1stVision, Author at 1stVision Inc. - Machine Vision Articles

March 14, 2025March 14, 2025

Considerations in using an F-mount vs. a threaded mount

For machine vision purposes, we generally advise against using F-mount. We don’t have a dog in the hunt for leisure or artistic photography, but for reliability in many machine vision applications there are shortcomings with F-mounts.

EMERALD series F-mount lens – Courtesy Schneider Optics

Even our premier partner Schneider Optics, produces very fine F-mount lenses – the optics are first class! But just as a reliable auto dealership would counsel against buying a compact sedan to tow a heavy boat, we would hope to engage you in dialogue about your imaging application – and help you choose the best lens.

There are many lens mounts available

The wide range of lens mounts is, generally speaking, a very good thing. It permits camera designers and manufacturers to specialize in what they are good at; and likewise for lens designers and their own production facilities. The former is electronics while the latter is about optics.

By defining standards for lens mounts, we all benefit from market competition, which drives quality, feature, and price differentiation.

Some mounts are for large-format sensors. Some for small sensors. Some for “quick change”. Some for stability. Some can fit several niches. Some can in theory but shouldn’t be pushed in practice. Below we provide examples.

Lens families from a single manufacturer by sensor size and pixel size – Courtesy Schneider Optics

So what’s wrong with F-mounts?

If you are a sports photographer, there’s nothing wrong with F-mount. The bayonet mount design is ideal for quick lens changes, and the “money shot” may require a quick lens swap. If shooting at really short exposure times, inherent instability in the mount design may not have an impact on image quality.

While the F-mount name traces to the famous Nikon F camera series, one might also think of it as for “Fotographie” – the German work for photography – if you like mnemonic hints.

But for machine vision applications, one typically mates the lens to the camera “forever”, so quick-change benefits are of little value. And compared to screw mounts, for example, it’s clear that the bayonet mount, with just two securing points, might suffer in a high-vibration environment. Whether on the factory floor, a traffic camera gantry, or a moving vehicle, the lens and camera should act as one. Stability is key.

For the record, F-mount defines a standard Flange Distance of 46.5mm from the mounting surface of the camera to the sensor, as well as standardized mechanics on the size and position of the male pins on the lens and the female receptors on the camera body. For those cameras or lenses with electrical contacts as well, there are variances. But mechanically and optically and F-mount is an F-mount.

What about the M42 lens mount?

While the M42 lens mount came into existence for “photography”, when computers and then machine vision emerged, M42 has become one of many popular lens mounts. The threaded screw mount design provides a very secure connection that binds along several turns of the screw – so it’s very resistant to vibration.

But while the conceptual design is great, M42 isn’t really a “full standard” in two important ways…

M42 doesn’t define flange distance

Every lens must precisely focus light rays onto the sensor surface. Camera makers position sensors a precise distance from the shoulder of the mount, a distance referred to as the flange distance, or flange focal distance. Curiously, there isn’t universal agreement on what that distance should be – though there is some convergence on a couple of de facto conventions.

The M42 lenses may need to have an extension tube added so that they can image on a camera sensor. Thankfully an extension tube is an inexpensive but effective accessory – but it’s important to note focal distances and source components accordingly.

M42 doesn’t define thread pitch

The second caveat with M42 mounts is that there are at least two common thread pitches offered: both 0.75 and 1.0.

Annotated snapshot of 1stVision lens selector tool.

If we use the 1stVision lens-selector, the Lens Mount dropdown shows both M42x0.75 as well as M42x1 options (as well as many other lens mounts). So if you know the camera mount specifications, you can find lenses that will thread correctly – but one needs to pay attention!

All the mounts we offer

To the left is a snapshot from the 1stVision lens-selector, showing the dropdown for all lens mounts we offer. If one chooses “All” it yields some 200 lenses across more than 10 manufacturers.

By specifying the lens mount, for the camera you are considering, one need only select a couple of additional dropdowns like sensor format, and focal length, to home in on candidate lenses for your application.

Each mount has its role. While a camera designer sometimes has options relative to sensor size, intended market, and price : performance decisions, there are good reasons why each mount type exists. And while some cameras are available with two or more mount options, generally speaking the camera you choose will dictate the mount – and hence the lens options.

Don’t fixate on the mount

While we’ve discussed certain aspect of lens mounts in this blog, you can generally trust that camera designers have chosen a suitable one for any particular camera – after all they want to maximize the number of cameras they can sell. There are many other considerations in machine vision lens selection. You can read all about it, or just…

1st Vision’s sales engineers have over 100 years of combined experience to assist in your camera and components selection. With a large portfolio of cameras, lenses, cables, NIC cards and industrial computers, we can provide a full vision solution!

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March 14, 2025March 14, 2025

IDS Imaging Sony IMX662 cameras with STARVIS sensors

We’ve previously written about Sony STARVIS sensors, and all that still holds true, of course. If you don’t feel like chasing that last link, a two-word summary would be “high sensitivity”. But this is our first piece on the Sony IMX662 STARVIS sensor in particular. And the corresponding 10 camera models into which IDS Imaging has embedded this remarkable new sensor.

Sony IMX662 sensor – what’s so special?

Before reviewing STARVIS in general, let’s cut to the chase on the IMX662. Three specifics jump out.

1. Wider dynamic range:

Dynamic range characterizes the expressive power of the sensor. It’s the ratio between the smallest and largest values the sensor can capture. Per the side by side images below, the more performant sensor (in this case the IMX662 of course), gets the saturated segments bright, the darker segments dark, and a lot more nuance in the middle. Which translates into actionable imaging data for your machine vision algorithms.

2. No chromatic aberration in HDR mode:

Chromatic aberration is the introduction of color artifacts not present in the original scene, due to the physics of light passing through a lens. Note that the “lens” might be the user-added camera lens, or the micro-lens inherent to every pixel on the sensor. Either way, it’s an undesirable phenomenon, since if your application uses color, it can be a source of “confusion” in your image processing.

So it’s a nice benefit that Sony’s “Clear HDR” feature overcomes chromatic aberration when the IMX662 is used in HDR mode. As shown below:

3. Low cost

The Sony IMX662 sensor is very attractively priced. Since it doesn’t cost camera manufacturers very much to buy the sensors wholesale, they can design them into their value-added cameras, and price the overall package attractively for you, the customer. Whether in small volumes or large.

Think “go where no camera has ever gone before.” Or if you already have an application with another sensor, consider a Gen 2 application with a higher return on investment.

Why 10 different camera models for just this one sensor?

The Sony IMX662 sensor is so compelling that IDS Imaging designed it into 10 different camera packages, providing form factors for diverse customer requirements. Per the snapshot below from 1stVision’s camera selector, with sensor dropdown Sony IMX662 selected, we see all 10 models. In fact it’s 20 models, as each is available in a monochrome or color version.

The top 6 rows are GigE models, with framerates to 59fps. The 4 bottom rows utilize the USB3 interface, delivering up to 93fps.

1stVision carries all 10 IDS Imaging camera models using the Sony IMX662 sensor

GigE Vision models:

The GV prefix in the model name denotes the GigE Vision interface. M/C indicates both Monochrome and Color offerings. MB stands for MotherBoard, which is an especially small form factor, for applications with tight and/or angled spaces. For MB variants, and optional daughterboard and flex ribbon cable, if desired.

Top row: GigE no mount; GigE C-mount; GigE motherboard;
Bottom row: GigE MB C-mount; GigE MB S-mount; GigE S-mount

USB3 Vision models:

The models with the U3 prefix are offer board level and housed models, similarly ideal for tight spaces and embedded applications. And with frame rates to 93fps:

Top left: BL no lens mount; Top right: BL S-mount;
Bottom left: BL C-mount; Bottom right: Housed C-mount

Since both interface options, GigE Vision and USB3 Vision, are industry standards, you can use “IDS peak” SDK, or any other standards compliant software you like.

Sony STARVIS technology

Underlying the Sony IMX662 – and indeed all the Sony STARVIS sensors – is the innovative back-illuminated structure. This means more photons get into the pixel well, greatly enhancing low light performance.

Choose the sensor – and camera – that’s right for the application

Is the Sony IMX662 right for your application? Or other members of the Sony STARVIS sensor collection? While lensing and lighting are also important, choosing the right sensor is at the heart of your application solution. We’re always happy to advise.

March 6, 2025March 6, 2025

IDS Imaging μEye XCP-E Event-based cameras

The μEye XCP-E event-based camera utilizes Sony’s Prophesee IMX636 sensor. So, by design, it captures only relevant image changes. Event-based imaging can be a game changer for certain applications. Unlike area scan or line scan imaging – which capture every pixel and render a “full image” – event imaging only senses and delivers changes.

Event-based imaging captures the changes:

Left: uEye XCP-E image vs. Right: Area scan image – Courtesy IDS Imaging

Less is more

Playing on the “less is more” adage reveals key insights into event-based imaging.

The human eye is adept at delivering and entire scene, of course, and that’s how most of us imagine we see the world around us. But our overall vision perception also builds upon the eye’s ability to sense brightness changes within small segments of the overall scene..

Consider a baseball batter awaiting a pitched ball. The overall scene is relatively static: the outfield fence, bases, and foul lines aren’t moving. And the infielders are almost static – relative to the motion of the ball. But the pitched ball approaching at 80 – 90 miles per hour can be identified by a good batter, to gauge “strike or ball” and “swing or take”.

The batter’s visual processing does NOT have time to capture the full scene at each instant of “ball release”, “just released”, “mid-way”, and “arriving soon”. Rather, the ball’s trajectory is discerned as successive changes against a static background. So too with an event-based camera.

Less data -> More speed: In other circumstances, less data might seem like a handicap. For area scan applications it often would be. Finding defects on a static surface requires ingesting a lot of detail – all the pixels – in order to do edge detection, blob analysis, or other algorithmic processing. But by detecting “just the brightness changes”, transmitting less data is exactly what delivers the increased speed!

Applications example: motion detection and analysis

Airport security application – Courtesy IDS Imaging

What is delivered are pixel motion coordinates and timestamps – NOT pixel brightness values. So you get useable results rather than having to algorithmically compute the results from a traditional area scan image. Track moving objects easily.

How much?

Already intrigued? The housed model, UE-39B0XCP-E, is available now, as this blog releases in early March 2025. Board-level models to be released soon.

Temporal resolution better than 100 μsec

Detect rapid changes – a conventional camera would need > 10,000 fps to capture this – Courtesy IDS Imaging

Efficient data processing

Courtesy IDS Imaging

IDS Imaging uEye XCP-E event-based cameras can be directly integrated with the sensor manufacturers’ software tools, called Metavision. That’s all thanks to Sony’s partnership with Prophesee. Since event-based imaging is a paradigm shift away from conventional machine vision approaches, the visualization tools, API, and training videos help you get up to speed quickly.

February 23, 2025February 23, 2025

Teledyne DALSA AxCIS Contact Image Sensor Applications

Why read this blog?

To learn what kinds of applications are well-suited for a Contact Image Sensor
To see the unique features only found in the Teledyne DALSA AxCIS series

You already know (or can catch up quickly):

Contact Image Sensors don’t actually contact the things they are imaging. But they get to within 15 mm = 0.59 inches! So they are ideal for space-constrained applications.

And they aren’t interchangeable with line scan cameras, they are a variant on line scan concepts. They share the requirement that “something is moving” and that the sensor array is a single row of pixels.

Applications for Contact Image Sensing

Why Teledyne DALSA AxCIS in particular?

You may want to review the whole Teledyne DALSA AxCIS series, and the datasheet details. Go for it! Geek out. Full transparency as always.

Or maybe you’d like a little help on what we think is special about the Teledyne DALSA AxCIS series?

T2IR – Trigger to Image Reliability

This is a Teledyne DALSA proprietary innovation that helps to de-mystify what’s happening inside a complex vision system. It uses hardware and software to improve reliability. In high level terms, T2IR monitors from trigger through image capture, and on to host memory transfer, aiming to protect against data loss. And to provide insights for system tuning if needed. T2IR is compatible with many Teledyne DALSA cameras and frame grabbers – including the AxCIS series.

Courtesy Teledyne DALSA

If you prefer it written out: