60 images/sec with IMAQ 1407. External Trigger?

[jaskas]

Hi, i have the following problem: I need to acquire about 60 images/sec in continuous mode. With my VI, and even if I do not save the images in real time, I can just take 6-7 images/sec. How can I solve the problem and where do I find information about the external trigger of my IMAQ 1407 Card and my Sony CCIR X-EI50? Thank you very much!!!

[Julie S]

Jaskas-
You can find more information about the external trigger of the NI-1407 in the User Manual:
http://digital.ni.com/manuals.nsf/webAdvsearch/A628A368545F302986256A7A00713853?OpenDocument&vid=niwc&node=132100_US

For more information on your camera, take a look at the online camera advisor:
http://sine.ni.com/apps/we/nipc.product?pid=1983

As for the slow acquisition: can you acquire at 60fps in Measurement & Automation Explorer? If so, then your code probably needs optimizing. Try running one of the example programs that are installed with the IMAQ driver, such as HL Grab in IMAQ Vision Display.vi (you will need the Vision software to see the images). This should acquire at the frame rate you need. You can also try decreasing the size of your image t
o speed up the acquisition.

Julie S
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[jaskas]

Hi Julie,

thank you very much for your quick answer!! I changed the VI HL Grab in IMAQ Vision Display.vi so that I can count the number of frames per second. With the settings I described in my initial question (IMAQ 1407, Sony XC-EI50, fast computer), I arrive at max. 24.97 fps. How can I accelerate the acquisition. Note: It is not neccessary to save the images on the fly on the harddisk, having them in the memory is enough for the beginning...
PS: Measurement & Automation gives me 25 fps...

Thanks in advance,

JasKas

[Julie S]

Hi JasKas-

I took a look at the specifications for your camera (available on our camera advisor here: http://sine.ni.com/apps/we/nipc.product?pid=1983)
and it seems that your camera uses the EIA standard, which is basically RS-170. This means that the maximum frames per second is 60. However, within these lines, only the odd or even lines are displayed with each frame. Therefore, a total of 60 fps of alternating odd and even lines allows 30 fps update rate of your entire signal (using what is known as Interlaced acquisition).
Take a look at the document linked below, as well as the related website within that for more information on the RS-170 standard:
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/1B9372A7EB54A17386256A3A0060FAC8

The 25 fps
you see in MAX is generally the fps you can expect in LabVIEW. You may want to contact Sony to see if there is anyway to increase the fps in hardware.
Hope this helps.

Julie S.