Related Manuals for PHOTONIS Nocturn
Summary of Contents for PHOTONIS Nocturn
- Page 1 Digital Low-Light CMOS Camera User Reference Guide NOCTURN Digital Low Light CMOS Camera XL Camera Module PHOTONIS USA, Inc. 6170 Research Road | Suite 208 Frisco, TX USA 75033 T: +1 (469) 713-6108 F: +1 (469) 713-2880 www.photonis.com...
- Page 2 Pennsylvania, Inc. The information furnished in this document is believed to be correct at the time of publication, but is not guaranteed and is subject to change without prior notice. No liability is assumed by PHOTONIS for its use. No claims or warranties are made as to the application of PHOTONIS products. Customers should verify they have the correct documentation before use.
-
Page 3: Table Of Contents
3 | Table of Contents NOCTURN XL Camera Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ......................6 2. CONFIGURATION ......................6 3. SPECIFICATIONS ......................8 Figure 3 Typical Quantum Efficiency Curve ..............9 4. UNPACKING ........................9 5. GETTING STARTED: INITIAL SETUP AND OPERATION ..........11 USB DRIVER INSTALLATION (WINDOWS)................11... -
Page 4: Photonis
Figure 4 Hardware Connection Between the NOCTURN and PC ............13 Figure 5 LED on the Back of the NOCTURN XL Turns Green when USB Power is Applied ....14 Figure 6 Layout of the NOCTURN XL Evaluation GUI ................. 30 Figure 7 External Strobe Setup Window .................... - Page 5 5 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera SAFETY SUMMARY WARNING and CAUTION statements have been strategically placed throughout the text prior to operating or maintenance procedures, practices, or conditions considered essential to the protection of personnel (WARNING) or equipment and property (CAUTION). NOTES emphasize necessary and important data.
-
Page 6: Introduction
PHOTONIS INTRODUCTION The NOCTURN XL (see Figure 1) is a rugged low light camera module that features high-definition resolution, high sensitivity and high dynamic range with low power consumption. Powered by PHOTONIS’ 1 inch optical format 1280×1024 pixel (SXGA) Lynx CMOS sensor, the NOCTURN provides real-time imaging capabilities (from daylight to one quarter moon scene illumination) in the visible and near infrared spectrum. -
Page 7: Table 1 Nocturn Xl Input Power Specifications
NOCTURN XL camera please refer to the NOCTURN XL Electro-Mechanical ICD. The NOCTURN XL can be powered either via the USB interface from a personal computer (cable not provided) or through the J301 external power and IO connector (see Table 1 for power input specification). -
Page 8: Specifications
PHOTONIS SPECIFICATIONS Detailed specifications of the NOCTURN XL camera are given in Table 2. Table 2 NOCTURN XL Specifications Parameter Specification Sensor Resolution 1280 × 1024 Pixels Sensor Pixel Pitch 9.7 µm × 9.7 µm Sensor Well Capacity > 25000 e- Sensor Dynamic Range >... -
Page 9: Unpacking
Disassembly of the camera and damage to the anti-tamper sticker on the side of the camera will void in full the warranty. This section provides the necessary steps to properly unpack the NOCTURN XL camera product. Table 3 Unpacking Instructions for the NOCTURN XL Camera Description... - Page 10 You will need that number to be able to receive technical support for your product. Open shipping container breaking PHOTONIS seal and lifting the cardboard lid. Remove the antistatic bag containing the camera module from the suspended clear plastic clamshell. Remove companion located underneath the clear plastic clamshell.
-
Page 11: Getting Started: Initial Setup And Operation
CAUTION Before proceeding with the initial power-up of the Camera, be sure the Nocturn XL USB driver (if applicable), provided www.nocturncamera.com or on the Silicon Labs website, is installed on the PC... -
Page 12: Initial Power-Up
J601 NOCTURN XL connector and NTSC/PAL analog monitor (please note that by default the analog video output on the NOCTURN XL camera is turned off and will need to be enabled by the user either via the evaluation GUI or via serial command over the USB interface) as shown in Figure 4. -
Page 13: Table 5 Frame Grabber Configuration Details
Connect a micro-USB cable (not supplied with the camera) between the J304 connector on the NOCTURN XL camera and the host PC with the installed USB drivers. The status LED on the back of the NOCTURN XL should turn green (see Figure 5). -
Page 14: Camera Controls
PHOTONIS | 14 Figure 5 LED on the Back of the NOCTURN XL Turns Green when USB Power is Applied Turn on the frame grabber image acquisition software to display the digital video output from the camera (the camera will output video as soon as power is applied over the USB interface). -
Page 15: Top Level Console Commands
15 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera TOP LEVEL CONSOLE COMMANDS Table 6 Top Level Console Commands Command Optional Description Payload help Displays the console help menu Displays the console help menu baudrate Sets and reads the serial port baudrate... -
Page 16: Baudrate Commands
PHOTONIS | 16 BAUDRATE COMMANDS Table 7 Baudrate Commands Command Optional Description Payload baudrate Displays the current console baud rate and help for this command baudrate 921600 460800 Sets the console baudrate to the payload value. A carriage 230400 return must be sent to the camera within 20 sec of this 115200 command using the new baudrate to acknowledge the change. -
Page 17: Temperature Display Commands
Command Optional Description Payload temp rd Reads temperature sensor register xx (0 is currently the default on the NOCTURN camera) temp wr xx dd Writes the temperature register xx with value dd FILE TRANSFER COMMANDS Table 11 FIle Transfer Commands... -
Page 18: Agc Commands
Enables the external strobe output AGC COMMANDS A full list of the AGC related control parameters used with the NOCTURN XL can be displayed on the console by sending “agc status <cr>” at the console terminal. Each command in Table 13 should be preceded by “agc”... - Page 19 19 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera Command Optional Payload Description under normal operation If the “bhipcagc” is lower than this digital output value, and bhidnlimlo the integration time equal or greater to “mg0max”, the AGC will switch the gain and NUC tables to operate in high gain Reduces exposure or gain if “bhipcagc”...
-
Page 20: Nuc Commands
PHOTONIS | 20 Command Optional Payload Description Setting lgtransup Integration time (in lines) to set the sensor to when transitioning from the “Low Gain” to the “Medium Gain” Setting Gain value used for the “Medium Gain” setting m0gain Minimum integration time (in lines) of the “Medium Gain”... -
Page 21: Cmos Sensor Commands
21 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera Disable non-uniformity correction o Send: nuc off <cr> o Receive: nuc tables disabled global gain is disabled global offset is disabled > Table 14 NUC Commands Command Optional Payload Description gain... -
Page 22: Table 16 Cmos Sensor Registers
PHOTONIS | 22 Command Optional Payload Description Sets the line noise filter to use 16 columns cs vbo [0-255] Sets the video black offset when the line noise filter is enabled cs active Clears the sensor active signal to the CMOS image sensor... - Page 23 23 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera Name Address Size Description third slope of the response curve. By default, the third slope is not used, so the default value is ADC_CALIB_MODE Set the ADC calibration mode: 0 No calibration 1 ...
- Page 24 PHOTONIS | 24 Name Address Size Description 3 dval 4 sync_x_even 5 sync_x_odd 6 line_0_sample 7 line_0_adc 8 line_0_read 9 adc_ramp_r 10 adc_ramp_s 11 adc_vtzero 12 col_init 13 col_init_off 14 ...
- Page 25 25 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera Name Address Size Description 12 DPLL_LOCKED 13 DPLL_UNDERFLOW 14 DPLL_OVERFLOW 15 VRAMP CLKMATCH Set compensation for channel-to-channel skew: 0 no compensation 254 maximum compensation Note: ‘255’ is an invalid setting...
-
Page 26: Graphical User Interface
Windows 7 is expressly provided for evaluation purposes only. This software, including any and all derivative and/or modified works, is proprietary and wholly owned by PHOTONIS USA and subject to intellectual property protection. PHOTONIS USA assumes no responsibility whatsoever for the use of the GUI software and makes no guarantees or warranties, expressed or implied, about its quality, reliability, compatibility, or any other characteristics. -
Page 27: Table 17 Installation Of The Nocturn Xl Windows Evaluation Gui
27 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera Table 17 Installation of the NOCTURN XL Windows Evaluation GUI Description Image Download the the “Win 7 Evaluation GUI” installer from the NOCTURN camera website: www.nocturncamera.com The GUI is built using National Instruments’ LabVIEW and requires the installation of the LabVIEW run time engine as well as National Instruments VISA drivers. - Page 28 Connect the camera to the USB port on the host PC. Launch the evaluation GUI: go to “Start” and under “All Programs” find the “PHOTONIS USA” directory and click on the NOCTURN XL icon. The software will start and the splash screen will appear showing the GUI version information and revision date.
-
Page 29: Gui Environment
GUI is turned on. GUI ENVIRONMENT The NOCTURN XL evaluation GUI is meant to provide a simple user interface to control some of the main features of the NOCTURN XL camera. Functions that are not implemented in the GUI can be accessed by user using any terminal emulation software. -
Page 30: Figure 6 Layout Of The Nocturn Xl Evaluation Gui
Section 3 Section 2 Section 4 Figure 6 Layout of the NOCTURN XL Evaluation GUI Setup: Synchronize AGC Settings- Synchronizes the GUI AGC control values with the camera. The GUI will automatically do this operation at power up if the camera is powered on and the COM port has been previously setup. -
Page 31: Figure 7 External Strobe Setup Window
Setup: Engineering Mode- This mode enables certain options for PHOTONIS technical personnel to provide advanced support in the event that the camera is not working properly. This option is password protected and should only be used if directed to do so by PHOTONIS personnel. - Page 32 Transfer: Update- This menu command is used to perform firmware/software updates for the NOCTURN camera. After this menu option is selected a pop out window will appear for the user to select the desired update file (file extension with *.uscr). Please refer to the NOCTURN XL user guide for further details.
-
Page 33: Figure 8 Evaluation Gui Splash Screen
Figure 9 Camera Version Information Window Contrast Controls Displays the controls for the camera contrast enhancements, convolution filters and region of interest for the histogram. Please refer to the NOCTURN XL user guide for detailed explanation of these controls. NVT 200-LC-0103... -
Page 34: Figure 10 Gui Settings Tab
| 34 SECTION 3 : CONTROLS TAB Settings Communication Port- COM port used to communicate with the NOCTURN XL camera. Baud Rate- Communication baud rate that camera is set to. By default this should be set to 115200. -
Page 35: Figure 11 Gui Main Controls Tab
35 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera Main Controls Digital Video Gamma- Adjusts the Gamma on the digital CameraLink® compatible video output channel. CL Power- Turns ON/OFF the Camera Link® Compatible video output Analog Video Gamma- Adjusts the Gamma on the analog video output channel. -
Page 36: Figure 12 Nocturn Digital Zoom Pan Axes
Pan x = -220 Pan x = 0 Pan y = -40 Pan y =0 Figure 12 NOCTURN Digital Zoom Pan Axes AGC Controls Cumulative Histogram %- Represents the upper and lower limit used in the cumulative histogram to recalculate the AGC exposure and gain values. -
Page 37: Figure 13 Gui Agc Controls Tab
37 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera Frames to Avg.- Number of frames averaged to compute AGC statistics and update both the exposure and gain settings of the sensor. Saturation Level- Bin number (on 10 bit scale) used to determine if a pixel is saturated. -
Page 38: Figure 14 Gui Contrast Controls Tab
PHOTONIS | 38 Low Gain Max. Int.- Maximum integration time value (in number of lines) used by the AGC to recalculate new exposure setting in the low gain mode. If the new calculated exposure is greater than that number, the AGC algorithm will increase the gain of the sensor. -
Page 39: Figure 15 Histogram Region Of Interest Setup
AGC and Gain parameters are adjusted to customer specific lighting and applications. For most of the product that we are putting for man portable applications (using the NOCTURN XS) we usually have three modes pre-configured: day, automatic and night. -
Page 40: Maintenance
This section covers basic maintenance that should be performed periodically by the end user. Please note that all servicing of the NOCTURN XL camera should be referred to PHOTONIS USA. Recommended periodic inspection and cleaning – It is recommend the camera be inspected and cleaned every time a lens change is performed. -
Page 41: Storage
41 | User Reference Guide NOCTURN XL Camera 2. Clean the external body of the camera, including connectors, with a dry, lint free cloth and soft brush if necessary to remove dirt, dust and debris. For caked on dirt, the cleaning cloth may be moistened with a small amount of water or Methanol. -
Page 42: Quality
Unless otherwise agreed, the Seller shall at its option repair or replace or refund the price paid for, those Nocturn XL Cameras which are proved to the Seller's reasonable satisfaction not to conform to the published specifications at the time of receipt by the Buyer or to have failed for any reason of faulty design, material or workmanship for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of delivery. - Page 43 The liability of PHOTONIS hereunder or otherwise is solely and exclusively limited to replacement, repair or credit of the purchase price, as PHOTONIS may elect, for any product which is returned by Buyer during the applicable warranty period, or services for which timely notice of defect has been given by Buyer, and which are found by PUPI to be subject to adjustment under this warranty.
Need help?
Do you have a question about the Nocturn and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers