IMAQdx and MAX differences

[Paul_Knight_Lockheed_Mart]

I have a Flir T420 thermal USB camera that is DirectShow capable.  I have installed the Vision Acquistion software and got the IMAQ and IMAQdx libraries.  When I use either the LabVIEW or LabWindows\CVI IMAQdx examples, I am able to get video from the camera, but only in black and white.  No matter if I configure the CreateImage for RGB.

MAX on the other hand works exactly like it should.  I get a color video from the camera, when I set MAX to Video Mode = "320x240 YUY2 7.50fpgs.  No where is IMAQdx do I see any function that accepts a parameter like this.

So what is the difference between MAX and IMAQdx?  Can I get IMAQdx to do the same thing that MAX is doing.

Paul

[Klemen]

Hello,

did you try using the property node (check imaqdx pallete) to change the camera mode in the initialization stage of your program?

Best regards,

K

[BlueCheese]

If you click the Save button in MAX once you have it configured for the mode you want, your IMAQdx sessions in LabVIEW will use the same settings. You could also programmatically set the same settings as MAX does via LabVIEW property nodes, but it is easier to just save the settings.

[Klemen]

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@Klemen wrote:

Hello,

did you try using the property node (check imaqdx pallete) to change the camera mode in the initialization stage of your program?

Best regards,

K

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Sorry, it's not camera mode, but video mode. My mistake.

@BlueCheese - I agree that saving in MAX is an option too, but if you want to use the same application on multiple computers, you would need to repeat the proces multiple times. If using a property node, the code is more portable (it's also simple to setup). Is this right?

Best regards,

K

[BlueCheese · Accepted solution]

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Sorry, it's not camera mode, but video mode. My mistake.

@BlueCheese - I agree that saving in MAX is an option too, but if you want to use the same application on multiple computers, you would need to repeat the proces multiple times. If using a property node, the code is more portable (it's also simple to setup). Is this right?

Best regards,

K

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Well, yes, that is somewhat true. To deploy to multiple systems you would either need to copy the camera files (ICD) that store your settings, or use the camera file to/from string variants (in the LLB) to dynamically load the camera file from a string constant. The Vision Acquisition Express VI does this internally so that the camera file settings are stored inside your VI.

You could certainly argue about which way is more portable. Often times the camera settings are different from system to system (different camera, different lighting, different lens, different camera firmware) such that having settings configured via MAX and the program leaving them as-is ends up being far simpler than figuring out which parameters need to be adjusted dynamically by the application (and to which values). Often a blend of the two approaches is good.

[Paul_Knight_Lockheed_Mart]

Both ways work.  I saved settings in Max then changed them back and forth in my program using property nodes.

Thanks for your help.

Paul