IDS Software Suite 4.96.1
Sensor
•Depending on the sensor, changes on the capturing parameters (like exposure time or gain) have an effect on the image after the next image. This is independent of the operation mode.
•The two lines on the image bottom might be darker. This is caused by the sensor.
Pixel clock
•You can adjust the pixel clock in steps.The higher the increments are, the bigger the value is.
•Depending on the sensor's bit depth, the range of the pixel clock is different.
•Note the bandwidth for bot depths of more than 8 bits per pixel.
•The sensor's master gain depends on the pixel clock. Note that there may be differences in image contrast if you switch the pixel clock.
•The sensor provides a upside-down image which is caused by the manufacturer. The image is mirrored by the API/camera so that the image is output the right side up. However, if you read directly the image in the raw Bayer format, you should note that the first pixel specifies not a red but green value. Therefore, the following procedure is recommended to get a color-correct image:
1.Mirror the image in y direction.
2.Execute debayering.
3.Mirror the image in y direction.
Master gain
•The master gain operates digitally with 10 and 12 bit. It is realized inside the camera's FPGA.
•The maximum gain (4x) transfers 8 bit in a 10 bit sensor mode. In 12 bit sensor mode only 10 bit are transferred.
•If using a master gain factor of 2x (and thus a gain value of 33 or higher), you should enable the analog extra gain because of image quality. The extra gain generates a factor of 2x on analog way and avoids nonlinearities. You have to reduce the master gain by 33 values.
Extra gain (analog)
•The extra gain works analog and increases the image contrast by factor 2.
•If the extra gain is activated, a slight blacklevel shift may occur.
Trigger mode
•The sensor achieves the same frame rate in trigger mode like in freerun mode. While the new image is exposed, the previous image is read-out and transferred.
•The frame rate depends on the frame rate control in trigger mode. The control should be on maximum settings. Lower values cause longer exposure times and hence reduce the frame rate regardless of the selected exposure time.
Bit depth
•USB 3 cameras: the maximum frame rate can only be achieved if using 8 or 10 bit mode. Depending on the design, the maximum frame rate is 50 % of the manufacturer's frame rate, as the sensor is connected by 8 instead of 16 pixel lines.
•10 and 12 bits are packed in 2 bytes.
•The default driver setting is 10 bit per sensor pixel.
•If the sensor is operated in 12 bit mode, the sensor limits the maximum possible frame rate.
Blacklevel/reference pixel
•The blacklevel can be set to a negative value. Therefore, the factory setting is not at the lower end of the control range.
•The sensor has no black pixels for the forming the blacklevel reference. The blacklevel increases with increasing sensor temperature and exposure times. For these reasons, the maximum exposure time is limited to 500 ms. This is especially visible when using gamma. In the color version, color shifts occur when using RGB gain. The blacklevel can be adjusted using the minimum exposure time or closed aperture.
•In addition, the first 16 pixel on each line can be switched to an electric black. These pixels are visible as a vertical dark stripe on the left image side in full screen mode. Via the line view in uEye Cockpit, you can set a zero point easily. These reference pixel are averaged and subtracted per image or line which results in a more homogenous image at high contrasts.
•If you change the blacklevel using offset, temperature or gain, while the white balance is active, this will result in color balance errors. As the RGB gains are processed afterward and the zero point is shifted differently for each color. Therefore, adjust last the black level with the offset control to zero.
•Readjust the blacklevel when you change the sensor bit depth.
Subsampling/Binning/AOI
•The sensor does not support binning.
•The frame rate is not increased if the horizontal resolution is reduced by subsampling or an AOI.
•The frame rate can be increased by vertical subsampling and/or AOI.
•The minimum image height is limited to 48 lines so that the resulting high frame rate can be stably transmitted.
•Color version: The minimum AOI height of 2 pixels is only supported in RAW format.
FPN (fixed pattern noise) correction
•The FPN correction is enabled by default and reduces visible vertical lines in the image. These lines are caused by the sensor. They are factory calibrated using a complex process. The result is a more homogeneous image.
•With increasing gain and gamma, the typical vertical and horizontal structures of the CMOS sensor becomes visible. This effect is not reduced by the FPN correction.
Sensor source gain
•For short exposure times (less than 10 ms), the sensor offers some more dynamic range. Here, you can set the analog sensor source gain to below 1.0x by using negative values. For this purpose, deactivate the analog gain boost if applicable and do not use the master gain. The result offers more dynamic and a better signal to noise ratio (SNR).
•The blacklevel increases for very long exposure times and /or high camera temperatures. If you correct the blacklevel using the blacklevel offset, the white balance may not be reached. In this case the pixel saturation is visible. To avoid this, the sensor source gain should be set to a small positive value.
•In combination with a master gain of 1.0x and deactivated gain boost, a low sensor source gain causes that the pixel saturation becomes visible. The result is a fixed pattern in bright image areas and additionally a vertical stripe pattern is visible. The full pixel saturation of 255 will not be reached at 8 bit mode.
Multi AOI
•The sensor supports up to 8 vertical AOIs. These must not overlap and must have ascending positions.
•The vertical positions are set in a grid of 2 pixels.
IDS line scan ("AOI merge mode")
•For color sensors, the IDS line scan can only be used with at least 2 lines.
Optical effects
•In certain circumstances, the incident scattered light can cause reflexions on the bonding wires which are located at the sensor peripheral zone. These reflexions may be visible in the image.
USB 3 uEye CP Rev 2
•If you operate the USB 3 uEye camera on a USB 2.0 port, you must activate the internal image memory.
USB 3 uEye CP
•If the USB 3.0 camera is connected to a USB 2.0 port, the pixel clock is limited to 35 MHz by the software.
•The auto pixel clock function cannot be used, because only one pixel clock is available.
•The camera must be operated in 10 bit sensor mode.
•A maximum of 8 bit per pixel can be transferred. Only the (software) formats RAW8, Mono8 or RGB24 are useful.
•The camera produces more data for bright images. This is a USB 2.0 hardware feature. Therefore, sufficient bandwidth (38 MByte/s) must be ensured. Use the white test image for testing.
•In case of transfer errors, an effective usage of the USB line memory offers more stability: For this purpose, limit the image width with the AOI function to less than 1960 pixels.
