Opus APOLLO User manual
OPUS
INSTRUMENTS
OPUS
INSTRUMENTS
APOLLO
User Manual - Version 1.0
Declaration of conformity
Atik Cameras Limited
OSIRIS2
Atik Cameras Limited
Unit 8 Lodge Farm Barns
New Road
Norwich
UK
NR9 3LZ
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules.
Operation is subject to the following conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any intference recieved,
including interference that may cause undesired operation
Contents
Welcome to Apollo 4
What’s in the Box? 5
Assembling Apollo 6
The Opus Apollo Software 8
Installation 8
The Home Screen 8
The Image Area 9
Clearing the Image Area 9
The Home Position 9
Warm Up Time 9
Setting up for your Session 10
Positioning the Camera 10
Using the Calculator 12
Lighting 13
Lighting Stability 14
F/number 14
Focusing Apollo 15
Focus Mode in Opus Apollo 16
Checking Your Positioning 18
Using Diagonals 18
Spiral Capture 20
The Histogram 20
Checking Your Lighting 22
Dark Frames 22
Taking a Picture 23
Updating Display 24
Saving 24
Image Restore 24
Exposure Time 25
The Transit Screw 25
Futher Information 26
4
Welcome to the Apollo camera for Infrared Reflectography
Apollo is the latest advancement in infrared reflectography.
Following in the footsteps of the world-renowned Osiris camera,
Apollo uses an internal scanning mechanism to capture high
resolution infrared reflectograms using a leading InGaAs area
sensor.
By following this guide, you’ll be ready to setup and use Apollo
to captureyour own high resolution infrared reflectograms in no
time.
5
What’s in the Box?
1
6
5
2
3
4
1. Apollo Camera Body
2. Allen Key for securing Focus Rods
3. Lens Assembly
4. Focus Rods
5. Power Supply
6. USB Cable
Not Shown:
7. Software CD
8. User Manual
9. Light Plug and spares
6
Assembling Apollo
The first thing you need to do is assemble Apollo.
The first time you assemble Apollo, remove the transit screw
from the baseplate (see opposite) and replace with the
supplied light plug.
After removing the transit screw, assembling Apollo can be done
in six easy steps.
1. Remove your Apollo from its case and lie it on a flat surface
2. Insert the focus rods into the holes on the front of the camera.
Use the supplied allen key to secure the rods using the bolts
on the underside of the camera
3. Remove the lens cap from the camera body, and the back of
the camera lens assembly
4. Slide the lens assembly onto the focus rods
5. Gently lift the bellows to meet the lens assembly and secure
them in place using the four thumbscrews
6. Slide the lens assembly slightly up the focus rods and gently
secure using the screw on the side of the lens assembly
Focus rods
Lens Assmebly
(with lens caps removed)
Bellows
Camera body
Thumbscrews
Fine focus knob
7
We recommend using Apollo on a tripod capable of supporting
at least a 6kg payload. Apollo has both ¼” and ⅜” tripod mount
holes on the baseplate for compatibility with a large range of
tripod mounts.
It’s also possible to use Apollo on any flat surface, but be aware
that the scanning process can cause vibrations and if Apollo
moves or vibrates on the surface, you may see artefacts in your
images.
Bolts to secure focus rods
Transit Screw - Remove before use
Tripod
holes
8
Focus mode
Histogram
Save
Clear
Drag
Go To Point
Take Diagonal
Spiral
Select Area
Select All
Play
Image Area
Progress BarConnection Status
Pixel Values
The Opus Apollo Software
Installation
The Opus Apollo software is supplied on CD ROM as standard.
It is also possible to supply the software on USB stick or as a
downloadable file when requested.
To install the software, insert the CD into your CD drive, run the
ApolloSetup.exe file and follow the prompts.
The Home Screen
9
The Image Area
The black square represents Apollo’s imaging area. Apollo
captures a large number of small individual tiles and stitches
them together to create an image over this entire area.
You can choose to select the entire image area, or select a
subsection using the Select Area button.
Capturing additional subsections will continue to add them to
the image area without erasing any current data. However,
overlapping an existing subsection will overwrite it with the new
selection.
Please note that overlapping sections which have been captured
separately will not be blended at the edges. For high quality final
images, we recommend always capturing your whole desired
area as a single selection.
Clearing the Image Area
Select the Clear button to clear the image area. This will prompt a
warning checking you wish to clear the current image data, before
returning the image area to blank canvas.
The Home Position
When you switch on Apollo and open the Opus Apollo software,
the camera will default to its Home Position. This corresponds to
the top left hand corner of the image area.
Warm Up Time
The InGaAs sensor in Apollo is cooled to provide the best imaging
performance. After switching on Apollo and connecting to the
Opus Apollo software, it is good practice to wait for five minutes
before taking a high quality capture to allow the temperature to
stabilise. There is no problem with using this time to begin setting
up, focussing and checking your lighting and positioning.
10
Setting up for your Session
Setting up carefully for an imaging session will help you capture
the best quality images.
As a brief overview, the setting up process is generally:
• Assemble Apollo and place on tripod
• Position Apollo and evenly illuminate your subject
• Focus
• Check positioning and lighting in software
• Take dark frame
• Capture image
As you gain experience with Apollo, you’ll likely develop your own
processes and preferred ways of doing things, but the following
pages should help you understand and master these main aspects
of getting set up.
Positioning the Camera
First of all, you need to position Apollo at the right distance from
your subject to capture the whole of your desired field of view.
There are a couple of easy ways to work out this distance.
First, measure the longest edge of your subject, or the longest
side of the area you would like to cover.
The table opposite shows a range of possible values for the longest
edge and the minimum distance Apollo must be to capture the
entire subject in a single image.
We recommend setting Apollo slightly further away than this to
add a little flexibility in positioning the camera. For example, for
a painting with a longest edge of 80cm, Apollo must be at least
157cm away to capture the entire painting. We would advise
setting Apollo around 165cm away to leave a margin of error.
11
Longest Edge (cm) Minimum Distance (cm)
50 113
60 128
70 142
80 157
90 172
100 186
120 216
140 145
160 275
180 304
200 333
Minimum distances for edge values within those in the table
can be judged by the available values - for example if you have
a painting with a longest edge of 96cm, we would set Apollo
around 185 - 190cm away.
Please note! All measurements should be taken from the
front of Apollo’s case.
We also have Parameters Calculator App available to help
calculate how far away from your imaging subject you should
place Apollo.
This can be downloaded from the Opus Instruments website -
www.opusinstruments.com or sent to you on request - just email
you.
12
Using the Calculator
Input the longest edge of your subject into the calculator as the
‘Field’. The Object Distance will display the minimum distance
required to fit your entire subject in the field of view.
Again, you may want to put Apollo a little further away than this to
add a little flexibility when positioning the camera.
All measurements should be taken from the front of Apollo’s
case.
With Apollo set at your desired distance, you should then make
sure that the plane of the camera is parallel with your subject.
13
Lighting
Apollo is designed to use a tungsten halogen light source,
though it’s possible to use any light source that emits in Apollo’s
wavelength sensitivity (900 - 1700 nm).
For optimum image quality, it’s important to illuminate your
subject evenly. Two tungsten halogen light sources usually
work well for this. However, if you find you have problems with
the vertical uniformity of your lighting, you may want to consider
using an array of lights on either side of Apollo.
It’s best to have the illumination angled between 30 and 60
degrees. The diagram below shows a typical set up that should
be suitable in most circumstances.
14
You can use the Apollo software to help check your lighting levels
by monitoring the histogram and maximum and minimum pixel
values. This is covered in more detail on page 22.
Lighting Stability
It’s important to try and keep the lighting stable throughout an
image capture. Variations in lighting during a capture can result in
uneven illumination or artefacts in the finished image.
It’s good practice to allow your lamps sufficient time to warm
up and stabilise before taking your final image. A few minutes
is usually fine for this. It’s also best to minimise other sources
of variation, such as sunlight, opening and closing doors, and
moving around during image capture.
F/number
Your lens has an f/number that varies from 5.6 to 45 in steps.
Changing the f/number has three effects:
1. Large f/numbers give greater depth of field. Subjects that
aren’t flat will require larger f/numbers to ensure that the
whole of the object is in focus.
2. The larger the f/number, the less light will be collected by the
camera, meaning large f/numbers may require an increase in
illumination or exposure time.
3. The optical resolution of the camera is affected by both the
f/number and the sensor. At low f/numbers, the resolution
is limited by the sensor. For f/numbers large than f/16, the
resolution is limited by the f/number.
F/8 or F/11 are often suitable for many types of painting, or other
relatively flat subjects. For non-flat subjects, you might like to use
the Parameters Calculator App to help select a suitable f/number.
15
Focusing Apollo
Using the correct focus setting is key to capturing high quality,
detailed images. As you become accustomed to using Apollo,
you will find it easy to set the correct focus position of the lens
assembly on the focus rods using the focus assist mode in the
Opus Apollo software.
When first starting out, you might find it helpful to use the
Parameters Calculator App to provide an estimated focus setting.
To find your suggested initial focus setting using the Parameters
Calculator App, enter the distance you have chosen to put Apollo
from your subject into the Distance box. The calculator will provide
a suggested initial Focus Setting. This is the recommended
distance at which to slide the lens assembly on the focus rods.
This position should be very close to the optimal focus position
for your distance, but may need fine tuning depending on your
imaging subject.
16
Focus Mode in Opus Apollo
The Apollo Software has a Focus mode that should help you get
the correct focus.
If you select the focus mode button, you will be shown a live
preview from the sensor. The sensor is a 128 x 128 px area
sensor, so you’ll only be seeing a very small area, but it should be
enough to help you achieve the optimum focus.
The Synchronise button can be used to stop and restart the live
preview.
Focus mode displays a
focus measurement in the
form of both a number and
a focus bar. The number
it uses is a compression
calculation to measure
the amount of detail in the
image. The actual number
displayed will vary greatly
depending on the imaging
subject, so there is no
set number to be aiming
for. Instead, what you are
looking for is the highest
value you can achieve on
that particular tile.
As you gently slide the lens
assembly on the focus rods,
you will see the number
increase or decrease, and
will see a live update of the
image tile. Gently adjust
the lens assembly position
until the number is at the
Synchronise
17
highest value you see for that tile and the image is visually sharp,
and then secure the assembly on the focus rods.
Now adjust the fine focus knob on the front of the lens assembly
to further fine tune the focus.
The focus number should be at its highest value for the given
tile, and the image should be visually sharp.
It’s best to use a tile with a recognisable feature. Things such
as strong lines or cracks can provide good opportunities for
focusing. You can move
the sensor in Apollo
(and therefore the
contents of the tile) by
using the Go To Point
button. This allows you
to quickly move around
the image if you find
your current tile isn’t
suitable for focusing.
Go To Point
18
Checking Your Positioning
If you’ve set up using the Calculator App and positioned Apollo in
the centre of your subject, you’re nearly ready to go, but it’s good
practice to first check your positioning and lighting.
Using Diagonals
The Opus Apollo software includes a diagonal capture function
that is useful for checking your field of view and the positioning
of your subject. Selecting the Diagonal button will automatically
select the whole imaging area. However, if you’d like to take a
diagonal of a set area, you can drag to select it on the image area.
Clicking the Diagonal button twice changes the direction of the
diagonal.
19
To capture your diagonal, press the Play button. To take an
‘X’, capture one angle of diagonal, click the diagonal button to
change the direction, and press Play again to capture the new
diagonal.
From this, you should be able to identify the top and bottom
edges of your subject.
You might now want to check the
side edges, or where you suspect
the corners to be. You can do this by
pressing the select area button, and
dragging over your desired area. Press
the Play button to capture your selected
area.
At this point it’s also worth zooming in
to check that your are focused across
your entire subject. You might wish to
capture a couple of additional areas to
check this.
Please note! You should always check your focus after
djusting the positioning of your camera or subject and fine
tune if necessary.
20
Spiral Capture
There is also a spiral capture mode that alters the way the way
the sensor is moved on the motors. It will start in the middle of
your selected area and ‘spiral’ out until the entire selected area
is captured.
To use it, select the spiral icon, select your area and then press
Play.
Spiral mode can be useful if you are looking for a particular
feature, but please note that it’s intended as a preview mode and
will not result in the highest quality results.
The Histogram
The Opus Apollo Software includes an adjustable histogram that
helps you get the most out of the available dynamic range of
Apollo.
You can adjust the black level, white level and grey level to alter
how the image is displayed. To adjust the black level, click and
drag the black slider. By default, this will be at the left side of the
histogram.
To adjust the white level, click and drag the white level slider. By
default, this will be at the right side of the histogram.
To adjust the grey level, click and slide the orange level slider. By
default, this will be in the centre of the histogram.
The histogram will show whether you have values weighted at
either end.
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