Related Manuals for Pco edge
Summary of Contents for Pco edge
- Page 1 GOLD pco.edge 4.2 pco.edge 5.5 pco.edge GOLD 4.2 pco.edge GOLD 5.5...
- Page 2 The information is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of PCO in the future. PCO hereby authorizes you to copy documents for non- commercial use within your organization only.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
6.5 The Recording tab ............26 Recorder Modes (sequence / ring buffer) Acquire Mode (disable recording externally) Sequence Trigger Time Stamp 6.6 The In/Out Signals tab ............. 29 Hardware Signal Input and Output pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 4 Water Cooling Option (pco.aquamatic II) ......59 Image Data Flow (PC Recommendations)....... 63 ME4 Grabber Instructions ..........65 A10 USB 3.0 Installation & Hardware Recommendations ..68 A11 Binning in CMOS Sensors ..........71 About PCO ................72 pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 5: Introduction
The new imaging standard. scientific CMOS Features The pco.edge is a breakthrough in scientific imaging cameras, due to its distinctive ability to simultaneously deliver extremely low noise, fast frame rates, wide dynamic range, high quantum efficiency, high resolution and a large field of view - all in one image. - Page 6 (2nd and 3rd gen) TV / broadcasting FRET spectral (hyperspectral) imaging FRAP laser induced breakdown- lucky astronomy / imaging spectroscopy (LIBS) adaptive optics solar astronomy pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 7: Safety Instructions
If liquids have penetrated the device. If, after thoroughly reviewing the instruction manual, the device is still not operating properly. If the camera has been dropped or the casing is damaged. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 8: System Components
(Camera Link “full”) PCI Express x1 Card (2 x USB 3.0 connections) Note: A PCI Card with 4 x USB 3.0 connections is also available, contact PCO for further details. A PCIe x4 slot is necessary for this card. Cables 2x Camera Link cables (3m) or 1x USB 3.0 cable (3m) -
Page 9: Installation
For further information please see appendix A9 (ME4 Grabber Instruction). When USB 3.0 is used to interface the camera, it is recommended to use the PCI Interface card which is provided by PCO. For an installation instruction or further hardware recommendations, see appendix A10. Camware The pco.camware 32-bit/64-bit Windows application software enables you... -
Page 10: Quick Start
If you need to change exposure time (e.g. the image is still either too dark or too bright), please go to chapter 6! If you want to record and save images, please see chapter 6 and chapter 7 for detailed information! pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 11: Camera Control For The Pco.edge
The camera control window can be opened by selecting the proper command in the "Camera"-Menu or by the corresponding button in the toolbar: The camera control dialog always adapts to the camera type connected. For the pco.edge the camera control settings are spread over five property tabs , which will be explained below. -
Page 12: The Timing Tab
In the [External Exp. Start] exposure control mode, single image recording is started by the falling or rising edge of the voltage signal at the BNC input #1 (6.6). The frame rate cannot be set, as the frame rate is defined by the frequency of the external signal. - Page 13 A new exposure is started by the falling or rising edge of the voltage signal at the BNC input. The exposure is finished when the opposite edge is detected. Thus in this mode, the start as well as the length of the exposure time can be controlled.
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Page 14: Rolling Shutter - Timing Details
In rolling shutter mode the pixel reset and exposure start is carried out row by row. Each row has the same exposure time, but a different start of exposure. The pco.edge image sensor consists of two discrete halves, which are exposed and read out simultaneously, i.e. from the outside to the center. - Page 15 500µs … 10s 0.1 … 100 Hz @ 272.3 MHz 0.5 … 33.3 Hz @ 95.3 MHz pco.edge 5.5 (@ full resol.) Camera Link 500µs … 2s 0.5 … 100 Hz @ 286 MHz pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 16 The 10ms is also faster than the image shift process of most frame transfer emCCD image sensors previously used for low light applications. If this does not influence the image recording and processing, then rolling shutter mode will not affect it either. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 17 9.17 µs Previous comments on image distortion (also known as “Rolling Shutter Effect”) apply here as well. trigger (IN) busy (OUT) start expos (OUT) frame all rows 1st image all rows 2nd image pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 18 70 ns 0 … 9.17 µs 0 … 1s (fast scan) For optimized synchronization (minimized jitter time) use the falling edge of the line signal at the status output (see SDK description). pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 19: Global Shutter - Timing Details
Camera (GS only) Interface Frame rate (FPS Based) exposure time 10 … 16.7 Hz @ 95.3 MHz pco.edge 5.5 Camera Link 10µs … 100ms 10 … 50 Hz @ 286 MHz pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 20 External Exposure Control # of lines 95.3 MHz 286 MHz (slow scan) (fast scan) tjit 0 … 27.52 µs 0 … 9.17 µs tframe ROI (y) 29.76 ms (max) 10.00 ms (max) texp counted pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 21 Since two images have to be read out to receive one resulting image and the exposure cannot start during readout time of the dark image, this specific global shutter mode provides less than half of the frame rate of the rolling shutter mode. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 22: Global Reset - Timing Details
The exposure and delay time can be adjusted in steps of 10µs. Camera (GR only) exposure time delay time pco.edge 5.5 (global reset) 10 µs – 2 s 0 µs … 1s pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 23 70 ns 0 … 9.17 µs 0 … 1s (fast scan) For optimized synchronization (minimized jitter time) use the falling edge of the line signal at the status output (see SDK description). pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 24: The Sensor (Size) Tab
Note: “Soft-ROI” is enabled within Camware by default. Due to this functionality, the resolution of pco.edge cameras with Camera Link interface can be adjusted in steps of 1 – 4 pixels. Since the readout architecture of these cameras is not able to address single pixels, this downsizing is done by software. -
Page 25: The Sensor (Misc.) Tab
A/D Converter Feature not applicable for pco.edge Double Image This feature is widely used for particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements, but not available for the standard pco.edge cameras. IR Sensitivity Feature not applicable for pco.edge Offset Control Offset control is done automatically for optimal results. User control is disabled. -
Page 26: The Recording Tab
The acq enbl input is sampled at the beginning of the image generation, which can be seen at the rising edge of the busy stat output. If the acq enbl input is high (low, when inverted) when an image is acquired, it causes an idle state until the acq enbl input is low (high, when inverted). - Page 27 In trigger mode [External Exp. Ctrl], the acq enbl input works very similar to the mode [External Exp. Start]. However, the acq enbl input is ignored for the edge which is closing the exposure time (started exposure will be finished accordingly).
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Page 28: Time Stamp
For further information please refer to the SDK. In binary and ASCII mode text will be placed into the image replacing the content of the image (271x 8 pixels). time (hh:mm:ss) image # date pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 29: The In/Out Signals Tab
Status Busy If checked, a signal indicating busy status is given at the status busy output. Once an acceptable trigger edge is received, busy will go high. As soon as busy goes low again, a new trigger edge is accepted. - Page 30 (IN) start acq enbl (in) busy (OUT) start expos (OUT) start pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 31: Camware Features
Resolution The drop down list offers the existing image sensor spatial resolutions of all PCO camera systems. Please select the specific resolution and bit depth of the images to be opened! If double shutter images have been recorded and should be opened, “Double Shutter Mode” should be checked. -
Page 32: Overview
With the "Multi Frame Window" it is possible to view all active camera images in one window. The user might select between "time" oriented or "camera number" oriented order. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 33: The File Menu
This command should be used to import a single image into the currently active image window. Only files with the extension and format of "*.b16" (PCO proprietary binary image format) and "*.tif" (TIFF image format) can be imported. If the recorder is enabled, each imported image will be transferred to the buffer shown in the picture number. - Page 34 Here you can select the quality of the saved jpeg/jp2 files. High quality saves images with 100% quality (otherwise 85% quality). Preserve Last Record If checked, a message box will pop up in case the user may overwrite or loose data. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 35 / disable math function Replay Speed Bar The faster replay speed is useful if large sets of image data need to be scanned. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 36: Direct Record To File (Raid Operation)
Record with ‘Flowfile’ (for pixelfly and sensicam models) Exit This command exits the program and closes all channel dialog windows. Window positions, settings and sizes are stored in the windows registry and will be loaded again at next start-up. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 37: The Camera Menu
This feature applies for cameras with exposure times longer than 5s and is not applicable for the pco.edge camera. Hotpixel Correction (for long exposure only) Sophisticated hot pixel correction is already implemented in the pco.edge camera. Auto Exposure Starts some exposures and tries to find an exposure time that captures images with grey values between 1400 and 1500. -
Page 38: The Acquisition Menu
The play button starts the display for a sequence as defined by the first image/last image fields and will loop until the stop button is pressed. Reverse Play If the "Reverse Play" box is checked, it is possible to play the recorded images in reverse. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 39: The View Menu
Thus dark or bright light spots, reflections, etc. are cut off. Min/Max (Automatic) = Continuous Auto Range Crop ‘Proc config’ tab: please see under ‘Convert Control Color’ pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 40 Due to proprietary high-end algorithms used for these image processing features, no detailed description is given here. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 41 'Camera number' oriented means that the first image shown is from camera 1, then camera 2 and so on. Embedded Image Info (only for pixelfly and sensicam models) see Timestamp feature in chapter 6.6 pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 42: The Window Menu
The support files contain relevant hardware information, the log files and the PCO related registry entries. These files are moved into a zip- archive called “CWSupport.zip”, which can be found in the application folder. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 43: The Local Menu
Camware ("Camera Description", see SDK manual for further information) and the PC system time. In case a pco.edge with USB 3.0 interface is connected, the image properties and other meta data is transferred from the camera directly. - Page 44 'Line Diagram' opens and the length of the line (unit: pixel) is shown in a bubble and displayed in the window. Copy To Clipboard Copies the active image to clipboard. Set Crosshair Move the marker to any point in the image. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 45: Additional Features
The Convert Control windows can be minimized/folded up. Just move the pointer over the bar and the window will unfold again. fold up window Fold Up Window not available yet for W7/64-bit systems. move pointer over bar to unfold window pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 46: Appendix
Appendix Appendix pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 47: A1 Technical Data
Appendix Technical Data Subject to change, please refer to current data sheet available on our website. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 48 Appendix Subject to change, please refer to current data sheet available on our website. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 49 Appendix Subject to change, please refer to current data sheet available on our website. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 50 Appendix Subject to change, please refer to current data sheet available on our website. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 51 Appendix Subject to change, please refer to current data sheet available on our website. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 52: A2 Mechanical Dimensions
Appendix Mechanical Dimensions All dimensions given in millimeter. Standard Version (pco.edge 4.2 / 5.5, Camera Link or USB 3.0) Water Cooled Standard Version (pco.edge 4.2 / 5.5, Camera Link) pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 53 Appendix Water Cooled Standard Version (pco.edge 4.2 / 5.5, USB 3.0) The housing size is similar to the dimensions of the Standard Version, except the camera design with USB 3.0 interface allows to locate the water connectors at the back of the camera.
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Page 54: A3 How To Change Optical Input F-Mount To C-Mount
Keep in mind that c-mount lenses could cause shadings at the edges of big sized sensors. Most c-mount lenses are able to illuminate a maximum image circle of 16 mm diameter only. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 55: A4 Image File Formats
This 16 bit PCO file format is based on the new BigTIFF format, thus allowing for file size > 4GB. A new PCO proprietary compression scheme is added in case it is necessary. - Page 56 Windows Media Video (WMV) is a compressed video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
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Page 57: A5 Service And Maintenance
The camera includes electronic devices, which can contain materials harmful to the environment. If the camera is to be discarded, please dispose of it in an environmentally responsible manner and use recycling facilities, where available. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 58: A6 Customer Service And Trouble Shooting
Use the protection cap to protect the camera on the lens thread. Firmware, Software and Driver Update You will find all necessary software and drivers on the accompanying USB storage device. For the latest versions please check our website: http://www.pco.de/de/software/pcoedge/ pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 59: A7 Water Cooling Option (Pco.aquamatic Ii)
Only the liquid level of the reservoir (tank) should be controlled from time to time. Only use Innovatec Protect IP for the pco.aquamatic! Do not use or add any other cooling liquid or water! If you need to add cooling liquid in order to maintain level in the tank, please contact PCO for additional supply. - Page 60 The cooling liquid reservoir (tank) is filled when liquid level is approximately 1-2 cm from the top edge of the tank (see inside mark). The integrated pump only works when the pump chamber is completely filled. To ensure this please move hoses or remove air by evacuating.
- Page 61 (also if a high deviation of the standard value is reached) Note: the camera has its own protection circuit and will shut down automatically when the electronics temperature exceeds safety level. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 62 The hardware of pco.edge cameras with USB 3.0 Interface is designed to work with or without a water cooling system since a fan to provide proper heat transfer is inside the camera anyways.
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Page 63: A8 Image Data Flow (Pc Recommendations)
Nevertheless, there is a sophisticated solution that uses the Camera Link interface, which is integrated into the pco.edge camera. It is a fact of nature that light, itself, has its own noise component called “photon or shot noise”, which increases with light signal. - Page 64 The memory can be organized for ring buffer or FIFO recording, or for a specified number of images like a “burst” mode. The pco.edge camera enables all of these possibilities with the integrated dynamic link libraries and proprietary pco.camware application software.
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Page 65: A9 Me4 Grabber Instructions
If the application is 32bit, you need to install the 32 bit runtime as well. If there is no ME GigE board installed, please deselect ‚Support for…‘ Let the program also update device drivers. The grabber card should be displayed within the device manager. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 66 Then click on 'Yes' when you’re asked to proceed. You must power cycle your computer after the upgrade. In case the firmware version is ok, please click on ‘Test Performance’. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany...
- Page 67 The transfer rates as shown should be displayed. If you have a board, which is not member of the following list and the above test did run with success (Highspeed capable!), please report it to PCO and/or Silicon software. ...
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Page 68: A10 Usb 3.0 Installation & Hardware Recommendations
Dialog could occur asking, if you wish to launch the setup. Accept with “Yes”. At first the installation is prepared. Secondly the software components are copied. Finally the installation is completed and the Delock USB 3.0 extension card can be used. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... - Page 69 If the Motherboard does not have an onboard USB 3.0 port or the onboard USB 3.0 port does not work properly with a PCO USB 3.0 camera, please use an independent PCIe USB 3.0 extension card. In this case, PCO recommends the following: •...
- Page 70 Properties dialog, click the ‘driver’ tab and choose ‘driver details’. If the PCO USB 3.0 camera is turned on and is connected to the USB 3.0 port of the PC, the OS will automatically try to recognize the device and will try to install the correct PCO USB 3.0 driver.
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Page 71: A11 Binning In Cmos Sensors
CCD image sensors, because the “hardware” that processes Camware. this binning is not much different from the “hardware” in computer processing. Therefore, the term “hardware binning” may be misleading. pco.edge User Manual V1.03 © PCO AG, Germany... -
Page 72: About Pco
70 highly specialized employees handle development and production at the Kelheim site. We deliver roughly 4.000 cameras a year to customers all over the world. As in every cutting edge technology, dialogue with the user is the main focus of PCO’s approach. Worldwide...