Due to image processing standards such as USB3 and GigE Vision and their standardized GenICam programming interface, users may tend to assume that it does not matter which camera is purchased for an application and that the price is ultimately the decisive factor in the decision. On the surface, this assumption is understandable, as most manufacturers use the same standards and the same sensors. However, when it comes to setting up the camera, it quickly becomes clear that focusing purely on the price can be too short-sighted.

Wizards and 'little helpers', such as those offered by Matrix Vision, bring the keyword user-friendliness into play, as the example of the graphical tools of the 'mvImpact Acquire' driver package shows.

The industrial camera has been purchased and delivered and is now on the desk ready to be set up. If it is an industrial camera from Matrix Vision, the packaging sticker already helps with the next steps: a QR code and link take the user to a quick start guide on the website.

First contact with the camera

Depending on the camera type and operating system, the quickstart guide consists of a maximum of eight steps and aims to make a first image of the camera visible at the end. An essential element of the Quickstart Guide is the installation of the 'mvImpact Acquire' driver package. On Windows systems, the user does not have to worry about the installation; on Linux-based systems, the Matrix Vision installation script provides the same convenience: files, paths and parameters are stored, set up and set correctly.

With the 'Multi-AOI Wizard', AOIs can be defined either directly in the live image using the mouse or by simple input.

© Matrix Vision

Two basic tools are included in the installation package: 'wxPropView' can be used to parameterize the industrial camera and display live images, for example. 'mvDeviceConfigure' is used to update the firmware of the industrial camera, among other things.

To complete the quickstart guide, the first image from the camera is still missing. To do this, 'wxPropView' is started and the camera is selected. The user is then introduced to the first wizard: the 'Quick Setup Wizard'. It can be used to optimize the image quality automatically or to set the most important parameters associated with the image quality manually or via the 'Best quality' or 'Highest speed' presets. The user then returns to the main window of 'wxPropView' and receives an image with the appropriate quality.

Changing the camera parameters

To change the GigE and USB3 Vision camera parameters, 'wxPropView' accesses the generic GenICam programming interface. GenICam is an established standard based on the selector tree principle. This means that only when a 'node' parameter has been selected can the underlying 'branch' parameters be displayed. This means that the complete parameter tree is never known, but it prevents parameters from being set that do not work. However, as soon as more complex settings have to be made, this supposed advantage quickly becomes a game of patience.

The 'Sequencer Control Wizard' lists all the parameters used in the respective parameter set, making it easy to edit the individual values.

© Matrix Vision

For example, a combined image consisting of several areas of interest (AOI) can be complex to input. Until an AOI has been defined using height, width, offsets, etc., seven clicks are required, each with a reload of the parameter branch and four entries for each AOI. The same procedure for the next AOI and so on - all without a preview image. One mistake is enough and everything starts all over again; fine-tuning without notes becomes a difficult and uncomfortable undertaking.

For this reason, Matrix Vision provides users with a multi-AOI wizard. All AOIs can be selected via tabs, and the values can be adjusted using a slider or by direct input. The effects are displayed immediately in the live image. If you want even more convenience, you can also define the AOIs directly in the live image using the mouse. This functionality is also available to the 'simple' AOI wizard. Simple means that a single AOI is defined, which serves as the basis for automatic exposure, gain or white balance or which is used to perform flat-field correction.

Another option offered by GenICam is the so-called recording sequences (sequencers). A recording sequence consists of several parameter sets that are processed after a trigger event. A parameter set can, for example, contain the exposure time, gain, binning, decimation, height, width, etc. Each parameter set is also given its position in the sequence path and which parameter set is its successor. As the individual parameter sets, parameters and paths are each selectors, entering a recording sequence is the ultimate test of patience: With at least 15 possible parameters, the user has to wait for each parameter until the corresponding tree has been loaded. And the entries disappear again as soon as another parameter is selected. The 'Sequencer Control Wizard', on the other hand, lists the parameter sets as tabs, with each tab simultaneously displaying all the parameters used. These can be adjusted without reloading. Jumping back and forth through the parameter sets via the tabs makes it easier and faster to fine-tune the recording sequence.

Lookup tables

Lookup tables are intended to make optimum use of the camera dynamics, to change the image in the Bayer path or in the RGB path in the direction in which the human eye perceives light and color, or generally to adapt the image to individual conditions. GenICam also provides its own control here, which requires manual input of the values selected via selectors. The 'LUT Control Wizard' provides an overview and simplifies the input of gamma values for luminance and the individual color channels. For a better idea, the output characteristic curve is displayed as a graph. Values for each individual pixel can also be inverted or copied from one channel to the others. At the end, the settings made in the wizard are transferred back to the device.

In many medical applications, color-accurate recording and playback is crucial. The 'Color Correction Wizard' was developed for this purpose, with which three color correction matrices can be adapted: one for the sensor-specific correction coefficients, one for the color saturation and another for the selection of the color space of the display device, as monitors often use a special color space. Adapted matrices can be transferred back to the device at the end so that they can be executed directly in the device.

Different histograms and line profiles enable convenient image analysis.

© Matrix Vision

Another wizard available to 'wxPropView' is the 'Lens Control Wizard', which facilitates the operation of motorized lenses.
Control Wizard', which facilitates the operation of motorized lenses. The focus, zoom and iris can be set using a slider, as can the speed at which the changes are transmitted to the lens.

Last but not least, the image analysis area is worth mentioning: if you want to know exactly what can be seen in the image at certain points and how individual (color) values change over time, you will find histograms as well as different line profiles, either over the entire image or selected areas.

Find cameras in the network

Networks can be multifaceted. One wrong setting and a Gigabit Ethernet camera can no longer be found or can no longer perform to its full potential. The 'mvIPConfigure' tool is designed for network cameras. It helps to find cameras in the network, even if they are located in subnets or have been configured incorrectly. In both cases, the IP address and settings can be adjusted so that cameras can be reached again 'normally' via the network. In addition, the tool indicates if there are performance losses due to inadequate network settings and offers appropriate assistance. To avoid connection problems that can occur due to incorrect manual entries from the outset, 'mvIPConfigure' can automatically assign the appropriate IP addresses itself.

Ulli Lansche is a technical editor at Matrix Vision in Oppenweiler.

© Matrix vision

The 'mvImpact Acquire' driver package includes tools that check for driver or firmware updates at startup, as well as a large number of sample programming codes with common use cases that can be used as a starting point for your own applications. Sample codes are available for all supported programming languages, including C, C++, .NET, Python and Java.