FlashSight™ User’s Guide
Copyright © 2006, FLIR Systems, Inc. 431-0002-09-10 Version 100
8
4.2 Shutter
Button
The “shutter-control” button, which is located on the right-side of the
FlashSight assembly, is used for advanced control of the system’s shutter
function. FlashSight includes an internal shutter for updating non-uniformity
correction terms, which maintains image quality at a high level. Normally, the
shutter operation is automatic, occurring every two minutes (or more often if
the temperature of the sight is changing rapidly). The complete operation
lasts approximately half a second, during which time the image is frozen on
the display. As a warning the image is about to be frozen, a small square is
visible in the upper-left corner of the display (see part (a) of Figure 9) two
seconds before the shutter operation. This square remains displayed until the
shutter operation is completed.
While it is recommended to leave FlashSight in its automatic shutter mode
whenever possible, there are certain circumstances that call for a disabled
shutter. One of these is covert operations in which one’s position might be
given away by sound – the shutter emits a faint “click”. Another is targeting
applications –the video image is temporarily frozen and can interfere with
aiming and target tracking. To toggle between automatic and disabled shutter
operation, hold the shutter-control button for two seconds. In disabled mode,
a square marked through with an “x” is shown continuously in the upper left of
the image (see part (b) of Figure 9), indicating that FlashSight will not perform
automatic shuttering.
In either mode, automatic or disabled, pressing the button for less than two
seconds will command FlashSight to do an immediate shutter correction,
which can result in a slightly improved image.
(a) Automatic shutter operation in progress
(b) Automatic shutter operation is disabled
Figure 9: FlashSight shutter icons
