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26
USER MANUAL
When single capture is activated, the camera stops sending live video and enters
an endless loop to check external trigger events. The software that
communicates with the camera must send image requests constantly and check
whether the cameraʼs responses contain images. When there is no event, the
camera responds to image requests with an empty data packet. When an event
occurs, the camera responds to the most recent image request with the
captured image.
Single capture function is primarily designed for low-light applications where an
external flash is needed. When there is enough light, the camera automatically
switches to a regular High Speed mode with short exposure time, about 1 ~ 2 ms,
without triggering the flash.
To use the single capture function properly, the camera must be physically
connected to an external trigger source (as input) and a flash (as output). Then
the camera should go through a calibration process to set up a working
environment. In MP100 software, under “Exp osure \ Single Cap ture” function
group, there is a button “Cal i bra te Flash” to initiate the calibration. The
calibration process takes about 13 seconds, during which period the flash will be
triggered 13 times. Once the calibration is done, users should check the result of
calibration by clicking the “Check Cali bra ti on ” button. On clicking the button,
the software reports an integer resulting from the calibration. If the number is
within 768 ~ 6144, the calibration is successful, otherwise the calibration fails.
For better image quality, one would expect the number to fall within 2000~3000
range. This number is under influence of the status of the iris. Closing the iris will
cause the number to increase, and vice versa. Users may go through the
calibration->adjusting iris->recalibration cycle for several times until the
calibration result is satisfactory.
Once the calibration is done, the camera is ready to handle trigger events.
During normal operation, there will be no live video displayed. In case of trigger
events, MP100 software receives the captured images and stores it in the
“ph ot o” folder. On the menu there is a checkmark “A dd t imestamp t o
phot os ”. When it is checked, the stored images will be marked with timestamp
and user information. When MP100 software restarts, it automatically searches
the “ph ot o ” folder for a file named “userinf o.txt ” which stores user defined
information for a specific camera. Users can edit this file so that user-specific
information can be added to the captured images.
