settings depend on each other or have opposite effects Your next steps will involve some or all of the following Selecting the pixel data format Selecting a triggering scheme and an exposure control mode Fine tuning the exposure time Defining an AOI Enabling and parameterizing other features available on your specific camera model Configuring the camera from within your application program using the pylon API or using direct register access Basler ace Camera Link 29 Next Steps 30 Basler ace Camera Link Revision History Revision History Doc ID Number Date Changes AW00099601000 6 Jun 2011 Initial release of this document Basler ace Camera Link 31 Revision History 32 Basler ace Camera Link
18. lly defined as the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image The depth of field must be sufficiently deep to allow all objects in the scene to appear focused in the image You can change the depth of field by turning the aperture ring on the lens Closing the lens aperture turning the aperture ring to higher f numbers increases the depth of field and vice versa Note that closing the aperture also decreases the amount of light reaching the camera s sensor and therefore results in a darker image Basler ace Camera Link 25 Adjusting Image Quality Brightness Among the factors determining the brightness of an image are the intensity of the illumination the setting of the lens aperture and the settings for exposure time gain and black level We recommend that you choose the brightest illumination possible This will prevent you from needing to operate the camera using extreme settings Bright illumination is of central importance to achieving good image quality If illumination of sufficient brightness is not available you can select a lens that is optimized for light utilization Opening the lens aperture will allow more light to reach the camera s sensor and will therefore increase the brightness of the image Opening the lens aperture can also increase the effects of optical aberrations This can cause image distortions and the intensity of light to decrease toward
19. mage by increasing the camera s gain setting High black level settings will prevent high contrast Closing the lens aperture not only decreases image brightness but also increases contrast towards the edges of an image If you must use a low level of illumination and this results in dark images you may notice the blurring influence of noise If you operate the camera near the high end of its specified temperature range the effects may be particularly noticeable You can increase contrast by lowering the operating temperature of the camera Since increasing the gain will increase both signal and noise in equal proportion increasing the gain does not improve the signal to noise ratio 28 Basler ace Camera Link NextSteps 6 Next Steps We assume that you have succeeded in acquiring images and setting the camera s basic parameters using the pylon Viewer and that you were able to optimize the image quality To meet the requirements of your application you will likely need to change additional camera settings and to modify earlier camera settings Refer to the Features chapter in your camera user s manual for details about additional camera settings Contact Basler technical support if you need more assistance The contact numbers appear in the title pages of this manual If you have not already done so implement the typical conditions of operation as required by your application before proceeding with the next steps In particu
20. me settings You should also use your frame grabber software to capture images and to see what they look like 6 In the Analog Controls group of the pylon Viewer a Change the Gain Raw parameter setting to its lowest allowed value You can set the Gain Raw by using the slider that appears next to the value box by using the up down arrows that appear next to the value box or by typing a new value into the box and pressing the Enter key b Change the Black Level Raw setting to a value between 16 and 32 Balance Ratio Selector Balance Ratio Abs Balance Ratio Raw Gamma Enable Gamma Selector Gamma E Image Format Controls AOI Controls 22 Basler ace Camera Link 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Acquiring Your First lmages Click the Sign next to the Analog Controls group to collapse the group and click the Sign next to the Acquisition Controls group to expand the group The controls for setting several camera parameters including the Exposure Time Raw will appear as shown below a Use the slider to set the Exposure Time Raw parameter to its lowest allowed value File View Camera Tools Help Haara Davas 077777 A JE Feature Basler acA2040 180km on Acme Inc Port 0 Sequence Control Analog Controls Image Format Controls AOI Controls Color Improvements Control Acquisition Controls AcquisitionFrameCount Trigger Selector
21. n the camera and the other end of the Camera Link cable into the medium full configuration connector on your frame grabber Note if you will be operating you camera in a fashion that only requires the base Camera Link configuration it is not necessary to attach a cable to the medium full connector For more infor mation about when a camera will use the base configuration and when it will use the medium full configuration see the camera user s manual Basler ace Camera Link Hardware Installation Medium Full O O O Base SDR NU SDR Connector Connector O O 7 Use the locking screws built into the Camera Link cable connectors to securely fasten the connectors to the camera and to the frame grabber If the connectors are loose they WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS with your images and may cause electrical problems that can damage the camera 8 Switch on the power to your host PC and let the PC boot up 9 Apply AC power to the camera power supply Hardware installation is complete Go to the software installation procedure that starts on the page 11 Basler ace Camera Link 9 Hardware Installation 10 Basler ace Camera Link Software Installation 3 Software Installation 3 1 Installing Basler pylon If you have not already done so obtain a copy of the appropriate Basler pylon software package see Section 1 1 on page 1 Once you have downloaded the software package you can install the soft
22. ommonly used camera settings And for the guru level the Feature pane will display all camera settings including the most advanced settings Features Basler acA2040 180km on Acme Ino Port 0 Value E Basler acA2040 180km on Acme Inc Port 0 E Transport Layer 20 Basler ace Camera Link Acquiring Your First Images 3 In the Feature pane of the pylon Viewer click the Sign next to your camera s name A list of parameter groups will appear as shown below File View Camera Tools Help Ha a aa a E Camera Link cA2040 1 Basler acA2040 180km on Acme Inc Port 0 Sequence Control E Analog Controls E Image Format Controls AOI Controls Color Improvements Control Acquisition Controls Digital I O Controls E LUT Controls User Defined Values Device Information E Configuration Sets Transport Layer Auto Function Parameters E Remove Parameter Limits Expert Feature Access El Transport Layer Basler ace Camera Link 21 Acquiring Your First Images 4 Click the Sign next to the Analog Controls group to expand the group as shown below 5 On the camera lens open the lens aperture halfway by choosing an intermediate f number To get an initial feel for how to adjust your image quality you will make adjustments to the camera lens and you will use the pylon Viewer to make adjustments to the camera s gain black level and exposure ti
23. ot have AC power applied to it at this point b Connect the plug on the power supply s output cable to the 4 pin power connector on the camera Make sure that the screw lock on the connector is securely fastened to the camera c Go on to step 5 If you are using a power supply that was not obtained from Basler a Refer to the Interface chapter in your camera user s manual and locate the information regarding camera input power Make sure that your power supply can meet the input power requirements b In the Interface chapter of the user s manual locate the information regarding the power connector on your camera Make sure that the output cable on your power supply is correctly wired and that the cable is terminated with the proper type of plug If the cable is miswired or the incorrect plug is used severe damage to the camera can result c Make sure that the power supply is not connected to an AC outlet The power supply must not have AC power applied to it at this point d Connect the plug on the power supply s output cable to the 4 pin power connector on the camera Make sure that the screw lock on the connector is securely fastened to the camera e Go on to step 5 Plug one end of a Camera Link cable into the base SDR connector on the camera and the other end of the Camera Link cable into the base configuration connector on your frame grabber Plug one end of a Camera Link cable into the medium full SDR connector o
24. ou must use a PoCL compliant frame grabber and you must use Camera Link cables that are specifically designed for PoCL as specified in the Camera Link standard Failure to use a PoCL compliant frame grabber or the correct cables can result in severe damage to the camera If you are supplying power to the camera via the 4 pin M5 connector the voltage of the power to the camera must be between 10 8 VDC and 13 2 VDC 1 If the voltage is greater than 13 2 VDC severe damage to the camera can result 2 Ifthe voltage is less than 10 8 VDC the camera may operate erratically Applying power with the wrong polarity can result in severe damage to the camera NOTICE Making or breaking Camera Link connections incorrectly can severely damage the camera 1 If you are supplying power to the camera via the Camera Link connection PoCL be sure that the power to the frame grabber is switched off before you connect or disconnect the Camera Link cables 2 If you are supplying power to the camera via the 4 pin M5 connector switch off the power supply for the camera before you connect or disconnect the Camera Link cables An incorrect plug can damage the 4 pin connector The plug on the cable that you attach to the camera s 4 pin connector must have 4 female pins Using a plug designed for a smaller or a larger number of pins can damage the connector The lens thread length is limited If a lens with a very long thre
25. s the ends of the sensor vignett ing In addition the depth of field decreases You can increase the brightness of the image by increasing the camera s exposure time setting With this method brightness is increased by increasing the amount of photons collected for pixel readout Note that increasing the exposure time setting too much may reduce the camera s maximum allowed frame acquisition rate Increasing the gain will also increase image brightness Increasing the gain too much however can cause a loss of detail in the brightest portions of the image Unless your application requires extremely high contrast you should make sure that de tail remains visible in the brightest portions of the image when increasing gain In the captured images below notice how brightness increases as the gain increases Also notice that at very high gain detail can be lost in the brightest areas of the image Low Gain Normal Gain Very High Gain 26 Basler ace Camera Link Adjusting Image Quality You can increase the brightness of the image by increasing the camera s black level setting Normally you should increase the black level setting only as much as is necessary to make de tail visible in the darkest portions of an image Increasing the black level too much may cause a loss of contrast in the image In the captured images below notice how brightness increases as the black level increases Also notice that at very high black lev
26. the ports you want pylon to search for Camera Link cameras To speed up the detection process later we recommend that you only check ports having actually a camera connected to it Port ID Connected Device C Acme Inc Port 0 C Com Port amp ComMi Probe All Enabled Ports 2 Determine which port s pylon should use to look for devices Usually this will be the port that is built into the frame grabber For the port on the frame grabber you will typically see the name of the frame grabber manufacturer included as part of the port name In the example shown below we are using a frame grabber from the Acme company and Acme is included as part of the port name Check the port that you want to use as shown below 7 pylon CL Configurator Check the ports you want pylon to search for Camera Link cameras To speed up the detection process later we recommend that you only check ports having actually a camera connected to it Port ID Connected Device Acme Inc Port 0 Com_Port com1 Probe All Enabled Ports Save Close suggest that you only probe the port s that you will be using to communicate with an ace camera Probing a port that has a device other than an ace camera connected to it may change the configuration of the port and may cause the device to stop operating correctly D In the next step you will be probing ports to see if ace cameras are attached We 14 Basler ace Cam
27. ual An appropriate C mount lens If you already know which lens you will be using in your application use this lens Otherwise we suggest that you use a zoom lens for your initial testing and setup If you need assistance in determining the best lens for your application contact Basler technical support The contact numbers appear in the title pages of this guide A PC equipped with an appropriate Camera Link frame grabber The PC must be equipped with a 32 bit or 64 bit Windows XP Vista 7 operating system or Linux from Kernel 2 6 The frame grabber must support at least the base Camera Link configuration It also should be able to handle a camera with an 82 MHz Camera Link pixel clock see Section 1 2 on page 2 A copy of the Basler pylon driver and software package version 2 3 or higher You can download the pylon package free of charge from the Basler website www baslerweb com You should perform the hardware installation first and the software installation second Basler ace Camera Link 1 Introduction 1 2 Frame Grabber Preparations The camera installation procedures assume that you have already installed a Camera Link frame grabber in your PC that you have properly installed all software included with the frame grabber and that you understand how your frame grabber operates To correctly use a Camera Link camera you must be thoroughly familiar with the operation of your frame grabber All ace camera models hav
28. ur frame grabber manufacturer and copy the file into the system folder 2 Basler ace Camera Link Introduction 1 2 2 Frame Grabber Camera Files For your camera to operate properly with your frame grabber you must install the correct frame grabber camera file In essence the camera file informs the frame grabber about how the pixel information coming from the camera will be ordered and about the bit depth of the pixel data Depending on the frame grabber supplier there can be a separate camera file for each combination of camera model and pixel data format or a camera file may cover several different camera models Typically each frame grabber supplier has a different naming scheme for their camera files For example Matrox refers to the camera files for their grabbers as Digital Configuration Files or DCF files and National Instruments refers to theirs as Interface Camera Descriptors or ICD files Camera files appropriate for the ace must be supplied by your frame grabber manufacturer If you don t have the camera files for your frame grabber you can usually find them at the supplier s web site Once you have the camera files there are three things you must keep in mind The camera file you obtain and install must be appropriate for the pixel data format setting and Camera Link tap geometry setting that you will be using on your camera Refer to the camera user s manual for information about available pixel data formats and
29. ware by doing the following 1 Close all open Windows based applications on your computer We most strongly recommend that you close all open applications now 2 Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the location where you downloaded the pylon software installation package Double click the downloaded file The program will prepare to install and then a Welcome window will open 3 Click the Next button in the Welcome window A License Agreement window will open 4 Accept the agreement and click the Next button A Customer Information window will open 5 Enter the appropriate information in the Customer Information window and click the Next button A Destination Folder window will open Basler ace Camera Link 11 Software Installation 6 7 12 In the Destination Folder window a Click the Next button if you want the software to be installed in the default location b Click the Change button if you want the software to be installed in a different location navigate to the location where you want the software installed and click the OK button A Custom Setup window will open as shown below i Basler pylon SDK x86 InstallShield Wizard Custom Setup Select the program features you want installed Click on an icon in the list below to change how a Feature is installed HEI pylon Runtime Environment E A Feature Description Xy pylon GigE Vision Drivers E Xy pylon IEEE 1394 Drivers H E y pylon Camera
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