Article Information Modified How to FTP large images or log files to AVT? If you have images you'd like to share with us, that may be larger than are practical to e-mail as attachments, please use either our FTP host, your own (if you have one), or a free file sharing service.  Below are tips on how to use our FTP host, and links to other services: Items written to AVT's customer-content-deposit area are readable only by AVT staff. host: ftp://ftp.avt-cameras.com ------------------------ User:   avt-ftp Password: avt-ftp customer (... more) 12/2/2008 External Trigger for Guppy cameras  Q. I'm using an AVT Guppy and want to synchronize it with other cameras.   The documentation says it should be + 5V, but I only have +4.5V, is that sufficient?  Also, what is the minimum pulse width? A:   You may connect the camera trigger in to the output signal of your circuit, using an 8-pin Hirose cable (one end) to flying-leads (other end) such as the AVT I/O cable. Yes, 4.5V is sufficient to trigger the camera.  As for minimum pulse duration, it is 1µs. The pinout mapping (... more) 11/18/2008 Engineering diagrams & CAD models Engineering diagrams, both 2D renderings and STEP 3D CAD models, are available on request. We want to make it easy for you to build AVT cameras into your designs! Please contact your AVT distributor to request renderings for a particular AVT camera. The 2D drawings may be viewed with the (free) Adobe Reader, while the 3D models may be viewed with the (free) IDA-STEP and many other CAD packages.  (... more) 11/8/2008 External Trigger for Stingray, Pike, Marlin, Oscar, and Dolphin cameras Q. I'm using an AVT Marlin and want to synchronize it with other cameras.  I have an NE555 CMOS timer I'm using as an external trigger, holding the signal level low.   The documentation says it should be between + 5..24V, but I only have +4.5V, is that sufficient?  Also, what is the minimum pulse width? A: The AVT Stingray (as well as Pike, Marlin, Oscar, and Dolphin models) can indeed be triggered from +5..24V, using suitable resistors.  For default TTL of 0 - +5V, no resistors are (... more) 10/20/2008 Increase frame rate by decreasing the Area of Interest Q: Is it possible to speed up a CCD camera when we reduce the resolution in the horizontal direction? A: Because of the CCD technology, one can increase the effective frame rate by reducing the number of vertical rows in the area of interest (AOI) (also known as region of interest - ROI).  With CCD it is not possible to increase the readout speed by changing the number of horizontal columns. BUT here's a handy trick:  by turning the camera by 90 degree the vertical particial scan (... more) 10/16/2008 UL classification for Firewire cables? Q: We have a customer asking for UL classification and if available, UL file number. Can you help me with this? The products are the firewire cables: K1200296 K1200293 A:  Yes the cables (K1200296, K1200293) are UL certificated with the following number: UL 20276  (... more) 10/10/2008 How to turn on 4x or 8x binning? Q: I want to use 4x or 8x binning, but the available F7 modes seem to offer full-res and various 2x binning and sub-sampling options.  How to access the 4x and 8x binning modes? A: Please see the appropriate camera technical manual, downloadable as a PDF, from http://www.alliedvisiontec.com/downloads/avt-cameras.html.   In particular see sections "Binning" and "Format_7 mode mapping. There we see that per IIDC 1394 standards only 8 positions are available ("visible") at any one (... more) 10/8/2008 AVT modular camera options Certain AVT cameras are available with special options, such as: board-level (unhoused) angled heads turned heads medical versions (white case) alternative format lens-mounts (C, CS, F, K, ...) alternative filter-glass (IR cut, protective clear-glass, etc.) Some such options do not change the price (but do change the part number), while others have a bearing on price. For details, please see the AVT Modular Concept document or speak with your AVT (... more) 10/7/2008 Microsoft XP SP2 1394 driver, SP3, Windows Vista issues When Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for XP, they inadvertently introduced a speed downgrade for 1394b to S100 from 1394a S400 and 1394b S800 capability, as referenced in http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;885222.  Then with XP SP3 the problem persists, and so far in Windows Vista as well, though in a forthcoming service pack the issue may be addressed. For users of AVT's FirePackage this is irrelevant, as FirePackage uses the Intek driver, with robust (... more) 10/7/2008 Deferred Transport mode using SmartView This appnote explains and illustrates how to use SmartView to control Deferred Transport operations.   http://www.alliedvisiontec.com/ftp/private/AVT_Inc/SmartView/Deferred_Transport_using_SmartView.pdf  (... more) 9/17/2008 Firewire 1394 cables by length With copper cables and without repeaters, the effective distance between an AVT camera and the PC can be: with one 1394a Guppy, Marlin, Oscar, or Dolphin connected to a PC adaptor card, 17 meters with two or more 1394a cameras connected to a PC adaptor card, 4.5 meters for one 1394b Stingray: 15 meters for one 1394b Pike: 10 meters Using repeaters, the max. copper distance is: for 1394a, 70m for 1394b, 70m also Using Glass-Optical-Fiber (GOF) (aka fiber-optics):  (... more) 9/8/2008 From Marlin to Stingray - plug-and-play or code changes? Q:  We have bought many of your AVT Marlin cameras for several years, and are now attracted to the new AVT Stingray in the same form-factor, but with 1394b and other features.  Will it be a plug-and-play migration from Marlin to Stingray, or should we anticipate code changes or other issues? A:  It's a good question, and the answer is "it depends".  For many applications it's pure plug-and-play, or plug-tweak-and-play; for others it would take more effort.   Please (... more) 9/4/2008 Pan Tilt and motorized lens control via RS232 Q: We want to mount a Pike 210 on a Pan Tilt unit like http://www.dperception.com/products_family_ptu-d47-documentation.html while also controling the lens with http://www.birger.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=ef232_home, but the RS232 on the 12 pin Hirose provides just one RS232 port.  Any ideas? A:  To control two (or more) RS232 devices you need an RS232 switch that can be switched electrically by the camera output.  Perhaps something like (... more) 9/4/2008 Fiber or NIR model firmware upgrade? Q: I have a fiber-optic (or NIR) AVT camera, and want to update to the new firmware release you've announced, but on running the firmare update routine in AVT SmartView it doesn't find a firmware version of the .xml file.  Is there a special version?  What do I do next? A:  If you upgrade (no cost) to SmartView version 1.8.3 or higher, part of AVT FirePackage, an enhancement now automates finding the correct package. If you have an older version of SmartView, you may follow these (... more) 8/21/2008 Cross-hair Overlay Q: Is there a way to create a cross-hair overlay superimposed over the active image? A: Yes, there are several ways to accomplish this. Use a commercial machine vision library program with overlay features See/adapt the ImageOverlay class for ImageJ;  or adapt e.g. the "Radial_Grid" plugin for ImageJ, for which there is an AVT FirePackage plugin, as described in the AVT Software Selector Guide If using Stingray, Marlin, Pike, Oscar, or Dolphin (but not Guppy),  the "Shading" (... more) 8/18/2008 User profiles (memory channels) (user sets) Q:  I'd prefer to have the camera boot up with certain paramters pre-set to my preferred values (rather than the factory default settings).  This would make it easier for me than having to re-adjust timebase, shutter, trigger mode, white balance, etc., every time I turn the system on.  Is this possible? A: Yes.  On most AVT cameras up to 40 key camera control paramter settings may be saved to non-volatile camera memory, for precisely the reason you suggest.  Please see the PDF Technical (... more) 8/15/2008 Blue screen crash on installing, message disappears too quickly to record it Q: On installing one of the software packages on a new computer/OS/adapter-card I get a blue screen crash, but the diagnostic error information flies by too fast for me to note it! A: Your system failure option is set to automatically restart, which is why the message is disappearing so quickly. In the XP control panel, click the advanced tab.  Then in Startup and Recovery choose "settings".  Under system failure un-check "Automatically restart".  That way if you get a blue (... more) 8/15/2008 Maximum rate to capture image pairs with AVT Pike 145 Q:  I don't yet own one, but before purchasing, I would like to check if the Pike F-145 is suitable for my application. After a trigger signal, I need to capture two images, with 100 microseconds or shorter exposure time, with only a 10 millisecond to 100 millisecond delay between images. What is the maximum rate at which these pairs of images can be captured? Is the Pike camera capable of doing this, and is the programming straightforward? A: Please see comprehensive applications note (... more) 8/12/2008 Precise control of framerate Q: How can I precisely control the framerate? A: (If your question is actually "How can I get the rated maximum framerate?", please see knowledge base article on relationship of Timebase to Shutter.) If the camera is in freerun mode, then the framerate is dependent on several parameters, including: Timbase, Shutter, sensor-specific readout timing, specific bus in use (1394a or 1394b), and packet-size setting. Due to the interaction effect of accumulating enough image data to (... more) 8/8/2008 Frame buffers and driver notifications The documentation FireGrab.pdf provides details about the frame buffers using the capture Direct Memory Access (DMA) modes. It can be found in the FirePackage\Doc folder. How to use the driver notifications by windows message or callback function can also be found there in FGInitModule.  (... more) 8/8/2008 Code to programatically obtain camera serial number Q: Is there example code for obtaining a camera's serial number? A:  Yes, please see below: // Connect with node UINT32 sn; if(Result==FCE_NOERROR && NodeCnt) Result=Camera.Connect(&NodeInfo[0].Guid); if(Result==FCE_NOERROR) sn=NodeInfo[0].Guid.Low; This accesses the serial number in the node unique ID leaf.  For more on the Config ROM structure, please see the camera technical manual, and search on "Configuration ROM".  (... more) 8/1/2008 Creating saved video streams and AVI files If your main goal is creating AVIs directly, please see AVT's Active FirePackage, which has the native capability to do this, also in its AVT ActiveCam viewer controls.  (For 1394b camera users, please be sure you are familiar with the Microsoft XP SP2 S800 issue.) Alternatively, with AVT FirePackage and the robust Intek driver, AVT SmartView supports saving still formats like BMP, TIF, GIF, and JPG.  There are good instructions for saving and streaming images with SmartView on pages 55 (... more) 8/1/2008 Trigger Delay Timing Q: Can you please show me an oscilloscope trace and corresponding register values, to illustrate Trigger Delay timing? A: Please see requested scope trace and screen shots.  (... more) 7/31/2008 Integration Enable Delay Q: Can you please show an oscilloscope trace and corresponding register values, illustrating the use of the Integration Enable Delay feature? A: Here are the requested scope trace and screen shots for Integration Enable Delay.  (... more) 7/31/2008 Prosilica and GigE cameras Q:  Per the recent announcement about the acquisition/merger of  Allied Vision Technologies and Prosilica, who do I contact for camera support? A: The merger is a win-win for customers, with access to products and know-how from both Allied Vision Technologies and Prosilica.  The camera models, red and blue branding, and business unit names will persist for some time, to insure continuity for all concerned. From a support perspective (late Summer - early Fall 2008) the short-term (... more) 7/30/2008 Are tripod/mounting adapters available? Tripod adapters (mounting plates pre-drilled, plus machine screws) are available that mate to AVT cameras.  For dimensions, please see the corresponding camera technical manual.  The PDF manuals are easily searchable, in this case use the string "tripod adapter", where you can see the specific dimensions. For pricing please contact your AVT distributor.  (... more) 7/30/2008 Shortest possible exposure in continuous mode Q: How do I obtain the shortest (fastest) possible exposure in continuous (freerun) mode? A: Presuming you've determined that you can adequately light your subject for the shortest possible duration, please note that the the actual exposure is determned by the following formula: Exposure = (Shutter_Register_Value x TimeBase_Register_Value) + Offset where Offset is a sensor-specific* value you may obtain in the corresponding Technical Manual. For example, the Pike 032, (... more) 7/28/2008 System Information utilities Q: I'd like to send you a complex support request.  What information do you need? A:  Thanks for asking in advance, it will help us to help you faster: AVT camera model (e.g. Pike 032B) Problem description (in sufficient detail to characterize when the problem occurs, under what conditions, etc.) Comprehensive system information about your PC architecture, BIOS, etc. Please send the above information via e-mail to the appropriate distributor or AVT location responsible for (... more) 7/28/2008 Flash Encoder to record images Q: We want to use Flash Encoder to record images, but with your default SDK FirePackage the camera isn't recognized as a Windows camera.   How can we proceed? A: FirePackage uses the Intek driver, a bus-level driver, at a different level of abstraction (with a number of advantages...). For Flash Encoder compatibility, you may prefer our AVT ActiveFirePackage, with it's Video Capture Source filter.  (... more) 7/28/2008 Synchronize two cameras Q: I want to syncyronize two cameras, in this case Pike 032B.  The Pike Technical Manual describes use of the broadcast trigger for a one-shot.  But I want a continuous stream.  How should we implement this? A:  Broadcast trigger is only for one-shot.  But there is a Firegrab software example available to synchronize two cameras.  Another way to synchronize the cameras is to use a ganged hardware trigger, of course.  For example, use hardware trigger in Level Mode (1).   Connect (... more) 7/25/2008 AVT cameras and Macintosh computers Note:  Mac OK for all progressive-scan AVT cameras, but not for the interlaced AVT cameras. There are two possibilities: 1. Plug-and-play: The built in 1394 Quicktime driver in OSX supports all DCAM compatible cameras.  Some drawbacks are in the camera control, e.g. there is no way to control the image size in the GUI. 2. Programmers: The cameras can be used with the libdc1394-2 library. There are no limitations; in fact there is a special vendors subdirectory containing (... more) 7/25/2008 User settings, profile does not exist? Q:  I am trying to save user settings on a Marlin F131B in Smartview, and get the response "Profile does not exist".  Suggestions? A: Please update the firmware on your camera to enable this feature.  Kindly contact your distributor or AVT support if you need the firmware or assistance.  (... more) 7/24/2008 Color Guppy and National Instruments (NI) Labview Q_1: I have a color AVT Guppy, and while the AVT software shows color images, the NI software is showing monochrome images with a "grid" pattern.  Why is this, and how to overcome? A_1:  The color Guppy models send RAW8 data to the PC, so please insure that you enable deBayering color decoding in your software.  For more information see IMAQ Bayer Color Decode. [FOLLOWUP Q & A...] Q_2:  Thanks for above tip, we're making progress, as now we get a color image.  But the (... more) 7/23/2008 Oscilloscope Q: The viewer shows framerates in the status line, but how can I accurately observe the relationships between signals like Integrate_Enable, Frame_Valid, Input trigger, Trigger Delay, etc.? A: An oscilloscope is an invaluable tool to use when configuring new applications, especially when working with camera I/O signals.   In addition to traditional oscilloscopes, also consider digital USB oscilloscopes, which are highly portable, relatively inexpensive, and convenient. Several (... more) 7/23/2008 Successive images when using Fast Capture mode Q: In looking through the Stingray camera tech ref manual, I discovered a 'FastCapture' feature that can be used to force the fastest possible image capture into onboard FIFO memory. For example, if I have a shutter speed of 100uS, can I assume that in FastCapture mode the camera will capture a 100uS frame, store the result in the camera's onboard RAM and X microseconds later capture the next frame?  What would that X be?   I am particularly interested in the F-145.  (... more) 7/23/2008 Images from one camera lag behind another? Q: I have a Pike 505C, in RGB_24 format, together with a Stingray 201B, in Mono8 format, running concurrently.  But the image from the Pike seems to lag behind the image from the Stingray.  Any idea why? A: Between the larger sensor size (more data) together with choosing RGB_24 (debayering on camera, to a large-volume data format that must transmit down the bus to the PC), indeed the images from the Pike would arrive at the PC later than those from the Stingray. In other words, (... more) 7/23/2008 How to uniquely identify multiple cameras? Q:  I have a question regarding the usage of the UCC_OpenCameraEx(). We have an application that has the possibility of using 4 cameras on 2 firewire cards, with each card connecting to 2 cameras each. Let us refer each of the 4 cameras say Top, Bottom, Left, Right stations in the application. Is the UCC_OpenCameraEx() able to connect the camera based on the port/card that it connects to? Reason is that customer do not want to use Camera serial Number as identification. Instead, (... more) 7/23/2008 IAMStreamConfig and DirectFirePackage For an example using the interface of IAMStreamConfig please see: c:\Programs\Allied Vision Technologies\Direct FirePackage\GraphSample\   CGraphSampleDlg::SetStandardFormat() sets the format with the interface IAMStreamConfig. To set format type AM_MEDIA_TYPE, the framerate is set as follows: VIDEOINFOHEADER *pVih = reinterpret_cast(pType->pbFormat); pVih->AvgTimePerFrame = 10000000 / 15;  (... more) 7/23/2008 One camera to two (or multiple) PCs Q:  Can a single camera send images to two (or more) PCs? A:   Yes, this works perfectly with AVT's FirePackage SDK, and the associated components AVT SmartView and the Intek 1394 driver.  This is because video data (ISO) is broadcast over the whole bus topology, so it's present everywhere on the bus. And whoever wants to view it can see it. NOTE: The camera must be addressed with identical parameter settings one each PC. Either you wire with a hub to fan out signals to each (... more) 7/22/2008 FirePackage download details The AVT FirePackage 2.8 and higher comes with a new installer and is from now on also compatible with Windows Vista (32-bit). The newly provided C-Wrapper for the FireGrab C++ API enables all those programmers who work with a development platform different from Microsoft Visual Studio to use the FireGrab API. In addition, a DLL is provided to convert different image formats (e.g., RAW8 to RGB24) or to apply distinct de-bayering functions on the PC instead of in the camera. Added: - (... more) 7/22/2008 Difference between 145 and 146 cameras? Q: I notice you have some CCD cameras of very similar 1.45 and 1.46 Megapixel size.  Why offer two sensors so close to each other, in the same camera family? A: The 285 is SONY's most sensitive sensor in this resolution range. It has bigger and intensified (ExView HAD) pixels compared to the 267. It is often used in high-sensitivity, high-quality demanding applications and is known for its quality. The speeds for both cameras are nearly the same, the features show no (... more) 7/22/2008 FirePackage and XP Embedded or other Realtime Operating Systems (RTOS) Q: Can AVT FirePackage be used with XP Embedded or other Realtime Operating systems? A:  Yes, we already have customers using AVT cameras and AVT FirePackage in XP Embedded. There have also been successful ports of the FirePackage to PSOS, RTXDOS and TREK. Some details on the operating system abstraction module can be found starting on page 107 of the FireStack.pdf document Version 2.1.0, which is included in downloadable FirePackage.  (... more) 7/21/2008 Video of AVT cameras and production This YouTube Video on AVT provides a nice overview of AVT cameras and their production.  It was produced in 2007, so doesn't reference the new Stingray camera. (... more) 7/21/2008 RES_SCALABLE question Q: I'm using a Pike 421B and FirePackage 2.9.1.  I'm using the camera to acquire a live-image.  My goal is to integrate a live-image in a C++ program with a super-imposed overlay.  But I'm having some troubles.   In my program I try to set the full resolution with CFGCamera::SetParameter (FGP_IMAGEFORMAT,...) Which parameters must I use to obtain the full 2048 x 2048 resolution?  The listing of the available formats in RES_SCALABLE only seems to offer maximum 2048 x 1026 pixels.  Also, (... more) 7/21/2008 Pointer to specific pixel in ActiveFirePackage SDK Q: Using AVT ActiveFirePackage, how can I reference a specific pixel? A: A pointer to a specified pixel in the current frame may be delivered by GetImagePointer. Value=objAVTActiveCam.GetImagePointer( X, Y )  (... more) 7/21/2008 Can the sensor cover glass be removed? Q: For a particular application I'd like to have the sensor cover glass removed - is this possible? A: While AVT receives sensors with the coverglass already mounted, for certain sensors we can arrange an extra removal service, for a fee. There are risks involved in such an operation, including risks of subsequent damage to the sensor, so any such modifications are at the user's own risk and expense, and would void the camera warranty. Please inquire through your distributor to (... more) 7/21/2008 Gain units in ‘dB’ and Brightness in ‘percent’? Q: Is there a conversion for the Gain unit in ‘dB’ and Brightness in ‘percent’ for the camera? A: The step-width of the Gain settings varies slightly with the camera model. You can find the values for each camera in the appropriate technical manual. For the Pike series e.g. it is 0.0353dB/step and has different maximum values, depending on the camera model. Brightness is an offset of 1/16 LSB at 8Bit per step, with a default value of 16 = 1 LSB ~ 0.025% per step. The maximum also varies (... more) 7/18/2008 Values in LUT control register in Big Endian form Q: I have a technical question regarding my Marlin cameras . I am trying to make use of the LUT functionality without success. The following code gets 0x88010400 from register F1000248, which I interpret to mean that the maximum number of LUT tables supported is zero and that the maximum LUT size is 32. I think I am following the procedure as outlined in the manual. A: This appears to be a simple misunderstanding on the  orientation of bit positions from left-to-right (... more) 7/18/2008 Smartview for multi-shots from single external trigger Q:  We recently purchased a 12-pin Hirose cable to externally trigger our AVT Pike (or Stingray/Marlin/Oscar/Dolphin) camera. Though we are able to successfully trigger the camera at will, we are not able to control the number of shots taken as advertised. In particular, we are interested in acquiring say n shots per trigger. The following is what we get: -In Edge mode (0), the number of multi-shots has no effect, and only a single shot is taken per trigger. -In Prog. mode (15), the (... more) 7/18/2008 Understanding 8, 12, and 14/16 bit modes Q: Please help me to understand 8 vs. 12 vs. 14/16 bit modes available on some of your cameras. A: For those models with deeper-than-8 bit modes, the benefit of those deeper modes is a wider dynamic range, which can be valuable/important for many imaging applications.  Depending upon the particular sensor (the light-sensitive CCD or CMOS sensor) and interface (Firewire 1394a or 1394b), the tradeoff can sometimes be reduced maximum framecount per second (due to classical time/space (... more) 7/18/2008 Error 1016 Q: After downloading newest version of FirePackage, I run my previously working program but get Errot 1016.  Why? A:  To avoid error 1016 FireView.exe and the Firedry.sys version have to match. FireView must be compiled to the current driver version. Call FireView.exe from the same FirePackage folder as the driver has been installed or vice versa.  (... more) 7/18/2008 Color Guppy displaying monochrome image? Question:  "I purchased a color AVT Guppy camera, but I don't see a color image, only a monochrome image with a superimposed grid.  How can I see a color image?" Answer: The Guppy generates an encoded color image and sends it along the 1394 bus to the computer, which is responsible for deBayering (decoding) the color image.   Simply turn on DeBayering in your software and begin acquiring images - they'll be in vivid color! Screenshot enabling debayering in AVT (... more) 7/18/2008 IR cut, visible pass, clearglass protection filters, transmission curves Depending on the camera model*, each camera has a default or standard filter glass (IR cut or clearglass protection) between the lens mount and the sensor itself.  Factory options are also available, as specified in the AVT Modular Camera Concept document.  On this graph you can compare the spectral transmission properties of AVT supplied filters. Some cameras may also have filter substitutions done by users in the field.  Briefly: Guppy: filters easily changed by hand with no (... more) 7/17/2008 Convert CS-mount camera to C-mount (or vice versa?) Q: Can I convert a CS-Mount and use this as C-Mount? A: Yes, by using an extension ring.  C-mount lenses have a flange back distance (from sensor) of 17.526 mm vs. 12.5 mm for CS-mount lenses. So if you have a CS-Mount, you can easily field-convert this to a C-Mount.  These adaptor rings are available through your AVT distributor. Q: Can I convert a C-mount camera to a CS-mount? A: It depends which model of camera you have as to how easy this is to accomplish.   (... more) 7/17/2008 Software for Windows Vista 64 bit? Q:  Do you have software for Windows Vista 64bit? A:  Yes, AVT FirePackage64. The download may be found here: http://www.alliedvisiontec.com/downloads/avt-software/firepackage64.html    (... more) 7/16/2008 Sensor position accuracy (tolerance, calibration...) Q:  Please advise sensor surface planarity tolerance on the Pike-032. Also, back focal distance calibration tolerance please (if any). Thanks! A: The sensor position accuracy (alignment, tolerance, calibration...), as well as the back focal distance calibration is provided in the camera technical manuals, including helpful diagrams.  As we write this knowledge base article, in the current Pike TechMan 4.0.0, it happens to be on page 322. Please note that the Pike, Stingray, Marlin, (... more) 7/15/2008 Rising-edge vs. falling-edge triggering Q:  Based on reading the manual, am I correct that to control all AVT cameras with respect to triggering, one writes values to register "F0F00830".  In particular, for rising-edge trigger write the value "83000000", while for falling edge use "82000000".  Correct? A: Correct: use register F0F00830.   The value "83000000" is for rising-edge, since in binary bit 6 (ON/OFF) is then 1 and bit 7 (Trigger_Polarity) is also 1 and thus high-active. With "82000000" we get (... more) 7/15/2008 Dust on/in optics or sensor cover glass? How to clean? Q:  My camera seems to have a fleck of dust on (or in) it.  How do I clean it? A:  Thanks for purchasing an AVT camera, and sorry to hear of your dust-spec challenge.  The cameras are cicuit-card-special-washed (to eliminate any filings), clean-room assembled and parallel-light inspected, so it's rare for dust to be inside the camera. But it's possible that if a fleck didn't come out in the wash process, that the shipping/handling by FedEd/UPS could dislodge a fleck if i't was in the (... more) 7/10/2008 Common new-camera questions Common new-camera questions Is something not working the way you expected it to?  Please consider some of the most frequent issues our users encounter, and which are easy to resolve: Lens aperture open?  Dust cap off?  (no offense, but it happens...) Appropriate video mode? For full resolution and speed, F7M0 Timebase and Shutter values support target frame rate?  (If using laptop) 1394 Firewire bus powered with 12V adapter? Driver installed for 1394 adapter card (... more) 7/10/2008 RMA request process All AVT cameras are made in Germany and have a two year warranty.  AVT is proud of the quality of materials, workmanship, and quality-assurance testing in our products, and we have many tens of thousands of cameras deployed at customer sites around the world. If you experience a problem, please follow these steps: Review the Frequent New-Camera Questions below* to confirm configuration settings.  Likewise check the technical manual and/or this knowledge base and/or check with (... more) 7/10/2008 Installing FirePackage but getting Microsoft error 1720 Q: On installing AVT FirePackage I get Microsoft error 1720.  Please advise what this means and how to overcome. A:  The most common source of this problem is choosing "install driver" but not having a 1394 Firewire card installed.   Please see screenshots and explanations appnote which illustrates this clearly. If the above tips do not clear your problem, we recommend using diagnostic logging mode as described below. Please see (... more) 7/3/2008 Licenses for AVT cameras & software All AVT cameras manufactured since 2005 have built-in licenses* for use with all AVT software products. AVT software may also be used with other brands of 1394 IIDC/DCAM cameras, in return for payment of a modest licensing fee.  Up to 5000 frames per session are permitted, as a professional courtesy for evaluation purposes, with other brands of cameras. Please contact your AVT distributor for licensing details. In the event you have an older AVT camera, or have reconfigured your (... more) 6/25/2008 Firmware and Microcontroller Version Q:  How can I determine what firmware version is currently installed in a particular camera?  More important - we are embedding your AVT cameras into our systems, and would like to check, with software, to insure a particular version is used.  Can this be done? A: Yes!  A simple manual check can be done using SmartView with ADV1 tab.  Programmatically, one can access the VersionInfo registers  F1000010  and F1000018.  For example,  ReadRegister(0xF1000010, &MicroControllerVersion).  (... more) 6/25/2008 Code sample for deferred transport mode Q: Do you have a code sample for deferred transport mode?   A:  Yes.  Please click here.  (... more) 6/24/2008 Ferrite cores on 1394 cables Q:   What are the implications of removing the Ferrite cores on the 10 meter and 17.5 meter cables?   How can it be removed?  Can we just shave it off?   A: The ferrite coils on the long distance 1394a & the 1394b cables are plugged on the cable before the connector is soldered and cast with rubber afterwards. You can remove the rubber (with a knife or similar tool), but the ferrite will stay on the cable (as it is one part).  But removal  is not recommended, from mechanical side (... more) 6/20/2008 Which software to select? Q: Which software do you recommend for my new AVT camera(s)?   A: It depends.   Really, it depends what you are trying to accomplish, what environment you prefer to work in, whether you want to develop code or plug-and-play, etc.  A big benefit of AVT’s IIDC/DCAM-compliant cameras is the wide range of software options open to our customers.  But this benefit can look a bit daunting to new customers, because there are so many choices!.    Regardless of whether (... more) 6/18/2008 Dynamic range as function of bit depth Q: How does dynamic range correspond to bit-depth? A: The bit-depth determines the available range of values over which the photons impacting a pixel may be expressed.   The greater the bit-depth, the greater the "expressive power" of the camera, and the more nuanced are the distinctions between neighboring values (which at low bit depths might be registered as "the same" value).  Some common bit depths and their corresponding range of values: 8 bits, range of 256 values 12 (... more) 6/17/2008 Firewire 1394 log, analyze, sniff Q:  Any way to monitor 1394 events for complex deployments? A:  One of the attractions of Firewire 1394a and 1394b is that bus resources are pre-allocated relative to video/image format selected, number of cameras attached and active, DMA channels available, etc.   For most applications, as long as one chooses components thoughtfully relative to known resources, it's plug-and-play. But for really complex multi-camera deployments, or if there is a suspect adapter card, hub, or cable, (... more) 6/5/2008 Two Guppy 036C cameras, CPU load, IR cut filter distance from sensor Q: Several questions please, for an application that would use two Guppy 036C cameras sharing bandwidth of a 1394a adaptor card.  Just need 640x480 portion of sensor.  (a) Please advise re. max concurrent frame rates at that size.  (b) Also re. CPU utilization.  (c) And distance of IR cust filter from sensor itself.  Thanks! A: Certainly.  At 640x480 that's a subset of that camera's potential, so you'll enjoy speed gains by narrowing your region of interest to 640x480.  (... more) 6/3/2008 Error 1722 when installing AVT FirePackage software Error 1722 occurs if the driver install failed, usually because of missing (or "believed by OS plug-and-play to be missing" even-though-really-there) 1394 card.   Workaround:   Choose option "install driver later". Let SDK installation run to completion. Run utility*  "Install or remove 1394 driver" to install Intek driver   *Shortcut icon on desktop if you chose that option;  Otherwise Start, Programs, Allied Vision Technologies, FirePackage, Install_or_remove_1394_driver.   Click (... more) 5/27/2008 Locking 1394a cable Q:  I've noticed that the locking end of my firewire cables do not fit the connector on my new OSCAR F810C. It appears that there is not enough clearance around the connector to accept the locking mechanism.  These cables engage and lock into other firewire cameras that I have Is there a special cable thats needed for the Oscar? A: The locking connector for the Oscar / Marlin / Guppy series, must be the Molex part number 0551000670 (goto Molex.com search for (... more) 5/27/2008 Industrial 1394a repeater K0000369 is FCC Class B conform Q: The AVT datasheet for http://www.alliedvisiontec.de/fileadmin/files/pdf/produkte/Acc_Repeater_DataSheet_K0000369_IOI_1394R-A2_V2.0.1_en.pdf says it is FCC conform, but doesn't say which class. A: It is a class B conformance.  (... more) 5/27/2008 AVT FirePackage for VISTA and XP both AVT FirePackage has been designed and tested to work effectively with Windows Vista and with Windows XP operating systems. (... more) 5/16/2008 Sensor datasheets The CCD or CMOS sensor is one of the fundamental components of a machine vision digital camera.  If you want to know more about the sensor used in your AVT camera: First determine which sensor your camera has, using AVT camera datasheets Then use one of the websites below to find the datasheet for that particular sensor Datasheet.com for SONY and Cypress sensors (used in some models of Guppy, Marlin, Dolphin, Oscar, and Pike cameras) Kodak Full Frame CCD (... more) 4/30/2008 National Instruments (NI) - Labview All AVT cameras are LabVIEW compatible - there are customers using AVT cameras with LabVIEW around the world.  When using LabVIEW, use the NI FireWire Driver Stack, which is a combination of Microsoft and (NI) proprietary components.  To intall an AVT camera in LabView, one uses NI Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX) as thoroughly described in http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/2977 For additional NI support resources please see http://www.ni.com/support/.  Included (... more) 4/28/2008 Can I always power my AVT camera by Firewire? Q: Since the 1394 Firewire standard includes power as well as data, why do the manuals also mention an option to power the camera via the Hirose port? A: A single camera may be reliably powered by the 1394 Firewire bus.  For two or more cameras, depending on whether they are higher-drawing Pikes or lower-drawing Guppies, or somewhere in between, it can be advisable to power the camera externally. Yet another reason for the external power option is when using GOF (... more) 4/25/2008 How to get 200fps from Pike 032B on Dell Inspiron 700M 1.6 Ghz laptop Q: Having trouble getting 200 fps out of the Pike032B using a PCCard (FA-PCMCB-AB) adapter on a Dell Inspiron 700M 1.6GHz laptop. A: It's not the brand of your computer that's the problem - we use a lot of Dell workstations, desktops, and laptops at AVT ourselves.  It's the age/architecture of that particular Intel 700M chipset, dating back to 2003.  It would be fine for low-speed applications, but it simply doesn't have the capability for a high-end 1394b application. Please see (... more) 4/24/2008 Control AVT cameras using ImageJ Software? Q: Can one control AVT cameras using Scion Image or ImageJ Software?  Currently I capture the image with SmartView, but process it with ImageJ, and would prefer to have fewer mouse clicks.  A:  As of FirePackage 2.9, http://www.alliedvisiontec.com/downloads/avt-software/firepackage.html, there is an ImageJ Plugin, such that you can acquire images directly into ImageJ with the help of our UniAPI. For more details please see ImageJ Plugin Appnote.  (... more) 4/17/2008 Mirror or rotate functions in camera or software All AVT Stingrays, Marlins, Pikes, Oscars and one member of the Guppy family provide mirror functions. For full details, please see the technical documentation for each camera family.  Below is a short overview: All Marlin, Pike, and Oscar cameras are equipped with an electronic mirror function, which mirrors pixels from the left side of the image to the right side and vice versa. The mirror is centered to the current FOV center and can be combined with (... more) 4/15/2008 ASG16 vs. ASG24; what's the difference? Q:  In the modular concept document I see some cameras use the clear protection glass "filter" ASG16 but others use ASG24.  What's the difference in their properties? A: "ASG" is the German acronym for clearglass, while 16 means 16mm and 24 means 24mm.  Only the Pike family of cameras uses 24mm, while all other AVT cameras use 16mm.  (... more) 4/15/2008 Harmonized export code and ECCN for AVT cameras The harmonized export code for all models of AVT cameras at www.goAVT.com   is 85258019 The Export Administration Reculations (EAR) classification is EAR 99.   In our consideration, no ECCN restrictions apply.  (... more) 4/15/2008 Two very fast images with progressive CCD sensor The following technique is ideal for Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) or similar applications, where two images in quick succession are desired: There is a clever technique to obtain two images (not more) by taking advantage of knowledge about CCD framerate and read-out-time of the sensor.  The trick is to use the sensor itself as the storage buffer for the second image, while the first image is shifted into the readout buffer. Please click on Applications-note for a comprehensive (... more) 4/15/2008 Register values with or without leading F Q:  Could you please advise where values written to the register come from?, as in WriteRegister(0x00100300, 0x01020000)?  In the help document I only see registers like 0xF1000260 or similar but nothing like 0x00100300 A:  Have a look at the ActiveFirePackage documentation: You will find that all addresses starting with "F" ( in fact: with the highes bit set) are handled as absolute addresses, but all others are relative to the Camera Control Register at 0xF0F00000.  (... more) 4/11/2008 Mix FireGrab and FireStack? Q: I want to know which cameras share the same controller. I thought it woud be possible by accessing the CardNumber() method of the CCamera class. I'm trying to get access to the CCamera class, using a call to the member "virtual CCamera*  GetPtrDCam();" of the CFGCamera class. To be able to access the CCamera, the camera.h include file must be included. A:  It is not possible to mix includes from FireGrab and FireStack.  Please use camera.h from \FirePackage\FireGrab\Lib\Extra\ (... more) 4/11/2008 Broadcast 1394 soft trigger for multiple cameras Q: We are trying to use broadcasting soft trigger capabilities for 7 F145 Marlin cameras on same computer BUT no success.  We are using the AVT Active_FirePackage SDK. A: With multiple cameras under AVT Active_FirePackage (AVT) there are certain constaints. You have three options: 1. Within AVT, make a loop and request an image from each camera seperatly. This has the disadvantage that the images are not perfectly synched. 2. Swith to AVT FirePackage SDK.  (... more) 4/11/2008 Image too dark, or Frames per second - fps: How to achieve full rate? Question: My image is too dark.  OR  I can't seem to achieve the maximum frame rate stated in the documentation.  The camera is rated for y frames per second (fps), but I'm only achieving z fps in the AVT SmartView application. Answer: The cameras are set to default to a mid-range Timebase (20 microseconds) and a mid-range Shutter_Setting (2000 units), just as a "first guess" at an out-of-box initial setting.  The effective shutter setting is calculated as the product of the (... more) 4/11/2008 If Stingray and Pike on 1394b, I calculate framerate potential x, correct? Q:  Are the Stingray and Pike cameras on 1394b or 1394a?  It appears to me that the Stingray F-080B (1032x778) should theoretically be capable of 40 fps in terms of 1394b available bandwidth for one camera. A: Good question.  While the Stingray and Pike cameras are all built around the faster 1394b technology, that particular sensor is only capable of 31 fps, and can be used at full speed on a 1394a bus (e.g. with a legacy cable 9-pin to 6-pin).  So why put that (... more) 4/10/2008 Borland C++ with UniAPI Q1: I am trying to use the UniAPI libs. It seems to need a struct  called ATL::CImage.  I have found this is a Visual C lib. I am working with Borland C and I can not use this lib (I am sure Microsoft won't  allow us to use this lib in another compiler). Is there an alternative with Borland? A1: You can use the .net libs from Borland C++. There is an example included with the current driver - CSharpConsole - where you can see how this API can be used. But... Q2: Since I (... more) 4/8/2008 Visual Studio C# 2005 Q:  I am developing software in Visual Studio C # 2005 for an AVT Marlin 145C2. Would you be able to give me information to set up the camera in this language?. Thanks. A: There are several possibilities to do this. First of all you should decide which driver you want to use - Please have a look at http://www.alliedvisiontec.de/fileadmin/files/pdf/produkte/AVT_SDK_Selector_v1_03_070502.pdf With the Firepackage there are two possibilities:  we would suggest to (... more) 4/8/2008 PCI Express Firewire card in motherboard slots.... Q: I wonder can the pci express firewire card be use on those motherboards that have multiple PCI express 16x expansions slots for graphics ? A: In principle, the 1394 PCI Express cards with one lane will physically fit and work correctly in any PCIE-slot that is at least as large as it is, unless that slot is intended for graphics card only.  Please check documentation for your specific motherboard.  (... more) 4/7/2008 Sample code in C#2005, ability to do overlay? Q: Do you have any sample code in C#2005?  How about having a live image with the ability to do an overlay on it? A:   UniConsoleF7.zip shows how to initialize the camera using our  Uni-API (UniControl.Net.dll) under C# including Format7 settings. Overlaying could be done by loading a Shading Image to the camera, for all AVT cameras except the Guppy: UniControlNet::UniCamera::ShadingUpload() Please refer to UniControl.Net.chm for further details.  (... more) 4/2/2008 M12 to C-mount adapter available We now offer an M12 mount adapter, to connect M12 lens to C-mount camera. This is best-suited for sensors of size 1/3" or smaller, such as in: AVT Guppy 033, 036, 080, 025, 029 AVT Marlin 080 AVT Stingray 080 AVT Pike 032 (... more) 4/2/2008 Power out on Hirose as modular camera option Q: I see that while by default the power-pin on the Hirose is for power-in, one can do a special factory order for a power-out variant.  I'm thinking of doing this for some Guppy cameras.  How much current would then be available on the power-out pin? A:  While the 1394 Firewire standard specifies that each device on the bus may be up to 1.5 Amp, when we subtract what the camera needs itself, and a slight safety margin, the Hirose power out for the Guppy is protected with, (... more) 4/2/2008 Cognex VisionPro access to DCAM specific manufacturer ID Q: Using Cognex VisionPro, how does one access teh DCAM specific cameera manufacturer ID? A: Access to the IEEE 1394 DCAM features is done via the ICogFrameGrabber.Owned1394DCAMAccess Property of the ICogFrameGrabber Interfaces. Property ICog1394DCAMAccess.VendorID provide the unique manufacturer-ID. For register access one uses the methods ICog1394DCAMAccess.GetRegisterAccess and ICog1394DCAMAccess.SetRegisterAccess. // get camera list CogFrameGrabber1394DCAMs cameras = (... more) 4/2/2008 Rounding error when calculating data packets? Q:  With CCD sensors I understand that reduced veritical AOI settings can enhance speed, but that that the full width of the sensor affects readout (regardless of AOI width setting).  This is due to the readout of the sensor rows, a constant value, a property of CCD sensor technology.  In a previous response you mentioned somthing about "rounding error" when calculating data packets - can you please explain further? A:  The camera's microcontroller contains an algorithm to calculate (... more) 4/1/2008 Resolution differences: Mono vs. Color Q: Why use a monochrome camera, if a color camera with the same pixel-count costs the same price?  Isn't color better, i.e. more information to work with? A: It depends.  Due to the Bayer filters used on a color sensor to capture the color information, the color sensor actually gets only about 70% of the resolution of an equivalent pixel-count monochrome sensor. If your application requires the use of color, e.g. to recognize a bruised orange in a fruit-sorting application, then (... more) 4/1/2008 Artifacts - Noise We've prepared an illustrated article on several key topics related to sources of noise, and how camera designers and users can best minimize noise.  (... more) 4/1/2008 Lenses for Machine Vision Choosing the correct lens for your camera and application is important to getting the results you want.  Considerations include: sensor size working distance from target dimensions of target (x and y dimensions) depth-of-field, based on whether target is flat or presents differing "heights" (z dimension) lens-mount of camera whether aperture and focus settings should lock down budget Your AVT distributor can help you to select an ideal lens for (... more) 4/1/2008 I/O cable vs. Trigger cable At AVT we distinguish between the terms: I/O cable:  Hirose plug on one end, "open" leads on other end, including power, ground, trigger, general_purpose_programmable_input(s), general_purpose_programmable_outputs, RS-232, etc. (varies slightly by camera model) Trigger cable: A simplified version of an I/O cable, with Hirose plug on one end, and "open" leads on the other end, but ONLY for power, ground, and trigger So the I/O cable provides maximum connectivity options, and (... more) 4/1/2008 AVT GOF Hub AVT Hub optical 1394b Hub with 1x GOF, 3x Copper with top-hat rail (link to datasheet at bottom of article) 3 Port 1394b hub with one GOF port 1394 chipset: TI: 2 x TSB81BA3 Electrical ports: 3x 1394 bilingual, supplying bus power (1500mA, lead fuse) with 3 mm screw threads 1x Glass Optical Fiber (GOF) Port 100, 200, 400 Mbit/s 800 Mbit/s transfer rate Bandwidth: 100/80/64 MByte/s at 800Mbit/s (gross/net/video) OS Support: Windows (... more) 4/1/2008 Are there dual PCI Express adaptor cards? Q: Does AVT offer (or know of) any DUAL (2 chips) IEEE 1394b adaptor cards for PCIExpress bus? A: There is no 1394b dual card existing on the market, due the missing bridges between 2x1394b and PCI Express. So for two concurrent 1394b busses, you need to put two cards into the PC.  (... more) 4/1/2008 GOF cable specifications For distances up to 200m, we recommend LCLC 62.5/125 GOF. Breaking out those properties: multimode cable 62.5µm/125µm outer diameter: 3.0x6.1mm minimum bending radius (over the flat side): static 30mm; dynamic 60mm For a distance of 201m - 500m, we recommend LCLC 50/125 GOF. The AVT Pike cameras can be (optionally) factory-equipped with a GOF port.  But even the "copper port" AVT cameras can transmit imaging and camera control data over GOF, by using suitable (... more) 4/1/2008 Laptops and Firewire 1394 In addition to fast data transfer speeds and many other advantages, Firewire IEEE 1394 is popular for its ability to power devices, like cameras, from the PC. Laptops can run Firewire IEEE 1394a and 1394b very well.  But since laptops generally optimize battery performance by powering mainly the CPU and hard-disk, devices such as 1394 adaptors are typically externally powered with a 12V adaptor. Laptops with a 1394a "mini-port" connect with the data wires, but not the power and (... more) 4/1/2008 How to power camera from Hirose and NOT from the 1394 Firewire bus? Q: I want to run the camera power from the hirose connector and not from the firewire bus, is there any simple way to achieve this with out having to modify the camera, or get a modified cable? If not, is it technically possible to remove the bus power from the camera internally?  If so, do you offer this as a service?  A: Firewire regulates the used power via diodes. So always the higher voltage, supplied if more than one is connected will be used. From the PC via the 1394 cable are (... more) 4/1/2008 Grab Timeout Error cause and solution Below we make remarks before the code snippet, inserted into the code snippet, and below the code sample. "Grab Timeout Error!" occurs if the callback function OnNewFrame() doesn't achieve the condition m_nGrabCount >= m_nMultiShot. It could happen if frames get discarded because of to slow image processing. The discarded frames have not been counted here and the multishot counter would not be reached. Please have a look at our insertions marked  //AVT to get the actual (... more) 4/1/2008 DLL logging Q: While I knew of SmartView's logging capabilities, do I understand some of your SDKs also offer logging?  If so, which one(s)?  Thanks! A:  The newer DLLs in AVT FirePackage offer DLL logging, in particular FireGrap and UniControl.  The older FireStack does not...  with FireStack on must access error codes via notification/return codes from the library.  (... more) 4/1/2008 Two Marlin 131B cameras synchronized at 100fps Q: I have an application for which your CMOS-sensor Marlin 131B may be suited, but only if I can synchronize both cameras and achieve up to 100fps.  Is this possible? A: Yes!  This model of camera can reach 100fps with an AOI of 640x480 and an exposure time of ca. 0.5ms. To synchronize the two cameras you could use a ganged external TTL signal on both camera trigger inputs, or use the flash-output of the first camera to connect the input trigger of the second (master/slave (... more) 4/1/2008 Guppy Interlaced and CMOS models with Direct FirePackage Note: This only applies to interlaced and CMOS models, not to CCD progressive scan models. Please note, there are a couple of configuration steps with DFP for an interlaced Guppy. So the driver installation for cameras of the Guppy series has to be done manually; for the Guppy please use this .inf-file, which should replace the existing one  under: c:\program files\allied[...]\Direct Fire[...]\avt.inf For interlaced cameras, like  Guppy F-044C you have to replace the default (... more) 3/31/2008 DirectShow both benefits & constrains DirectFirePackage DirectShow empowers DirectFirePackage, and users who choose it, in cases where the benefits of DirectShow compatibility are important to a user, and the constraints, for your application, are inconsequential.  Presumably you already know the benefits.  But read on if you want to understand the constraints, before starting a new development project. Dynamic Bus Bandwidth Allocation is restricted when using DirectShow By using Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) all cameras connected (... more) 3/31/2008 RF noise sensitivity Q:  I am looking for small, reasonably high sensitivity cameras for VIS/NIR light, and came across your "Guppy" series, specifically the 38B NIR.  The large input voltage range implies a DC-DC converter inside the camera housing, is that correct? Is there a way to apply the correct voltage directly and bypass the converter (This is an RF noise sensitive application, so I try to avoid DC-DC converters). A: You are correct that the camera may be powered from 8 - 36V DC, with (... more) 3/28/2008 How to get full resolution size? Q: The camera datasheet shows a full resolution size of  H x V.  For my particular model that's 1392 x 1040.  But I'm only being offered 1280 x 960.  Why? A: Note that some of the pre-defined IIDC/DCAM formats were designed to be slightly conservative with respect to the surface of the sensor.  But with Format 7 Mode 0, also known as "scalable mode", one may select the maximum usable size of the sensor.  (... more) 3/28/2008 ImageJ tool for inspecting images > 8 bits deep Q: I see that some AVT cameras can generate "deep images".  But how can I inspect images > 8 bits deep? A: There is a convenient Java tool (free of charge), called ImageJ, which you can download from  http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/download.html. Please first save the image e.g. under SmartView in 16Bit RAW format (use deep image format).   Then, using ImagJ: Open ImageJ - File -Import RAW -16 bit unsigned.   File -Save as - Text image.   One can reduce the image to 14 bits (... more) 3/27/2008 1394 Dynamic Node_ID assignment Q: In my multi-camera application, so far, every time I start up the system it seems that camera_a becomes Node_ID 0, camera_b becomes Node_ID 1, and so on.  Can I depend on this every time?  It's important that my application can reliably address the cameras according to their specific positions. A. Just because devices on the 1394 bus usually are dynamically named a certain way, so far, does NOT mean that they will always come up that way.  If your application depends upon (... more) 3/27/2008 Programming Pike or Stingray Lookup Table (LUT) Q: We have integrated into our program the uploading of a LUT to Guppy in using the writeblock function in the Firepackage SDK. However in Guppy, it's simple because we are loading 8 bit target conversion into from 10 bit data, which means we only need one byte for each level of the LUT. However, now that Pike uses 14 bits for both the input and output of the LUT, obviously we will need more than 1 byte of data for each of the 16384 levels to convert to.  So we need to know the (... more) 3/27/2008 Load Lookup Table (LUT) in Active FirePackage Q:  I converted our application from FirePackage (FR) to Active FirePackage (AFP), and everything works great except when I try to load the value of the lookup table to perform a 0.60 gamma correction.   I've provided the code for you... A: Well, AFP can do Block-reads and -writes as in FP.  But in FP the blocks are of unlimited size, while in AFP they have a maximum of about 160 bytes.  So your computation of the "nStepSize" succeeds, but the result can't be used by AFP. Since you (... more) 3/27/2008 FirePackage vs. Active_FirePackage vs. Direct_FirePackage Despite similar-sounding names, they are three very different things.  You have access to all with the purchase of every AVT camera, and each can be used to control the camera, under Windows operating systems, but they are very different. Please see the AVT Software Package Selector Guide  to clearly understand the differences!    (... more) 3/27/2008 RoHS Compliance? Yes. Since July 2006, all AVT cameras and accessories have been manufactured compliant with the standards of RoHS - Reduction of Hazardous Substances. You can find declarations of conformity in the technical documentation for each camera, elsewhere in this knowledge base, by searching for the particular camera family.   Within the PDF documentation itself, a search on "RoHS" or "Conformity" will take you to the relevant pages.  (... more) 3/27/2008 High-speed Videos The AVT Pike F-032 can acquire and deliver over 200 frames per second (fps) at full resolution.  With a reduced Area of Interest (AOI), it can exceed 1000 fps.   In fact, most AVT cameras permit adjustable AOI, yielding higher-frame rates than the full-resolution rating.  Currently there are two (informal but effective) demo videos developed with AVT Pike F-032 cameras:   1. A monochrome video made with a Pike F-032B at 200+ fps, then converted to a slow-motion video of red wine dropping (... more) 3/27/2008 Long distance solutions: 1394a & 1394b Long Distances under 1394 a and b is no problem.... (... more) 3/27/2008 Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) Per the article referenced below at Stanford University, "modern PIV calculates the velocity field in a plane by comparing two images containing particles separated by a very short time interval."  (... more) 3/27/2008 Meaning of values in SmartView status bar: Framecount, Framerate, ... The SmartView status bar, in the lower right corner of the window, presents a number of values.  For labeled screenshot click here. Consider this example: 200/0/83       208/119  The first set of values relates to frames:  Total transferred frames (in this case 200 frames) Frames lost on driver level (in this case 0 frames) Frames lost due to PC processor capability (in this case 83 frames) If one value, Frame Number.  If there is more than one number, not all (... more) 3/27/2008 Jumbo packets for Stingray 201C with RGB images at 14fps Q:  While the Stingray 201C can deliver 14fps in RAW mode, I understand that with jumbo packets perhaps it can also acheive 14 fps at full resolution with RGB done on-board the camera, despite the added bandwidth requirements.  Is that correct?  Please explain. A:  Indeed, as with the Pike, the use of Jumbo Packets makes it possible to get substially more bandwidth than the nominal bandwidth rating with standard packets. For example under Uni Control: //Disable IRM for (... more) 3/27/2008 Support for AVT products Q: How can I obtain support for my AVT camera, accessories, and/or software questions? A: Beyond the Technical Manuals, and in addition to GoAVT.mykb.com, this knowledge-base accessible 24 x 7 x 365,  other ways to obtain technical support include: "Americas" Europe, Asia, Australia, or Africa: "Europe & Asia" Technical sales and first-level support If you purchased through an AVT Inc. distributor, they are motivated to be sure you succeed with (... more) 3/27/2008 Resolution chart Q: The sample image you sent of the resolution chart looks great, but I'd hoped you would include a ruler in the image so I could gauge the size of the target.   A:  The standard resolution chart spaces the distance between number pairs along grid 1...10 at 10mm intervals, so there's your reference!    (... more) 3/27/2008 Oscar 810C or Pike 505C for high-resolution image sequence for 10 hours? Q:  I'm looking for a high resolution camera to repetitively capture images over a long time period. I'm looking for 8 megapixels, 3 times a second, for 10 hours. Your "Oscar" camera would seem to do the trick, but what is the performance of the compression software to JPG format (or similar)? Would it keep up?  If not, I think the storage requirements would be prohibitive. Any comments gratefully received. This is an industrial application on board a vehicle. A:  Without a (... more) 3/26/2008 Faster framerate with Jumbo Packets, example with Pike 210C Q: Would it be possible for AVT to create a 10 bit mode for the Pike 210C? This would fit the broadcast workflow better than 12 bits and, in theory, could work at full resolution at 24 and 25 fps. A: A 10Bit mode in the cameras is not yet considered. It would also be more complicated to be implemented, especially on software side. To increase the framerate, as restricted by the bus, you might use the optional "Jumbo packet" feature of the new Pike firmware. This feature enables to (... more) 3/26/2008 AVT Camera Selection Allied Vision Technologies offers a complete line of over 70 Firewire camera models for any application.  Designed and manufactured in Germany, these cost effective, high performance cameras are now available through AVT Inc. for "the Americas."   Datasheets for each camera are at  http://www.GoAVT.com For a short whitepaper on the benefits of Firewire compared to other communications protocols, please download a copy here. Comprehensive technical documentation for each camera may be (... more) 3/24/2008 How to convert from 14 or 16 bit raw data to 16 bit color data? Q:  With Pike and Stingray generating 14 bit color images in a raw 16 bit space, how can I get a color image in RGB or YUV space in 16 bit format? A:  Of course the Pike and Stingray cameras can do on-camera debayering if you wish, but if you want to send RAW data for the speed gains, and let the software on the PC do the debayering, use the functions in the UniTransform library of the AVT FirePackage.  If you have AVT FirePackage installed, read more documentation by following the (... more) 3/24/2008 Firmware Upgrades Periodically AVT offers firmware upgrades, for specific camera models, to provide new or enhanced features.  Recent examples include the ability to store "user sets" in camera firmware, or the addition of serial communications capabilities, to certain cameras. To determine if any firmware upgrades are available for your camera, please contact your AVT distributor, providing: camera serial number* (or on camera label) current microcontroller version* current FPGA* * Using AVT (... more) 3/24/2008 Binning in monochrome cameras Q: Which AVT cameras offer binning? A:  Many of the monochrome models of AVT cameras offer binning, including Guppy 036B, plus monochrome models of Stingray, Pike, and Marlin cameras.   For details please see the online product selector guide or the corresponding technical manuals.  (... more) 3/24/2008 Tune process priority to overcome dropped frames Q:  On my laptop I'm experiencing dropped frames - not with your Intek driver in FirePackage, but on the laptop itself.  I can see this from the status line information in SmartView.  How can I overcome this?  Do I need a new laptop? A: An adequate computer architecture is essential for high-speed imaging applications, so your laptop may indeed be at the root of the problem.  Please review the laptop and desktop PC architecture discussions in the Pike and Stingray Technical Manuals.  (... more) 3/20/2008 Corrupted images - overtriggering? Q: Not sure if this is camera specific to Oscar 810C in F7M1, but sometimes obtain images corrupted with just partial information.  Can provide images for you to analyze if you like. A: After viewing images, they appear corrupted through overtriggering.  For the Oscar 810 the images are stored in the camera buffer (64MB for 3 frames), when the images are triggered faster than the bus allows, the FIFO buffers the images. When the FIFO is filled and overrun (which actually happens quite (... more) 3/20/2008 Camera back LED meanings for GOF cameras. For GOF model cameras, the yellow LED shows that the GOF signal is detected. The steady green LED shows that the Power is ok.  When the green LED flashes  there is something amiss with the power supply.  (... more) 3/20/2008 Guppy extended shutter feature through LabVIEW [adapted from NI Machine Vision forum exchange] Q:  I am attempting to configure an AVT Guppy F146C camera for extended shutter use using their Smartview 1.7 utility.  These settings are configured thru their dialog and exported to an .xml file.   Fast forward to MAX - I can locate the camera but it always references an .icd file to load the settings from.  And, there's nothing in the .icd file which would allow me to select the extended shutter I'm looking for.   Is this a matter (... more) 3/19/2008 Matrox Image Library (MIL) and AVT Matrox Image Library (MIL) is compatible with AVT cameras. For more information please see below the links to the AVT Software Selector Guide and/or Matrox own web resources. Q: We are confused in interfacing an AVT Pike F32C with Matrox MIL 8.0 (update 11a). The camera works fine with the provided software, but it's not showed in "device manager" view (in Windows 2000 Pro  Spanish). We have tried a workarround by editing manually a mtx1394.inf from Mil 7.5 downloaded from (... more) 3/18/2008 Minimum duration for Guppy external trigger signal? Q:  We have a Guppy set to trigger externally, but a duration of 600ns is not triggering the camera.  What is the minimum pulse width? A: The minimum input pulse width is 1µs, as documented in the camera technical manual.  (... more) 3/17/2008 Check that correct driver is installed Please note that different software packages, whether from AVT or other providers, use differing drivers.  Some are camera-drivers, others are bus drivers (that provide you with excellent control of both cameras and the 1394 bus). Please see the relevant knowledge-based article for the particular software package you wish to use. For AVT's most popular Windows-based software development kits (SDKs), please note: AVT SDK Driver to use How to install (... more) 3/14/2008 Download AVT Active_FirePackage AVT Active_FirePackage software and manuals may be downloaded from: http://www.alliedvisiontec.com/downloads/avt-software.html      (... more) 3/14/2008 Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Driver The CMU driver is based on the Microsoft 1394 driver, and may be downloaded from: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~iwan/1394/download.html After installing and expanding, one finds the driver and a viewer in an installation folder, see also http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~iwan/1394/install.html.  When Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for XP, they inadvertently introduced a speed downgrade to S100 from 1394a S400 and 1394b S800 capability, as referenced in  (... more) 3/14/2008 AVT cameras and Sun Solaris (Intel and Sparc) The Solaris dcam1394 driver allows access to the camera's registers. And as the camera is IIDC compatible everything will work. Please have a look at the dcam1394 manual page. You should also have a copy of the technical manual of the camera available, for descriptions for all control registers. More tips can be found at http://blogs.sun.com/alanp/category/Firewire.  (... more) 3/14/2008 libdc1394 software development library libdc1394 is a library that is intended to provide a high level programming interface for application developers who wish to control IEEE 1394 based cameras that conform to the 1394-based Digital Camera Specification (found at http://www.1394ta.org/). All major Linux distributions support libdc1394.  Before starting your development, please verify which version you have, and consider whether you should upgrade or modify your environment. In Winter 2008 the new libdc1394_2 was (... more) 3/14/2008 Camera.OpoenCapture() returns error 1018 Q:  In some code I've developed in FirePackage, Camera.OpenCapture() returns error value 1018.  This in turn means that the Camera.StartDevice() is not called.    //------------------------------------------------------------------ // Start the camera capturing // //  Receives: // //  Returns: // //------------------------------------------------------------------ public void Start() {  // Start DMA logic  Result = Camera.OpenCapture();  // Start image device - this appears to be (... more) 3/14/2008 Pike 505 1394b camera, Windows Vista, LabView 8.5, NI Vision Development Module V8.5 [the following exchange excerpted/adapted from NI Machine Vision forum] Q: I am wondering what I need to get an Allied Vision Pike 5050C/B 1394b camera to work with Windows Vista, labview 8.5 and NI Vision Development Module V8.5?  I am using a generic PCI Express 1394b interface card.  Do I need more software drivers? A: You'll need the IMAQdx driver contained within Vision Acquisition Software, which also contains the IMAQ and IMAQ I/O drivers. The latest version of Vision (... more) 3/14/2008 Linear response to exposure duration across available pixel values? Q:  Can I expect a linear response curve? A:  Indeed all AVT cameras are calibrated to insure a highly-linear response.   This is the case regardless of whether Gain is on or off, and across the range of permissible Gain values. So you may presume that the camera as such delivers a linear response to exposure.  (... more) 3/10/2008 Two Trigger Delay Registers - Why? What's the difference? Q: I see there are two trigger delay registers in the documentation.  Why?  What's the difference?   A:  Indeed, one is the IIDC/DCAM specified register, which is used to calculate a delay relative to the current timebase value.  The other is an AVT advanced register, which allows the user to specify an absolute value (and which offers more precise control over the range of permissible values).  For more details, please see below. 0xF0F00834 is the IIDC delay (... more) 3/10/2008 UV response Q: I am interested in the response of your Guppy series of cameras at 370 nm.   A: For UV-applications we recommend to use our Guppy cameras with the interlaced NIR sensors, which are the Guppy F-038 or Guppy F-044NIR. In the Guppy manual on page 75 ff you may find the response curves of these sensors:  http://www.alliedvisiontec.de/fileadmin/files/pdf/produkte/technical_manuals/Guppy_TechMan_V6.0.1_en.pdf Unfortunately for your goals, the response curves start at 400 (... more) 3/10/2008 OpenCV resources Q:  Are there resources to assist me with OpenCV applications development? A: Below are several OpenCV resources, including developer forums and consulting services.  AVT cannot recommend one over another, so you should evaluate suitability for your own purposes: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/OpenCV/ http://sourceforge.net/projects/opencvlibrary/ http://groups.google.com/group/OpenCV http://computervisionsoftware.org/mdom/001/index.html Finally, if you know (... more) 3/10/2008 "Generic 1394 Desktop Camera" in device manager instead of specific AVT model Q: The camera is working correctly, and hence must be recognized fine, but in the device manager it is still showing as a "Generic 1394 Desktop Camera".  It's only the title that seems to be wrong, even though everything is functionally correct.  What's happening? A: Under certain conditions (...presumably known to Microsoft), the device name can't be written, due to an XP-internal write-lock on that field.  Our understanding is that it's an XP SP1 issue in principle, and that with XP (... more) 3/10/2008 Bus-reset via 1394 Firewire? Q:  I'm looking for a simple way to send a bus-reset command to the firewire card.   A:   There is the advanced feature SoftReset to initialize the camera and release a busreset: CFGCamera Camera; // ... // SoftRe