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Review of Camera Performance and Features
Binning
See the section Image Format Control Category in Appendix A for GenICam features associated
with this section and how to use them
Relevant Features:
Binning is the process where the charge on two (or more) adjacent pixels is combined. This results
in increased light sensitivity as there is twice the sensor area to capture photons. The sensor
spatial resolution is reduced but the improved low-light sensitivity, plus lower signal-noise ratio,
may solve a difficult imaging situation.
One reason to use binning is to capture higher quality images at low-light levels. Binning allows the
user to trade off resolution for sensitivity. For low-light imaging, binning can offer dramatic
improvements in image quality.
The camera supports 1x, 2x, and 4x binning in both horizontal and vertical directions.
Horizontal binning is achieved by summing adjacent pixels in the same line. Vertical Binning is
achieved by summing adjacent pixels in the same column. Therefore, 2x binning results in the
object pixel doubling in size vertically, horizontally, or in both axes, as selected by the Binning
feature.
In addition, since adjacent pixels are summer (not averaged), the image gets brighter. That is, 1x2
and 2x1 are twice as bright, 2x2 is four times brighter, etc.
Figure 16: 2x2 Binning
For the camera, the default binning value is 1 x 1.
Note
: The Binning parameters can only be changed when image transfer to the
frame grabber is stopped. Refer to the “
Acquisition and Transfer Contro
l’ category in
the appendix for details on stopping and starting the acquisition.
