GigE camera

[Felix_M]

Hi,

I can communicate with Spyder 2 (DALSA - SG-10-01K40-10E) inline camera with 1024 pixels by using MAX software.  The camera can be set in 8 or 12 bit mode.  In 8 bit mode I can see only 512 pixels and saturation level of 255.  In 12 bit mode I can see only 1024 pixels and saturation level of 255 instead 4096.  When camera is saturated the histogram shows 255 and number of pixels approximately 1000 in 8 bit mode and 4096 and number of pixels approximately 1000 for 12 bit mode.  This indicates that camera works according specification.

I would like to read row data (intensity of light captured by 1024 pixels expressed in integer numbers up to 4096) in One Shot mode.  For that purpose I have modified Example: Grab an Attributes to display row data and to print data in the table.  I am using NI_AALPro.Ivlib:Peak Detector.vi to set threshold, to find Peaks and locations.  I have Vision Acquisition 8.2.1 software.

Your prompt response with recommendation and suggestions will be highly appreciated.

Regards,

[jLo]

Hi Felix,

Thank you for using National Instruments forums. I am having a hard time understanding what your question really is.  Are you having trouble with your bits of resolution?  Saturation?  Or is there something going on with your LabVIEW program.  Also, what version of LabVIEW are you using?  Maybe a bit more description and some screen shots would help us in understanding what is going on.

Thanks!

Justin

[Epsilon]

Hi Felix!

I am a bit confused in what you are trying to say your problem is as well. However, I will try to explain something that may help you out.
You mentioned that you can only see 512 pixels with a 1k (1024 pixels x 1) line scan camera. This has nothing to do with the bit resolution per pixel (8 or 12 bit).
In MAX there is a setting that allows you to adjust the width of the image that the camera is sending to the computer. Make sure you set that to 1024 to receive all available pixels from the line sensor. I believe it is under the Camera settings or attributes tab in MAX.

When you have an 8-bit resolution per pixel selected and you saturate the camera, the highest value you should see is 255 (0 - black .... 255 white). In 12 bit mode it should be 4,096 (2^12=4,096). Make sure that you are selecting the right mode of operation for that camera. In the past I have come across wrong settings in the camera file for DALSA camera. MAX is using camera files kind of like a configuration file to find out what it can do with the camera. For GigE cameras this file is actually in XML format according to the Geni GigE Standard.

However, I am not sure if NI already supports this camera model in particular.

Check out this tutorial on NI's website. It discusses in more detail what I was trying to explain. I hope this helps you out.

Acquiring from GigE Vision Cameras with Vision Acquisition Software - Part II

Good luck!

Markus Tarin

[GretchenSkellyZimmer]

I am working with a Dalsa Spyder3 GigE Camera.  Dalsa has sent me firmware upgrades, which I have applied to the camera.  But now MAX will no longer work.  I am getting an error that indicates a bad XML file.  The document referred to in last post advises to run the Camera Validator.  However, this Utility is no where to be found.  I checked other PCs here at the lab that have NI-IMAQ installations (with older, non-GigE cameras), and none of them seem to have this CameraValidator.exe uitility.  (Yes, I did a full search.)  Is this an Add-On Tool? 

Another related question:  what should the exact file name of the XML file be?

[michaeld]

Gretchen, the CameraValidator tool will be found as under the Program Files\National Instruments\NI-IMAQdx\Utility\ folder. Are you sure to be looking under the IMAQdx folder and not the regular IMAQ folder?

The name of the XML file will vary depending on the camera and its version, so unfortunately, that will be up to Dalsa.

[GretchenSkellyZimmer]

Yes, I have looked in the correct folder, and also did a 'search' of the entire hard drive for files of any type with the word 'validator' in the name.  The search yielded nothing.  I also checked several other PCs here at the lab that also interface with cameras via MAX & Labview.  Can find the utility nowhere.  I have the NI Vision Acquisition Software installation cd's.  Still cannot find Camera Validator utility.  I need it.  Where can I find it?

Gretchen

[GretchenSkellyZimmer]

My IMAQdx folder doesn't even have a subfolder called 'Utility'!  A few minutes ago, I tried Removing IMAQdx and reinstalling, but the CameraValidator tool, much less the Utility folder still does not exist.  My NI Vision Acq Software is version 8.2.1 released in September of 2006

Gretchen

[michaeld]

Gretchen,

Here is the CameraValidator.exe from my IMAQdx folder. It should work fine, regardless of where you place it on your harddrive. Which version of the IMAQdx drivers do you have installed? You can check this by opening up MAX and going to My System >> Software >> NI-IMAQdx.

[BlueCheese]

Hi Gretchen,

Sorry, but Vision Acquisition 8.2.1 did not yet include the camera validator utility. It is included with Vision Acquisition 8.2.2 and later which you can download and install (it should work with your existing license). The utility makes use of features in the IMAQdx driver that are not present in earlier versions so the individual file posted previously will not work.

With regards to your XML error, can you tell me the exact error text you see? Can you try clearing your XML cache folder under C:\Program Files\National Instruments\IMAQdx\Data? Its possible with the firmware update you have an invalid file cached there.

Hope this helps,
Eric

[GretchenSkellyZimmer]

Eric - thanks for your valuable information.  I downloaded and installed 8.2.2, and Now, at last, I have cameravalidator - mystery solved.  However, when I execute it, it vanishes as soon as I see  "opening 'cam0'".

The exact error message:

IMAQ Error

Error 0xBFF6901D

Unable to load camera's XML file

I tried removing all XML files from the Data/XML folder, but neither the cameravalidator tool nor IMAQ work.

Gretchen