CONTRASTECH Mars Series User manual

Mars Line Scan GigE Camera
User Manual
Using iCentral with Mars Line Scan GigE Cameras

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© 2016 Hangzhou ContrasTech
Hangzhou ContrasTech reserves the right to make changes to this information without
notice. Reproduction of this manual in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited
without prior permission having been obtained from Hangzhou ContrasTech.
About
This Manual is a basic description of Mars Line Scan GigE Industrial Camera, which
mainly includes the product description, quick installation guide and Simple
introduction of SDK(iCentral). This manual may be updated because of the product
upgrading or other reasons. Our sales or engineers will send you the latest manual if
your need.
Notice
We can not and do not take the responsibility for the damage caused to you or to
any other equipment connected to our camera.
Handle this camera with care. Do not abuse the camera. Avoid striking, shaking,
etc. The camera could be damaged by improper handling.
Do not open the housing and do not touch the internal components,you may
damage them.
Do not use strong or abrasive solvents(as alcohol, benzine or thinner) when
cleaning the cameras. Use instead a soft, lint free cloth lightly moistened with a
mild detergent solution.
Do not expose the camera to rain or moisture, or try to operate it in wet area. This
camera is designed for indoor use.
Please keep the camera closed or mount a lens on it to avoid the sensor from
getting dusty.
Avoid clean the surface of the camera’s sensor if possible. If must, use a lens
tissue or a cotton tipped applicator an ethanol.
This manual is applicable to the following models.
Model
Description
Mars2048-L50GM
Mono Camera(2K)
Mars4096-L26GM
Mono Camera(4K)

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Contents
1 Product Description..............................................................................................................- 4 -
1.1 Product Introduction.................................................................................................. - 4 -
1.2 Product Features.........................................................................................................- 4 -
1.3 Product Construction................................................................................................ - 4 -
1.3.1 Dimension...........................................................................................................- 4 -
1.3.2 Interface Description....................................................................................... - 5 -
1.4 Indicator Description................................................................................................. - 6 -
2 Camera Installation...............................................................................................................- 7 -
3 iCentral Installation...............................................................................................................- 7 -
4 iCentral Panes Description...............................................................................................- 10 -
4.1 Tool Bar....................................................................................................................... - 10 -
4.2 Visibility....................................................................................................................... - 11 -
4.3 Parameters Pane.......................................................................................................- 12 -
4.3.1 Device Control.................................................................................................- 12 -
4.3.2 Image Format Control Descriptions.......................................................... - 12 -
4.3.4 DigitalIOControl.............................................................................................. - 17 -
4.3.5 EventControl....................................................................................................- 18 -
4.3.6 AnalogControl................................................................................................. - 18 -
4.3.7 LUTControl.......................................................................................................- 19 -
4.3.8 TransportLayerControl..................................................................................- 19 -
4.3.9 UserSetCont.....................................................................................................- 24 -
4.3.10 CounterAndTimerControl...........................................................................- 25 -
4.3.11 ISPControl...................................................................................................... - 26 -

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1 Product Description
1.1 Product Introduction
Mars Series Gigabit Ethernet Industrial Line Scan Camera, with high performance
sensitive sensor, transmit image data through GigE data interface. It is compatible to
any application development tools which follow the GigE Vision and GenICam
Standard. Maximum transmission speed of 1GB/s could satisfy the requirement of
speed in most industrial applications. And it could work stably in a variety of harsh
environment. It’s distinguished itself by high reliability and high cost-performance.
1.2 Product Features
Simple Installation, Easy to operate, Support:
GigE interface, 1Gbps bandwidth, 100m maximum transmission distance.
Compact appearance 62*62*35mm.
On-board buffer(256MB), for data transmission and image reload under burst
mode.
Support API trigger / External trigger / Free Run mode and other trigger mode.
Support sharpness, noise reduction, auto exposure, gamma correction, LUT and
other ISP functions.
Support flat fielding, parameters saving, import and export of a multiple user
groups.
Color camera is interpolation,WB, CCM, hue, saturation.
Support a variety of image data output format: Mono8, Mono10, Mono10Packed,
YYUV422_8_UYVY, BayerRG8, BayerRG10, BayerRG10Packed, RGB8.
Compatible with GigE Vision protocol and GenICam standard, can seamlessly
connect with other third-party platform or SDK.
Support DC12-24V wide voltage power supply.
Accord with CE, FCC, UL, RoHS certifications.
1.3 Product Construction
1.3.1 Dimension
Product dimension as shown in Figure 1-1.
(unit: mm)
Figure 1-1 Product Dimension

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1.3.2 Interface Description
The description of each interface as shown in Figure 1-2.
Figure 1-2 Interface Description

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12
6
Signal
Description
1
Power
+12~24V DC Power
2
3
-
No connection
4
5
GND
DC Power GND
6
1.4 Indicator Description
Indicator Description of Mars Series Industrial Line Scan Cameras as shown in Table 1-1.
Table 1-1 Indicator Description
Mode
Status
LED
Description
Normal
Red
Fast Flashing Red
The device is starting.
Blue
Low-light Blue
IP has been assigned, Software API is not connected with
the device.
High-light Blue
API is connected with the device, free mode, No image
transmission
Fast Flashing Blue
API is connected with the device, free mode, with image
transmission
Slow Flashing Blue
Using trigger mode.
Red
Blue
Flashing Alternately
Red and Blue
Firmware is upgrading.
Abnormal
Red
Steady Red
Device malfunction: like no stream, firmware upgrading fail..
Slow Flashing Red
The Network is disconnected.
Signal
Description
1
Line1_in-
RS422 input-
2
Line1_in+
RS422 input+/Single ended input
3
Line3_in/out-
RS422 I/O-
4
Line3_in/out+
RS422 I/O+ / Single ended I/O
5
Signal ground
Signal GND
6
Line5_out-
RS422 output-
7
Line5_out+
RS422 output+/ Single ended
output
8
Line2_in-
RS422 input-
9
Line2_in+
RS422 input+/ Single ended
input
10
Line4_GPIO
Single ended I/O
11
Line6_out-
RS422 output-
12
Line6_out+
RS422 output+/ Single ended
output

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2 Camera Installation
Open the camera box and take out the camera and accessories. Connect the camera to the
power supply and make sure it is energized. After connecting the camera to the computer by
Gigabit Ethernet cable, please download the SDK for the camera from Hangzhou ContrasTech
website:
wwww.contrastech.com
The material you need
PC or Laptop with Windows System(XP/7/8/10, 32bit or 64bit)
GigE Cable
Power supply unit for the GigE camera
AF-mount lens with M42 to F-mount adapter/ A C-mount lens with M42 to C-mount adapter
Steps:
1. Open the camera box and fix the camera to the installation position. Connect the camera
with right lens.
2. Connect the camera to the PC(network card) by Gigabit Ethernet cable (CAT5E or CAT6).
3. Choose one of the following power supply methods.
DC power supply: Follow the right cable definition to connect camera with a proper power
adapter (DC 12V) by using a 6pin power I/O hirose cable.
POE: Connect camera with network card or switch which support PoE function by GigE
cable.
3 iCentral Installation
iCentral supports Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows7/Windows8/Windows10 32/64bit
operating system/Arm/Linux.
Installation Steps
1. Please download SDK installation package (iCentral) from Our Company website:
www.contrastech.com “Support”》“Download”.
2. Click iCentral Setup to install. Choose the camera type you are using, and then install the
driver.

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Note: Please check the following item.

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3. Click the“iCentral.exe”icon to start the program
4. Once the iCentral started, the camera can be discovered in the same network segment and
it will be displayed in ‘Device List’. Moreover, if there is a new camera in the network, it is
required to click ‘refresh’ in order to refresh the device list.
5. Double click the device or click button for device connection and disconnection.
※Explanation of the icons in device list.
: Industrial camera which can be connected.
: Industrial Camera which has already connected to iCentral. Only one camera is allowed
to set up in iCentral at one time.

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4 iCentral Panes Description
The various areas of the iCentral are described in the figure below.
4.1 Tool Bar
File: For user configuration. User can do the following operations: open, open recent, save and save
as.
Tool bar
Parameters Pane
Message Window
Control Buttons
Acquisition Information
Acquisition Display

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Event Monitor：Show the camera stream
Image: for saving images
Configure: Please follow the instruction to change data.
4.2 Visibility
All camera features have a Visibility attribute which defines its requirement or complexity. The states
vary from Beginner (features required for basic operation of the device) to Guru (optional features
required only for complex operations).

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(Note: The number of parameters shown is dependent on different states. And the following description
are mainly based on Guru state.)
4.3 Parameters Pane
Parameters pane allows viewing or changing all acquisition parameters supported by the
acquisition device. Parameters in gray are read only, either always or due to another feature
being disabled. Parameters in black are user set in iCentral or programmable via an imaging
application.
4.3.1 Device Control
Category for device information and control.// No need to change any data of this part
4.3.2 Image Format Control Descriptions

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The following table describes each image format control features.
Display Name
Feature&Values
Description
SensorWidth
SensorWidth
Effective width of the sensor in pixels.
SensorHeight
SensorHeight
Effective width of the sensor in pixels.
WidthMax
WidthMax
Maximum width of the image (in pixels). The dimension is
calculated after horizontal binning, decimation or any other
function changing the horizontal dimension of the image.
HeightMax
HeightMax
Maximum height of the image (in pixels). This dimension is
calculated after vertical binning, decimation or any other
function changing the vertical dimension of the image
HeightMax does not take into account the current Region
of interest (Height or OffsetY). Its value must be greater
than 0 and less than or equal to SensorHeight (unless an
oversampling feature is present).
Width
Width
Width of the image provided by the device (in pixels).. //
Like 4096 cameras, the width could only set from 32 to
4096.
Height
Height
Height of the image provided by the device (in pixels).
OffSetX
OffSetX
Horizontal offset from the origin to the region of interest (in
pixels).
ReverseX
ReverseX
False/True
Flip horizontally the image sent by the device. The Region
of interest is applied after the flipping.
PixelFormat
PixelFormat
Mono8/Mono10/Mo
no10Packed/Mono1
2/Mono12Packed
Format of the pixels provided by the device. It represents
all the information provided by PixelCoding, PixelSize,
PixelColorFilter combined in a single feature.
PixelSize
PixelSize
Total size in bits of a pixel of the image.
PixelColorFilter
PixelColorFilter
None
Type of color filter that is applied to the image.
No filter applied on the sensor.
PixelDynamicRangeMi
n
PixelDynamicRange
Min
Minimum value that can be returned during the digitization
process. This corresponds to the darkest value of the
camera. For color camera, this returns the smallest value
that each color component can take.
PixelDynamicRangeMa
x
PixelDynamicRange
Max
Minimum value that can be returned during the digitization
process. This corresponds to the darkest value of the
camera. For color camera, this returns the smallest value
that each color component can take.
TestImageSelector
TestImageSelector
Selects the type of test pattern that is generated by the
device as image source.
SensorColorType
SensorColorType
//Color Or Mono
PixelSizeInPut
PixelSizeInPut
Size of the image input pixels, in bits per pixel.

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4.3.3 AcquisitionControl
The following table describes each Acquisition Control features.
Display Name
Feature&Values
Description
AcquisitionMode
AcquisitionMode
Continuous
Singleframe
MultiFrame
Sets the acquisition mode of the device.
It defines mainly the number of frames
to capture during an acquisition and the
way the acquisition stops.
Frames are captured continuously with
AcquisitionStart until stopped with the
AcquisitionStop command.
One frame is captured for each
AcquisitionStart Command. An
AcquisitionStop occurs at the end of the
Active Frame.
A sequence of frames is captured for
each AcquisitionStart Command. The
number of frames is specified by
AcquisitionFrameCount feature. An
AcquisitionStop occurs at the end of the
Active Frame(s)

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AcquisitionStart
AcquisitionStart
Starts the Acquisition of the device. The
number of frames captured is specified
by AcquisitionMode.
AcquisitionStop
AcquisitionStop
Stops the Acquisition of the device at
the end of the current Frame. It is
mainly used when AcquisitionMode is
Continuous but can be used in any
acquisition mode.
AcquisitionFrameCount
AcquisitionFrameCount
Min: 1
Max: 255
MultiFrames acquisition mode. Sets the
number of frames to acquire when a
valid trigger is received.
AcquisitionLineRate
AcquisitionLineRate
Controls the acquisition rate (in Hertz)
at which the frames are captured.
AcquisitionLineRateEnable
AcquisitionLineRateEnable
False/True
Enables setting the camera's acquisition
frame rate to a specified value
AcquisitionStatusSelector
AcquisitionStatusSelector
AcquisitionTriggerWait
FrameTriggerWait
Selects the internal acquisition signal to
read using AcquisitionStatus.
Device is currently waiting for a trigger
to capture one or more frames.
Device is currently waiting for a frame
trigger.
AcquisitionStatus
AcquisitionStatus
True /False
Reads the state of the internal
acquisition signal selected using
AcquisitionStatusSelector.
TriggerSelector
TriggerSelector
Acquisition Start/Frame
Start/ Line Start
Selects which type of trigger to
configure .
TriggerMode
TriggerMode
Off
On
Controls the enable state of the
selected trigger.
(The selected trigger is turned off.)
(The selected trigger is turned active.)
TriggerSoftware
TriggerSoftware
Generates an internal trigger. This
feature is available when TriggerMode
is set to ON and TriggerSource is set
to Software.
Trigger Source
Trigger Source
Specifies the internal signal or physical
input line to use as the trigger source.
The selected trigger must have its
TriggerMode set to ON.
Trigger Activation
Trigger Activation
RisingEdge
Select the activation mode for the
selected Input Line trigger source.
The trigger is considered valid on
the rising edge of the line source signal

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FallingEdge
The trigger is considered valid on
the falling edge
TriggerDelay
TriggerDelay
Specifies the delay in microseconds
(us) to apply after the trigger reception
before activating it.
TriggerMultiplier
TriggerMultiplier
Specifies a multiplication factor for the
incoming trigger pulses.
ExposureMode
ExposureMode
Timed
Trigger Width
Sets the operation mode for the
camera’s exposure.
The exposure duration time is set
using the ExposureTime feature.
Uses the width of the trigger
signal pulse to control the exposure
duration.
ExposureTime
ExposureTime
Sets the Exposure time when
ExposureMode is Timed and
ExposureAuto is Off. This controls the
duration where the photosensitive cells
are exposed to light.
ResultingLineRateAbs
ResultingLineRateAbs
Indicates the 'absolute' value of the
maximum allowed acquisition frame
rate. The 'absolute' value is a float value
that indicates the maximum allowed
acquisition frame rate in frames per
second given the current settings for the
area of interest, exposure time, and
bandwidth.
How to Set Frame Trigger: 1. Sets TriggerSelector as FrameStart;
2. Sets TriggerMode as ON;
3. Sets TriggerSource as corresponding trigger input(Line1/2/3). Please
refer to the Table 3.3-1 for Input Signals Electrical Specifications.
4. Press to view the images.
How to Set Line Trigger: 1. Sets TriggerSelector as LineStart;
2. Sets TriggerMode as ON;
3. Sets TriggerSource as corresponding trigger input(Line1/2/3). Please
refer to the Table 3.3-1 for Input Signals Electrical Specifications.
4. Press to view the images.
The following table is the Input Signals Electrical Specifications.
Signal
Description

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1
Line1_in-
RS422 input-
2
Line1_in+
RS422 input+/Single ended input
3
Line3_in/out-
RS422 I/O-
4
Line3_in/out+
RS422 I/O+ / Single ended I/O
5
Signal ground
Signal GND
6
Line5_out-
RS422 output-
7
Line5_out+
RS422 output+/ Single ended output
8
Line2_in-
RS422 input-
9
Line2_in+
RS422 input+/ Single ended input
10
Line4_GPIO
Single ended I/O
11
Line6_out-
RS422 output-
12
Line6_out+
RS422 output+/ Single ended output
4.3.4 DigitalIOControl
The following table describes each Digital IO Control Features.
Display Name
Feature&Values
Description
LineSelector
LineSelector
Selects the physical line (or pin) of the external
device connector to configure.
LineMode
LineMode
Selects the physical line (or pin) of the external
device connector to configure.
LineInverter
LineInverter
False/True
Controls the inversion of the signal of the selected
input or output Line.
LineStatus
LineStatus
Returns the current status of the selected input or
output Line.
LineStatus All
LineStatus All
Returns the current status of all available Line
signals at time of polling in a single bitfield.
LineSource
LineSource
Selects which internal acquisition or I/O source
signal to output on the selected Line.

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LineFormat
LineFormat
SingleEnded/RS422
Controls the current electrical format of the selected
physical input or output Line.
User Output Selector
User Output Selector
Selects which bit of the User Output register will be
set by UserOutputValue.
UserOutputValue
UserOutputValue
False/True
Sets the value of the bit selected by
UserOutputSelector.
UserOutputValueAll
UserOutputValueAll
Sets the value of all the bits of the User Output
register.
LineDetectionLevel
LineDetectionLevel
Threshold3V3
Threshold5V
LineDebouncingPeriod
LineDebouncingPeri
od
Min: -3.40282e+38
Max: 3.40282e+38
Default in nanosecond (ns)
4.3.5 EventControl
The following table describes each Event Control features.
Display Name
Feature&Values
Description
EventSelector
EventSelector
ExposureEnd
FrameTrigger
FrameStart
AcquisitionStart
AcquisitionTrigger
Selects which Event to signal to the host
application.
EventNotification
EventNotification
On/Off
Activate or deactivate the notification to
the host application of the occurrence of
the selected Event.
4.3.6 AnalogControl
The following table describes each Analog Control features.

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Display Name
Feature&Values
Description
Gain Selector
Gain Selector
Selects which Gain is controlled by the various
Gain features.
Gain Raw
Gain Raw
Min: 0
Max: 6
Controls the selected gain as an absolute
physical value. This is an amplification factor
applied to the video signal.
BlackLevelSelector
BlackLevelSelector
Selects which tap is controlled by the Black
Level feature.
BlackLevel
BlackLevel
Min: 0
Max: 255
Controls the analog black level as an absolute
physical value. This represents a DC offset
applied to the video signal.
Gamma
Gamma
Min: 0
Max: 3.99998
Controls the gamma correction of pixel intensity.
This is typically used to compensate for
non-linearity of the display system (such as
CRT).
4.3.7 LUTControl
The following table describes each LUT Control features.
Display Name
Feature&Values
Description
LUTSelector
LUTSelector
Luminance
Selects which LUT to control.
LUTEnable
LUTEnable
False/True
Activates the selected LUT.
LUTIndex
LUTIndex
Min: 0
Max: 4095
Control the index (offset) of the coefficient to
access in the selected LUT.
LUTValue
LUTValue
Min: 0
Max: 4095
Returns the Value at entry LUTIndex of the
LUT selected by LUTSelector.
LUTValueAll
LUTValueAll
Accesses all the LUT coefficients in a single
access without using individual LUTIndex.
4.3.8 TransportLayerControl

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The following table describes these parameters.
Display Name
Feature&Values
Description
PayloadSize
PayloadSize
Provides the number of bytes
transferred for each image or
chunk on the stream channel.
This includes any end-of-line,
end-of-frame statistics or other
stamp data. This is the total size
of data payload for a data block.
GEVActiveLinkCount
GEVActiveLinkCount
Indicates the current number of
active logical links.
GEVInterfaceSelector
GEVInterfaceSelector
Selects which logical link to
control.
GEVMACAddress
GEVMACAddress
MAC address of the logical link.
GEVCurrent IPConfigurationLLA
GEVCurrentIPConfigurationLLA
Controls whether the Link Local
Address IP configuration
scheme is activated on the given
logical link.
GevCurrentIPConfigurationDHC
P
GevCurrentIPConfigurationDHC
P
Controls whether the DHCP IP
configuration scheme is
activated on the given logical
link.