Summary of Contents for Desert Star SharkEye
- Page 1 SharkEye™ Digital Still Camera Operator & Technical Reference Manual Revision 1.22 Desert Star Systems, LLC 761 Neeson Road #9 Marina, CA 93933 (831) 384-8000 (831) 384-8062 FAX www.desertstar.com...
- Page 2 Helpful Hints for Proper Operation Choice of Operating System and Interface Cards While the Sharkeye™ can be operated under most Microsoft operating systems, it is STRONGLY recommended that Microsoft Windows 2000 be used. This results in the most stable platform and least amount of installation problems, especially with respect to the FireWire interface.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
5.3 The Status LED ............................11 5.6 Battery Charging (optional)...........................11 5.7 Connecting a Strobe ............................11 6. Standard Camera Operation ..........................12 6.1 Starting the SharkEye™ Desktop Application....................12 6.2 Connecting the Camera ..........................13 6.2.1 IEEE-1394 FireWire Connection ................................13 6.2.2 RS-485/RS-232 Connection ..................................13 6.3 Acquiring Images ............................13 6.4 Resolution Control............................14... - Page 4 6.12 Negotiating an RS-485/RS-232 Link ......................19 7. Autonomous Camera Operation ........................21 7.1 Scheduled Operation .............................21 7.2 External Triggered Operation (Optional)......................21 8. Camera System Maintenance...........................22 Appendix A. Using the FastComm PCI RS-485 Adapter..................22 Appendix B. Guidelines For SharkEye™ Photography..................23...
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Page 5: Introduction
3. SharkEye™ Connectors Multi-Function Connector This connector is present on all versions of SharkEye. It is used for camera control (via RS232 or RS485), retrieval of image data (via Firewire), and supplying external power. Bulkhead Connector:... -
Page 6: Umbilical Connector
Bulkhead Connector: Subconn MCBH6M Cable Connector: Subconn MCIL6F Ground RS232 TXD (from SharkEye) or RS485 TX/RX+ RS232 RXD (to SharkEye) or RS485 TX/RX- External Power Input (+8V to +25V) External image capture trigger (optional) External image capture GND (optional) Strobe Connector Used for connecting external strobe and for battery charging. -
Page 7: Firewire To Amp Connector Communication Adapter
+25V) Trigger Trigger GND The standard SharkEye™ is delivered with a short whip that can be used to interface the camera to your umbilical. Unterminated Cable Color Code: 1: Black 2: White 3: Red 4: Green 5: Blue 6: Brown... -
Page 8: Rs-485/Rs-232 Converter Communication Adapter
RS-485/RS-232 Converter Communication Adapter 9-Pin AMP connector to RS-485/RS-232 Converter. This converter allows for the use of a standard RS-232 communication port with the standard SharkEye™ camera. Function 9-pin AMP female (data) RS-485/RS-232 Converter TXD or TX/RX+ RXD or TX/RX-... -
Page 9: Y-Splitter Adapter
External Power Note: Pin 6 of the AMP connector is not used Power Adapter/Charger 9-Pin AMP to 110V/24V converter. The power adapter can be used to externally power the SharkEye™ or to charge any internal batteries. Function 9-pin AMP female(power) -
Page 10: Battery Charger Connector Adapter
Battery Charger Connector Adapter MCIL5F to 9-pin AMP male. Used to connect the Power Adapter to the SharkEye™ Strobe connector in order to charge internal batteries. Note: The AMP connector may have additional pins, which are not used in SharkEye™ applications. -
Page 11: The Status Led
Charging of internal batteries is under way. SharkEye™ Blink Patterns 5.6 Battery Charging (optional) The SharkEye™ camera can be equipped with up to 3 internal battery packs. The batteries can be charged using the supplied battery charger. • Connect the battery charger to the camera using the Battery Charger Connector adapter. -
Page 12: Standard Camera Operation
6.1 Starting the SharkEye™ Desktop Application Select the SharkEye™ application from the windows start menu. The application will start running and indicate that it is waiting for a connection. If the application can not open the selected serial port an error message box will appear. You can select a different serial port to resolve this problem. -
Page 13: Connecting The Camera
The SharkEye™ camera uses RS-485 serial communication. An RS-485/RS-232 converter is provided to allow for the use of the SharkEye™ with a standard PC RS-232 port. The converter must be used if connection to a standard RS-232 is desired. The converter can be used with either the multi-function or umbilical ports. -
Page 14: Resolution Control
While acquiring images the Interface Status Indicator will change from GREEN to RED indicating that user input is disabled at this time. The Interface Status Indicator will return to GREEN when the application is ready for more input. Images can also be acquired continuously by pressing the Continuous Capture button located to the right of the Image Upload Progress Bar. -
Page 15: Exposure Control
Focus can also be controlled automatically using the other four buttons. The ++ will change the focus to further away in large steps, the + will do the same in the smallest possible increments. The --, and – buttons do the same but move the focus closer to the camera. -
Page 16: White-Balance Control
Increasing the simulated film speed increases the sensitivity of the camera, but can cause increased noise in the image. The B/W button tells the SharkEye™ application that an optional black and white image sensor is being used rather than then standard color sensor. -
Page 17: Saving Images
The image annotations can be modified by editing or creating the text file annotation_cnf.txt in the SharkEye™ directory (C:\Program Files\Desertstar\SharkEye is the default) This file can be modified in any text editor, such as notepad. Below... -
Page 18: Saving Images On The Camera
FLASH memory. Selecting Save all Images to Camera Storage will save every image acquisition to on-board storage. Note: If the SharkEye™ camera is not equipped with a hard disk, the on-board image storage can be filled quickly. 128 MB of FLASH storage will hold 64 images. -
Page 19: Erasing Stored Images
Note: Images saved on internal hard disks can only be retrieved when an IEEE-1394/FireWire link is used. 6.11 Erasing Stored Images Images stored on the camera can be deleted by selecting Camera Storage/Erase Storage from the main menu. This will erase either the camera internal hard disk or FLASH memory. - Page 20 The last successful negotiated link will be used next time the application is started.
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Page 21: Autonomous Camera Operation
7. Autonomous Camera Operation In addition to standard umbilical operation the SharkEye™ camera can be used in autonomous mode. Images can be captured according to a predefined acquisition schedule or be triggered through optional external control lines. 7.1 Scheduled Operation Selecting Communication/Autonomous Configuration from the main menu will display the Autonomous Mode Configuration dialog window. -
Page 22: Camera System Maintenance
SharkEye™ is pre-configured to use this adapter for RS-485 communications. It is necessary to properly configure the adapter for use with SharkEye™, you must use the serialgt.exe software that comes with the FastComm card. This software is also available on Comtech’s web site (www.commtech-fastcom.com). -
Page 23: Appendix B. Guidelines For Sharkeye™ Photography
Appendix B. Guidelines For SharkEye™ Photography • Light levels should be high enough to keep exposure times below 1/20 second with a 6.5 mm wide angle lens. Half the maximum exposure time for each doubling of the lens focal length. Longer exposure times result in blur because the diver or ROV pilot can rarely hold the camera steady enough. - Page 24 A blurred side-shot of an anode. Exposure time was 1/5 The diver thought he was aiming right, ask him to over- second. A strong light would improve the result by compensate left. over-compensation shortening the exposure time. You could also use a wider requirement will increase the closer the object distance.
- Page 25 A f-stop setting of 1.4 was was exposed (SharkEye was using a rolling shutter), so a used. A higher f-stop should be used to increase the shorter exposure time / more light would help.
- Page 26 A well exposed picture of sea pens. SharkEye™ was A better macro shot of an anode, with marine growth visible. mounted on a ROV. A nice shot, but over-exposed in the blue band on the bright A focus alignment shot in a bucket. 9” stand-off rods were anode surface.
- Page 27 A weld shot using 9” rods to establish proper focus A weld shot, this time with the rods aligned with the weld. distance. The rods were placed across the weld, but lining The pitting (small black dots) of the metal is clearly visible. them up with the weld is probably better to ensure that the Two 75 watt lights were used (same settings as last shot).
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