©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL DCSG Digital Video Camera User’s Manual ©2007 Videre Design 1
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 7.5 7.6 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ...........................................................................................3 1.1 Characteristics ...............................................................................3 2 Quick Start.............................................................................................4 3 Hardware Overview...............................................................................5 3.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 1.1 1 Introduction Characteristics • Micron MT9V032 Sensor 640 x 480 maximum image size High sensitivity, low noise Low pixel cross-talk Global shutter The DCSG is a compact, low-power digital camera with an IEEE 1394 digital interface. It consists of a 640x480l, progressive scan CMOS imager and associated IEEE 1394 electronics, mounted in a rigid, milled aluminum alloy frame. • Fully synchronized – video stream is synchronized to the IEEE 1394 bus clock.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL few seconds, the images, which are initially dark, should lighten as the auto exposure mode adjusts to ambient lighting (Section 7.3). Images can be saved using the File menu. 2 Quick Start A more complete description of the video capture program is in Section 7. The DCAM programs are described in the documentation that comes with that software. It is helpful to review Section 7 in conjunction with the DCSG software documentation. The DCSG comes assembled, with 6.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL progressive mode only, that is, each line is output in succession from the full frame. 3 Hardware Overview The video stream has a maximum rate of 400 Mbps; the whole IEEE 1394 bus runs at 400 Mbps. Two or more DCSGs may operate simultaneously and send video, depending on the resolution and frame rate. Figure 3-1 shows the hardware configuration of the DCSG. The imager module has a lens holder for a C/CS mount lens.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 3.2 Color and Monochrome 3.5 The imager is either monochrome (DCSG) or color Bayer pattern (DCSGC). Output is 1 byte/pixel for either device. The Bayer pattern is converted into color information on the host computer, via routines in the DCAM software. 3.3 Multiple DCSG devices can be attached to the same IEEE 1394 bus. When streaming video at the same frame rate, they are synchronized, so that they capture images at the same time.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL PCMCIA slot. In either case, the New Hardware wizard will walk you through installation steps for the low-level drivers. You may need your MS Windows OS CD to install some files. 4 Installing the 1394 Host Card and Capture Software The DCSG must be powered from the IEEE 1394 bus. Desktop PCs supply power to the bus; laptops do not. See Section 6 for information about cabling and power for the IEEE 1394 bus.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL libdcap.so and dCamera.lib/dll are the capture libraries for Linux and MS Windows, respectively. There are several sample applications – see the DCAM Digital Camera Capture Software User’s Manual for more information.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 5.4 The F number is a measure of the light-gathering ability of a lens. The lower the F number, the better it is at pulling in light, and the better the DCSG will see in low-illumination settings. For indoor work, an F number of 1.8 is acceptable, and 1.4 is even better. For outdoors, higher F numbers are fine. C/CS mount lenses typically have adjustable iris and focus rings. 5 Lenses The DCSG uses standard C/CS mount lenses.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL Lens focal length Horizontal FOV Vertical FOV 2.8 mm 68 deg 59 deg 4.0 51 42 8.0 27 23 Table 5-1 Horizontal and vertical field of view for different lens focal lengths.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL Any 1394 card is suitable, as long as it conforms to OHCI (open host controller interface) specifications. All current cards do, but some older cards may not. 6 1394 Interface Digital image information is transferred from the DCSG/-C to the host PC via a 1394 cable. The cable sends video streams from the camera to the PC, and send commands from the PC to the camera to control exposure, subsampling, etc. The cable also supplies power to the camera. 6.1 6.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL PC Card with power port IEEE 1394 hub with power port IEEE 1394 Cables IEEE 1394 Cables IEEE 1394 Cable to PC Power – 12 VDC, >150 A Power – 12 VDC, >150 A Figure 6-1 External power supply connections. On the left is power supplied to a PC Card with a power port. On the right, power is supplied through a hub with a power port. Power should be 7 to 16 VDC, at > 2 W. Check the PC Card or hub for the type of power connector.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL the color information is sampled at a lower resolution than a similar noncolorized camera samples monochrome information. In general, a color camera has about ¼ the spatial resolution of a similar monochrome camera. For 320x240 frame sizes, binning is performed by the DCAM software. 7 User Controls The CMOS imagers are fully controllable via the 1394 interface.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL additional amplification of the video signal, for low-light situations. It is settable from 0 to 18 dB (1x to 8x). Sampling allows the video stream to send less data, for faster frame rates or less bus activity. A sampled image shows the same scene as the original image, but it uses fewer pixels to do so, and has less detail. Digitization control can operate in either manual or automatic mode. Refer to Figure 7-1 for the controls in the video capture program.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL transferred on the IEEE 1394 bus, then binned down. The binning is coloraware for the DCSG-C, so that pixels of like color are combined. 7.5 Frame Rates Frame rates from the DCSG/-C depend on the frame size. Table 4 shows the frame rates available for each of the frame sizes. Note that a 50 Hz option is available – see Section 3.4. Sampling differs from subwindowing, which picks a rectangular portion of the image, but doesn’t change its resolution.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL This ability may be useful for some special applications, such as alignment of several cameras. The vertical offset is adjusted using the Voff parameter in the firmware dialog. Figure 7-3 Firmware parameters dialog.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 8 Interface Software API Please see the DCAM Digital Camera Capture Software User’s Manual for information about the software API for capturing and saving images.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 9 Physical Diagram Dimensions and larger hole is threaded for a ¼-20 machine screw (standard tripod mounting screw). The two smaller holes are threaded for 6-32 machine screws. These holes are on the top and the bottom of each camera module. Mounting The diagram below shows the physical dimensions for the DCSG/-C.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL Linux kernel 2.4, 2.6 MSW 98SE, ME, 2000 and XP DCAM software 10 Technical Specifications 10.1 Specifications Imagers 1/3” format CMOS (Micron MT9V032) 640x480 active area Progressive scan Color or monochrome Digital Camera Specification Version 1.30 Formats 640x480, 320x240 8 bit monochrome or Bayer color pattern Frame Rates 3.75, 7.5, 15, 30, 60 Hz 3.125, 6.5, 12.5, 25, 50 Hz Exposure 1 line time to full frame Gain 0 – 18 dB Sensitivity 4.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 10.3 Imager Response – Monochrome 10.
©2007 VIDERE DESIGN DCSG USER’S MANUAL 11 Technical Support For technical support, please contact Videre Design by email or FAX. Videre Design 865 College Avenue Menlo Park, CA 94025 Fax: (650)323-3646 Email: support@videredesign.
