Hardware options for IMAQ in LabVIEW

[jsl20]

Hi LabVIEW people,

I'm looking for some advice and/or inspiration for my current test rig in terms of the hardware that I should be looking at buying.

I'm using LabVIEW to control a HD webcam, its currently got tethered shooting on the front panel and I've coded it to take and save photos via a regular button.

The main problem is the lack of quality from the webcam-2MP isn't really enough for my MatLab-based post processing. My departmental camera (Panasonic DMC-TZ5) does not have DirectShow, and so I can't use that connected via USB into LabVIEW. 

Does anyone have any thoughts on possible "LabVIEW-compatable hardware"-I'm considering an SLR (Nikon or Canon), but I'm not sure if they're even compatible. On searching these forums it seems a few people have had problems with SLRs, which I want to avoid!

Other options include Firewire or ethernet cameras. The only real constraint is a decent pixel count and a good lens. Tethered shooting via LabVIEW and the ability to control the camera to take pictures on command, or setting it to take a photo every few seconds for ~30 mins is also required. I've got the full LabVIEW suit, including Vision add ons etc. 

Any comments or suggestions are welcome! 

[toto26 · Accepted solution]

Hello,

First, I think SLR camera are not a good solution in term of compatibility with LabVIEW, because manufacturers doesn't provide drivers.

Forget webcams as the quality of their CMOS are very poor.

With vision tools, you will be able to acquire from cameras connected in Firewire or GigE, without having to acquire expensive acquisition board. For GigE camera, the only thing to consider is the compatibility of your NIC, it must be Gigabit and support Jumboframes. Now, IMAQdx is also compatible with DirectShow cameras sucha as webcams, and some manufacturers of cameras provides this kind of driver (but it's rare). 

Also you can invest in CameraLink camera which are high performances cameras in term of throughput, but you have to invest in an acquisition bard (NI. PCIe-1429 for example).

Hope this helps

[jsl20]

that's a big help thanks. a firewire or ethernet camera seems to be the best option.