background image

www.qimaging.com

  

©2014 QImaging. All rights reserved.  QI_OPTIMOS_UM_Rev_A0 

18

optiMOS USER MANUAL

CHAPTER 4

TROUBLESHOOTING 

Resolving Problems with the Camera

Computer Does Not Recognize Newly Installed Camera

Confirm that the latest PVCAM camera driver was installed on the computer AFTER the high speed PCIe data 
card was installed in the computer. Also make sure the computer meets the minimum system configuration 
requirements to run the optiMOS. Confirm that the camera’s power switch is set to the On position. 

Assuming all of these requirements are met, try powering off the camera and the host computer and check 
 all system connections. Restart. If a “New Hardware Found” dialog box still does not appear, contact 
QImaging Support. 
 

IMPORTANT: Ensure the supplied PCIe data card is installed BEFORE installing PVCAM

Application Hang When Streaming

If a software application freezes while the optiMOS is acquiring an image, in some instances, simply closing 
and re-launching the application may not resolve the problem. In this situation, a complete computer shut 
down then power up is required. This is needed to restart the communication between the host PC and 
the optiMOS. Depending on the software application used, please contact either QImaging Support or the 
respective software company’s support line to report the issue.  

Images Not Displayed

If no images appear:

 

Confirm that the camera’s power switch is set to the On position.

 

Confirm that the optiMOS camera is selected in your imaging software application.

 

Power off the camera and the host computer and check all system connections. Restart.

 

Confirm that the camera is operational by taking an image with a standard C-mount lens attached 
to your optiMOS. Using normal room lighting, place the camera on a table about three meters 
away from an object and acquire an image.

 

If the camera is powered on and recognized by the computer and still is not able to capture an 
images, please contact QImaging Support. 

Summary of Contents for OptiMOS Series

Page 1: ...U S E R M A N U A L www QIMAGING com ...

Page 2: ...oduct names mentioned in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of QImaging or other hardware software or service providers and are used herein for identification purposes only Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks in the U S and other countries of Microsoft Corporation and are used herein for identification purposes only QImaging Corporation Address Information 19535 5...

Page 3: ... to purchase Available for all QImaging cameras the Extended Product Warranty Plan includes parts and labor and is available in one year increments up to five years When you purchase an Extended Product Warranty Plan from QImaging you are assured of our commitment to minimizing down times Your needs are our top priority and QImaging responds immediately The QImaging Service and Support team is foc...

Page 4: ...www qimaging com 2014 QImaging All rights reserved QI_OPTIMOS_UM_Rev_A0 optiMOS USER MANUAL optiMOS CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY ...

Page 5: ...nts 4 Camera Power Requirements 5 Install the High Speed PCIe Board 5 Install the Camera Driver 6 Connect the Camera 7 USING YOUR optiMOS CAMERA 9 Imaging Software 9 Basic Camera Parameters 9 Exposure Time 9 Rolling Shutter 9 Gain 11 Clearing Mode 11 Regions of Interest ROI 13 Digital Binning 13 Device Synchronization 13 Hardware Triggering Modes 14 Expose Out Behaviors 15 TROUBLESHOOTING 18 Resol...

Page 6: ...rading off on resolution or sensitivity Offered as the affordable sCMOS solution optiMOS brings the advantages of low noise and high speed imaging to a broader range of cell biology applications This manual describes the installation and configuration procedures for your new optiMOS Scientific CMOS camera Descriptions of the recommended optiMOS camera settings are also included System Components Y...

Page 7: ...r serviceable parts inside the optiMOS camera Opening the camera voids the warranty Use only the integrated data interface cables and power supply designated for this camera system Using non optiMOS cables or power supplies may result in permanent damage to your system Do not use a C mount lens that has optics that extend behind the flange of the lens Environmental Conditions for Operation and Sto...

Page 8: ... Handheld cans are not recommended as they may spray propellant onto the window Do not touch the window Repair The optiMOS camera system contains no user serviceable parts Repairs must be completed by QImaging Should your camera system need repair contact QImaging Support Please save the original packing materials so you can safely ship the camera system to another location or return it for repair...

Page 9: ...S camera must include at a minimum Windows 7 operating system 64 bits 2 0 GHz or faster Intel processor either Xeon or Core i7 4 GB RAM 250 GB serial ATA SATA HDD and or 64 GB solid state drive SDD for high speed imaging and storage 256 MB slot based ATI NVIDIA video graphics card i e not an onboard integrated graphics adapter USB drive or internet access to install the driver At least 1 available...

Page 10: ...ith a 16 bit output the data rate of the optiMOS is significantly higher than traditional CCD cameras At 420MB s the optiMOS requires a more powerful data transfer interface than the frequently used USB or FireWire interfaces For that reason the optiMOS is supplied with a proprietary High Speed PCIe card that is capable of sustaining the bandwidth requirements of the camera Before doing anything w...

Page 11: ...en slot The card should slide into place with minimal resistance and snap when fully inserted 6 Once installed close computer case plug in power supply and power on the desktop The computer is now ready to install the camera s drivers 2 Install the Camera Driver In order for optiMOS to communicate with the host PC the camera s device drivers PVCAM must first be installed Before connecting the came...

Page 12: ...he interface port located on the back of the camera 2 Connect the optiMOS power supply cable to the power supply port located on the back of the camera Your optiMOS camera is powered by the 9V 8 33A power supply provided by QImaging Lastly plug the power supply s cord into an appropriate 110V 220V power source Note Make sure the camera s power switch is set to the Off position and then connect the...

Page 13: ...r connector provides multiple I O signals that allow highly precise synchronization with external hardware components such as light sources and motorized microscope stages via TTL signals Information on how to set up and configure the optiMOS camera for hardware triggering can be found in the next chapter of this manual ...

Page 14: ...exposure time should be adjusted to a level that achieves the shortest integration time possible while still maintaining sufficient SNR Rolling Shutter Image sensors typically operate in one of two readout modes Global Shutter or Rolling Shutter Traditional CCD cameras use a global shutter mode where every pixel exposes at the same instant in time and is then digitized in sequence by a single ADC ...

Page 15: ...le high frame rates have advantages for some applications there is the potential for spatial distortions and added complexity when attempting to synchronize with other external devices To maintain the low noise and speed advantages of rolling shutter but also achieve a distortion free global shutter exposure custom triggering modes are implemented in the optiMOS These triggering modes allow rapid ...

Page 16: ... optiMOS combines these two 11 bit gains to a single 16 bit gain that is mapped to the 30 000e full well of the camera The result is a single 1x gain of approximately 0 5e ADU With this combined gain the original high gain represents the first 2 096 ADUs 1 000e while the original low gain is extrapolated out to represent the remaining 63 439 ADUs 29 000e This extrapolation linearizes the low and t...

Page 17: ... 10ms exposure times even when running in an overlap mode with a 100fps frame rate For that reason no other clearing modes are required The following waveforms show how the overlap behavior of Clear Pre Sequence functions for the optiMOS camera Sensor Clear Trigger Input Signal Overlap Frame Exposure Historical PVCAM CCD cameras had multiple clearing modes that determined the timing and frequency ...

Page 18: ...ame rates while reducing the number of columns will have no effect Frame rates above 1000 fps are expected to be achievable from ROIs with less than 100 rows Digital Binning True hardware binning on a CCD is the process of summing charge together from multiple adjacent pixels before digitizing the signal The result is an increase in the signal to noise ratio and frame rate but at the expense of re...

Page 19: ...the optiMOS and is a software triggering mode This means the software application initiates the start of a sequence of acquisitions Once initiated each frame capture in the sequence is controlled by the internal timing generators of the camera Camera settings expose out behavior and sequence size is set in the software application prior to acquiring the sequence Timed mode is used when synchroniza...

Page 20: ...tes it does not avoid the overlap due to rolling shutter This mode is not recommended if trying to alternate between excitation wavelengths Trigger Ready Trigger In Frame Exposure Expose Any Row Expose Out I O signal leaving the camera is high when any row in a single frame is exposing The length of the Expose Out signal is equal to the time between the start of the first row s exposure and the en...

Page 21: ...d for each row to start exposing approximately 10ms This allows high camera frame rates while eliminating rolling shutter artifacts and channel overlap providing an effective global shutter with the speed and low noise benefits of rolling shutter This mode is recommended for synchronizing camera with alternating excitation wavelengths for high speed multi color fluorescence In this mode user defin...

Page 22: ...posure Row 1 Expose Out Any Row Expose Out All Row Expose Out Expose Frame Time Expose Frame Time Expose Frame Time From this comparison the following conditions can be defined for each expose out behavior First Row Expose Any Row Expose All Row Expose Expose Frame Time Yes Yes No Expose Frame Time Yes Yes Yes 100FPS Full Frame Yes No Yes Exposure Overlap Yes No Yes Simulated Global Shutter No No ...

Page 23: ...es while the optiMOS is acquiring an image in some instances simply closing and re launching the application may not resolve the problem In this situation a complete computer shut down then power up is required This is needed to restart the communication between the host PC and the optiMOS Depending on the software application used please contact either QImaging Support or the respective software ...

Page 24: ...uirements and you are still having issues please contact QImaging Support PVCAM Error Message Appears If a PVCAM error message appears please note the message s number code and contact QImaging Support Camera Running Too Warm It is normal for the camera to be slightly warm to the touch while in operation However if the camera is more than slightly warm to the touch and at least one inch of space h...

Page 25: ...and fill out a support form online E mail support qimaging com with complete details of your problem including Error Message and Code if possible camera model computer hardware configuration and operating system Call one of QImaging s regional support offices at the appropriate number below To assist you better and to quickly resolve the issue it is recommended that you are at your computer during...

Page 26: ...CIFICATIONS Camera Dimensions Front A A 0 0 Camera Dimensions Bottom 4 93in 125 2mm 3 00in 76 2mm BOTH SIDES 2 44in 61 9mm BOTH SIDES Additional Camera Measurements Dimensions 97 8 mm x 125 2 mm x 178 5 mm Camera weight 1 72 kg Optical interface 1 C mount optical format Mounting hole thread size 1 4 20 thread ...

Page 27: ...ctors on Back of Camera 3 850 4 930 BOTTOM TOP Power Supply Specifications IMPORTANT Only operate the optiMOS camera with the power supply provided by QImaging Voltage output 9 V DC 8 33 A Voltage input 100 240 V 50 60 Hz 1 AC Ground Return 2 AC Ground Return 3 AC Ground Return 4 9V 5 AC Ground Return ...

Page 28: ...OUNT RING 0 71in 0 55in 18 1mm 14 1mm FOCAL PLANE SECTION A A SCALE 1 1 1MM FUSED SILICA WINDOW IMAGE SURFACE CCD Sensor Specifications Image type Monochrome Scientific CMOS Dimensions 12 48mm x 7 02mm 14 3mm diagonal Resolution 1920 x 1080 2 1 MP Pixel size 6 5µm x 6 5µm Single pixel full well 30 000e Peak QE 57 600nm Readout frequency 283MHz Cooling 0 C stabilized ...

Page 29: ... 90 counter clockwise to match the view seen through the eyepiece This is due to the differences in the optical paths between inverted side ports and upright top ports I O Connector Pinout The I O Input Output Status connector provides information about trigger function DAC and TTL signals Inputs must be at least 3 15 V for a high and less than 0 9 V for a low The numbers on the I O connector diag...

Page 30: ...www qimaging com tel 1 800 874 9789 support qimaging com 2014 QImaging All rights reserved QI_OPTIMOS_UM_Rev_A0 ...

Reviews: