User guide

6: Setting Up & Configuring a Capture Station
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revision 143
test picture. Label this “test 1, all lights”. From here we will adjust the room
environments lighting and make minor adjustments to the iris if needed while
continuing to save the sample captures at (test 2, test 3 etc.).
Steps to improving capture quality:
1. Turn on all the lights in the room.
2. Open the Capture dialog and center on a test subject with the camera.
3. Adjust the iris all the way down, and then adjust it until the screen image is
about the same brightness as the real viewable image.
4. Set the White Balance. (Set the selector switch on the back of the camera to
WB. Hold a white piece of paper in front of the camera so there is only white
showing on the screen. Using the arrows on the back of the camera adjust the
white balance until the image in the capture window is white.)
5. Take a test picture. Save this as a cardholder labeled “Test1: all lights”.
6. Turn off all the lights.
7. Take another picture. Save this as a cardholder labeled “Test2: no lights”.
8. Continue testing until a desired lighting quality is captured on the screen. Be
sure to label each test with a number and a description of what you did.
Adjust your environments based on the environmental considerations below.
Continue to take pictures, save them, and use them as references until the best
conditions are determined.
Environmental Considerations and Factors Leading to
Poor Lighting
Environmental factors to consider when setting up a capture station include:
• Is there a different amount of sunlight entering the area through out the day?
• Is the station next to a window or under a skylight?
• Are the wall colors dark or light or bright colors? If they are light they will
reflect more light or change your white balance setup.
• Is the ceiling low or cathedral like? The lower the ceiling the more light will
reflect.
• What types of lights are used in the room? Incandescent or florescent (cool
white or colored) or direct spots?
• Is there any direct lighting of the subject? Is the room evenly illuminated?
Direct lighting will over expose the subject.
• What is the color of reflective shields around the lights? For example, gold
reflective surface shields illuminate the subject in yellow highlights.
This is just a partial list of possible factors leading to poor image lighting quality.
There may be other features of your site that will affect the image capture that
may need to be considered.