Leica DC Cameras
Contents
1. a sine EH ih oles AS E preentrzioni F eteri a poi Dt Os a se ke bey ir ba ee bu ee de Ti i il mi TI ANETO raro Macbeth ColorChecker Place the Macbeth ColorChecker in front of the lens of your camera so that it fills the image as far as possible Setthe exposure values so that no part of the image is either overexposed or underexposed Do NOT perform a white balance manually as automatic color balance incorporates a white balance Draw a rectangle in the live image covering the 24 color fields precisely then click on the color balance button to start automatic color balance Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Once color balance is completed you can name the color balance and save it This setting can be activated or deactivated in the white balance menu for the image acquisition parameters see white balance functions Piezo calibration Some cameras with chip shift technology for achieving the highest resolutions need piezo calibration This function needs to be executed only in exceptional cases for example after the camera has been dropped gt Activate this function by pressing CTRL and SHIFT and simultaneously right clicking on the word Extra Select the function required Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 59 60 Configuration g Last used Captured Image Live Image El Extra Color calibration DA D Fk Piezo calibra2. Configure image source Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Configure image Select the entry for your camera and click on source Configure gt If the list does not contain your camera click on Ada A list of available image sources is displayed Add new device Leica DC180 00480 Device Name DCT win WE a Enter a suitable name for the image source and press the Configure button In future you can select the image source using this name Depending on the camera type selected a dialog box is displayed in which you need to enter specific parameters for communication between the PC and the camera Most camera types that use the TWAIN interface display the following configuration dialog box Setup TWAIN data source M Allow image acquisition without visible user interface CAUTION Some data sources do not support this mode while others cause problems and possibly make the application hang TT Unload data source after acquisition This option is recommended for data sources that are not able to acquire more than one image per session E Cancel Kaki Furgos sb Aplica Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 9 For optimum performance when using TWAIN image sources allow image acquisition without visible user interface first option checked and do not unload the data source after image acquisition second option not checked Certain cameras
3. 3x3 binning is applied to live video Image is not resized so a gray border may become visible around the live video DXD 5x5 binning is applied to live video which is now quite small A large border is visible but live video has fast frame rate Format This function lets you select the format of the live video which does not need to be the same format as the captured image Some cameras may even offer several live image format that are not available for capturing On the other side some image capture formats are only available for capturing and not for live video viewing Live Image RAR 4 518 Mode 348x258 Under ISEE 7 Find Focus M Check Color On some cameras the brightness of live image and capture image may be different In such cases make sure to select the same image format in live and in capture image eg 2 x binned for live and for capture image Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 Special Image Formats Active Camera DC480 on Board 1 Configuration Last used Captured Image Live Image Forma 1200 e GEN Panter Made 640 480 Center MT Unde B40x480FluoRed 2x binned T Findl 640 s 480 Fluo Green 2 binned W Chee 6404480 Fluo Blue 2 binned Extra a 1250 x 960 Center 1280 x 360 Fluo Red 1280 x 960 Fluo Green 1280 960 Fluo Blue 1280 960 Some cameras offer special image formats
4. Leica DC Cameras Image Acquisition MICADEYETEME Leica DC Camera mage Acquisition All reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that this publication is correct and complete but should any user be in doubt about any detail clarification may be sought from Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging or their accredited representative The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging accepts no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging England 2003 No part of this publication may be reproduced transmitted transcribed stored in any retrieval system or translated into any human or computer language by any means or in any form without the prior written permission of Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging Microsoft and MS DOS are registered trademarks and Windows Is a trademark of the Microsoft Corporation Part Number 12724070 Date December 2002 Issue 1 0 Software Version 5 0 Printed in England Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging PO Box 86 515 Coldhams Lane Cambridge CB1 3X United Kingdom Tel 44 1223 411101 Fax 44 1223 412526 y Email DI Support leica microsystems com ii www leica microsystems com Feedback At Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging we are continually striving to improve the standards of our manuals a
5. any camera position can be corrected by flipping the image horizontally or vertically as it is acquired Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition gt Activate or deactivate the function by clicking on the appropriate check box Extra Always live i Flip Vertical ae Flip Horizontal TM Color circle always visible Close after acquire About Color circle always visible This allows you to switch the color wheel function permanently on or off depending on how frequently the color wheel is required for color correction gt Activate or deactivate the function by clicking on the check box Extra Always live Flip Vertical TT Flip Horizontal e Color circle always visible Close after acquire About Color corection Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 55 56 Close after acquire Use this function to define whether or not the TWAIN user interface should close automatically after an image is acquired This may be of advantage if you would like to add database information for the image immediately after image acquisition gt Activate or deactivate the function by clicking on the check box E Extra Always live Flip Vertical TT Flip Horizontal Color circle always visible ae Close after acquire About About This function displays information about software used and its copyright holders i Leica DC 180 DC 480 Product Leica DC Twain 20
6. anual Image Acquisition3 35 36 Only a few image file formats e g the well known TIFF format permit storage of dynamic ranges higher than 8 bits B W or 24 bits color Other formats e g JPEG the compression format or the BMP format do not support these dynamic ranges If an image is acquired in a higher dynamic range and is saved in one of these formats the following dialog box is displayed Invalid image format The image you would like to save can not be saved in the chosen file format Image inthe memory aA Color 46 bits pixel Would you like to convert the image and proceed File format Windows bitmap gt TERRE 32 bits pixel O Grayscale You must decide whether the color depth should be reduced to 8 or 24 bits or whether to discard the image Choose a compatible image data format or reduce the color depth in the image settings Only a few image manipulation software packages such as Photoshop are able to handle color depths greater than 8 bit or 24 bit respectively If an image is acquired with a color depth greater than that acceptable to the image handling program an error message may appear the image acquired may be ignored or the software may even crash lt is not possible for the TWAIN software to detect whether or not the image manipulation software can handle higher color depths correcily Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Image type The image type c
7. applying shading correction If the shading reference is selected the shading correction is always applied to the captured image With most cameras the shading correction is not applied to the live image To check the shading correction on these cameras select the Proof Mode in the live image section Active Camera DCSOO on Board 1 Configuration g Last used Captured Image E Live Image Format 696 516 Mode Proof Und Standard Find E Maem M Che Fullscreen Extra If the Proof Mode is activated all image correction and parameters are applied to the actual image This mode is very slow but allows you to check crop shading sharpening etc Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Color depth Depending on the camera type an image can be acquired and saved at various color or grayscale resolutions Most image sources only offer a color depth of 8 bits for grayscale images and 24 bits for color images However when using professional cameras it is possible to acquire images with higher dynamic ranges e g with 12 14 or 16 bit resolution Selecting the color depth sets the image source to the corresponding image acquisition mode The live image does not reflect these settings Configuration x Last used Captured Image White Balance hiteBal 1 Color deoth Image Type Image Size Sharpen MW Crop to ROI Color depth selection 16 Bit Channel Leica DC Camera User M
8. control gt Select a command from this popup menu The rectangle window is drawn in the function specific color The corresponding function is automatically active until switched off again The position and size of these rectangle windows can be changed at any time Click on the window frame to activate it This activates the window which will be drawn with a dotted line Move the window to any position by clicking on the frame with the mouse and dragging it while pressing the left mouse button gt Change the size of the window by clicking on one of the square dots around the window frame and dragging the mouse with the left button depressed a nn N pa Na ag ae ON A E z Pi Pi A A i Pi A i Pi da DA 4 a a i Hi e Pi A A i 5 SI A 2 Pi A i A da Leica DC Camera User Manual Image Acquisition Control structure The graphic control elements laid out in the upper part of the interface are used to control the standard functions of your image source The most important element is the live image histogram i e a graphical representation of the current light conditions as seen by the image source Dynamic range The live image display on the right hand side of the control window shows the current image and is mainly used for visualization and as a preview of the image to be captured The graphic shows the light distribution in the live image from the darkest components o
9. it to the left reduces the gamma value moving it to the right increases the gamma value The automatic gamma value function calculates an optimum gamma value from the composition of the current brightness distribution Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 21 Display values The current values for the contrast indicators black dot white dot and the gamma value can be displayed or hidden in the histogram The values for the contrast indicators vary between 0 and 100 and those for the gamma value vary between 0 1 and 10 gt Select the context menu by right clicking in the histogram diagram and select the Show values command If the function is active an activation symbol is displayed in front of the command O s jG Exposure time 91 3 ma Boos risa MTA AA A a ta Auto Gamma Reset blackwhite points Conf Reset Gamma Capi y e show Values a l I Riiie 22 Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Managing Configurations Once you have defined the best source settings for your specific environment you can save them and retrieve them at any time This feature is not only useful for different working and lighting conditions but can also be used to create reproducible user specific working conditions gt To save a configuration select the Save Delete command from the context menu for the Configuration tree entry gt Give a name to the current settings O
10. the complete image gt In order to define the region of interest ROI for the white balance just click on one corner of the area to be defined and draw a window using the mouse with the left mouse button depressed As soon as you release the mouse key a context menu appears containing the white balance command Find Focus Check Color Region of interest Live image with ROI for white balance The white balance is now executed automatically and the live image displays the corrected color settings Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition As mentioned before the white balance may also be applied to the complete image In this case you do not need to draw a window but only to click on the white balance icon at the top of the control dialog box i AREE Automatic white balance Automatic white balance calculated on complete image White balance Once you have executed a white balance functions Operation you can save the settings in order to reactivate them at any time gt Right click on the WhiteBalance line to display the context menu so that you can call the white balance functions gt Use saved white balance entries by clicking on the appropriate name Save Delete Use this command to save the current white balance settings under a name for retrieval or deletion at any time Configuration g Last used Captured Image white Balang Color depth Image Type Image Size Shar
11. 02 Imagic Bildverarbeitung 46 CH 8152 Glattbrugg Leica Microsystems Ltd CH 9435 Heerbrugg Company Leica Microsystems Ltd CH 9435 Heerbrugg Close Leica DC Camera User Manual Image Acquisition Hidden Service Functions Depending on the camera seldom used functions may be available in a hidden menu These functions are usually only required for service purposes and mainly contain calibration functions for which special maintenance accessories are needed These functions should only be accessed by trained personnel Color calibration The color calibration function allows perfect color tuning of your image source by using a Macbeth color table as a reference for color fine tuning within the camera Activate this function by pressing the CTRL and SHIFT keys and simultaneously right clicking on the word Extra The popup menu with the hidden service functions appears Select the desired calibration function Configuration g Last used Captured Image Live Image mi T Flip Horizontal Color circle always visible i Close after acquire About Color calibration command The following dialog box containing a description of the procedure for color checking appears Proceed as follows Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 5 RE Ju AA Ten e E ea cpr oh A callas are Fabi Mi 11 Piera a Machi bao Ja rinse drra n arr ll uan lara LI TA mm e de Ral Te A i Se ai
12. C300F FluoroGr Cay Save Delete DC3O0 LowLight DCSOOF FluoroRed e DCSDOF FluoroGreen r T Sharpen M Cropto ROI configuration menu Once a configuration has been saved it is automatically entered into the list of directly retrievable settings as you can see in the example above where several saved configurations are available for retrieval You can thus easily activate or deactivate setting combinations such as auto contrast auto gamma and auto exposure Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 23 24 Image acquisition gt To acquire an image with the selected settings for your archive or the current application simply click on Acquire Depending on the camera type and the settings you have selected this process may take anything from a few seconds to several minutes Sometimes the image will be exposed several times each color will be scanned separately and a high resolution will be achieved using chip offset techniques These processes can take a long time to execute even on fast computers A progress bar indicates the operation currently being executed Y Acquisition in Progress Acquinng imagE Cancel Once image acquisition is complete the control dialog box will either be closed or the system will be ready for the next image acquisition depending on the settings in the Extra area The system is then ready for the next image acquistion In the case
13. a DC 180 DC 300 DC 300 F Reset all E oe i OC 300 Fx DC S50 Fe OC 480 No Camera Ho Camera This setting will be saved when you quit the image acquisition window so that you do not have to repeat this step in future If you use several cameras you can switch between the different cameras by right clicking on Active Camera and selecting another previously activated camera Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition When you later open the image acquisition window and your camera is connected and running a live image is displayed in the dialog box as shown below Image source control with live image and control panel The live image from the camera may be seen on the right hand side of the window on the left side are the control functions The various functions in this dialog box are described as follows Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 13 Control logic The image acquisition module is controlled by means of an interface designed to be as easy to use as possible and which shows only the most frequently used functions and information The individual functions of an image source are accessible as branch entries in a tree structure and can be executed by double clicking The status of functions that can be switched on and off is displayed in a check box Active Camera DC300 on Board 1 Configuration g Last used Captured Image Live Image Extra Tree st
14. ary s Shading None gt Color depth a Bit Channel Image Type Gravscale 652 2815 22 binr Sc e 6528515 2x binned M SA 1300x1030 M Cr pto Live Image Extra Depending on the type of camera binning mode may be available when selecting Image Size Binning is a special image acquisition technique in which several pixels are combined and thus a very fast data download is possible However the color information is lost and the size of the live image is limited With short exposure times the live image refresh rate can be almost doubled by activating binning With long exposure times however the faster read out of the sensor data allowed by binning does not affect the live image refresh rate very much If binning is activated the image is acquired at reduced resolution and as a grayscale image Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Scaling Scaling allows you to scale or enlarge an image by a certain factor Scaling should not be applied if some additional image manipulation will be applied to the captured image If however the captured image is going to be printed or used in some other layout software you may apply scaling and or sharpening as it is convenient for you Please note that scaling by a factor 1 5 enlarges the size of an image by factor two An image of size 4 MB for example will become approx 9 MB Active Camera DCSOOF on Board Configuration g Last used Captured Image White Ba
15. ate contrast and gamma control If the function is switched on an activation symbol is shown in front of the command small check mark Please note that the position indicators triangles below the live image histogram are grayed out and will NOT respond to mouse commands when automatic contrast and gamma are switched on When the automatic functions are switched off the triangles are shown red and will respond to mouse commands Automatic functions on Indicators are positioned automatically ai re Automatic functions off Indicators can be moved with mouse Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Contrast To obtain the best image the contrast indicators left and right should be lined up with the limits of the brightness distribution histogram as shown in the example below This is the operation that the automatic contrast control performs constantly on the live image Gamma The gamma value helps to brighten or darken specific light intensities within an image Depending on the acquisition situation dark areas in images often appear too dark for the human eye The gamma value is displayed as a gray indicator between the two contrast indicators Moving the gamma value allows selective brightening of these areas The gamma value depends on the position of the contrast indicators A gamma value of 1 0 is set when the gamma indicator is exactly in the middle of the two contrast indicators Moving
16. balance Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Adjust the measuring window for the color fine tuning by drawing a rectangle in the live image and then selecting the Color distribution command VA AS E z z z a 5 si a z AAA AAA TT A pri Check L olor Region of interest a dia a Measuring window for color fine tuning Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 53 Control Function Extra 54 Functions that support specific camera model properties are listed under in the Extra main branch E Extra M Always live Flip Vertical Flip Horizontal TO Color circle always visible Close after acquire About Always live This function allows you to display the live image even if the TWAIN software is running in the background This may be useful when other software applications need to be running in the foreground on the computer while the live image is still displayed In most cases however this function is not necessary and can be switched off This means that the software running in the foreground is automatically allocated the main resources of the computer gt Activate or deactivate the function by clicking on the check box Flip Horizontal Flip Vertical Depending on the installation conditions it may not be possible to connect an image source to a microscope stand in a way that results in the correct image orientation With these two functions which can be combined
17. ca DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 61 Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition31 Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging PO Box 86 515 Coldhams Lane Cambridge CB 1 3x United Kingdom Email DI Support leica microsystems com Website www leica microsystems com MICROSYSTEMS copyright Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging Cambridge UK 2003 All rights reserved Specifications are subject to change without notice All trademarks listed are registered with their respective companies Part Number 12724070
18. e image source lighting conditions to values ensuring a perfect dynamic range for the image source from the darkest regions to the brightest Live Image Format 1300 x 1030 Kode Standard Fae Underfover exposure TO Find Focus M Check Color Activation of over under exposure display Find focus This function helps you find the best focus at a point in the image It uses a user defined window to find the optimum focus and displays the focus in the form of a bar The better focus in the area selected the higher the mark A maximum level indicator helps you return to an optimum focus previously established Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 49 50 F a f gt a F i 5 Sy Focus window with activated focus finder Define position and size of the focus measuring window as for all windows in the live image by drawing a rectangle and selecting the Focus entry from the context menu HMA Ha A A A aaa i E i i ty a ell i a a f 15 I E F i y a i A de Sl al y i j at ae n j A pd pr DIA se 4 sid y ue i A a x i PA Focus window created with the mouse Focus measurement and its measuring window can be switched on and off at any time by clicking on the appropriate check box Leica DC Camera User Manual Image Acquisition Zoom Focus The Zoom Focus allows to set a region of interest for fast focussing Draw a rectangle and select the menu
19. for live and or for capture images Center Modes display only the center of the CCD for better focussing When live image is set to center modes crop rectangles are not displayed and cannot be changed Fluo Modes The fluo modes only display pixels with a certain color filter The Fluo Red mode for example discards all the green and blue pixels of a CCD and combines the remaining red pixels to form a grayscale image C00 witht color fliers Raguiting image 4 Mode This function lets you select different live viewing modes Live Image Format ER w BIG Mode a Standard M Unde MUZE Find Foc Fullecreer M Check Color Standard default setting which should be used most times In standard mode live image is fast but no shading is applied Proof If the Proof Mode is activated all image correction and parameters are applied to the actual image This mode is slow but allows you to check crop shading sharpening etc Fullscreen Displays the live video in fullscreen on the monitor without any windows user interface elements like taskbar or scrollbars Press ESC to return to the standard mode Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Overexposure underexposure This function helps to find a perfect output from your image source by indicating the extent to which a part of the image is underexposed or overexposed In conjunction with the live histogram this function assists in adjusting th
20. g software s instructions regarding the proper use of the TWAIN source If you want to use the Leica Image Manager software proceed as follows gt Install the Leica Image Manager Software on your computer If a Leica IM has already been installed you do not have to remove it from the system just start a new installation which will update your system to the new licence with the camera driver All existing settings will be retained in the new system installation Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Configuration Once you have installed the camera the appropriate driver and Leica Image Manager you must configure the camera to the system New image source gt Start your Leica IM application and press the F12 key Of gt Select Configure Image Acquisition in the Image Capture menu IM50 Leica IM50 mil ar mie pl fiala re there E n nj Manda Balance OR Er Load made Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 A dialog pops up to show a list of all installed and configured image sources in a list gt Select the Add Remove Devices button Ls Die Cardia rr haa Peg i ao im orsi List of installed image sources All available image sources are displayed The list may be empty if you call this feature for the first time gt To add a new image source click the Add button in the dialog box Contbayrea Sement
21. histogram When automatic exposure is switched on the image brightness is displayed as a percentage This is a target value for the automatic system for adjusting the total brightness of the picture dere o Brightness ile fa A nen Los FE E Activation of automatic exposure Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Manual exposure Automatic exposure offers the best possible combination of these four control parameters for most acquisition situations allowing the user to concentrate on the image content However in situations with difficult light conditions the professional user may wish to modify these control parameters If automatic exposure is switched off the scroll bar control determines the absolute exposure time in milliseconds or seconds eae jo Exposure time 63 7 me AH Garr 1 0 a Exposure time with automatic exposure switched off Manual contrast In addition to the manual exposure you can switch and gamma value off the automatic contrast and gamma functions gt Select the context menu by right clicking in the histogram diagram and choose auto contrast or auto gamma to toggle the functions on or off individually Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 19 20 em G Exposure time 91 3 ma tI III III III III Auto Gamma Reset blackwhite points Cont Reset Gamma Capi y x ShowWalues a l I Riiie Activ
22. however may need other settings gt Click on OK to complete the configuration of the image sources The camera selected is now ready for use The camera you have just configured will appear in the list of image sources available to the system in this dialog box gt Choose the newly configured camera gt Close the dialog box to activate the image source The configuration procedure is now complete Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Source Control As the newly configured camera is now the active image source in your Leica IM system you can initiate dialog with the source Press the F2 key to activate the camera control interface Or gt Click on the wrench icon in the toolbar to initiate dialog with the camera The image acquisition window appears with the name of the camera currently active in the title bar rire IE With some cameras No Camera activated may appear in the user interface the first time you call the camera In this event you should fist activate the current camera model Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 11 E Ame le oo Ei a ra a rk Ho carena acre Ta contigua connected carserajt Bye chiodi pl il end sabi rer ri ae gt Close the message box and choose the camera model connected by right clicking on an entry Camera configuration Right click on list entries to assign Cameras Ho camer
23. item Zoom Focus The actual live video will be frozen and the selected rectangle will get all the processing power for fastest focussing Note that activating the zoom focus will also activate the yellow focus bar and that the live video resolution is set to 1x1 binning full resolution This change of resolution may result in a temporary grey screen until the live video gets refreshed especially if long exposure times are set Return to normal viewing mode by removing the checkmark in the Find focus control AREA a biciclette n p i Fi E A E a de Zoom OLLE Set the best focus inside the region Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 51 52 Color balance This function is used for fine tuning the white balance Depending on the light conditions and the camera characteristics fine correction of the image may be necessary after a white balance to compensate for a red color shift for instance If this occurs select the color balance function You can use the mouse to drag the small square in the color wheel displayed towards the color balance you require gt Switch on the color wheel and the measuring window on or off at any time by clicking on the check box gt Drag the small square to a color value and intensity observe the small dot The dot represents the current color distribution within the section of image selected Color fine tuning after white
24. lance Temporary Shading None gt Color depth a Bit Charnnel Image Type Grayscale Image Size 652 x515 2 binr 1 00 Sharpe 100 Mi Copra El Live Image Extra Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 39 Select ROI Sharpen Your image source type may give you access to a sharpening function The image sharpening function is a sharpness filter that the software applies to the raw data to improve the overall picture impression Pictures without sharpening are technically correct but can give a rather dull impression Resharpened pictures however often appear crisper and the viewer may find them more striking gt Activate sharpen function by clicking on the appropriate check box Configuration g Last used E Captured Image White Balance W hitebal 1 Color depth a Bit Channel Image Type Color Image Size ala x 2326 n M Crop to ROI El Live Image Extra The effects of sharpening are not visible in the live image but only in a 1 1 scale reproduction of the image acquired Each pixel in the image corresponds exactly to each pixel displayed on the monitor Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition 2 1 representation of an unsharpened image 2 1 representation of the same image with sharpening Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 41 Select ROI Manual ROI definition Crop to ROI Every image source has different aspect ratios for image acquisition The Crop fu
25. mage to be acquired followed by a white image before shading correction can be activated Configuration g Last used Captured Image White Balance Unknowns Sharpen E Crop to ROI Live Image Extra Select black reference Shading correction Select the Get black reference function and Black Reference ensure that no light can fall on the camera Cover the camera lens with its cap for instance gt Press the Start button Get black Reference Ensure that no light falls onto the camera sensor while acquiring the black reference on Get black reference A dialog box appears showing the progress of the Get black reference function 30 Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition If the black reference function is successful the following dialog box appears An error message will be displayed if any light has entered the camera You should repeat the process Get black Reference Black reference has been successtully acquired Shading correction Get the white reference in a similar way by White Reference selecting object illumination only without any objects in focus and calling the white reference function A message appears instructing you how to set the white reference Avoid any under exposed or over exposed areas in the image Change the exposure time or the illumination brightness if necessary Click the OK button Leica DC Camera User M an
26. n the left hand side to the brightest components on the right hand side as indicated with the grayscale bar A well illuminated image should contain all components from dark to light pe ps Live image histogram Functions In the lower section of the control interface the camera functions are available as tree entries which can be expanded and collapsed as required The tree structure has the following three main branches ve DOC300 on Board 1 Configuration x Last used E Captured Image E Live Image Fl Extra Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 17 18 Automatic exposure The control functions described in the paragraphs below essentially help to create the best conditions for image acquisition Any professional user will be pleased to have these functions available In most cases however users will prefer to concentrate on the image content rather than the image acquisition technique Intelligent automated systems help you to do this They analyze the current light conditions and control the image source in such a way that the resulting image is optimized for you The control parameters these automated systems take into consideration are exposure time image amplification image contrast and gamma value There are two controls above the live image histogram a scroll bar for brightness and an automatic exposure icon gt Activate the automatic function by clicking on the icon above the
27. nal disturbances or and damage to the instruments Useful Information This symbol indicates additional information or H explanations that intend to provide clarity understanding Action This symbol within the text indicates that certain operations actions must be carried out Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 Introduction Dear Customer We are very pleased that you have chosen to purchase one of our Leica imaging products The Image Acquisition Camera option is a module that supports a wide variety of cameras for image acquisition under Leica Image Manager The information provided in this Leica DC Camera Manual is subject to change without notification and does not present Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging with any binding commitments The software described here is a licensed product and may be used only in accordance with the conditions as defined in the license agreement The user interface is designed such that the essential functions for controlling all supported cameras can be reached through the same user interface This design means that you can operate all the cameras on your system without further expense after having worked through the user interface once Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Installation The user interface is bundled with all new camera options purchased The standard procedure for a camera installation is therefore described below This normally consist
28. nction allows you to acquire any image size or format Activate the Crop function by checking the box on the menu You will see a window on the live Image this is the part of the image that will be acquired Deactivating this function results in the full image being selected a hae ca ROI for image acquisition There are several ways of selecting the size and position of the Crop window gt Select the context menu for the function Leica DC Camera User Manual Image Acquisition Configuration Last used Captured Image White Balance hiteBal 1 Color depth da Bit Channel Image Type Color Image Size g31 x 1173 TO Sharpen Fl Live Im Extra gt Enter the values for the position left top and size width height in the appropriate fields Set Region of interest Left 357 Top 334 width B21 Height ioe Close Manual ROI definition The ROI window display is updated automatically on the live image Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 43 44 Graphic ROI The Crop area may also be drawn directly on the definition live image using the mouse gt Click on the frame of the Crop area this marks it so that it can be moved or gt Draw a new rectangle at the position required using the mouse and select the Crop command from the context menu i ed Bee EA Y nak A a AA EA p z si z 2 si si a z si si E 7 E
29. nd would welcome customer feedback If you would like to comment on any aspect of this manual or our manuals in general please send email to LMIS manuals leica microsystems com Alternatively send a fax to 44 0 1223 412526 or write to M anual Feedback M arketing Department Leica Microsystems Digital Imaging PO Box 86 515 Coldhamns Lane Cambridge CB1 3X United Kingdom Please quote the title part number and date of the manual These can be found on the previous page Table of Contents Table of Contents Symbols Introduction Installation Configuration Source Control Control logic Control structure Automatic exposure Contrast Gamma Managing Configuratio ns Image acquisition Control function Captured image White balance Shading correction Color depth Image type Scaling Sharpen Crop to ROI Control function Live image Format Mode Overexposure underexposure Find focus Zoom Focus Color balance Control Function Extra Always live Flip Horizontal Flip Vertical Color circle always visible Close after acquire About Hidden Service Functions Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 UN A WO FE 14 17 18 21 21 23 24 25 26 29 35 37 39 40 42 45 46 48 49 49 31 52 54 54 54 55 50 50 57 Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Symbols Warning This symbol indicates especially Important NM information that if not observed can lead to malfunctio
30. of automatic close and restart the camera will be reinitialize which can take some time depending on the type of camera and the image handling software involved Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Control function Captured image The setting relating to the properties of the image acquired can be found in this command section As the live image is not usually identical to the image finally acquired the settings are listed as a quick overview of the anticipated result El Active Camera Configuration Captured Image white Balance Shading Color depth Image Type Image Size Scaling Sharpen E Crop to ROI Live Image Extra Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 DC300 on Board 1 DE300 Configl Temporary None s a Bil Channel Color 088 x 1552 1 00 Properties of the image acquired 25 26 Li Wnhite balance The white balance function performs a color correction in the image source in order to display all neutral colored components of the image all gray tones from black to white without any color tone Thus the term white balance is not strictly correct neutral balance would be more accurate However as the term white balance is used worldwide we will continue to use it here The white balance procedure is one of the most important settings for the acquisition of a well balanced color image It can be applied either to a specific detail of the image or to
31. ommand determines whether the image is acquired as a grayscale or color image Configuration Last used E Captured Image White Balance hiteBal 1 Color depth da Bit Channel Grayscale age ie IO Sharpen E Crop to ROI Selection of image type Image size Depending on the image source there may be one or many image resolutions available Special cameras are capable of achieving true image sizes that are multiples of the actual chip size by means of CCD chip movement Other cameras are able to combine several pixels to form a new pixel thus increasing sensitivity but at a smaller image size binning Configuration Last used Captured Image White Balance Unknown Shading None Color depth 8 Bit Chanrel Color M Sharpen 260 x 206 Sx binned MW Crop to AC 432 8 342 ax binned Live Image b90 x 914 1 Shot Extra 1300 x 10301 Shot 13001030 4 Shots 2600 x 2060 16 Shots 3900 3090 3 Shots 3900 x 3090 36 Shots 1 Led F E E E L Selection of the target image resolution Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 37 38 i A A Please note that higher image resolutions naturally mean that more memory is required and recording reading and writing times are substantially longer Please note that the image size setting does not affect the live image ActiveCamera DC300F on Board Configuration g Last used Captured Image White Balance Tempor
32. pen M Crop te ROI e WhiteBal 1 Saving a white balance Reset This function resets the image source to its default settings Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 27 The reset command may cause the image to suffer a severe color tone shift If this happens you should execute another white balance operation H White balance is not possible if there are too many under exposed or over exposed pixels in the measuring window A message will inform you if this is the case and the white balance values will be reset Change the brightness of the picture or select a different measuring window and repeat the white balance BS White balance failed Image contains too much under or overexposed pixels Change brightness or exposure time and try again Close e 28 Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Shading correction The shading correction function allows an improvement of the overall image quality The brightness distribution is seldom homogeneous over the whole picture in practically all situations because of the lighting conditions optics adapter etc To create a perfectly corrected homogeneous image a white image ie an image of the exposure light only is taken as reference and calculated into the original image during image acquisition Without shading correction With shading correction Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 29 Some cameras require a black i
33. ructure with main branches collapsed Active Camera DC300 on Board 1 Configuration Last used gt a White Balance Temporary Shading Mone s Color depth a Bit Channel Image Type Color Image Size 346 x 256 Scaling 1 00 Sharpen M Crop to ROI Live Image Extra El El Tree structure with main branches and functions partly expanded 14 Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Popup menus Many functions or status messages contain further sub functions or settings These sub functions are generally hidden and can be accessed by clicking on the main function with the right mouse button Active Camera DCS00 on Board 1 gate Last used gt cc a COCO CSCE CE CRC C E CRC CE CE CORE CECA White Balance Temporary Shading Mone s Color depth o Bit Channel Image T ype Color 348 x 258 Scaling e 348x258 C Shapen MNR M Crop to ROT Live Image Extra Context menu with important functions Control window on The live image window also contains control live image elements always relating to a rectangular area The function to be executed on this cut out may be selected from a context menu which is activated after the rectangle has been drawn with the mouse os a E ez CELESTE EEA A A a REAR RR White Balance Find Focus Check Color Region of interest Context menu shown after drawing rectangle Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 15 16 Rectangle
34. s of the following four operations Connect Camera gt Connect your camera with its specific interface to the correct port on your computer Hi There are many different interfaces on the market and your system may need a frame grabber card or special interface card SCSI or Firewire Follow the source s camera installation manual or let your distributor take care of the installation Install Camera A driver is the communication interface between Driver the camera and the computer This driver can be obtained from your distributor If required your distributor will also install the driver gt Install the Leica Camera Driver on your computer Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 5 Install Camera Software Install Leica Image Manager The camera software is the interface between the camera driver and the image handling software lt contains all the control and display functions for the camera and follows the international TWAIN specification TWAIN is a standard interface between image sources and image processing software see also www twain org gt Install the Twain Software on your computer You can access and control the camera with Leica Image Manager software or any other image manipulation software Such software must however incorporate TWAIN functionality The camera is generally described as the TWAIN source and the image handling software as the TWAIN client Please follow your image handlin
35. si z E E z 2 z 7 si EA e F Draw new ROI windows using mouse Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Control function Live image The live image shows the image as supplied by the image source Depending on the type of camera the live Image can differ from the target IMage significantly e g if the camera supports various different resolutions The main task of the live image is a visual check on the image quality i e focussing framing etc The quality of the live image display is heavily dependent on the image source s specification and can not be identical for all image sources a Format 1300 x 1030 Kode Standard MT Underfover exposure TO Find Focus M Check Color Some cameras offer a binning menu inside the Live Image Control section Live Image Lal Under ixi Find Fc eects Fiera B Check 3x3 TO Fullecn gag Proof Select among 4 Live video binning modes and frame rates The 3x3 binned and interpolated video mode was up to version 4 1 8 the only available video mode Note that the frame rate of the live video is faster or slower depending on the size of the live video frame 1x1 No binning is applied Live video in full resolution 1 1 but at moderate frame rate Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 45 46 3x3 Interpolated 3x3 binning is applied to live video Image is resized to actual user interface window border Normal frame rate 3X3
36. tion Flip Horizontal TO Color circle always visible W Close after acquire About gt Follow the instructions in the dialog box Please note t hat only a small square of approximately 100 pixels in the center of the live image is used for the calibration and that there should be at least 8 bright dark transitions in this window Epa m TH pi ___ tal mile Pix A grid dts a at ae HE lance sd o or fi Then nada nok fa F o Spies polti uber Aemkine oop ed ord Taner A AO a ee Recall E r TF La During the Leica DC piezo calibration a progress bar is displayed Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Akki O pd mie oro Pe an Oe See OT 4 SS Re After the piezo calibration a success message is displayed Cooling Some cameras have the ability to turn off the cooling device inside the camera This may become necessary if you are working in a very humid enviromental situation and condensation occurs on the CCD If the cooling is turned off it remains off until it is turned on again gt Activate this function by pressing CTRL and SHIFT and simultaneously right clicking on the word Extra Select the function desired Active Camera OC300F on Board Configuration Last used Captured Image Live Image SE Extras F Color calibration w Cooling DO TO Color circle always visible Close after acquire About Lei
37. ual Image Acquisition3 31 32 If the white shading reference was acquired successfully a corresponding message is displayed Click on Save to finish the white reference procedure Choose a name for the shading reference and save it Save Delete Shading reference Mame Shading 1 Delete You can now choose and activate the shading correction you have just created from the Shading menu or record further shading references Configuration g Last used Captured Image White Balance Unknown Shadina 1 Color Get black Reference Image Get white Reference Shading 1 Live Image Extra Activate shading correction Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition Hi Please note that image acquisition using shading correction generally takes a little longer than normal image acquisition as the black and white references must be calculated into the original image With some cameras the shading correction is A available only as long as the TWAIN application remains active in memory Once you quit the application you will have to repeat these steps to activate the shading function H Shading corrections become invalid if you change illumination objective zoom position or focus Once a shading is set you should not change any of these parameters or recapture a shading Image needs shading correction Leica DC Camera User M anual Image Acquisition3 33 34 Improved by
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