DALSA FALCON 4M30

[MG]

I am looking at a  Dalsa Falcon 4M30 which shows 2 MD-26 connectors (in the user manual). 

I'd like to know if there is an NI cable that I can connect to the NI-1428 frame grabber and operate this camera in "Cameralink Medium" configuration.

Also, is there an "ICD" file for this amera, or do I need to create one myself with the camera definition file creation utility. 

Thanks,

MG

[Robert_Eastlund]

Dear MG,

The Dalsa 4M30 is a mismatch in relationship to the PCI-1428.  The PCI-1428 supports cameras with clock rates up to 50 MHz.  In either the camera's Base or Medium Camera Link modes, the Dalsa 4M30 only allows the user to choose between a 65 MHz and 80 MHz clock rates , see page 21 and 22 of the manual located at ftp://ftp2.imaging.de/docmanager/42235_10121-09%204m60%20and%204M30%20User%20Manual.pdf.  If you would like to utilize the camera in its Base 8-bit or 10-bit output modes, I would suggest working with either the NI PCIe-1427 or NI PCIe-1430.  If you would like to take advantage of the Medium Camera Link output, I would suggest using the NI PCIe-1429.  Note: there are Camera Files available for the 4M60 located at ftp://ftp.ni.com/support/imaq/camera_support/camera_files/digital/dalsa/.  With no effort, these files can be used with the 4M30 and PCIe-1430 or PCIe-1429.  With a bit of effort, the files can be modified for use with the PCIe-1427.  The company that I work for is a provider of machine vision components.  Dalsa is one of our suppliers, see http://www.graftek.com/pages/PT-21-04M30.htm.  If you would like to discuss further, I can be reached at 512-416-1099 x101 or eastlund@graftek.com

-Robert

[DjDaveNI]

Hello MG,

It is possible to use the Dalsa Falcon 4M30 in Medium Camera Link mode with the PCI-1428. You must use an IMAQ D6826 Breakout Cable (Part number 190936-01, also called Camera Link Medium Configuration/Trigger Cable) to enable Medium configuration.

The D6826 cable converts the 68-pin VHDCI connector on the PCI-1428 to a second camera link connection and a 25-pin DSUB connecto... (see page 3-1).

I hope this helps 🙂

[Brad]

Actually the 1428 will not work with this camera because the pixel clock frequency is 65MHz or 80MHz and the max supported by the 1428 is 50MHz. You will need a PCIe framegrabber(1427, 1429, or 1430) to handle the clock speeds of this camera. Please see the Camera Advisor page Robert Eastlund referred to for information on supported hardware and camera files.

Thanks,

Brad

Message Edited by Brad on 08-25-2008 10:53 AM

[MG]

Thanks to all who replied.

Sure wish I had known before I ordered the 1428. 

I did see the 65MHz or 80MHz clock speed in the 4M30 manual, but I didn't check to see if the 1428 could handle it. 

I was more concerned about the "base" and "medium" cameralink configuration and I ordered the cheapest one that could do "medium".

Lesson learned.

[The_Seeker]

Has anyone had any luck getting full resolution images (2352 X 1728) with this camera (DALSA Falcon 4M30) in 10-bit mode with a PCIe-1427?

We modifed the 4M60 camera file for the 4M30, and we are able to get 8-bit images at the full frame size. We are also able to get 10-bit images up to 1900 X 1728. However, as soon as we go above 1900 in the horizontal dimension, we see a FIFO error ( 0xBFF6002C).

Does anyone have a WORKING camera file for this camera and the PCIe-1427? If not, does anyone have any suggestions as to what we should try next? We are wading into the camera documentation at the moment, but there are more than a few lines in the camera file that are raising questions, and it's not clear what the parameters should be. Any useful suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

-- S.

[Brad]

The 1427 is a x1 PCIe board, and so it's max sustained throughput is ~200MB/sec, which explains the smaller resolution working (1900x1728*2bytes per pixel*30fps = 197MB/sec), and why the full resolution doesn't work. If you get a x4 PCIe board (1429 or 1430), you will have about 800MB/sec sustained throughput, which will give you plenty of bandwidth for this camera.

Hope this helps,

Brad

I'll see if we can make this more apparent in the documentation to avoid this kind of confusion in the future.

[Brad]

Another option if you need 10-bits and full resolution and don't want to change boards is to acquire fewer frames/sec. You would need to acquire 24fps or less to be below the the PCIe x1 bandwidth limitations.

[The_Seeker]

Hey Brad,

Thanks for your responses.

A bandwidth limitation was our first thought too. However, as we are attempting to acquire at 20 fps (below the 24 fps max.), as well as attempting other frame rates as low as 1 fps with the same result, it's unlikely that a data throughput (as a result of the frame rate) is the culprit here.

Further testing has reveal this: With a vertical dimension of only 15 pixels, we have managed to get the full horizontal resolution. However, we must reduce the horizontal dimension by 12 bits to increase the the vertical dimension by 1 bit. 

To illustrate this limitation, these combinations will work:    

2352 X 15 pixels

2340 X 16 pixels

2328 X 17 pixels

and so on.

However, given that the resolution of 1900 X 1728 works, and this clearly falls outside of the pattern, there is something else going on here...

We are continuing to investigate> we are looking for a point where this pattern breaks down to see if that provides another clue. In the meantime, if anyone has a suggestion or a clue, we are interested in hearing it!

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

Regards,

-- S.

[The_Seeker]

Thanks to a suggestion from Robert (from Graftek) who has solved other problems in this thread, we found a solution.

By SLOWING DOWN the 'output throughput' setting to 130, (serial command SOT 130) we are now able to capture full frames at our target frame rate (about 20 frames/sec, triggered).

Interestingly, this fixed the problem in both Mode 6 (triggered acq. mode) and Mode 2, which allows us to test from MAX without running the trigger input.

Thanks to Robert for the useful suggestions! The project is back on track...

 Cheers,

-- S.