imacon Ixpress User Manual Download Page 3

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Table of Contents

User's Guide - Imacon Ixpress

Table of Contents

English

Introduction

Warnings and Restrictions

System Requirements

How the Ixpress System Works

The Ixpress Camera Back

General

Shooting Modes

Features

The Ixpress Control Panel

Using the Control Panel

Error Messages

The Image Bank

General

Features

Mounting/Dismounting the Battery

Battery Operation

Transferring Images

Assembly and Use

Assembling the Ixpress System

Ixpress/Camera Connection

Taking Pictures

continues...

Summary of Contents for Ixpress

Page 1: ...User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English ...

Page 2: ...or any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this manual Imacon A S assumes no responsibility or liability for loss or damage incurred during or as a result of using Imacon software or products Imacon Ixpress and FlexColor are trademarks of Imacon A S Adobe and Adobe Photoshop are trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc Macintosh Mac OS and FireWire are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc Info...

Page 3: ...he Ixpress Camera Back 11 General 11 Shooting Modes 12 Features 13 The Ixpress Control Panel 14 Using the Control Panel 16 Error Messages 29 The Image Bank 31 General 31 Features 32 Mounting Dismounting the Battery 33 Battery Operation 34 Transferring Images 35 Assembly and Use 39 Assembling the Ixpress System 39 Ixpress Camera Connection 42 Taking Pictures 43 continues ...

Page 4: ... Ixpress Table of Contents 4 English Care and Maintenance 45 Handling and Storage 45 Cleaning the Infrared Filter 46 Cleaning the Housings 48 Technical Information 49 Technical Specifications 49 Disposal 51 FCC Notice 51 ...

Page 5: ...lor manual for help To mount the camera back on your specific type of camera body you must have the correct Ixpress Camera Adapter Kit for your camera model See the documentation for your camera adapter for specific instructions about fitting the camera back to your camera and for other information specific to your configuration The capturing software for Ixpress is called FlexColor For informatio...

Page 6: ... Back s protective cover when it is not connected to your camera the exposed CCD sensor is vulnerable to damage Always keep the protective cover on when adding or removing a camera body adapter to your Ixpress Camera Back Store your Ixpress Camera Back and Image Bank away from heat and moisture Keep all wires connected to or from your Ixpress Camera Back Image Bank and computer out of the way wher...

Page 7: ...equirements Below are the basic hardware requirements for the PC or Macintosh system to which the Ixpress Camera Back is to be connected For information about the processor operating system RAM and hard disk requirements please refer to the FlexColor Software Reference manual that comes with the FlexColor software Screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels with true colors 24 bits Mouse or other pointi...

Page 8: ...User s Guide Imacon Ixpress Introduction 8 How the Ixpress System Works English C B G F E D A In the Studio Stand alone H Figure 1 The Ixpress System ...

Page 9: ...ssibly more depending on the type of adapter you are using Adapter kits must be ordered separately please contact your Ixpress dealer for an up to date list of available kits E 4 Res Module When using the Ixpress system in a studio the 4 Res module can increase the resolution of the captures up to 384 MB per image With the module you use multiple exposures to allow the entire CCD area to capture e...

Page 10: ...User s Guide Imacon Ixpress Introduction 10 English ...

Page 11: ...page 12 for details Preview mode takes fast shots for checking setup and exposure Single shot mode for moving objects Multi shot mode for high resolution shots of still objects Micro step mode for ultra high resolution shots of still objects Only applies to devices fitted with the 4 Res module The camera back receives power via its connection to the Image Bank When working in a studio you can cont...

Page 12: ... page 9 for details If you are shooting unmoving objects such as room interiors studio sets or product shots then you can use multi shot mode In this mode four exposures are taken one for each color but with green shot twice for extra sharpness each of which uses the entire CCD This means that no interpolation is needed to create the final 48 96 MB color image Images taken in multi shot mode will ...

Page 13: ...hen pressing the camera s exposure button a signal is sent to the camera back The flash is controlled from any Sync To Flash output C Flash Sync To Flash output Controls the flash An identical output is located on the Image Bank see page 32 D Link connector This connector accepts the camera link cable which connects to the link connector on the Image Bank see page 32 E AUX connector applies to cer...

Page 14: ...settings The control panel holds the following see Figure 3 A Image preview generated within 2 secs B Image Info shows info items C D and E for the image currently previewed From the Setup menu you can select whether or not to display the info see Setup on page 27 for details C Picture name shows the name of the picture currently previewed The name given to each new shot is based on the setting of...

Page 15: ... Setup menu you can select whether or not to display the histogram see Setup on page 27 for details J Status Indicator indicates that power is supplied to the camera back and the color indicates the current status of the camera back Red Error Yellow Busy and Green Ready K OK button use to enter Browse function and to change confirm settings see Using the Control Panel on page 16 for details L Brow...

Page 16: ...age info and histogram press MENU button In the pop up menu use Browse Scroll button to highlight the Setup item then press OK button to enter Now highlight the Display item and press OK to enter Highlight Show Histogram and press OK The histogram for the current image will be displayed at the display bottom on top of the preview User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English The Ixpress Camera Back 16 Using...

Page 17: ...he main window or in Browse mode you are able to zoom into the image to view details To do so press any direction on the Browse scroll button except for the center which could be assigned to function as exposure button Generally it is recommended to use Up or Down as the Left and Right keys will still function as browse keys when in Browse mode Press Up or Down on the Browse Scroll button to displ...

Page 18: ...ant to browse through and how to display them From the main window press OK button to enter Browse mode Press Menu button to display the Browse menu then use Browse Scroll button to highlight the Batches item and press OK button From the appearing list select a batch number to browse through the pictures from this batch only or select All to browse through all pictures User s Guide Imacon Ixpress ...

Page 19: ...used for the current image and if you select Histogram the histogram for the current image is displayed Deleting Images or Batches Deleting images is possible from both the main display and in Browse mode while deleting batches is only possible in Browse mode From the main display you can delete the currently previewed image by pressing the MENU button and in the pop up menu highlight Delete and p...

Page 20: ... OK button to delete image or No MENU button to cancel If you want to delete a whole batch of images select Delete Batch from the menu and press OK button In the appearing batches list highlight the batch you wish to delete and press OK button Press Yes OK button to delete batch or No MENU button to cancel User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English The Ixpress Camera Back 20 Using the Control Panel ...

Page 21: ...h the menu items Please note that holding down the button will make scrolling quicker Example Use Browse Scroll button to select the ISO item Note that the current setting 50 is displayed when the item is highlighted Press OK button to enter Use Browse Scroll button to select the new setting and press OK button The unit will return to show the main display User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English The I...

Page 22: ...button will make scrolling quicker To enter an item highlight it and press OK button A check mark indicates the current setting Use Browse Scroll button to highlight new setting and press OK button to confirm To exit without making changes press MENU button Below are described the various settings available from the menu Delete Deletes the currently previewed image Press Yes OK button to delete im...

Page 23: ...as that have more steps for setting the shutter speed than others Shutter settings marked with a B indicates that the camera shutter must be set to position B manual control The actual shutter setting is added to the image file information see page 19 ISO Enables you to select between ISO sensitivities of 50 100 200 or 400 Please note that the basic sensitivity of the CCD sensor is ISO 50 When wor...

Page 24: ...ralizing the preview image Camera The Ixpress camera back and FlexColor must know which kind of camera body you are using so that it can control the camera correctly Choose your camera body from the list before you start taking pictures for the first time and each time you change the type of camera body that you are using with the camera back When using the Match function the device automatically ...

Page 25: ...e Interval function makes the camera capture a number of shots at fixed intervals Please note that a 5 sec exposure extend feature is available on some cameras This feature extends the current exposure setting with up to 5 sec if needed Info Shows the serial numbers of your Ixpress Camera Back and Image Bank It also lists the total number of captures shot in single shot multi shot and micro step m...

Page 26: ...ou are able to adjust the delay time manually if necessary using the Custom parameter The value is resettable by selecting the Default option Under normal circumstances you simply choose the preferred camera from the Camera menu You could however experience that your camera does not perform correctly using the default shutter delay causing colors to slide or other unwanted effects This is due to a...

Page 27: ...splay the histogram and info bar respectively for the current image on top of the preview image see Displaying Images on page 16 Use the Display Light setting to turn the display background light on or off When using the Delay function the light is set to automatically turn off after a certain time of inactivity The camera back is able to play 3 different sounds to indicate Camera Ready Image Over...

Page 28: ...nd ISO value can be adjusted either on the back itself or via the FlexColor user interface The settings are stored in the back If you change any of these settings on the back while working disconnected from the computer FlexColor will reflect these changes once the back is reconnected If you make the same changes in FlexColor while the back is not connected it will have no effect User s Guide Imac...

Page 29: ...ble and connectors Camera body error An error has occurred between camera and Ixpress camera back Please check exposure cables connectors and batteries Time out exposure error The camera back receives a time out signal while waiting for the exposure to finish Please check that the exposure time is set correctly Bad Exposure The camera back has performed a wake up capture after having been switched...

Page 30: ...User s Guide Imacon Ixpress The Ixpress Camera Back 30 English ...

Page 31: ...ree operation the Ixpress Camera Back and the Image Bank work as a single unit powered by a standard L size battery All shots are saved straight to the Image Bank s hard disk which has a capacity of more than 1000 shots The disk is specially formatted to automatically maintain full speed throughout its lifetime After shooting simply connect the Image Bank to a computer to view select and process y...

Page 32: ...ches the Image Bank and camera back on off D Status indicator indicates that power is supplied to the unit The color indicates the current status of the Image Bank Red Error Yellow Busy and Green Ready If the indicator flashes the battery A needs recharging E Link connector This connector accepts the camera link cable which connects to the link connector on the camera back see page 13 F External P...

Page 33: ... it goes towards and onto the terminal pins B Dismounting the Battery NOTE Before dismounting the battery make sure that the Image Bank s hard disk is not busy the status indicator C must be green then switch off the unit on the On Off button D Push the battery A away from and off the terminal pins B then lift it off User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English The Image Bank 33 Mounting Dismounting the Ba...

Page 34: ... connected The battery will not be affected in any way Battery Lifetime The reference battery lifetime for battery type NP F550 is 1 45 hour for a fully charged battery when shooting at 10 sec intervals capturing half the capacity of the Image Bank approx 600 exposures If you expose with larger intervals the battery lifetime is increased some but the number of exposures is reduced The other way ar...

Page 35: ...ow see Figure 6 Start your computer launch the FlexColor application and open the Thumbnails window Connect the Image Bank A to the computer using a FireWire cable B Switch on the Image Bank on the On Off button C Within a few seconds a Contents window D is available with thumbnails of all images ready to load User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English The Image Bank 35 Transferring Images A C B D Figure...

Page 36: ...ected shots Delete Deletes the currently selected shot s from the Image Bank s hard disk Show Shows the image in FlexColor s preview window and a transfer of the selected image to your thumbnails folder will start Double clicking or typing Return will have the same effect Load Transfers the selected shot s to the currently selected Thumbnails folder and saves them as 3F files User s Guide Imacon I...

Page 37: ...the total number of images currently stored on the Image Bank s hard disk Free Displays the free space on the Image Bank s hard disk Image Searching Using the Search field enables you to filter the Contents window contents Simply enter the text you want to search for and type Return and only images containing this text will be shown To return to an unfiltered display simply delete the text from th...

Page 38: ... control of the image transfer Select the images you want to load and click Load A Load Images dialog box appears From the Transfer pop up menu choose whether you want to load All Selection Only or Approved Check the Delete after transfer checkbox if you want the shots to be deleted from the Image Bank s hard disk after having loaded them to the computer Check the Change name checkbox if you want ...

Page 39: ... to your camera back B mount the assembly on your camera body C and attach a focusing screen Remember to keep the plastic CCD cover on when you are mounting the adapter see Figure 9 on page 45 but to take the cover off just before mounting the camera back adapter assembly on the camera User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English Assembly and Use 39 Assembling the Ixpress System C A B F E H D J G K Figure ...

Page 40: ...will be necessary to mount the battery H as well or to connect an external power supply unit I see Technical Specifications on page 49 for details 4 If needed attach a strobe lighting system to your camera body for synchronizing flash and exposure Make the connection just as you would using normal film 5 Switch on the computer G 6 If you are using a battery press the Image Bank s On Off button and...

Page 41: ...amera back s Link connector to the Link connector on the Image Bank E Note Use the short Link cable 3 Mount the battery F on the Image Bank See Mounting Dismounting the Battery on page 33 for details 4 If needed attach a strobe lighting system to your camera body for synchronizing flash and exposure Make the connection just as you would using normal film 5 If necessary you can attach the Image Ban...

Page 42: ...c connection from the camera back to the shutter or lens Dependent on the chosen operating mode the Ixpress camera back needs to be set up accordingly see Device Settings Menu on page 22 for references Use the Camera entry to select camera model Use the Exposure entry to set up exposure mode Use the Shutter entry to select basic interval of speeds Not available for all camera models User s Guide I...

Page 43: ... 16 bit per color 3F file in the currently selected folder The 3F file format is a special extended TIFF format developed by Imacon See the FlexColor Software Reference manual for a detailed description Please refer to the FlexColor Software Reference manual for further instructions about taking pictures using FlexColor Stand alone Follow the description below to take pictures using the Ixpress sy...

Page 44: ...display it indicates an underexposure and the camera back will play a warning sound while an Under Exposed message flashes on the display In this case either choose a larger aperture turn up the flash light select a longer exposure time or change ISO setting to a higher value can increase the noise in the image 4 Press Delete to delete under and over exposed images 5 Change settings if required an...

Page 45: ...ep all foreign objects out of the CCD opening Store your camera back and Image Bank away from moisture and excessive heat see Technical Specifications on page 49 for operational and storage requirements Protect your camera back and Image Bank from impact do not drop them Keep the original shipping boxes for storage User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English Care and Maintenance 45 Handling and Storage Fi...

Page 46: ... you still see spots on your shot after you have cleaned the outside of the infrared filter then you may have dust on either on the back side of the IR filter or on the CCD itself This can only be removed at the Imacon factory Contact your Imacon dealer for assistance 5 Replace the protective cover or reattach the camera back to the camera immediately after cleaning Cleaning using the HAMA cleanin...

Page 47: ...en properly cleaned either by visual inspection or by mounting the camera back to the camera and making a shot If further cleaning is needed repeat cleaning procedure Cleaning with an e wipe E wipes are individually packed wet tissues 1 Tear at the notch to break seal 2 Gently remove e wipe from packaging and without delay begin cleaning procedure 3 Fold the tissue to match the width of the surfac...

Page 48: ...r by mounting the camera back to the camera and making a shot If further cleaning is needed repeat cleaning procedure Cleaning the Housings If the camera back or Image Bank housings becomes dirty clean them with a soft clean cloth lightly moistened with water only Do not use any other solvents on your camera back Do not allow water to get inside the devices User s Guide Imacon Ixpress English Care...

Page 49: ...50 32 to 122 F 20 to 80 RH no condensation Cameras Supported CCD Size CCD Resolution Bits per color Output Size 8 16 bit RGB data 1 Shot Several models of cameras are supported each requiring a different adapter kit Contact your Ixpress dealer for an up to date list of supported cameras 36 9 x 36 9 mm 36 9 x 36 9 mm 36 9 x 49 mm 16 646 400 pixels 16 bit 65 536 levels 16 bit 65 536 levels 48 96 MB ...

Page 50: ...ries NP F550 NP F750 NP F960 Up to 8 hours 24V DC Imacon Part No 40250014 Power Consumption Weight 10 W 0 68 kg Digital Camera Back Ixpress 96C Ixpress 384C Ixpress 132C Capture Rate incl preview Features Color Preview Histogram Feed back Acoustic Feed back Back Light Active Temperature Control Double Duration Circuit Weight 2 sec 2 sec 1 Shot 2 sec yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes ...

Page 51: ... against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual may cause harmful interference to radio communications Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user wi...

Page 52: ...User s Guide Imacon Ixpress Technical Information 52 English ...

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