New IDS uEye XLE camera family

IDS XLE

The IDS uEye XLE family is now available to 1stVision customers.  These versatile cameras are designed for high-volume price-sensitive projects needing basic functions without special features.  Suitable applications include but are not limited to manufacturing, metrology, traffic, and agriculture.

IDS Imaging XLE camera
IDS uEye XLE board-level and housed options

Thanks to different housing variants, extremely compact dimensions and modern USB3 Vision interface, uEye XLE cameras can be easily integrated into any image processing system.  Housing variants include housed and board-level, with different lens mount options.

Currently there are 10 family members, each available with monochrome or color CMOS sensors, from 2 – 5MPixel.  Cameras have excellent low-light performance, thanks to BSI “Back Side Illumination” pixel technology.

With a USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface, all XLE models communicate via the USB3 Vision protocol, and are 100 percent GenICam-compliant.  So you may easily operate and program the cameras with the IDS peak SDK, as well as other industry-standard software.

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1st Vision’s sales engineers have an average of 20 years experience to assist in your camera selection.  Representing the largest portfolio of industry leading brands in imaging components, we can help you design the optimal vision solution for your application.

About Us | 1stVision

1st Vision is the most experienced distributor in the U.S. of machine vision cameras, lenses, frame grabbers, cables, lighting, and software in the industry.

11 and 86Mpixel Teledyne DALSA Falcon 4 cameras

Falcon4 cameras

Teledyne DALSA’s Falcon4-CLHS cameras are now available to 1stVision customers.  The state-of-the-art in the Falcon series, there are both 11Mpixel and 86Mpixel models, each using CLHS to achieve stunning frame rates.  This can enable new applications not previously possible, or next-gen solutions with a single camera, where previously two or more were needed – greatly simplifying implementation.

This 11MPixel camera, available in two monochrome variants, offers a global shutter sensor, a wide field of view to 4480 pixels wide, and up to 609fps at full resolution. 

Teledyne Dalsa Falcon 4
Teledyne DALSA Falcon4 cameras

Popular applications for the 11Mpixel models include:

  • Machine Vision
  • Robotics
  • Factory Automation Inspection
  • Motion Tracking and Analysis
  • Electronic Inspection
  • High Speed 3D imaging

If your application requires even more resolution, Teledyne DALSA’s Falcon 4-CLHS 86M also uses a global shutter 86Mpixel CMOS sensor, and up to 16fps.  Also a monochrome sensor, it shows good responsivity into the NIR spectrum.

Falcon 4- CLHS 86MP
Aerial imaging

Applications for the 86Mpixel camera include:

  • Aerial Imaging
  • Reconnaissance
  • Security and Surveillance
  • 3D Metrology
  • Flat Panel Display Inspection
Contact us

1st Vision’s sales engineers have an average of 20 years experience to assist in your camera selection.  Representing the largest portfolio of industry leading brands in imaging components, we can help you design the optimal vision solution for your application.

About Us | 1stVision

1st Vision is the most experienced distributor in the U.S. of machine vision cameras, lenses, frame grabbers, cables, lighting, and software in the industry.

Spatial resolution is an essential machine vision concept

image sensor

Spatial resolution is determined by the number of pixels in a CMOS or CCD sensor array.  While generally speaking “more is better”, what really matters is slightly more complex than that.  One needs to know enough about the dimensions and characteristics of the real-world scene at which a camera is directed; and one must know about the smallest feature(s) to be detected.

Choosing the right sensor requires understanding spatial resolution

The sensor-coverage fit of a lens is also relevant.  As is the optical quality of the lensLighting also impacts the quality of the image. Yada yada.

But independent of lens and lighting, a key guideline is that each minimal real-world feature to be detected should appear in a 3×3 pixel grid in the image.  So if the real-world scene is X by Y meters, and the smallest feature to be detected is A by B centimeters, assuming the lens is matched to the sensor and the scene, it’s just a math problem to determine the number of pixels required on the sensor.

There is a comprehensive treatment how to calculate resolution in this short article, including a link there to a resolution calculator. Understanding these concepts will help you to design an imaging system that has enough capacity to solve your application, while not over-engineering a solution – enough is enough.

Finally, the above guideline is for monochrome imaging, which to the surprise of newcomers to the field of machine vision, is often more better than color, for effective and cost-efficient outcomes.  Certainly some applications are dependent upon color.  The guideline for color imaging is that the minimal feature should occupy a 6×6 pixel grid.

If you’d like someone to double-check your calculations, or to prepare the calculations for you, and to recommend sensor, camera and optics, and/or software, the sales engineers at 1stVision have the expertise to support you. Give us some brief idea of your application and we will contact you to discuss camera options.

Contact us

1st Vision’s sales engineers have an average of 20 years experience to assist in your camera selection.  Representing the largest portfolio of industry leading brands in imaging components, we can help you design the optimal vision solution for your application.

About Us | 1stVision

1st Vision is the most experienced distributor in the U.S. of machine vision cameras, lenses, frame grabbers, cables, lighting, and software in the industry.

What can multifield linescan imaging do for me?

Multifield imaging is a new imaging technology that enables capturing multiple images simultaneously at various lighting conditions e.g. brightfield, darkfield, and backlight in a single scan. It’s a variation on the concept of sequence modes. Teledyne Dalsa Linea HS is the industry’s first TDI camera capable of capturing up to three images using light sources at different wavelengths.

OK, cool.  How does that help me?  How does it differ from other imaging methods?  What applications can it solve that couldn’t be tackled before?

Backlight, Darkfield, and Brightfield images of same target

Perhaps a quick review of area scan imaging and conventional linescan imaging will help set the stage:

Area scan cameras are most intuitive, creating in one exposure a rectangular array of pixels corresponding to an entire scene or field of view.T hat’s ideal for many types of machine vision imaging, if the target fits wholly in the field of view, and if the lighting, lens, and image processing can best achieve the desired outcome at an optimal price point.

But linescan imaging is sometimes a better choice, especially for continuous-flow applications, where there is no discrete start and end point, in one dimension.  Linescan systems can capture an image “slice” that is enough pixels wide to make effective imaging computations, and, where required, to archive those images, using fewer active pixels and reducing sensor costs compared to area scan.  Other benefits include high sensitivity and the ability to image fast moving materials without the need for expensive strobe lighting.

Understanding line scan applications: concepts still relevant!

… so much for the review session.  So, what can multifield linescan imaging do for me?  Multifield capable linescan cameras bring all the benefits of conventional linescan imaging, but additionally deliver the perspectives of monochrome, HDR, color/multispectral (NIR), and polarization views.   This can enable machine vision solutions not previously possible, or solutions at more attractive price points, for a diverse range of applications.

Multifield imaging is a new imaging technology that enables capturing multiple images simultaneously at various lighting conditions e.g. brightfield, darkfield, and backlight in a single scan.

Consider OLED display inspection, for example. Traditionally an automated inspection system would have required multiple passes, one each with backlight, darkfield, and brightfield lighting conditions. With a multifield solution, all three image types may be acquired in a single pass, greatly improving throughput and productivity.

Flat panel glass is inspected at every stage of manufacturing

So how is multifield imaging achieved? In this blog we’re more focused on applications. For those new to Time Delay and Integration (TDI), it is the  concept of accumulating multiple exposures of the same (moving) object, effectively increasing the integration time available to collect incident light. The key technology for a multifield linescan camera is the sensor uses advanced wafer-level coated dichroic filters with minimum spectral crosstalk to spectrally isolate three images captured by separate TDI arrays, i.e. wavelength division multifield imaging.

Multifield images on one sensor using filters to isolate wavelengths

This new technology significantly boosts system throughput as it eliminates the need of multiple scans. It also improves detectability as multiple images at different lighting conditions are captured simultaneously with minimum impact from mechanical vibration.

1stVision is pleased to offer our customers a multifield linescan camera from Teledyne Dalsa, the HL-HF-16K13T: https://www.1stvision.com/cameras/models/Teledyne-DALSA/HL-HF-16K13T

Contact 1stVision for support and / or pricing.

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Give us some brief idea of your application and we will contact you to discuss camera options.

1st Vision’s sales engineers have an average of 20 years experience to assist in your camera selection.  Representing the largest portfolio of industry leading brands in imaging components, we can help you design the optimal vision solution for your application.