Leica DFC Series Manual
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Leica DFC Series Manual

Leica DFC Series Manual

Image acquisition
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Image Acquisition

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Summary of Contents for Leica DFC Series

  • Page 1 Leica DFC Cameras Image Acquisition...
  • Page 3 All reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that this publication is correct and complete, but should any user be in doubt about any detail, clarification may be sought from Leica Microsystems (Switzerland) Ltd, or their accredited representative. The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Leica Microsystems (Switzerland) Ltd.
  • Page 4 Feedback At Leica Microsystems (Cambridge) Ltd we are continually striving to improve the standards of our manuals and would welcome customer feedback. If you would like to comment on any aspect of this manual or our manuals in general, please send emails to: LMIS.manuals@leica-microsystems.com...

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Color Depth Image Type Pseudo RGB Scaling Sharpen Crop to ROI Live Image Controls Resolution Mode Over / Under Exposure Find Focus Zoom Focus Spot Exposure Check Color Apply Shading Correction Live Sharpening Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 6 Color Circle Always Visible Close after acquire About Hidden Service Controls Color Calibration High Sensitivity Binning Show All Resolutions Show Frame Rates Crosshair Indicator Separate Gain Values (visible with IC 3D camera only) Chip Size Cooling Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 7: Symbols

    Failure to do so may lead to malfunction of, or damage to, the equipment Useful Information This symbol indicates additional information or explanation. Action This symbol within the text indicates that certain actions must be carried out. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 8: Introduction

    Introduction Leica DFC Cameras are controlled by Leica DFC Twain camera software. Leica DFC Twain supports image acquisition under Leica LAS, Leica IM and Leica QWin and image editors such as Imaging ®, Photoshop ® and Paint Shop Pro ®.

  • Page 9: Dfc Twain Overall Design

    DFC Twain Overall Design Layout The Leica DFC Twain user interface looks similar to the screenshot below. The camera Control Panel is on the left, and the camera Live Image is on the right. The active camera name appears in the DFC Twain title bar at the top.
  • Page 10 Control Panel Structure branch entries in a tree structure. The main branches (Captured Image, Live Image, Extra) are opened/closed by left-clicking or double-clicking “+” or ”–“. Control Panel branches collapsed Captured Image branch expanded Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 11 Each function has its own rectangle color and is active until switched off again in the control panel. This means there may be more than one colored rectangle within the live image window. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 12 When active, the rectangle assumes a dotted line.  Move the rectangle to any position by left-click and dragging the dotted line.  Resize the rectangle by left-clicking on one of the black square dots around it and dragging. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 13: General Controls

    Acquire button for image acquisition Auto White Balance button Exposure time slider Auto Exposure button Gain slider Color Saturation slider (Color cameras) Pseudo Color slider (Mono cameras) Histogram Display Active Camera menu Configuration menu Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 14: Image Acquisition

    The White Balance function performs a color correction in the image source in order to display all neutral- colored components of the image (all gray tones, from black to white) without any color bias. Thus, the term Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 15: Exposure

    This is a target value that the automatic exposure adjustment attempts to achieve. Automatic exposure remains active until the button is clicked again. At camera start-up this action is always off. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 16: Gain

    Color Saturation slider. To adjust towards more artificially vibrant colors move the slider to the right. The maximum value is 3.00x. This is useful when the image may be dull or when Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 17: Pseudo Color (Mono Cameras)

    For a monochrome resolution mode or a monochrome camera, the function is not active and the slider is grayed out. The default value is 1.50x for all Leica DFC color cameras. Pseudo Color (Mono cameras) When using a monochrome camera and color filters in a...
  • Page 18 Combined histogram showing red, green and blue channels: How the histogram is displayed, and what contrast values are visible and applied are available by right- clicking in the histogram area. Check/uncheck the required settings. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 19 , right) should be aligned with the limits of the brightness distribution as shown in the example below.  Right-click in the histogram and check Auto White and/or Auto Black from the sub-menu. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 20 Please note that the triangle indicators are grayed out when automatic contrast or gamma are switched on. When the automatic functions are switched off, the triangles are shown red and will respond to mouse Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 21 Edit Values The following panel will allow entries for exposure (or brightness, if auto-exposure is on), gain, color saturation, black / white levels and gamma: Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 22 You can also open this panel by right-clicking in the basic function area of the upper control panel indicated by the red outline below: Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 23: Selecting The Active Camera

    Selecting the Active Camera You can connect as many Leica DFC cameras at the same time as there are FireWire ports in the computer. (Be aware that performance may suffer if you have multiple FireWire peripherals.) Leica DFC cameras are “Plug and Play” FireWire devices.

  • Page 24: Managing Configurations

     select Configuration… and choose a camera from the Camera Configuration panel and click OK. Leica DFC cameras are identified by their model name and unique serial number, so there is no restriction on connecting several cameras at the same time.
  • Page 25 Select a saved configuration of your choice if in doubt. Saved configuration files are located in your computer’s Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/ Leica DFC280...DFC480 folder. These files are accessible by all camera users. Reset To set all the camera control configurations back to...
  • Page 26 Each configuration is valid for any camera of the same model. This means that you can create a configuration with one Leica DFC280 and load it using another Leica DFC280. However, you cannot load a configuration created on a Leica DFC280 for use with a Leica DFC300FX, for example.

  • Page 27: Captured Image Controls

    Also not all functions, eg involving ROI, are available in some modes. Properties of the captured image Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 28: Resolution

    (ROI), left-click and drag the mouse to draw the area in the live image. Release the mouse and select White Balance . Live image with ROI for white balance The live image will display the corrected color. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 29 Saved color files are located in your computer’s Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/ Leica DFC280...DFC480 folder. These files are accessible by all camera users. Saving a white balance White balance is not possible if there are too many under- or over-exposed pixels in the measuring area.

  • Page 30: Shading Correction

    To create a perfectly corrected, homogeneous image, a white image, ie an image of the exposure light only and no subject, is taken as reference and calculated into the live and captured image. Without shading correction With shading correction Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 31  Press Start .  Follow the onscreen instructions to set the white reference. The window will freeze until shading references for all image resolutions are complete – this may take a few minutes. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 32 Saved shading files are located in your computer’s Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/ Leica DFC280...DFC480 folder. These files are accessible by all camera users. You can now choose and activate the shading...
  • Page 33 You can also apply the shading correction to the live image by:  Check Live Image>>Apply Shading Correction  or select Proof mode in the live image section. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 34: Color Depth

    The visible quality depends on factors such as the image editor software, your monitor and size displayed. DFC Twain and Leica DFC cameras can acquire images in 8 bits or 16 bits. However, only HQ resolution modes allow image acquisition in 16 bits.

  • Page 35: Image Type

    (monochrome or B/W) or a color image. Selection of image type Image resolution is the first item in Captured Image and Image Size the available list depends on the camera model. Selection of the image resolution Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 36: Pseudo Rgb

    (Monochrome cameras only) Pseudo RGB allows a monochrome camera to display false color for live and captured images. Pseudo Color Check to activate the slider, and select the color from the spectrum bar. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 37: Scaling

    4 MB, for example, will become approximately 9 MB! 1.00 represents a 1:1 image with no scaling.  Select Scaling and choose either 1.00 for a normal 1:1 image, or 1.50 for an enlarged image. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 38: Sharpen

    Activate Sharpen by right-clicking on Sharpen and selecting the appropriate level of sharpness. The effects of sharpening are not visible in the live image, but only in the captured image. unsharpened image the same image with sharpening Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 39: Crop To Roi

    The displayed green rectangle on the live image will be the area to be acquired. ROI for image acquisition  There are several ways of selecting the size and position of the Crop window: Manual ROI Setting  Select Set Rectangle…. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 40  Draw a new rectangle at the position required using the mouse and select Region of Interest . Draw new ROI using mouse on the live image Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 41: Live Image Controls

    Some cameras may offer live image formats that are not available for captured image formats and vice-versa. On some cameras, the brightness of live image and captured image may appear to be different. In such Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 42 Mono Progressive modes only display pixels of a certain color, eg Progressive Red discards all green and blue pixels and combines the remaining red pixels to form a grayscale image. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 43: Mode

    Fast Display : For some resolution modes this will offer faster live image refresh rates. However, certain live image features such as zoom & find focus, spot exposure and shading correction, are not available. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 44: Over / Under Exposure

    In the histogram, the region beyond the black level appears pale blue, and the region beyond the white level appears pale red. Under-exposed areas of the live image appear blue and over-exposed areas appear red. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 45: Find Focus

     Check/uncheck Find Focus in the Control Panel, or  set the ROI by right-clicking Find Focus and choose Set Rectangle – type the values for position and size. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 46: Zoom Focus

    Like Find Focus, Zoom Focus will activate a yellow focus bar. Within the ROI, the image is displayed at full resolution, 1:1. Zoom Focus shares the same ROI as Find Focus, but only one focus function can be active - not both. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 47: Spot Exposure

     click the Auto-Exposure button at the top of the Control Panel , to stop.  You can set the ROI by right-clicking Spot Exposure and selecting Set Rectangle – type the values for position and size. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 48: Check Color

    Correction Wheel and the measuring rectangle. Color fine-tuning after white balance  Inside the Color Wheel, drag the small square to a color value and observe the small dot, which represents the current color within the ROI. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 49 DFC Twain is active. On the Live Image:  Adjust the ROI for color fine-tuning by drawing a rectangle in the live image and select Check Color . Measuring area for color fine-tuning Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 50: Apply Shading Correction

     Check/Uncheck Apply Shading Correction , or  Right-click Apply Shading Correction and select on/off . Live Sharpening  Check/Uncheck Live Sharpening to apply the sharpening value selected in Sharpen to the live image Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 51: Extra Controls

    With these two functions, any camera position can be corrected by flipping the image horizontally and/or vertically as required.  Activate or deactivate by left-clicking the appropriate check box, or Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 52: Color Circle Always Visible

    This may be useful, for example, if you would like to add database information for the image immediately after acquisition.  To activate or deactivate this function left-click the Close After Acquire checkbox, or Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 53: About

     right-click Close After Acquire and select on/off . About  Left-click About.. . to display version and language information about DFC Twain. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 54: Hidden Service Controls

    Extra .  Select from the hidden function menu. Color Calibration Color Calibration allows perfect color tuning of your camera by using a Macbeth® ColorChecker as reference.  Select Color Calibration Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 55 - and click Color Calibration . Once the color calibration has completed, name the setting and save it. This setting is now available in the Captured Image>>White Balance menu for image acquisition (see White balance). Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 56: High Sensitivity Binning

    High Sensitivity Binning without increasing image noise. This option is available only if the live or captured image is binned.  Check High Sensitivity Binning for a brighter image  Uncheck for a darker (standard) image. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 57: Show All Resolutions

    Uncheck to display a (shorter) standard list of modes. Show Frame Rates The speed at which the live image display is refreshed is hidden by default.  Check Show Frame Rates to display the frames/second. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 58: Crosshair Indicator

    Be aware that if Separate Gain Values is checked and the gain values are different, the image will be affected differently when switching from one sensor to the other. Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...

  • Page 59: Chip Size

    Please note that this is for reference only – DFC Twain does not use this information itself. However, for applications such as Leica IM, the size of the sensor is required to calculate the calibration of the image in conjunction with the microscope optics data.
  • Page 60 Leica DFC Cameras – Image Acquisition Guide...
  • Page 61 Leica Microsystems (Switzerland) Ltd Stereo and Macroscope Systems CH 9435 Heerbrugg Switzerland Email DI.Support@leica-microsystems.com Website www.leica-microsystems.com...

This manual is also suitable for:

Dfc280Dfc300fxDfc480

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