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

December 15, 2021December 15, 2021

Three new AVT Alvium 1800 USB3 cameras

AVT Alvium housed, board-level, and open options

1stVision is pleased to announce that Allied Vision has released three fourth-generation Sony IMX sensors with Pregius S global shutter technology to its Alvium 1800 U camera series. With the new models Alvium 1800 U-511 (Sony IMX547), Alvium 1800 U-811 (Sony IMX546) and Alvium 1800 U-1242 (Sony IMX545), the Alvium camera series with USB3 interface now comprises 19 models. All cameras are available in different housing variants (closed housing, open housing, bareboard), as monochrome or color cameras, and with different lens mount options. The USB port can be located either on the back of the camera or on the left side (as seen from the sensor).

AVT Alvium 1800 U housing option — AVT Alvium housed, bareboard, and open variants

To highlight just one key point about each new camera:

Alvium U-511: First 5.1 Mpix global shutter Sony sensor for S-mount lens
Alvium U-811: Square 8 Mpix sensor ideal for round or square objects, and microscopy
Alvium U-1242: Same resolution with smaller sensor as 2^nd gen IMX304

Model	Alvium 1800 U-511	Alvium 1800 U-811	Alvium 1800 U-1242
Sensor	Sony IMX547	Sony IMX546	Sony IMX545
Sensor type	CMOS Global shutter	CMOS Global shutter	CMOS Global shutter
Sensor size	Type 1/1.8	Type 2/3	Type 1/1.1
Pixel size	2.74 μm × 2.74 μm	2.74 μm × 2.74 μm	2.74 μm × 2.74 μm
Resolution	5.1 MP 2464 × 2064	8.1 MP 2848 × 2848	12.4 MP 4128 × 3008
Frame rate	78 fps (@450MB/s)	51 fps(@450MB/s)	33 fps(@450MB/s)

Key attributes at a glance

All cameras are available with different housing variants (closed housing, open housing, bareboard) as well as different lens mount options, according to your application’s requirements.

Contact us at 1stVision with a brief idea of your application, and we will contact you to discuss camera options. support and / or pricing.

1st Vision’s sales engineers have an average of 20 years experience to assist in your camera selection. Representing the largest portfolio of industry leading brands in imaging components, we can help you design the optimal vision solution for your application.

About Us | 1stVision

1st Vision is the most experienced distributor in the U.S. of machine vision cameras, lenses, frame grabbers, cables, lighting, and software in the industry.

December 15, 2021December 15, 2021

New IDS uEye XLE camera family

The IDS uEye XLE family is now available to 1stVision customers. These versatile cameras are designed for high-volume price-sensitive projects needing basic functions without special features. Suitable applications include but are not limited to manufacturing, metrology, traffic, and agriculture.

IDS Imaging XLE camera — IDS uEye XLE board-level and housed options

Thanks to different housing variants, extremely compact dimensions and modern USB3 Vision interface, uEye XLE cameras can be easily integrated into any image processing system. Housing variants include housed and board-level, with different lens mount options.

Currently there are 10 family members, each available with monochrome or color CMOS sensors, from 2 – 5MPixel. Cameras have excellent low-light performance, thanks to BSI “Back Side Illumination” pixel technology.

With a USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface, all XLE models communicate via the USB3 Vision protocol, and are 100 percent GenICam-compliant. So you may easily operate and program the cameras with the IDS peak SDK, as well as other industry-standard software.

About Us | 1stVision

1st Vision is the most experienced distributor in the U.S. of machine vision cameras, lenses, frame grabbers, cables, lighting, and software in the industry.

December 15, 2021December 15, 2021

11 and 86Mpixel Teledyne DALSA Falcon 4 cameras

Teledyne DALSA’s Falcon4-CLHS cameras are now available to 1stVision customers. The state-of-the-art in the Falcon series, there are both 11Mpixel and 86Mpixel models, each using CLHS to achieve stunning frame rates. This can enable new applications not previously possible, or next-gen solutions with a single camera, where previously two or more were needed – greatly simplifying implementation.

This 11MPixel camera, available in two monochrome variants, offers a global shutter sensor, a wide field of view to 4480 pixels wide, and up to 609fps at full resolution.

Teledyne Dalsa Falcon 4 — Teledyne DALSA Falcon4 cameras

Popular applications for the 11Mpixel models include:

Machine Vision
Robotics
Factory Automation Inspection
Motion Tracking and Analysis
Electronic Inspection
High Speed 3D imaging

If your application requires even more resolution, Teledyne DALSA’s Falcon 4-CLHS 86M also uses a global shutter 86Mpixel CMOS sensor, and up to 16fps. Also a monochrome sensor, it shows good responsivity into the NIR spectrum.

Applications for the 86Mpixel camera include:

Aerial Imaging
Reconnaissance
Security and Surveillance
3D Metrology
Flat Panel Display Inspection

About Us | 1stVision

1st Vision is the most experienced distributor in the U.S. of machine vision cameras, lenses, frame grabbers, cables, lighting, and software in the industry.

October 12, 2021October 13, 2021

Spatial resolution is an essential machine vision concept

Spatial resolution is determined by the number of pixels in a CMOS or CCD sensor array. While generally speaking “more is better”, what really matters is slightly more complex than that. One needs to know enough about the dimensions and characteristics of the real-world scene at which a camera is directed; and one must know about the smallest feature(s) to be detected.

Choosing the right sensor requires understanding spatial resolution

The sensor-coverage fit of a lens is also relevant. As is the optical quality of the lens. Lighting also impacts the quality of the image. Yada yada.

But independent of lens and lighting, a key guideline is that each minimal real-world feature to be detected should appear in a 3×3 pixel grid in the image. So if the real-world scene is X by Y meters, and the smallest feature to be detected is A by B centimeters, assuming the lens is matched to the sensor and the scene, it’s just a math problem to determine the number of pixels required on the sensor.

There is a comprehensive treatment how to calculate resolution in this short article, including a link there to a resolution calculator. Understanding these concepts will help you to design an imaging system that has enough capacity to solve your application, while not over-engineering a solution – enough is enough.

Finally, the above guideline is for monochrome imaging, which to the surprise of newcomers to the field of machine vision, is often more better than color, for effective and cost-efficient outcomes. Certainly some applications are dependent upon color. The guideline for color imaging is that the minimal feature should occupy a 6×6 pixel grid.

If you’d like someone to double-check your calculations, or to prepare the calculations for you, and to recommend sensor, camera and optics, and/or software, the sales engineers at 1stVision have the expertise to support you. Give us some brief idea of your application and we will contact you to discuss camera options.

About Us | 1stVision

1st Vision is the most experienced distributor in the U.S. of machine vision cameras, lenses, frame grabbers, cables, lighting, and software in the industry.