Acquisition
The Acquisition pane is used to control and monitor the sensor settings, trigger position, frame synchronization mode, black reference calibration, and recording or triggering takes.
Acquisition States
The State field indicates the current acquisition state of the camera.
| State | Display Name | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Standby | STBY | In standby partition, all partitions triggered or deleted |
| Recording | REC | Actively storing frames to current partition's continuous buffer, ready for trigger |
| Triggered | TRIG | Current partition triggered, actively storing post trigger frames |
Resolution
The Resolution dropdown contains all the resolutions the camera is able to capture images at. They are listed in descending order starting with the largest resolution.
Whenever resolution is changed, the camera may automatically adjust the frame rate and exposure to be compatible.
It is possible to change the resolution when the camera is recording before it is triggered. Doing so will reset the buffer of the current partition and any recorded frames will be lost!
Frame Rate
The Frame Rate control has both a user input and dropdown containing a subset of possible frame rates for the current resolution in units of fps (frames-per-second). Clicking on the frame rate value will highlight it, indicating that it can now be edited. Any value may be entered. Clicking on the dropdown arrow will display some frame rate options for the current resolution, always including the maximum and minimum frame rate.
External Frame Sync
When the frame sync mode is set to external, the control will be disabled and display the detected frame rate. If the external frame rate exceeds the maximum allowable rate for the current resolution and/or exposure time it will turn red.
After a frame rate is entered, the camera will automatically adjust it to the nearest possible frame rate.
Whenever frame rate is changed, the camera may automatically adjust the exposure to be compatible.
Exposure Time
The Exposure Time control has both a user input and dropdown containing a subset of possible exposure times for the current frame rate in units of µs (microseconds). Clicking on the exposure time value will highlight it, indicating that it can now be edited. Any value may be entered. Clicking on the dropdown arrow will display some exposure time options for the current frame rate, always including the maximum and minimum exposure time.
After an exposure time is entered, the camera will automatically adjust it to the nearest possible exposure time.
Trigger Offset
The Trigger Offset control sets the number of post trigger frames in the current partition's frame buffer. This control has both a user input and dropdown containing a subset of possible trigger offsets for the current resolution and partition size. Clicking on the trigger offset value will highlight it, indicating that it can now be edited. Any value may be entered. Clicking on the dropdown arrow will display trigger offset options for all pre-trigger, center trigger, and all post-trigger frames.
The minimum trigger offset is 2 frames.
Frame Sync Mode
The Frame Sync Mode control sets the camera's frame sync generator source.
| Mode | Definition |
|---|---|
| Internal | Frame sync is generated internally at the frame rate setting |
| External | Frame sync is sourced from an external I/O |
When in external frame sync mode, the detected frame rate will be displayed in the frame rate control.
Black Reference Mode
The Black Ref Mode control sets the black reference calibration algorithm to use.
| Mode | Definition |
|---|---|
| Normal | Standard method for obtaining a good black reference |
| Advanced | Advanced method which results in lower-noise images |
When in external frame sync mode, the black ref mode can only be set to normal.
Use advanced black reference calibration whenever possible for the best results.
After a take is saved to the SSD or a SLOW file, the black reference mode cannot be changed
Black Reference Button
The Black Reference Button performs a new black reference calibration. During this time, live frames will be paused, and other camera actions will be queued but not executed until the calibration is complete. The process takes ~10 seconds.
New black references are needed whenever the acqusition settings for resolution, frame rate, or exposure are changed. The button will display a warning symbol as a reminder that a setting has changed which requires a new black reference.
The E9 can store up to 64 unique black references simultaneously. If all slots are utilized and a black reference is attempted, a warning will be displayed, indicating that some takes will need to be deleted to free up new slots before a new black reference can be obtained.
Record / Trigger Button
The Record / Trigger Button controls the camera's acquisition state. The button will display the action that can be taken based on the current acquisition state.
| State | Button | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Standby |  | Start recording images to next available partition |
| Recording |  | Trigger the current partition |
| Triggered |  | Stop recording post trigger frames |
Pressing the record button when all the take partitions are full will result in a warning popup. This will not overwrite any previously recorded images.
