Cheetah KAC Camera User Manual | Camera Link (CLF) Interface
October 1, 2019
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102
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Rev 7.2
pixel location. For each pixel, the camera can be programmed to select from up to four
user defined exposure times based on the intensity of the source at the individual pixel.
For example, the user can set an ultra-short exposure for ultra-bright pixels within the
image, a longer exposure for very bright pixels, a long exposure for bright pixels while
dark pixels within the image are allowed to integrate for the full exposure time. The
camera determines the intensity of the source at each pixel and categorizes the pixel into
“dark”, “bright”, “very bright” or “ultra-bright” based on user defined criteria. The user
need not know which pixels are bright or dark, the camera takes care of managing these
details.
Unlike some extended dynamic range schemes involving two or more separate exposures
separated by one or more frame times, Cheetah can provide as many as four separate
exposures based on the source intensity at each pixel within one exposure time
eliminating motion artifacts. While up to four separate exposures are possible, the user
can opt to use only two or three separate exposures for simplicity. The user defines the
exposure times and also partitions the camera output to collect the data for the dark,
bright, very bright, and ultra-bright pixel information. In this way, you can capture up to
four different intensity slopes in one image capture (See following figures)
Figure 61: WDR Mode Disabled.
Figure 62: WDR Mode Enabled.
To extend the dynamic range of the camera, you can partition the output into several
user-defined zones. In the simplest case, you can partition the output into one region for
dark pixel data where pixels integrate for the full exposure time and another region for
bright pixel data where pixels integrate for only a small portion of the total exposure time.
