Vision- Changing camera settings

[Hastak]

Hi,

I want to create a VI that allows me to change properties such as exposure and gain for my Basler camera.  I wonder:

1. Where can I access such properties?

2. Can I manage this by just Vision Acquisition or do I need Vision Development Module as well? I only found out about Vision Development Module when I couldn't use the IMAQ Histogram and Histograph functions .

I am relatively new to Labview, so please excuse the armature question.. 

/Hasti

[xl600]

What kind of camera and interface are you using?

[Hastak]

Basler acA2500-14um and USB 3.0 interface.

[Bob_Schor]

It is my understanding that the Vision Development Module is to allow you to manipulate (camera) Images (save them to files, compute histograms, describe Regions of Interest, etc.) while the Vision Acquisition Software contains the Camera drivers that enable IMAQdx and IMAQ camera functions.  I always install both, so I may be a tad inaccurate, but that's my broad understanding.

To be able to acquire Images from a Basler Camera, you definitely need the Vision Acquisition Software, and you must Activate it (it has a separate license).  I've made the mistake (twice, I think) of doing a LabVIEW installation, specifying both VDM and VAS, thinking I activated everything, and then seeing I had no "Camera" functions.  It was usually as simple as opening NI License Manager, finding the Vision Licenses, clicking to activate it, and putting in my license code.

You should now have access to the IMAQdx routines that let you manipulate (either in MAX or in LabVIEW) the properties GenICam properties of your camera.  I'm, in fact, trying to do this for a new camera, myself, and struggling with the Manufacturer's confusing manual and incomplete firmware implementation of GenICam "hooks" into the camera features.  Basler should be much better about this.  You will want to investigate the Enumerate Attributes function that lists the Attributes that the Camera reports.  I believe you can manipulate these Attributes using Camera Property Nodes -- that's about where I am at the present.  [In the past, I recall using Read Attributes and Write Attributes, in the Low-Level IMAQdx sub-palette, but this seems clumsy, to me].

And since we are novices dealing with cameras, not motors, it should be "amateur", not "armature". 

Bob "Picky" Schor

Bob Schor

[xl600]

I use Basler aca CameraLink cameras, but I think the control methods are similar.  There's two options with CameraLink.  Use the Basler Pylon software for controlling the camera (Setting up rates, gains, and all that) then use the VDM for writing VIs which acquire the images themselves.  Or writing your own camera control VIs.  For CameraLink, NI provides a pseudo serial port which Pylon can gain access to (Setup from MAX).  I wound up writing my own Basler control protocol handler since I use PXIe-7966 frame grabbers via a RT chassis (Just about as complicated as you can get). 

But day to day, I use a PCI frame grabber, simple VDM based acquisition VIs, and Pylon.  That's the most straight forward and easiest to implement way.

[Electromecha]

Look at the examples 'Grab and Attributes Setup.vi' and 'Grab and Basic Attributes.vi' that installs with the Vision Toolkit.  You'll find them by searching under the keyword 'IMAQdx' in the NI Example Finder.

These examples show how to list and modify available camera attributes at run time.