IEEE 1394B or GigE Camera?

[andrake]

Good day NI Users,

I would like to inquire about "2" Camera protocols supported by NI. IEEE 1394B and GigE. I've already used both at the same time with EVS 1464 in my past project and now, I have a new project. Personally, I think IEEE is better than GigE. In the last project, the camera we used are:

1) Basler SCA640-70fm (IEEE 1394B, 659x490, 70fps, mono)

2) Basler PIA2400-17gm (GigE, 2456x2058, 17fps, mono)

According to our local NI Supplier, PIA2400-17gm (GigE) is a 5 Mega Pixel camera. Now, I want to replace it with an IEEE 1394B Camera with equivalent specifications. I would appreciate any recommendations I can receive. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Andrei K. 

[NikitaProrekhin]

Hello Andrei,
as for me GigE cameras are much better than FireWireB.

But if you like you may use Baumer TXF50c camera. It has the same sensor as Basler pilot has and provides i think the same image quality. 

I hope i helped you somehow:)
Nikita. 

[andrake]

Thank you for the input. Yes, GigE may be better since it's more expensive than IEEE1394B. However in my experience, GigE heats up and hangs more than the IEEE.

[David-A]

Hello andrake,

I suggest taking a look at our guide to Choosing the Right Camera Bus.

David A.

[1100fps]

I am leaning more and more toward GigE cameras.  Now that more cameras support power over IP.  I like having the option for long (100 m) wire runs, and the ability to make my own cables up on the spot, with tools I routinely carry in my tool box.  ("What's in YOUR tool box?" I think would be a great topic for a NI Week Machine Vision Summit Talk).  GigE can be more fussy to set up.  Firewire requires cards (usually), although a case can be said for GigE requiring cards too.

GigE cameras on large corporate networks can be disabled by standard security firewall patches / Pushes.. 

I have no reason to believe that one interface is more robust than the other. 

It's nice not to have to deal with a power supply when using a Firewire camera..

My next camera will be GigE, most likely.  The reasons are NOT compelling.

[Robert_Eastlund]

The Basler piA2400-17gm utilizes the Sony ICX-625 sensor.  One near equivalent Firewire B camera would be the AVT Stingray F-504B, see http://www.alliedvisiontec.com/us/products/cameras/firewire/stingray/f-504bc.html.  The Stingray F-504B utilizes the single tap version of the ICX-625, the ICX-655.  The drawback of the single tap version of the sensor is that it has half the frame rate of the ICX-625.  The benefit of the single tap is not having a disparity between the left and ride side of the image.  Anyhow, the bandwidth of the Firewire B interface would not support the full output of the ICX-625.

At present, the GigE cameras have several advantages over the Firewire B cameras:

1) Cable Length

2) Higher data rates, allowing for higher frame rates and/or greater resolution, resulting in a larger variety of sensors choices

3) Easier access to a larger variety of camera features due to the Genicam standard

4) Cost

Still, the Firewire B cameras still seem to provide a more plug and play feel for the customers and should be around for good while.

[Silver_Shaper]

Using Gige may result in high speed data transfer to the PC from camera (1000 MBPS) and IEEE comparatively low speed. Its upto your application speed requirement. I personally like Gige cameras over IEEE, You may find this link will helpful http://sine.ni.com/apps/utf8/nipc.get_camera_list?p_camera_status=C&asid=1102.

[andrake]

Good day,

In my part, GigE has been constantly giving me problems. It keeps on "hanging" resulting the EVS 1464 to crash. When I try to close the VBAI, the "Blue Screen of death" appears. I'm not sure though if it's because of the GigE but I don't experience this problem with IEEE 1394B Camera since I'm using them both. Maybe, I have overlooked an important setting for GigE. For example, I did not assign an IP Address for the GigE port. I just set it to automatic.

Please observe the Vision PC log in the attached document. Look for the occurence "10/25/2011  3:21:00 PM" where the EVS crashed. I also want to ask you the meaning of this error which can be seen before the Critical Error:

"LabVIEW information:  Error: 404 ""Not Found"" for ""/national instruments/vision/vision builder ai/commserver"", file ""c:/program files/national instruments/shared/ni webserver/www/national instruments/vision/vision builder ai/commserver"": Can't access URL       ."

Hope you could help me with this matter. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Andrei K.

[David-A]

Hi Andrake,

Can you expand upon what is occuring when the EVS is "hanging"?  Does this hanging only and always occur when the GigE camera is plugged in?  Does VBAI only and always blue screen when closing if the GigE camera is plugged in?

David A,

[andrake]

Hi,

I think the problem is within the VBAI bug. I've recalled that while I'm configuring the "Acquire Image" step in VBAI while in "Acquire Continuous Images" status, for quite some time like a minute or more, this hanging occurs. Meaning, when the Camera is continuously running, there is a huge possibility for hanging. What I did recently is changing the Acquisition Mode from "Continuous - Immediate" into "Snapshot". Also, I tried to lessen the "Packet Size" in Max. Up until now, I don't encounter the System hanging.

While I changed the GigE settings, I also attempted to change the IEEE settings. However, after modifying the IEEE Camera settings from "Continuous - Immediate" into "Snapshot" and reducing the Packet Size, another Camera Error occured. This time, no System hanging but the Camera can't display an Image. When I tried to configure the Camera, a message "IEEE 1394 insufficient resources" occurred.

Thanks,

Andrei K.