Basler ace User manual

Basler ace
QUICK INSTALLATION GUIDE
Document Number: AW000897
Version: 02 Language: 000 (English)
Release Date: 10 March 2010

For customers in the U.S.A.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used
in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
You are cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could
void your authority to operate this equipment.
The shielded interface cable recommended in this manual must be used with this equipment in
order to comply with the limits for a computing device pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules.
For customers in Canada
This apparatus complies with the Class A limits for radio noise emissions set out in Radio
Interference Regulations.
Pour utilisateurs au Canada
Cet appareil est conforme aux normes Classe A pour bruits radioélectriques, spécifiées dans le
Règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique.
Life Support Applications
These products are not designed for use in life support appliances, devices, or systems where
malfunction of these products can reasonably be expected to result in personal injury. Basler
customers using or selling these products for use in such applications do so at their own risk and
agree to fully indemnify Basler for any damages resulting from such improper use or sale.
Warranty Note
Do not open the housing of the camera. The warranty becomes void if the housing is opened.
All material in this publication is subject to change without notice and is copyright Basler
Vision Technologies.

Contacting Basler Support Worldwide
Europe:
Basler AG
An der Strusbek 60 - 62
22926 Ahrensburg
Germany
Tel.: [phone]
Fax.: [phone]
[email protected]
Americas:
Basler, Inc.
855 Springdale Drive, Suite 203
Exton, PA 19341
U.S.A.
Tel.: [phone]
Fax.: [phone]
[email protected]
Asia:
Basler Asia Pte. Ltd
8 Boon Lay Way
# 03 - 03 Tradehub 21
Singapore 609964
Tel.: [phone]
Fax.: [phone]
[email protected]
www.baslerweb.com

Quick Installation Guide
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1 Introduction
The installation procedures in this guide assume that you want to get your camera operational and
begin capturing images as quickly and as simply as possible. Accordingly, this procedure makes
the following assumptions:
That you will be doing a desktop installation of a single ace camera for testing purposes.
That you will be using a PC equipped with one of the following operating systems:
That you will be connecting the ace camera directly to a single port GigE network card in the
PC and that the PC has only one network card.
That the chipset on the network card in the PC is compatible with the Basler performance
driver included in the pylon package. To see a current list of the compatible chipsets, go to:
www.baslerweb.com/beitraege/faq_en_74662.html
That you will be using a GigE power injector or a 12 VDC camera power supply obtained from
Basler (or the equivalent) to power the camera.
That you will be installing the Basler pylon software package on your computer and that pylon
software is being installed for the first time. You can download the pylon package here:
www.baslerweb.com/beitraege/maildownload_formular_en_59126.html
Be sure to download the pylon version that is appropriate for your operating system.
This procedure assumes that you will be installing pylon version 2.2 (the most current version
on the date this document was written). If you install an earlier version, the camera’s
functionality may be limited.
That you will be using the pylon Viewer to set the parameters on your camera and to view
captured images.
1.1 General Preparations
Make sure that the following items are available before starting installation:
A Basler ace camera.
A suitable power supply for the camera.
A Cat 6E or better network cable (two cables if you are using a power injector).
An appropriate lens.
If you already know what lens you will be using in your application, use this lens. Otherwise, we
suggest that you use a zoom lens for your initial testing and setup.
32 bit Windows 2000 SP4 64 bit Windows XP x64 SP2
32 bit Windows XP SP2/SP3 64 bit Windows Vista x64
32 bit Windows Vista

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2 Installation Procedures
2.1 Installing Basler pylon
If there are any cameras connected to your PC, disconnect them now.
Once you have downloaded the software package, you can install the software by doing the
following:
1. We most strongly recommend that you close all open applications now.
2. Navigate to the location where you downloaded the pylon software installation package and
double-click on the installation package file.
3. A Security Warning message may appear.
If so, click the Run button.
4. The program will prepare to install and then a Welcome window will open.
Click the Next button.
5. A License Agreement window will open.
Accept the agreement and click the Next button.
6. A Customer Information window will open.
Enter the appropriate information and click the Next button.
7. A Destination Folder window will open.
In the Destination window:
a. If you want the software to be installed in the default location, click the Next button.
b. If you want the software to be installed in a different location, click the Change button,
navigate to the location where you want the software installed, and click the OK button.

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8. A Custom Setup window will open.
a. Deselect the components that you do not want to install:
To deselect an item, click the button next to the item and select the red X from the
dropdown menu that appears.
In the example shown below, we have deselected the pylon IEEE 1394 Drivers and the
pylon Camera Link Driver (the Additional Runtimes are deselected by default). If you will
only be using GigE cameras with your PC, we strongly suggest that you deselect the IEEE
1394 Drivers and the Camera Link Driver.
(Individual components can easily be installed at a later time.)
b. Click the Next button.
9. A Ready to Install the Program window will open.
Click the Install button.
10. When the installation process is complete, a Completed window will open.
Click the Finish button.
11. An Installer Information window may open informing you about the need to restart the
computer. If you see this message, restart the computer now.
12. Note that the installation program has added a shortcut to the desktop for the Pylon Viewer and
for the Pylon IP Configuration Tool.
13. To see all of the installed software components:
Click Start > All Programs > Basler Vision Technologies > Pylon x.x.

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2.2 Disabling the Windows Firewall
Basler pylon software requires that the Windows firewall to be disabled on all interfaces where
cameras are connected. To disable the Windows firewall via the traditional control panel:
1. Open the Windows Firewall window:
Depending on your operating system, use one of the following procedures:
Windows XP:
Start > Control Panel > Security Center > Windows Firewall
Windows Vista:
Start > Control Panel > Security Center > Change Settings > Windows Firewall
On the General tab of the Windows Firewall window, the On (Recommended) option button can
be selected. Disabling of the Firewall is done on the Advanced tab.
2. On the Advanced tab:
In the Network Connection Settings group:
Deselect the check box for the network adapter where camera will be attached (see Local
Area Connection 1 in the following example).
Leave your company’s network firewall enabled (see Basler AG in the following example).
3. Click OK.

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2.3 Installing the Hardware
2.3.1 Precautions
2.3.2 Steps.
To install the camera hardware, follow these steps:
1. Remove the protective plastic seal from the lens mount on the camera and mount a lens on the
camera.
2. Mount the camera in your test setup.
Go on to step 3 if you are using a 12 VDC power supply obtained from Basler.
Go on to step 4 if you are using a PoE power injector.
NOTICE
Applying power that is outside of the specifications can result in severe damage to the camera.
This installation procedure assumes that you will be using a GigE PoE injector or a power supply
obtained from Basler (or the equivalent).
Check the camera power specifications in the camera user’s manual and make sure that your
power supply meets the specifications.
NOTICE
On color cameras, the lens thread length is limited.
Color models of the camera are equipped with an IR-cut filter mounted inside of the adapter. The
location of this filter limits the length of the threads on any lens you use with the camera. If a lens
with a very long thread length is used, the IR-cut filter will be damaged or destroyed and the
camera will no longer operate. See the camera user’s manual for complete details about the lens
thread length.
In the first step, you will be removing the protective plastic seal from the camera’s
lens mount. To avoid collecting dust or dirt on the imaging sensor, be sure that the
lens mount is pointing down when you remove the seal.

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3. If you are using a 12 VDC camera power supply:
a. Connect one end of a network cable to the network connector on the camera, and connect
the other end of the cable to the network connector on the GigE network adapter in your
PC.
b. Connect one end of the AC cord for the power supply to the power supply’s body and the
other end to an AC wall outlet.
c. Connect the 6-pin connector on the output of the power supply to the 6-pin connector on the
camera.
d. Your camera will power up and will acquire an IP address from the PC (see the note below).
e. Go on to Section 2.4 on page 7.
4. If you are using a GigE PoE power injector:
a. Connect one end of a network cable to the network connector on the power injector labeled
"Data In", and connect the other end of the cable to the network connector on the GigE
network adapter in your PC.
b. Connect one end of the AC cord for the power injector to the injector’s body and the other
end to an AC wall outlet.
c. Connect one end of a network cable to the network connector on the power injector labeled
"PoE Out", and connect the other end of the cable to the network connector on the camera.
d. Your camera will power up and will acquire an IP address from the PC (see the note below).
e. Go on to Section 2.4 on page 7.
The camera will take about 60 to 90 seconds to acquire an IP address. This
happens because in our quick install situation, we have a direct connection
between the camera and the PC and we are relying on the auto IP addressing
functionality of this type of network connection.
In a real-world install, you would probably install the camera on a network with a
DHCP server or use fixed IP addressing. This would make the IP address
acquisition process much faster.

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2.4 Acquiring Your First Images and
Changing Camera Settings
The easiest way to acquire your first images and to change the camera’s settings is to use the pylon
Viewer software that was installed earlier with the pylon package. In this section we will show you
how to acquire images and how to set the camera so that it automatically adjusts gain and
exposure. We will also show you how to adjust some basic settings that you will want to work with
right away.
To acquire your first images:
1. Put an object within the camera’s field of view and make sure that the object is well illuminated.
2. Open the lens aperture on your camera "halfway" by choosing an intermediate f-number.
3. Start the pylon Viewer, by clicking the icon on your computer’s desktop. The viewer window
will open as shown below and you should see an entry in the Device tree for your ace camera.
Menu Bar
Tool Bar
Device Tree
Image Display Area

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4. Click on your camera’s name in the Device tree to select the camera. A camera Features pane
will open in the viewer as shown below. You will use the selections in the Features pane to
adjust all of the camera’s parameter settings.
Also notice the User Level setting below the Features pane. Choose the Beginner, Expert, or
Guru level to display the basic, intermediate, or advanced camera parameters respectively. If
you don’t have previous experience with Basler digital cameras, we suggest that you start as a
beginner.
Camera Features Pane
User Level Selector

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5. To get you capturing good quality images quickly. We will turn on the automatic gain and
exposure controls. To turn on the controls:
a. In the Camera Features Pane, click the + Sign next to the camera name. The tree will expand
and will display a list of parameter groups.
b. Click the + Sign next to the Analog Controls parameter group. The parameter group will
open.
c. Use the dropdown list next to the Gain Auto parameter to set the parameter value to
Continuous as shown below.
d. Scroll down and click the + Sign next to the Acquisition Controls group name. The
parameter group will open.
e. Use the dropdown list next to the Exposure Auto parameter to set the parameter value to
Continuous.

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6. Click the icon in the Menu Bar to place the camera into continuous image capture mode.
The images captured by the camera will be displayed in a display window as shown below.
7. Focus the lens so that you get a good image.
Notice that if you vary the light intensity on the object, the camera will automatically adjust the
image quality. This happens because the auto gain and exposure controls are on continuously.
8. Now that you have started capturing images you should familiarize yourself with how three
important parameters influence the quality of the captured images. But before you do this, you
must disable the automatic controls that you enabled earlier:
a. Go back to the Acquisition Controls group and set the Exposure Auto parameter to Off.
b. Go back to the Analog Controls group and set the Gain Auto parameter to Off.
You can now adjust the parameters "manually", and the camera’s automatic controls will not try
to change your adjustments.
9. Go to the Analog Controls group and find the Gain (Raw) parameter. Use the slider next to the
parameter to increase and decrease the parameter value. This parameter determines how
much amplification is applied to the pixel values captured by the camera’s sensor. Notice how
the changes affect the apparent brightness of the images.
10. In the Analog Controls group, find the Black Level (Raw) parameter. Use the slider next to the
parameter to increase and decrease the parameter value. This parameter adds or subtracts an
offset to the pixel values captured by the camera’s sensor. Notice how the changes affect the
contrast in the images.

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11. Go to the Acquisition Controls group and find the Exposure Time (Raw) parameter. Use the
slider next to the parameter to increase an decrease the parameter value. This parameter
determines the exposure time for each captured image. Notice how the changes affect the
brightness of the image.
12. Now that you have started to learn your way around the pylon Viewer, you can look through the
ace camera user’s manual and use the Viewer to adjust the other parameters associated with
the camera features.

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Revision History
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Revision History
Doc. ID Number Date Changes
AW00089701000 8 Feb 2010 This release is a preliminary version of the document.
AW00089702000 10 Mar 2010 Updated the document to indicate that ace cameras should be used with
pylon version 2.2.

Revision History
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Feedback
Basler ace 15
Feedback
Your feedback will help us improve our documentation. Please click the link below to access an
online feedback form. Your input is greatly appreciated.
http://www.baslerweb.com/umfrage/survey.html

Feedback
16 Basler ace