NIS-Elements F - Laboratory Imaging
Contents
1. Exposure The exposure time on Live image is emulated in order to achieve higher frame rates the ex posure time is reduced while the software gain is increased The true specified exposure time is used only when capturing Format 1280x1024 and 640x512 resolutions are available Commands gt ROI This feature is available depending on the type of the connected camera head Advanced Settings Cooling The Qi1 camera head is equipped with a cooling system that enables to cool down the CCD chip by 5 or 10 of the current room temperature Warning When cooling by 10 there might be a risk of water condensing inside the camera head depending on humidity inside the room 24 Cameras 5 3 3 Nikon DS U2 L2 Ri Please see the description of common camera features in the 5 1 Camera Settings 17 chapter 1280x1024Fine y Normal Quality 1280x1024 abit Exposure oo Se Analog Gain gt 1 4x AE Compensation 0 0EV Color Contrast Medium v tow Resolution Note If the resolution of 4076x3116 is used for capture and the scale is burnt to the image the scale position is different from the Live image This is a consequence To keep the scale at the same position as in the Live image use other resolutions for capture Exposure There are two modes automatic and manual Auto Exposure Calculates an optimal2. X Hue oo X White Balance re 1 50 E 170 EX Capture Bit Depth Channel 8 bit r Noise Reduction If activated it reduces noise generated by higher gain NR works on interframe basis so you may notice some shadows on moving objects Capture Bit Depth Channel This option is available only for DS U3 controller Select which channel is being captured 31 5 5 Nikon DS Qi2 DS Qi2 Settings x Resolution 14bit 1636x1088 Exposure 2 Auto Exposure 100 ms y Analog Gain 4 7 6x Live Acceleration 1 0x Resolution By default single resolution mode is available The double Fast and Quality resolution mode can be enabled in Commands gt Advanced Setup gt Resolution Mode This camera provides different resolutions depending on the Attachment 1x or 2 5x used to mount it to a microscope Please select the correct attachment via the Camera gt Select Nikon DS Qi2 dialog window In the HW Unit Name column of the window select either DS Qi2 Direct 1 0x This attachment restricts FOV only a part of the chip can be used Resolutions 1608x1608 and 536x536 binning 3x are available DS Qi2 Direct 2 5x The whole FOV is available with resolutions 4908x3264 and 1636x1088 binning 3x Exposure Mode Exposure Exposure or Exposure time is the time of charge accumulation in a camera chip between two adjacent frames Prolonging the exposure time in
3. 53 Nikon DS UV atacada AA TAi aaa 22 5 4 Nikon DSUIY IB A A innen 26 BD NIKO DIS 0 A E RER a cag decek sta cvag ede dative cusuacae tecdbiebiascvatecaeceevecwetucisaeidbeskitecta 32 5 6 NIKON DS Ri2 coincida ii A A A DAA AAA 33 5 7 Photometrics Cascade5B12B 5 ns serie ini engsten aan ann taken dad ae ninii 36 5 8 Photometrics CoolsnapES cccecece cece cece ee ee eee eee eee nee ea eee ease ee eee nennen EEA KEN 38 Welcome to NIS Elements F Package 1 Welcome to NIS Elements F Package This software is supplied along with laboratory digital cameras It enables user to run the camera capture and save images make basic image processing etc It is also a preview of what is provided with the higher versions of NIS Elements e NIS Elements Advanced Research e NIS Elements Basic Research e NIS Elements Documentation Quick Start 2 Quick Start Warning Do not plug the camera into the computer before the installation NIS Elements Installation 1 Insert the installation CD into your CD ROM drive 2 Locate the setup exe file and run it 3 The install shield that appears will guide you through the installation process 4 When asked select the correct camera type 5 Finish the setup Connecting Camera 1 Connect the camera to the computer Note If the camera consists of a control unit and a camera head connect the unit and the head first Camera Head PC Control Unit 2 Switc
4. and the copyright information 15 16 Cameras 5 Cameras 5 1 Camera Settings A digital camera mounted to a microscope port or a macro scope stand records images of the observed scene on a light sensitive sensor and transfers them to a computer N S Elements supports various cameras differing from each other in resolution frame rate sensor type etc Despite these differences controlling different cameras is similar The following features can be included in the camera settings window depending on a particular camera type Note A complete list of cameras and devices supported by NIS Elementsimage is available in a separate document AE Compensation In automatic exposure modes the compensation affects how optimum exposure settings Exposure time and Gain are calculated The Compensation value is expressed in Exposure Values EV Setting the compensation to 1 0 EV makes the image twice brighter e g doubles the Exposure time or Gain AE Lock This option makes the automatic exposure mode to lock the current exposure settings Exposure time and Gain Analog Gain Controls strength of the camera analog signal before it is digitized This setting affects image brightness Auto White Balance AWB The AWB button performs an automatic white balancing It adjusts the red green and blue image components in order to get a neutral white color Binning The binning mode provides considerably enhanced camera chip sensitivit
5. pictures of the working folder are displayed inside the bottom preview window Auto Capture defines a prefix and the format of the files captured and saved via the Auto Capture command Calibration here you can select the units used for calibration of the objective and the units precision Language enables to select language version of the software Exit This command quits the application 4 2 Edit Menu The menu contsists of the following commands Edit Undo New Object Ctrl Shift Backspace QA Redo New Arrow Ctrl Alt Backspace Resize Y Crop A Copy Ctrl Insert A Flip Horizontally lt Flip Vertically Rotate Right 5 Rotate Left 10 Menu Commands Undo This command displays the current image as it appeared before the most recent transformation Redo This command returns the image back to the state that was displayed before the Undo command was Called Resize Using this command it is possible to adjust image dimensions You can enter the new size as an exact value in pixels or in percentage of the current image size Crop This command cuts off everything outside a selected image area Selecting the command invokes the Crop cursor Frame the area you want to crop by the red rectangle Use the white squares on the rectangle edges to adjust its size and drag it with the primary mouse button to set its position Finish the command with the right click or by pressing Enter Copy C
6. automatically Analog Gain Controls gain sensitivity of the camera Commands gt ROI This feature is available depending on the type of the connected camera head Commands gt Advanced Figure 5 8 Advanced settings Auto Exposure Mode x Image Settings Noise Reduction 27 Cooling The Qi1 camera head is equipped with a cooling system that enables to cool down the CCD chip by 5 or 10 of the current room temperature Warning When cooling by 10 there might be a risk of water condensing inside the camera head depending on humidity inside the room 5 4 2 Nikon DS U3 L3 Ril Please see the description of common camera features in the 5 1 Camera Settings 17 chapter Only the camera specific features are described below LT DS Ril Settings x Resolution Fast 1280x1024Fast 7 Normal Quality 1280x1024 Fine 8bit Y High Quality Capture Exposure m Analog Gain 4 gt 2 0x AE Compensation Resolution Note Ifthe resolution of 4076x3116 is used for capture and the scale is burnt to the image the scale position is different from the Live image This is a consequence To keep the scale atthe same position as in the Live image use other resolutions for capture Note The High Quality Capture mode is also supported If the Quality is 16bit or the resolution of pixel shift mode is selected you cannot uncheck the High Quality
7. labeled antibody method HAL HE Halogen illuminated Hematoxylin and eosin stain LED Bright Field LED illuminated bright field Industrial microscopy C Circuit boards FPD Flat panel displays M Metal Metal or ceramic W Water IC Wafer IC Chip Neutral Neutral preset Separate Channel Settings Having a color camera influence of the settings described above on each color channel can be adjusted In such case three edit boxes with the default values set to 1 0 are displayed below the feature setting These values determine the influence of the feature on each color channel Sharpness Some camera settings provide the sharpness control which affects how sharp edges in the image appear Too much sharpness leads to over saturated edges Target Maximum Intensity Restricts the maximum of image intensity after the auto exposure was applied The value represents a percentage of the whole camera dynamic range Trigger Mode Sets the exposure method Bulb The exposure time and frames timing are controlled by external signal connected to the camera Internal The exposure time and the beginning of each frame acquisition is controlled by the settings in NIS Elements Strobe In this mode the beginning of each frame exposure is being controlled by external signal White Balance There are usually Red Green and Blue Gain properties that control how colors are rendered It is used to eliminate a color cast from white areas 19 5 2 Nikon D
8. of the image It is a constant additive positive or negative changing all pixel values of the image With negative offset value the dark image areas become pure black Considering fluorescence microscopy an appropriate offset setting can create continuous black background and thus help to enhance together with gain or illumination enhancement the contrast Saturation The amount of saturation determines how colors are rendered More saturation produces richer colors Less saturation makes the colors gray Hue Hue shifts image colors across the rainbow White Balance There are usually Red Green and Blue Gain properties that control how colors are rendered It is used to eliminate a color cast from white areas 35 5 7 Photometrics Cascade512B Camera Settings x Format For Live 16 bit Binning 2x2 7 gl Format For Capture 16 bit No Binning y Auto Exposure 1 frame y x Multiplier 1 Readout Speed gt S MHz z Conversion Gain 1x Temperature 30 0 C Format For Live Camera format used in live command Format For Capture Camera format used in capture command Auto Exposure Initiates the autoexposure mode Software analyzes incoming image and adjusts expos ition and gain to get the best results Exposure Time Controls the exposure time of the camera Available exposure time range depends on selected Format and Readout Speed Multiplier Controls on chip multiplication gain Multipl
9. 600 abit Z High Quality Capture High Quality Capture When this option is checked images are not processed by the camera control unit They are send to the computer in the RAW format Computer then processes the images into the RGB format This mode produces images with less noise and better color fidelity Nevertheless transfer of the RAW data is slower than the normal mode resulting in a lower maximal frame rate If this option is unchecked images are processed by the camera control unit They are send to the computer in the RGB format Captured images are the same as in the Live mode and the camera highest frame rate can be used Note The High Quality Capture mode is supported only for DS U3 Vi1 Fi1 Fi2 It is not supported for DS L3 Vi1 Fi1 Fi2 Exposure Note Having a DS L3 Fil c Fi2 configuration there are the following restrictions when the Camera ROI is turned ON 30 Cameras For resolutions of 640x480 Fast and 1280x960 Normal the maximum time allowed by Auto Exposure is 60ms Forthe resolution of 2560x1920 the maximum time allowed by Auto Exposure is 1s Analog Gain Controls gain sensitivity of the camera Commands gt ROI This feature is available depending on the type ofthe connected camera head Commands gt Advanced Figure 5 12 Advanced settings Auto Exposure Mode Average X Image Settings Noise Reduction offset oo K X Saturation 0 0
10. Capture check box Exposure There are two modes automatic and manual 28 Cameras Auto Exposure Calculates an optimal combination of Exposure time and Gain in order to achieve optimal exposure Image quality is the priority therefore longer exposure times are chosen Manual Exposure User selects both Exposure time and Gain The AE Compensation field is disabled Analog Gain Controls the Gain Sensitivity of the camera Commands gt ROI This feature is available depending on type of the connected camera head Commands gt Advanced Mode Defines how the Auto Exposure is performed Average is suitable for bright field and Peak is better used for dark field Noise Reduction If activated it reduces noise generated by higher gain NR works on interframe basis so you may notice some shadows on moving objects Capture Bit Depth Channel Select which channel is being captured Cooling The Ri1 camera head is equipped with a cooling system that enables to cool down the CCD chip by 5 or 10 of the current room temperature Warning When cooling by 10 there might be a risk of water condensing inside the camera head depending on humidity inside the room 5 4 3 Nikon DS U3 L3 Vi1 Fi1 Fi2 Please see the description of common camera features in the 5 1 Camera Settings 17 chapter 29 Figure 5 11 Camera settings DS Vil Settings x Mode Resolution Fast 800x600 Quality Capture 800x
11. I The currently defined region of interest set by the Define command can be switched ON OFF by checking this item Define To restrict observed scene only to a part ofthe CCD chip 1 Invoke the Define command A red rectangle appears on the screen 2 Adjust the ROI size by mouse 3 Drag ROI to the intended position 4 Right click into the image The Use Current ROI is automatically switched ON The scene changes 5 8 Photometrics CoolsnapES Camera Settings x Format For Live 16 bit Binning 2x2 7 e Format For Capture 16 bit No Binning 7 Auto Exposure 1 frame y x Format For Live Camera format used in live command Format For Capture Camera format used in capture command Auto Exposure Initiates the autoexposure mode Software analyzes incoming image and adjusts expos ition and gain to get the best results Exposure Time Controls the exposure time of the camera Commands Advanced Setup Live Acceleration Would you like to increase the frame rate of the live signal Move the slider to a desired multiplier The system then automatically shortens the exposure time so the frame rate rises and the loss of intensity is compensated by gain software multiplication Target Maximal Intensity Restricts the maximal image intensity after the auto exposure was applied The value represents a percentage of the whole camera dynamic range Maximal Exposure This is a safeguard of the t
12. Mode There are two modes automatic and manual Auto Exposure Calculates an optimal combination of Exposure time and Gain in order to achieve optimal exposure Image quality is the priority therefore longer exposure times are chosen Manual Exposure The user selects both Exposure time and Gain The AE Compensation field is disabled Auto White balance The Auto White button calculates the right values in order to obtain the white color correctly The Auto White gives the best results on color neutral gray scenes 22 Cameras Advanced Settings Auto Exposure Mode Average X Image Settings Noise Reduction Sharpness None 2 63 4 Offset oo x Saturation 0 00 D gt Hue 0 00 x Preset Neutral I White Balance 1 30 ES 1 00 3 2 00 E x Mode Defines how the Auto Exposure is performed Average is suitable for bright field and Peak is better used for dark field Noise Reduction If activated it reduces noise generated when the gain is set high NR works on inter frame basis so you may notice some shadows on moving objects 5 3 2 Nikon DS U2 L2 Qi4 Figure 5 4 Camera settings 8bit mode DS Qi1Mc Settings x Mode Binning Resolution East Focus 1280x1024 no bir 7 Quality Capture 1280x1024 no bir y Exposure Mode Manual Exposure AE Compensation Exposure 100 ms E Gain 1 00x a Advanced Contrast Linear z Commands v
13. NIS Elements F Publication date 11 11 2014 v 4 30 01 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted except with the written permission of Laboratory Imaging s r o Information within this publication is subject to change without notice Changes technical inaccuracies and typographical errors will be corrected in subsequent editions LABORATORY IMAGING spol s r o Za Drahou 171 17 102 00 Praha 10 Czech Republic NIS Elements F Table of Contents 1 Welcome to NIS Elements F Package ccceeeeee cece teen ee eee eee eee eter ea eset anes nnnnnn nennen nennen nnnnnnnnnnen 1 Zs QUICK STAG GPFFPEFPRERFEEPERFEFUERBERFTRFERREREREFFRFEERTEFFFEFELEUFFFERFEREFRERERREFREREFRREFLEEUFTEEETEFEFREREEREFFERTRLREETERER 3 3 Main WINDOW vive a a en one ek eee gees TSS 5 4 Men Comma NS sco he anna Lebe AA Da Shand eae a ee bee ta ned 9 2 1 File Menu rer AA wea ceeded 9 42s EdE 219 1U SERBFRPELFEEREPFERFERBEFRERFEFFFRERUELFFETEFREFFRRFERETERFERSFEERFRLERTTETERFERPPEFERBELRREEFEFECEERFEFEFERR 10 4 3 Camera Menu iii ned ov cota nn ae nern 11 4 4 Preprocess Menu an sine name nenn an an nn ame anal cade 13 4 5 VIEW MENU er A ev coats ee De Eee A E AO ences 13 4 6 Help MENU ICHPEPPPESEREPEPIERERFERLEREFEFREFPERPFEFSFREREERERRELEFREREFEFRERBERSTEFEFEERPEEEREFFPRLEREFEFREFEREELUTEFR 14 By CAIMOVAS was anne ne ai ecb Wien eed abe cae A cous ste ee ne ne ne nee 17 SI Camera UM ee ti e 17 5 2 NikomDOCES u a A ne A 20
14. Overlapped I Trigger Mode Sets the exposure method Internal The exposure time and the beginning of each frame acquisition is controlled by NIS Elements settings Strobe In this mode the beginning of each frame exposure is being controlled by external signal Bulb The exposure time and frames timing are controlled by external signal connected to the camera Desired Temperature Sets the target temperature of the CCD chip Clear Cycles This option enables you to decide how many times the CCD chip should be cleared reset The set Clear Mode determines how often it is performed Clear Mode Sets how often the CCD chip will be reset Please see the camera user manual for further details These options are available e Automatic Never e Pre exposure e Pre sequence e Post sequence e Pre and Post sequence e Pre Exposure and Post Sequence Sensor Mode This option sets the method of reading the CCD chip Automatic This option makes the system to choose the best mode Normal Please see the camera user manual for further details Alternate Normal Please see the camera user manual for further details Keep Overlapped If checked The Clear Mode and Sensor Mode boxes are set to Automatic and become disabled This mode produces maximal frame rate and decreases the list of exposure times in the camera settings window Only the times of 1 frame and longer become available 37 Commands ROI Use Current RO
15. QCFS Please see the description of common camera features in the 5 1 Camera Settings 17 chapter Only the camera specific features are described below Camera Settings x Format For Live 16 bit Binning 2x2 Format For Capture 16 bit No Binning 7 Auto Exposure 1 frame y x Multiplier 1 Readout Speed 5 MHz z a gt Conversion Gain i Temperature 30 0 C Exposure Time Available exposure time range depends on the selected Format and Readout Speed Multiplier Controls on chip multiplication gain Multiplication factor is adjusted in 1000 DQC FW 4095 steps There is complex relationship approximated to an exponential between set value and level of multiplication Readout Speed Speed of digitization influences frame rate and image quality Higher frequency increase frame rate lower frequency offers better image quality Conversion Gain This is a hardware gain Commands gt Advanced Camera Settings Trigger Mode Sets the exposure method Internal The exposure time and the beginning of each frame acquisition is controlled by NIS Elements F settings Strobe In this mode the beginning of each frame exposure is being controlled by external signal Bulb The exposure time and frames timing are controlled by external signal connected to the camera Desired Temperature Sets the target temperature of the CCD chip Clear Cycles This option enables you to decide how many tim
16. Window B NIS Elements F Current user Michal Zezula augit4 jp Q A gt P Zoom Annotate AE Area Focus Open Save As 3x8bit 536x536 Quality Capture 3x8bit 1608x1608 Exposure A _ _ Ce oaae ion gt 1 0x JE RGB 8bit 1232 x 972 pixels Operation modes X Point This mode enables you to click on the image and move it within the image window Zooming can be performed by a mouse wheel Zoom This mode changes the cursor to an interactive zoom tool that magnifies a circular part of the current image when clicked A Annotate This mode enables you to insert annotation objects into pictures according to the Tools settings Areas of interest Ga AE Area This tool defines the area of the live image that is used to determine AWB auto white balance and AE auto exposure parameters applied to the camera When the selected camera does not support the AE Area functionality the AWB and AE algorithms are computed from the whole image When the AE Area is ON The Auto Exposure computed from within the AE Area is supported e The Auto White Balance computed from within the AE Area is supported Focus This tool defines the area of the live image that is used to determine the auto focus para meters Place the rectangle to where you would like to focus Images treatment Open Opens an image file stored on harddisk EL Save As This
17. ars Manual calibration la 5 Fill in the real distance between the lines and confirm the calibration by OK 12 Menu Commands 6 The objective is calibrated Note Using this command the current objective the one selected in the Tools section ofthe main ap plication window calibration is modified and saved The other six objectives calibrations change accordingly 4 4 Preprocess Menu The menu contsists of the following commands Preprocess D Contrast Shift N White Balance Ctrl Shift A e Change Saturation Change Hue Contrast This command enhances contrast of the current color image The Auto contrast and the Gamma correction can be applied White Balance This command balances and adjusts red green and blue components of the current color image The White Balance Adjustment dialog window appears One or two circular probes appear in the picture window at the same time One probe is used for definition of the white level the other for the black level Change Saturation This command changes the saturation of a color image It can be increased or de creased within the 200 range 100 100 Change Hue This command transforms a color image by a hue shift 4 5 View Menu The menu contsists of the following commands View Y Zoom Full Screen Ctrl Alt Shift F Scale gt Operation Mode gt 13 Zoom This submenu contains commands corresponding to the zoom sectio
18. c usage You can reset the settings by the Reset button Neutral Neutral preset Industrial microscopy W Water IC Wafer IC Chip M Metal Metal or ceramic C Circuit boards FPD Flat panel displays 34 Cameras Bioscience Biological microscopy F DF FL Dark field fluorescence B Bright field D DIC PH DIC or phase contrast H Hematoxylin and Eosin stain E Enzyme labeled antibody method LED Bright Field LED illuminated bright field HAL Bright Field Halogen illuminated bright field HAL HE Halogen illuminated Hematoxylin and eosin stain HAL ELA Halogen illuminated enzyme labeled antibody method Asbestos Asbestos Commands gt Advanced Setup Metering Mode If this option is available auto exposure can be calculated with an emphasis on over exposed peaks Peak or average pixel intensity Average Maximum Exposure This is a safeguard of the time of the Auto Exposure For quick exposure it is con venient not to set this value too high Live Acceleration Would you like to increase the frame rate of the live signal Move the slider to a desired multiplier The system then automatically shortens the exposure time so the frame rate rises and the loss of intensity is compensated by gain software multiplication Sharpness Some camera settings provide the sharpness control which affects how sharp edges in the image appear Too much sharpness leads to over saturated edges Offset Sets the brightness
19. cked The Clear Mode and Sensor Mode boxes are set to Automatic and become disabled This mode produces maximal frame rate and decreases the list of exposure times in the camera settings window Only the times of 1 frame and longer become available 39 Commands ROI Use Current ROI The currently defined region of interest set by the Define command can be switched ON OFF by checking this item Define To restrict observed scene only to a part of the CCD chip 1 Invoke the Define command A red rectangle appears on the screen 2 Adjust the ROI size by mouse 3 Drag ROI to the intended position 4 Right click into the image The Use Current ROI is automatically switched ON The scene changes 40
20. combination of Exposure time and Gain in order to achieve optimal exposure Image quality is the priority therefore longer exposure times are chosen Manual Exposure User selects both Exposure time and Gain The AE Compensation field is disabled Analog Gain Controls the Gain Sensitivity of the camera Commands gt ROI This feature is available depending on type of the connected camera head 25 Advanced Settings 0 00 K faalala Neutral White Balance 1 86 J Lof 1356 Capture Bit Depth Channel 8 bit y Color Render a Cooling a Mode Defines how the Auto Exposure is performed Average is suitable for bright field and Peak is better used for dark field Noise Reduction If activated it reduces noise generated by higher gain NR works on inter frame basis so you may notice some shadows on moving objects 5 4 Nikon DS U3 L3 Please see the description of common camera features in the 5 1 Camera Settings 17 chapter Only the camera specific features are described below 26 Cameras 5 4 1 Nikon DS U3 L3 Qi1 Figure 5 7 Camera settings 8bit mode 640x512 no binning m 1280x1024 no binning Format 1280x1024 and 640x512 resolutions are available in 8bit mode Exposure You can set the exposure time manually in the right pull down menu or use the Auto Exposure button to calculate the time
21. command can save a captured or modified picture on hard disk L y Print Opens a printing dialog window that enables you to print the current image if a printer is present Q a E Report This button creates a basic image report It makes a pdf file that contains the current image its name path dimensions and the file date Zoom Controls ee Fit Adjusts the zoom factor to view exactly the whole image as big as possible 1 1 Original Adjusts the zoom factor to view the current image on the 1 1 scale un Zoom In Increases magnification of the current image 5 Zoom Out Decreases magnification of the current image 75 Enables to zoom the image within a range of 10 1200 Tools ii Scale Displays a scale in the bottom right corner of the image There are seven eleven scales for different objective magnifications 2 2 5 4 5 10 20 40 50 60 100 150 times predefined Main Window 7 Annotate A number of annotation objects can be inserted into the image This button indicates whether the line arrow text rectangle or circle mode is active Pressing the button toggles between the Annotate and Point operation modes Ape Profile An intensity profile of a user defined cross section can be displayed in the image Camera settings Exposure modes Two exposure modes are available Auto Exposure The exposure time is calculated automatically Manual Exposure You can set the exposure time manually Exposur
22. creases brightness of the image as well as its quality there will be less noise Exposure mode determines how the Exposure time is calculated Generally automatic and manual modes are used Auto Exposure AE Calculates Exposure time and Gain in order to achieve optimal brightness of the scene Image quality is the priority therefore longer exposure times are being preferred In most cases the auto exposure can be run once by pressing the Auto Exposure button or continuously by selecting the nearby check box Note Depending on particular light conditions the result of Auto Exposure may not be optimal for image acquisition Manual Exposure User selects both Exposure time and Gain manually 32 Cameras Analog Gain Controls strength of the camera analog signal before it is digitized This setting affects image brightness Commands gt Advanced Setup Live Acceleration Would you like to increase the frame rate of the live signal Move the slider to a desired multiplier The system then automatically shortens the exposure time So the frame rate rises and the loss of intensity is compensated by gain software multiplication Target Maximum Intensity Restricts the maximum of image intensity after the auto exposure was applied The value represents a percentage of the whole camera dynamic range Maximum Exposure This is a safeguard of the time of the Auto Exposure For quick exposure it is con venient not to set this va
23. e Compensation If the current autoexposure mode gives an image that is too bright or too dark use the exposure compensation Click the High button to get a brighter image and the Low button to get a darker image Auto Exposure Area Click the Show button to display and activate the auto exposure area The area is used to determine auto exposure parameters applied to the camera Clicking on the arrow on the left side will cause the AE area size to be selected and the position reset to the center Advanced The advanced settings such as noise reduction and others can be set The settings available depend on the camera type Working with camera gt Live Displays the live image in the picture window 2 Freeze Freezes and grabs the live camera image into the picture window as the Frozen document O Capture This command captures Live or Frozen image to the application window It creates a new document called Captured B Auto This command captures Live or Frozen image and saves it automatically and names it according to the current settings File menu gt Options Auto Capture Folder A single folder is specified within the Options command where all captured images will be saved The contents of this folder is displayed in the main window Note The same scene captured with and without a scale may look differently brightness wise within the auto capture folder because an automatic contrast is applied to the thumbnails When o
24. era chip between two adjacent frames Prolonging the exposure time increases brightness of the image as well as its quality there will be less noise Exposure mode determines how the Exposure time is calculated Generally automatic and manual modes are used Auto Exposure AE Calculates Exposure time and Gain in order to achieve optimal brightness of the scene Image quality is the priority therefore longer exposure times are being preferred In most cases the auto exposure can be run once by pressing the Auto Exposure button or continuously by selecting the nearby check box Note Depending on particular light conditions the result of Auto Exposure may not be optimal for image acquisition Manual Exposure User selects both Exposure time and Gain manually Analog Gain Controls strength of the camera analog signal before it is digitized This setting affects image brightness AE Compensation In automatic exposure modes the compensation affects how optimum exposure settings Exposure time and Gain are calculated The Compensation value is expressed in Exposure Values EV Setting the compensation to 1 0 EV makes the image twice brighter e g doubles the Exposure time or Gain Auto White Balance AWB The AWB button performs an automatic white balancing It adjusts the red green and blue image components in order to get a neutral white color Scene Mode Preset There are presets of camera settings optimized for the specifi
25. es the CCD chip should be cleared reset The set Clear Mode determines how often it is performed Clear Mode Sets how often the CCD chip will be reset Please see the camera user manual for further details These options are available Automatic 20 Cameras e Never e Pre exposure e Pre sequence e Post sequence e Pre and Post sequence e Pre Exposure and Post Sequence Sensor Mode This option sets the method of reading the CCD chip Automatic This option makes the system to choose the best mode Normal Please see the camera user manual for further details Alternate Normal Please see the camera user manual for further details Keep Overlapped If checked The Clear Mode and Sensor Mode boxes are set to Automatic and become disabled This mode produces maximal frame rate and decreases the list of exposure times in the camera settings window Only the times of 1 frame and longer become available 21 5 3 Nikon DS U2 L2 Camera Settings x Mode Resolution Fast Focus 800x600 2 Quality Capture 1600x1200 Ir Exposure Mode Auto Exposure AE Compensation 0 6 EV Color Contrast High y Auto White gt Scene Mode oona Premm Reset Commands gt A 5 3 1 Nikon DS U2 L2 Other camera heads Please see the description of common camera features in the 5 1 Camera Settings 17 chapter Only the camera specific features are described below Exposure
26. h the camera or control unit ON Wait until a solid green light shines on the control unit Starting NIS Elements 1 2 Click the NIS Elements F desktop icon or go to the Start menu gt Programs gt NIS Elements F gt NIS Elements F If more than one camera driver is available a window appears where must select the software driver which is compatible with your camera Click OK 3 The main application window appears ready to be used 4 Click the Live button and you get the live camera signal Troubleshooting It is not possible to run the application without a camera connected to the system If the application is unable to start correctly the reason may be The camera is not plugged into the computer properly or is switched OFF Check ifthe camera cable is attached to the computer and ifthe camera or the control unit is switched ON The camera system drivers are not installed or are out of date The camera drivers should have been installed during the NIS Elements setup However some unexpected error might occur or you might have selected a wrong camera type by mistake Try to e Re install the application e Install the camera drivers directly from the installation CD Restartthe computer If none of these steps helps please locate the Ixapp log file in the installation directory and send it by email to your local Nikon dealer The technical support team will help you Main Window 3 Main
27. ication factor is adjusted in 4095 steps There is complex relationship approximated to an exponential between set value and level of multiplication Readout Speed Speed of digitization influences frame rate and image quality Higher frequency increase frame rate lower frequency offers better image quality Conversion Gain This is a hardware gain Commands Advanced Setup Live Acceleration Would you like to increase the frame rate of the live signal Move the slider to a desired multiplier The system then automatically shortens the exposure time so the frame rate rises and the loss of intensity is compensated by gain software multiplication Target Maximal Intensity Restricts the maximal image intensity after the auto exposure was applied The value represents a percentage of the whole camera dynamic range Maximal Exposure This is a safeguard of the time of the Auto Exposure For quick exposure it is con venient not to set this value too high Overillumination Tolerance Sets how many pixels should be white after the Auto exposure is performed Use lower values 0 01 for very bright Shining objects fluorescence For common brightfield even 1 may be a good value Optionally you can define the absolute number of white pixels 36 Cameras Commands Advanced Camera Settings Trigger Mode Internal i y Desired Temperature 30 0 C lv Clear Cycles 2 Clear Mode Automatic Zj Sensor Mode Automatic A Keep
28. ime of the Auto Exposure For quick exposure it is con venient not to set this value too high 38 Cameras Overillumination Tolerance Sets how many pixels should be white afterthe Auto exposure is performed Use lower values 0 01 for very bright shining objects fluorescence For common brightfield even 1 may be a good value Optionally you can define the absolute number of white pixels Commands Advanced Camera Settings Trigger Mode A Desired Temperature ie Clear Cycles 2 x Clear Mode Automatic z Sensor Mode Automatic x Keep Overlapped T Trigger Mode This combo box belongs to other Photometrics cameras Desired Temperature This combo box belongs to other Photometrics cameras Clear Cycles This option enables you to decide how many times the CCD chip should be cleared reset The set Clear Mode determines how often it is performed Clear Mode Sets how often the CCD chip will be reset Please see the camera user manual for further details These options are available Automatic Never e Pre exposure e Pre sequence e Post sequence e Pre and Post sequence e Pre Exposure and Post Sequence Sensor Mode This option sets the method of reading the CCD chip Automatic This option makes the system to choose the best mode e Normal Please see the camera user manual for further details e Alternate Normal Please see the camera user manual for further details Keep Overlapped If che
29. lue too high Overillumination Tolerance Sets how many pixels should be white after the Auto exposure is performed Use lower values 0 01 for very bright shining objects fluorescence For common bright field even 1 may be a good value 5 6 Nikon DS Ri2 Color DS Ri2 Settings x Fast Focus 3x8bit 536x536 y Quality Capture 3x8bit 1608x1608 y Exposure _ __ AE Continuous AE 40 ms 7 Analog Gain gt J4 1x AE Compensation EJE Live Acceleration 5 6x Color Auto White Scene Mode For Biological Bright Field gt Scene Mode lt Commands wv 33 Resolution By default single resolution mode is available The double Fast and Quality resolution mode can be enabled in Commands gt Advanced Setup gt Resolution Mode This camera provides different resolutions depending on the Attachment 1x or 2 5x used to mount it to a microscope Please select the correct attachment via the Camera gt Select Nikon DS Ri2 dialog window In the HW Unit Name column of the window select either DS Ri2 Direct 1 0x This attachment restricts FOV only a part of the chip can be used Resolutions 1608x1608 and 536x536 binning 3x are available DS Ri2 Direct 2 5x The whole FOV is available with resolutions 4908x3264 and 1636x1088 binning 3x Exposure Mode Exposure Exposure or Exposure time is the time of charge accumulation in a cam
30. n buttons Please see the Zoom Controls 6 Zoom In Zoom Out 1 1 Zoom 1 Best Fit 2 Full Screen This command switches the application to the full screen view All toolbars and menus are hidden and only the current image is displayed To quit the full screen view pres Esc Scale The Show Scale Bar command displays a rough scale in the bottom right corner of the image window There are seven predefined scales for different objective magnifications 2 2 5 4 5 10 20 40 50 60 100 150 times These can be selected from the Tools section of the main application window The Scale Bar Properties such as scale color background color thickness rotation units or font can be defined in a control window that appears after you run the second command of this submenu Scale Properties m Scale Font Orientation Type Size Se oo mm ine mh Bas 7 Automatically adjust size C Keep in view Y Show Text Operation Mode This submenu contains commands corresponding to the Operation modes section buttons Please see Operation modes 5 4 6 Help Menu The menu consists of the following commands 14 Menu Commands Help Contents db Search About Contents This command displays the content of the electronic documentation Search This command opens the electronic help file at the search page About This command displays the version of the software
31. opies the whole image into clipboard Flip Horizontally This command allows you to mirror all parts of the current image horizontally Flip Vertically This command allows you to mirror all parts of the current image vertically Rotate Right This command performs a rotation by 90 Rotate Left This command performs a rotation by 90 File Merge This command can combine color planes stored in separate files into one RGB image 4 3 Camera Menu The menu contsists of the following commands Camera Select Nikon DS Ri2 g Live a Freeze Capture Auto Capture Ctrl Space Calibrate Ctrl Shift 0 Select Camera Driver Name This command enables you to select a camera type which is suitable to be used with the currently selected driver 11 HW Unit Name Connection String DS Ri2 Direct 1 0x SN 700009 FW 100 0D 3D1E E1 DS Ri2 Zoom 2 5x SN 700009 FW 100 0D 3D1E E1 Live Freeze Capture Auto Capture These commands correspond to the main window Camera section buttons Please see the Working with camera 7 Calibrate This command can modify the calibration of the live camera signal To calibrate the current objective 1 Click the Calibrate command 2 A dialog window appears Select the calibration lines orientation Manual calibration DE Draw line ofknown length 3 Place the parallel lines to the image window 4 Another dialog window appe
32. pened to the main window the images will be equal 4 Menu Commands 4 1 File Menu The menu contains following commands Menu Commands File DB Open Ctrl F12 H Save Ctrl s Save As Reload Image X Delete Current Image Ctrl y amp Print Report Options Exit Alt F4 Open This command loads a specified image file according to selected options Save This command saves modifications of the current image onto a disk Save As This command saves an image onto a disk in case of a new image or enables you to save the image under a different name in case the image has already been saved Reload Image This command reloads the current image that has been modified and returns the it to the last saved state A confirmation dialog appears Delete Current Image This command deletes the current image A confirmation dialog appears Print This command opens a printing dialog window that enables you to print the current image if a printer is present Report This command creates a basic image report It makes a new pdf file that contains the current image its name path dimensions and the file date Options Opens the options dialog box Auto Capture Miepe sea reformat PEGzI00 52 7500 r Calibration Unts metas bers afer deanaoont 17 nose Ta Working Folder is the folder used as default by the Open Save Save As commands Although
33. t this value too high Metering Mode If this option is available auto exposure can be calculated with an emphasis on over exposed peaks Peak or average pixel intensity Average Offset Sets the brightness of the image It is a constant additive positive or negative changing all pixel values of the image With negative offset value the dark image areas become pure black Considering fluorescence microscopy an appropriate offset setting can create continuous black background and thus help to enhance together with gain or illumination enhancement the contrast Overillumination Tolerance Sets how many pixels should be white after the Auto exposure is performed Use lower values 0 01 for very bright Shining objects fluorescence For common bright field even 1 may be a good value Optionally you can define the absolute number of white pixels Saturation The amount of saturation determines how colors are rendered More saturation produces richer colors Less saturation makes the colors gray Scene Mode Preset There are presets of camera settings optimized for the specific usage You can reset the settings by the Reset button Asbestos Asbestos 18 Cameras Bioscience Biological microscopy B Bright field D DIC PH DIC or phase contrast E Enzyme labeled antibody method F DF FL Dark field fluorescence H Hematoxylin and Eosin stain HAL Bright Field Halogen illuminated bright field HAL ELA Halogen illuminated enzyme
34. ty The formats then differ in image size and consequently in frame rate number of frames per second fps The higher the resolution is the lower frame rate can be achieved Available resolutions depend on the camera type Note When switching between the formats while observing the live image the size of the image on the screen is maintained the zoom setting is changed instead Only in some special cases the beha vior changes and the image size is changed instead of the zoom setting which is maintained Gain Controls the sensitivity of a camera Increasing the gain increases brightness of the image but decreases quality the more random noise the more streaky noise and color unevenness and increases the frame rate indirectly by enabling shorter exposure times Gamma The gamma correction maps the intensity of live signal exponentially to the gamma parameter For gamma lt 1 dark portions of the image are enhanced whereas for gamma gt 1 image parts of higher intensities are enhanced Hue Hue shifts image colors across the rainbow Live Acceleration Would you like to increase the frame rate of the live signal Move the slider to a desired multiplier The system then automatically shortens the exposure time so the frame rate rises and the loss of intensity is compensated by gain software multiplication Maximum Exposure This is a safeguard of the time of the Auto Exposure For quick exposure it is con venient not to se
35. y by integrating more elements pixels together E g binning x4 integrates the signal from the area of 4x4 chip elements to one pixel of the resulting image Smaller resolutions and faster frame rates are achieved using the binning modes Contrast Affects dynamics of how the luminosity is rendered There are several modes for different illu mination contrast scene situation Exposure Mode Exposure Exposure or Exposure time is the time of charge accumulation in a camera chip between two adjacent frames Prolonging the exposure time increases brightness of the image as well as its quality there will be less noise Exposure mode determines how the Exposure time is calculated Generally automatic and manual modes are used Auto Exposure AE Calculates Exposure time and Gain in order to achieve optimal brightness of the scene Image quality is the priority therefore longer exposure times are being preferred In most cases the auto exposure can be run once by pressing the Auto Exposure button or continuously by selecting the nearby check box 17 Note Depending on particular light conditions the result of Auto Exposure may not be optimal for image acquisition Manual Exposure User selects both Exposure time and Gain manually Format Fast Focus Format Quality Capture Resolution Usually cameras can provide several image resolutions NIS Elements F enables to create two presets of the resolution settings Fast and Quali
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search