Q Imaging Retiga R Series, User Manual

Page 1: ...U S E R M A N U A L DIGITAL IMAGING MADE EASY www QIMAGING com ...

Page 2: ...gistered trademark of Roper Scientific Inc Product 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 QIm...

Page 3: ...ble for all QImaging cameras currently under warranty the Extended Product Warranty Plan includes parts and labor and is available for an additional three year period to extend your warranty 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 ...

Page 4: ...www qimaging com 2016 QImaging All rights reserved QI_Retiga R Series Camera_UM_Rev_A5 RETIGA R SERIES USER MANUAL Retiga R Series Certificate of Conformity ...

Page 5: ...5 Connect the Camera 5 Note on Selecting the Optimal USB 3 0 Port 6 Note on Optimum Mounting of QI Retiga R Series Cameras 8 USING YOUR QI Retiga R Series Camera 9 Imaging Software 9 Basic Camera Parameters 9 Exposure Time 9 Gain State 9 Sensor Cooling 10 Clearing Mode 10 ROI Binning 11 Device Synchronization 11 Trigger First Mode 11 Bulb Mode 12 Recommended Initial Settings 13 Embedded Image Proc...

Page 6: ...Series Cameras utilizes a USB 3 0 data connection for a fast and easy installation while maintaining backwards compatibility for USB 2 0 at reduced data rates for use with a variety of host computers This manual describes the installation and configuration procedures for your new QI Retiga R Series camera Descriptions of QI Retiga R Series camera settings are also included Any differences between ...

Page 7: ...Retiga R Series camera Opening the camera voids the warranty Use only the USB 3 0 interface cables and power supply designated for this camera system Using non QI Retiga R Series 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 Storage Your QI Retiga ...

Page 8: ...rce Handheld cans are not recommended as they may spray propellant onto the window Do not touch the window Repair The QI Retiga R Series camera system contains no user serviceable parts Repairs must be done 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 f...

Page 9: ...ies camera must include Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating system 64 bits 2 0 GHz or faster Intel processor either Xeon or Core i5 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 port or Internet access to install the driver At least one USB 3 ...

Page 10: ...Note that limited support for 64 bit x86 and ARM Linux is available upon request Contact QImaging customer service for more information After completing the PVCAM installation restart your PC when prompted by the wizard For advanced users wishing to use the camera in a custom programming environment the PVCAM Software Development Kit is available on the QImaging website NOTE Supplemental PVCAM ins...

Page 11: ...pply s cable to the power connector located on the back of the camera Your Retiga R Series camera is powered by the 12V 5A or greater power supply provided by QImaging Lastly plug the power supply s cord into an appropriate power source 3 Optional An optional I O connector is available on your camera for optional hardware triggering The I O connector provides multiple I O signals that allow highly...

Page 12: ...oot Hub Determining which USB root hub your camera is connected to is discussed below Each USB host controller has a Root Hub to which multiple physical ports are connected Each port can have a device plugged in or another hub to allow connection of more devices However the QI Retiga R Series camera should be the only device connected to a single USB Root Hub If other devices are connected to the ...

Page 13: ...l camera performance Note on Optimum Mounting of QI Retiga R Series Cameras It is important to maintain a minimum of 1 clearance on the vented sides of the QI RETIGA camera to allow proper air flow removing heat generated by Thermoelectric Cooling of the sensor Blocking this air flow will impede the camera s ability to cool and may cause the camera to overheat While the camera has thermal shutdown...

Page 14: ... by the sensor and a better signal to noise ratio SNR is achieved The exposure time should be adjusted to a level that achieves the shortest integration time possible while still maintaining sufficient SNR For color R Series cameras there is an autoexposure feature in Ocular that will compute the optimal exposure time with a single click Gain State Gain with regards to cameras is defined as the co...

Page 15: ...e Clearing for the clearing mode of the camera This allows the sensor to clear accumulated charge before the start of each exposure The following waveforms show how Non Overlap mode functions The main benefit of Non Overlap mode is that there are no limitations imposed upon the exposure time and the set exposure time is the actual exposure time The tradeoff for this accuracy is the frame rate as e...

Page 16: ...camera offers several methods of hardware synchronization via TTL signals with external devices including function generators light sources shutters and filters Each camera has an I O connector pin out functions are described in the specifications chapter on the back for trigger in out and various TTL input and output operations An optional cable is available to access primary signals such as Trig...

Page 17: ... Triggers received while Trigger Ready is low are ignored For a sequence of one frame Strobe mode and Trigger first mode are the same Non Overlap mode is shown on the left Overlap mode is shown on the right Bulb Mode In this mode each frame in the sequence requires a trigger The camera exposes for the duration the trigger signal is high Exposure time entered into the software is not used in this m...

Page 18: ...MANUAL Recommended Initial Settings Initial settings for microscopic imaging available options depend on application software 14 bits Gain State 2 30 msec exposure time Clear Pre Exposure Clear count 2 Display gamma of 1 Full frame no ROI Binned 2x2 for live preview to increase frame rate Binned 1x1 for capture ...

Page 19: ...ture When Defective Pixel Correction is enabled the signal in each defect location is replaced by the average of the pixel immediately preceding and following the defect The QI Retiga camera can store up to 2048 defects locations The factory default method for determining defective hot pixels is to take a pair of 10 minute dark images After removing the bias offset the 1800 hottest pixels are sele...

Page 20: ...ing Support Images Not Displayed If no images appear Confirm that the camera s power is on Confirm that the correct QI Retiga R Series 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 QI Retiga R Series ca...

Page 21: ...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 has been left around the camera housing switch off the camera immediately and contact QImaging Support If the camera has become hot due to having cooling blocked move the camera to allow free air flow Contact QImaging ...

Page 22: ...om contact and fill out a support form online 3 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 4 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 ...

Page 23: ...www qimaging com 2016 QImaging All rights reserved QI_Retiga R Series Camera_UM_Rev_A5 18 RETIGA R SERIES USER MANUAL CHAPTER 6 SPECIFICATIONS Camera Dimensions Front Camera Dimensions Bottom ...

Page 24: ...cal interface 1 C mount optical format Mounting hole thread size 1 4 20 thread located near front of camera Connectors on Back of Camera Power Supply Specifications IMPORTANT Only operate the QI Retiga R Series camera with the power supply provided by QImaging For applications requiring use of instrumentation supplied power please contact your QImaging Customer Support for advice Voltage output 7 ...

Page 25: ...n be read entirely from one common output for all pixels as is the case of typical CCD sensors or from 2 or more outputs in parallel to achieve greater frame rates When operating in USB3 0 mode 50 MHz digitization is accomplished on the QI Retiga camera by reading the sensor out of two ports in parallel each running at 25 MHz pixel rates for a net 50 MHz When operating out of a single port as in t...

Page 26: ... least 3 15 V for a high and less than 0 9 V for a low The I O trigger cable connects to Hirose connector HR212 10P 10PC on the back of the camera Below is a description of each of the trigger pins The numbers on the I O connector diagram correspond to the numbers given to the definition of each of the pins Pin Signal Pin Signal 1 Ground 5 Expose Out 2 Ground 6 Trigger In 3 Shutter Output 7 No Con...

Page 27: ...ound system digital ground Types of triggering supported by the QI Retiga R Series Camera Trigger first Mode Overlap Non Overlap Strobe Mode Overlap Non Overlap Bulb Mode Non Overlap Five shutter behavior modes are available Open Never Shutter is always closed Open Pre Exposure Open before every exposure closed when not exposing Open Pre Sequence Open before start of sequence closed at end of sequ...

Page 28: ...www qimaging com tel 1 800 874 9789 support qimaging com QI_Retiga R Series Camera_UM_Rev_A5 www qimaging com ...

Page 29: ...DIGITAL IMAGING MADE EASY www qimaging com tel 1 800 874 9789 support qimaging com 2016 QImaging All rights reserved ...