Q+A CENTER

Machine vision requirements for better performance and higher resolution continue driving developers to incorporate digital cameras into their solutions. This trend will likely accelerate as the price and performance of digital cameras improves.

Assuming a digital imaging solution is required, here are some of the key factors to consider when choosing a digital camera.

Why use A Digital Camera?

Analog cameras continue to be the dominant choice in most machine vision applications for several reasons: huge installed base; mature technology with well-known standards; performance is often adequate for the application; and inexpensive, readily available cabling.

Until recently, there were several significant disadvantages to using a digital camera. They typically were higher priced than similarly performing analog models and, in addition to being expensive and bulky, digital camera cabling often was not easily interchangeable between different types of cameras and frame grabbers. However, with the introduction of the Camera Link™ and GigE Vision standards, digital camera cabling issues have largely been eliminated, while their performance continues to steadily improve, in many cases far exceeding that of any analog camera.

So why use a digital camera? They can deliver higher data rates, higher resolution and higher bit depths than analog cameras. Digital transmission also is inherently less susceptible to noise than analog, a key consideration for plant environments.