The following is an overview of the Controls tab of captureOEM.
Camera Select
The camera select drop down allows you to select the camera you are controlling. Once you've selected a camera, the controls will reflect the current setting for the selected camera. This might take a few seconds.
Video Preview
The video preview buttons allow you to start, stop and pause the incoming video stream, similar to what you would see on a DVD player.
Exposure
Click on the "Exposure Time" slider and drag to the desired exposure time setting, or enter the setting in the box provided. To have the camera determine the exposure time, click the One Time Auto button and it will calculate a reasonable exposure time based on the average intensity of the image.
Select the ‘Continuous’ check box to have the camera autonomously adjust the exposure to accommodate varying lighting conditions of the target.
To set Auto Limits, set exposure time (using the slider or text box), and then click Set Auto Limit to set that value as the lower or upper limit. When both limits are set, One Time or Continuous Auto exposure will choose an exposure time within those limits. Setting auto exposure limits can speed up auto exposure operation, as the long exposures in particular can make the auto exposure iterations rather lengthy.
Please note:, this feature is firmware dependant, and may require updating to the latest camera firmware. Firmware can be updated in Windows using the Camera Update Wizard.
Auto Exposure is normally performed on the current ROI; However AutoROI can instead be used to perform auto exposure over a specified AutoROI, instead of the full ROI. For more information about this feature, see: Auto ROI tab - captureOEM for Linux, and Auto ROI.
For API control of this feature, see: Shutter (Exposure Time).
Gamma
The Gamma setting controls the contrast in the image by translating pixel values according to a logarithmic curve. A value of one is a linear translation. Higher or lower values of Gamma will result in missing codes in the image histogram. Check the "Gamma" [On] box to enable Gamma, and click on the slider and drag to the desired setting, or enter the setting in the box provided.
For API control of this feature, see: Gamma
Gain
Click on the "Gain" slider and drag to the desired gain setting, or enter the setting in the box provided.
Click on "One Time" to allow the camera to search for the best gain setting for the current image. And select the 'Continuous' check box to have the camera autonomously adjust the gain to accommodate varying lighting conditions of the target.
Note: Gain has the effect of increasing both the video signal including the noise. Be careful when using this command. It is always preferable to increase the amount of light entering the camera. Use gain only for light starved applications.
Auto Gain is normally performed on the current ROI; However AutoROI can instead be used to perform auto gain over a specified AutoROI, instead of the full ROI. For more information about this feature, see: Auto ROI tab - captureOEM for Linux, and Auto ROI.
For API control of this feature, see: Gain
Color Temperature (Color Cameras Only)
The "Colour Temp." {K} allows the user to select the required temperature setting in correlation to the light source being used. It is recommended that if the user wishes to use this setting that it be set before the white balance is performed.
Check "Color Temp." (K) [On] box if required, click on the slider and drag to the desired color temperature, or enter the setting in the box provided.
For API control of this feature, see: White Balance (Color Temperature)
Saturation (Color Cameras Only)
Click on the "Saturation" slider and drag to the desired saturation setting, or enter the setting in the box provided. A saturation value of 0 places converts the image monochrome, Increasing the slider increase the vibrance of the image
For API control of this feature, see: Saturation
White Balance (Color Cameras Only)
The "White Balance" setting allows the user to control the individual red, green and blue channel gains, so that non standard colour balance can be achieved. The "Auto" feature will attempt to white balance the gains (match the histogram peaks of each colour channel) based on the image data in the current ROI.
Direct the camera so that the object you wish to be "considered" as white is in the field of view, click on "Auto" under White Balance (this action will take a few seconds to complete)
Auto White Balance is normally performed on the current ROI; However AutoROI can instead be used to perform a white balance over a specified AutoROI, instead of the full ROI. For more information about this feature, see: Auto ROI tab - captureOEM for Linux, and Auto ROI.
For API control of this feature, see: White Shading
High Dynamic Range (HDR Cameras Only)
For cameras that support HDR (High Dynamic Range) use the "High Dynamic Range" selection box to select the desired HDR mode. "Disabled" will disable HDR. "Camera Mode" will apply the HDR image improvement algorithm on the camera. "Interleaved Mode" will have the camera send an image composed of the light and dark versions of the image captured by the camera, side by side.
For API control of this feature, see: Gain HDR