user manual

pco.camware
pco.camware

Excelitas PCO GmbH asks you to carefully read and follow the instructions in this document.
For any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at any time.

telephone: +49 (0) 9441 2005 50

fax: +49 (0) 9441 2005 20

postal address: Excelitas PCO GmbH

Donaupark 11
93309 Kelheim, Germany

email: [email protected]

web: www.excelitas.com/pco

pco.camware user manual 4.16.1

Released July 2024

©Copyright Excelitas PCO GmbH

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To
view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative
Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

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Contents
1 Introduction 4
1.1 Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 NVIDIA CUDA driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Quick start 9
2.1 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 First image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3 pco.camware software 12
3.1 Chapter overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2 Camera overview/list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3 Camera properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.3.1 Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.3.2 Image size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3.3 Sensor control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.3.4 Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3.5 Recording control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3.6 Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.3.7 Hardware IO control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.3.8 Convert control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.3.9 Lens control dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.4 Image overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.5 Recorder tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.6 View window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.7 Recorder (Images) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.8 Settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.8.1 Auto save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.9 Tabs and features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.9.1 Demo mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.9.2 File menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.9.3 Camera menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.9.4 Acquisition menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.9.5 View menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.9.6 Window menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.9.7 Help menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.9.8 View window menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.9.9 Additional features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.10 Camware X-Cite integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.10.1 Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.10.2 Light control dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.10.3 Sync Light with Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.10.4 Auto-Link Light Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Appendix 93

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1 Introduction
This manual describes the operation of the software pco.camware developed by PCO. With this
software, all current and most older PCO cameras can be operated.

In the pco.camware manual all basic functions of the software are described, but all specific
camera data, values and special functions can be found in the corresponding camera manual.

! Not all of the listed functions are supported by all cameras!

1.1 Conventions
The following typographic conventions are used in this manual:

Value Description
bold italics Terms that can be found in the pco.camware.
Features Heading with a chapter.
3.9.2 Bold chapter: hyperlink to a chapter.

1 2 Numbers that help to find functions quickly.

Note Notes that must be observed.

1.2 System requirements

Download the latest versions of our software and camera drivers from the PCO website. Contact
us if you have any questions about your system configuration.

System requirements
Intel®/ Xeon Core™ i7/ i9 at least 2.8 GHz Full-HD resolution display
RAM > 8 GB DDR3 Windows 7 or higher
NVIDIA CUDA CC >= 3.5 (get current runtime
version from NVIDIA)

1.3 NVIDIA CUDA driver

Our software relies on GPU processing, so the video drivers must be up to date. Update your
NVIDIA driver before using pco.camware. If you have an older driver version GPU Processing will
not work properly and therefore slow down image processing.

Check if GPU Processing is activated by having a look into the Proc config settings

1 in the Convert Control window

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2 (see Convert Control chapter 3.3.8).

If GPU Processing is disabled and shown grayed, update your NVIDIA driver or check the website
of the computer manufacturer for graphic card driver updates.

1.4 Installation
The pco.camware Microsoft Windows application software enables you to control every camera
parameter or setting. Images can be displayed on a monitor and may be downloaded and stored.
Installation files for latest 64-bit Windows operating systems are available.

After a successful installation, you will find the program folder PCO Digital Camera Toolbox in your
program directory and a PCO button on your desktop.

To uninstall the pco.camware program, use ’Apps and Features’ under Windows’ System Control.

Follow the installation Wizard:

1 Install as admin to install to program folder, otherwise it will be installed only to user folder.

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2 Then choose install directory.

3 Choose components; select additional drivers for Camera Link interface Silicon Software
DLL MeIV or Camera Link HS DLL CLHS for Camera Link HS interface (for USB and USB3
the appropiate driver must first be installed).

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4 After the next two screens installation is complete.

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2 Quick start
In order to get familiar with your new camera and software it will helpful to first aim the camera at
an object easy to focus on and visible under normal light conditions.

2.1 Preparation

1 Computer is turned on.

2 Installation of pco.camware and camera specific driver is finished.

3 An appropriate lens is attached (remove cap) or the camera is attached properly to the
microscope, spectrograph or other scientific device.

4 Camera is connected to the computer.

5 Camera is connected to the power supply and powered up.

2.2 Start

Start pco.camware and the graphical user interface will start up:

Note Always install latest pco.camware version from our web site to use the full capabilities of your
camera.

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2.3 First image

Follow the Instructions:

1 pco.camware must be started.

2 A View Window

3 is shown automatically or open a new one.

4 Start Live Preview.

5 Right-click in the View Window & apply Continuous Auto Range.

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6 You may have to adjust Exposure time, and the aperture and focus of the mounted lens.

7 Now you should clearly see the object in the window.

To change Exposure time (e.g. the image is still either too dark or too bright), go to chapter 3.3.1
For recording and saving, see chapter 3.3.5, 3.5 and 3.9.2 for detailed information.

Note Live preview is useful for fast and easy camera adjustment and focusing, but does not record
or store images.

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3 pco.camware software

3.1 Chapter overview

Value Description Page

3.3.1 timing Exposure, Delay, Trigger 14
Mode, FPS Control Mode,
FPS Presets, Master/Slave
Mode*
3.3.2 image size ROI, Binning, Format, ROI 18
Presets
3.3.3 sensor control Pixel Clock, BW Noise Filter, 20
Cooling Setpoint, Offset
Control, Double Image,
CDI Mode, IR Sensitivity,
Conversion Factor
3.3.4 memory Active RAM Segment, RAM 23
Segment 1-3
3.3.5 recording control Recorder Mode, Acquire 24
Mode, Time Stamp,
Sequence Trigger Mode
3.3.6 status Electronics-, Sensor-, Power 27
Supply Temperature
3.3.7 hardware io control Exposure Trigger, Acquire 27
Enable, Status Busy, Status
Expos
3.3.8 convert control Convert Control BW / Color 28
3.3.9 lens control dialog Aperture, Focus 30
3.4 image overlay Image Overlay 31
3.5 recorder tools Record Settings, Play 32
Settings
3.6 view window Split, Tab Group, Place 36
3.7 recorder images Preview of recorded images 38
(Thumbnails)
3.8 settings overview 41
3.8.1 auto save Auto File Save 42
3.9 tabs and features 44
3.9.1 demo mode 44
3.9.2 file menu Open Raw-, Save Raw-, 45
Export Files & Sequences,
Options, Open AVI Codec
Dialog, Load Lookup Table,
Direct record to file, Start
Auto Save, Exit
3.9.3 camera menu Camera Control, Close, 48
Rescan, Setup, Lens Control
Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page

Value Description Page
3.9.4 acquisition menu Live Preview, Acquire Single 50
Image, Record Sequence,
Memory Allocation Dialog,
Auto Camera RAM Segment
Switching
3.9.5 view menu New View Window, Convert 51
Control, Multi Window,
Convert Control, Toolbars
and Docking Windows,
Application Look, Reset
Layout to Default
3.9.6 window menu Close Active Window, 53
Arrange horz. view, Arrange
vert. view, Split
3.9.7 help menu Logging, Create Support File, 54
Support Mail, About
3.9.8 view window menu Right-click: Zoom / Flip / 55
Mirror / Rotate...
3.9.9 additional features White Balance, Fold-up 57
window, Setting Contrast
Area by Mouse, Setting a
new ROI by Mouse, Short Cut
List

3.2 Camera overview/list

1 If closed, open the Camera Overview window by selecting the View tab and Toolbars and
Docking Windows -> Camera Overview.

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Camera Overview

2 The Camera Overview window supports the management of more than one PCO cameras
and displays a Camera List of the connected ones. You are able to Scan Cameras or close
an active camera.
3 The user can define several different Camera Sets for each camera (max. 30 sets per camera
-> Add set).

4 New View Windows can be opened.

5 The Live Preview function can be started.

Live Preview

Live Preview facilitates the aperture and focus adjustment, allowing a first look at your object.
During Live Preview, Trigger Mode is set to Auto Sequence by default. This can be changed in
Recorder Tools. Preview can be set to use external trigger if needed.

6 When opened up, the Live Preview shows a small Preview window (always monochrome)
integrated in the Camera List.

7 Camera Sets
All settings, such as resolution and frame rate, in the Camera Properties (see 3.3.3) are saved
to Camera Sets. Define different Camera Sets with different preferences in Camera Properties
for each of your experiments. Camera Sets can be switched at any time (not during record) and
copied to other cameras.

Important Setting (for all cameras without internal memory)

Memory Allocation Dialog

If you want to change the number of recorded images in pco.camware, you must open the Acquisition
Tab (see 3.9.4) and select Memory Allocation Dialog. This sets the number of images recorded

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in one sequence. The maximum is defined by the available PC RAM size.

Link Preview Set to ’Preview’

8 When Link Preview Set to ’Preview’ is ticked the Preview will always be active with the set
parameters when starting a Live Preview.

If this function is deactivated, the Live Preview will always show live images with the parameters
of your active Set. Setting a higher exposure time for Preview Set and linking it to the Preview
function is beneficial if Preview light conditions are different from those in recording situations.

Reset All Camera Settings to Default

Using Reset All Settings to Default in the Camera List context menu will reset all settings in the
registry to default values.
Copy Settings to Current Set

To copy e.g. Camera Set 1 to Camera Set 4, just drag and drop e.g. Camera Set 1 to Camera
Set 4 and pco.camware asks to confirm it. It is possible to copy each setting to every camera.

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Master Sets

This function facilitates image acqusition with multiple cameras. Defining two or more Master Sets
allows easy switching between different predefined settings for each camera during an experiment.
Each image acquisition or experiment can be recorded with its own Master Set.

To enable Master Sets, right-click in the Camera Overview window and click Show Master Sets.

Define different Master Sets. Select individual Camera Settings within each Master Set.

Functions:

9 Add Master Set or

10 Remove Active Master.

11 Activate it by clicking on for example Master 1.

3.3 Camera properties

The Camera Properties window is the main interface for all camera settings. The active set
selected within Camera List is adjusted here.

The former main topic Camera Control dialog (known from pco.camware 3.x) and the Convert
Control (see 3.3.8) dialog can also be opened, but these dialogs will be removed in future versions
of pco.camware.

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Four view options with various functions can be selected: Basic, Custom, Expert, and the adjustable
MyCustomSetup (see instructions below).

1 Basic mode only shows camera name, type, set, serial number and exposure time. In Basic
mode the frame rate is always calculated automatically based on the selected exposure
time: if exposure time increases, frame rate decreases, etc. this mode is recommended for
beginners.

2 Custom mode shows several more setting possibilities and functions are hidden or shown
by the Custom Properties button. In addition to the Basic mode options, all other options
are selectable.

3 Expert mode (for advanced users) shows all possible camera feature settings.

4 MyCustomSetup mode can be used to create custom settings with a .reg file. This option
can only be selected once the setup has been created.

Open C:\ProgramData\pco.

• CustomSettingMode.reg can be edited with a regular text editor.

• CustomSettingMode.txt contains instructions on how to use the .reg file.
An explanation for every setting is displayed below the Camera Properties dialog.

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Common Settings Mode / Common Properties

If you work with two or more identical PCO cameras, the Common Properties help simplify the
recording setup by determining which settings are common to all cameras and which are set
individually for each camera.

This setting is available only when multiple cameras of the same type are active in pco.camware.

In order to be able to use the Common Properties, the Common Setting Mode must be activated.
To do this, open the File menu and click Options. Under General Properties set the Common
Settings Mode to Yes, (see 3.9.2).

Now you can switch the menu in Camera Properties. Click on the four horizontal lines. Immediately
Camera Properties switches to the Common Properties. If Camera Properties Custom mode
is selected you can choose between Common and Custom.

All settings for which Common is selected must be set for Camera 1 and then automatically apply
to all cameras.

The camera properties of camera 2, 3, 4, etc. only show the options set to Individual, all others
are hidden.

All other setting options can be set to Common, so that an easy operation via channel 1 is possible,
but Exposure and Delay can be set independently for each camera.

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Significantly, Common Settings Mode affects the Camera Sets. If you create a new set or edit
an existing one and click on it to activate it, it will be duplicated on all other cameras.

Set Fan and LED

Set LEDs on the rear panel to On or Off.

Set fan via dropdown menu to Manual or Auto. If set to Manual, you will be able to set the speed
of the camera fan from 0 % to 100 %.

Note It is the users’ responsibility to monitor the camera condition. PCO is not responsible for
damage to the camera from overheating due to the fan switched off during operation. Take
care and do not overheat your camera!

3.3.1 Timing

Introduction to Timing

An important parameter for a camera is the frame rate. The upper limit of the frame rate is defined
by exposure and readout time.

The figure below shows the timing scheme. Exposure and readout are done simultaneously. This
means while image n is read out from the sensor, image n+1 is already integrated within the

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sensor’s pixel elements.

Figure 1 shows that for short exposure times, the readout is the limiting factor. The second figure
shows that for long exposure times the exposure time plus delay (tdelay ) is the limiting factor.

Sensor
Readout n n+1 n+2

Sensor
Exposur n n+1 n+2
e
texp treadout

Figure 3.1: Image timing for short exposure times - readout time is the limiting factor.

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Sensor
n-1 n n+1
Readout

Sensor n n+1
Exposure

texp tdelay

Figure 3.2: Image timing for long exposure times - exposure time is the limiting factor.

Lower frame rates can be achieved by inserting additional delay times before each exposure. This
is valid also for external triggering as it defines when a next trigger can be set and is recognized.

Maximum Frame Rate

3 The maximum achievable frame rate based on the timing and ROI settings is calculated and
displayed automatically.

Trigger Mode

4 In this context trigger means exposure trigger, i.e. the trigger signal controls the exposure
time of a single image (light integration time). Input and output connectors are camera
specific – see the manual for your specific camera.
Auto Sequence: the camera optimizes the image recording to achieve the best possible frame
rate.

In Auto Sequence mode, the camera determines the highest possible frame rate for the set
exposure time and the time required for a frame readout.

After a start command is given, the sequential recording begins and continues until a stop command
is given.

Soft Trigger: single images are recorded with this command. A single image is acquired by
clicking the Software Trigger button, which appears after pressing the Record button (see 3.5).
Other signals have no influence on this operating mode.

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Ext. Exp. Start: in External Exposure Start mode, single image recording is started by the falling
or rising edge of the voltage signal at the input connector. The frame rate cannot be set, as the
frame rate is defined by the frequency of the external signal. However the predefined exposure
time and ROI settings affect the maximum possible frame rate.

The Status Busy signal at output connector indicates whether a new trigger can be accepted.

Note If the trigger rate of the external signal is very close to the maximum possible frame rate
(difference < 1/1000), it will be random whether a trigger is accepted or not.

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Exposure
Trigger
(in)

Status
Expos
(out)
Status
Busy
(out)

not
Trigger accepted accepted accepted
accepted

The maximum achievable frame rate in external trigger mode might be lower than in Auto Sequence
mode depending on your camera model, since some cameras start exposing after the readout of
the previous image is completed. Refer to the camera specific manual for details.

If the trigger rate of the external signal is higher than the maximum possible frame rate, every
second trigger pulse is ignored. Therefore the actual frame rate drops to half of the external trigger
rate. If the trigger rate is increased further, then only every third, every fourth etc. trigger edge is
accepted.

Exposure
Trigger
(in)

Status
Expos
(out)

Status
Busy
(out)

not not not

Trigger accepted accepted accepted
accepted accepted accepted

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Ext. Exp. Ctrl: in ’External Exposure Control’ an external signal applied at the input connector
controls the start and the duration of the exposure.

A new exposure is started by the falling or rising edge of the voltage signal at the input connector.
The exposure is finished when the opposite edge is detected. In this mode, the start as well as
the length of the exposure time can be controlled. No further settings can be made, as the image
timing is completely controlled by the external trigger signal.

Exposure
Trigger
(in)

Status
Expos
(out)

Status
Busy
(out)
treadout
not not not
Trigger accepted accepted accepted
accepted accepted accepted

Note that the externally controlled exposure time is limited. The integration will be stopped automatically
if the maximum exposure time of your camera is achieved.

The Status Busy signal at output connector indicates if a new trigger is accepted.

Exposure Time and Timebase

2 It is possible to change time-base from automatic to μs or ms. If your input is out of the range
of the camera, it is automatically changed to the next possible setting. The adjustment steps
of exposure time and delay time depend on the specific camera model.

Timing

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The Exposure and Delay time can be precisely set in camera specific steps. The effective step size
depends on minimum internal camera restrictions (usually in ns) or the time base set. The slider
and the up/down control refer to the blue highlighted unit. The resulting frame rate is derived from
this setting. Delay time setting is not recommended for high-speed applications.
Change time base by clicking on ... and the respective window opens.

In this context menu, you can also choose Time window, which will open a high dynamic dialog
to control the exposure and delay times (single shutter mode). Click OK to validate the changes
and hit ESC on your keyboard to close the window.

FPS Control Mode

The camera optimizes the image recording to achieve the selected frame rate. The exposure time
is limited to 1/fps, lower values can be selected.

First the frame rate is set. If the time required for readout of the image is longer than 1 / frame rate,
then the frame rate will be reduced to 1 / treadout .

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If FPS Control Mode is selected and the selected exposure time requires a lower frame rate, the
exposure time will be reduced to the maximum possible time at that frame rate.

FPS Presets

If FPS Control Mode is set to on, a predefined combination of frame rate and resolution may be
selected.

These presets may vary and depend on your PCO camera model:

For example pco.edge 5.5: 50 Hz @ 1920x1440 (full resolution).

Clicking on Set max. exp. pco.camware sets the maximum possible exposure time according to
the selected frame rate.

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3.3.2 Image size

1 Region of Interest
ROI (Region of Interest) selects a part of the sensor to be read out, thus reducing the amount of
image data and potentially increasing the frame rate.

Based on your camera model, the ROI might need to be set symmetrically, especially to affect the
frame rate.

Click ... and tick Basic setting (sym.) to establish a ROI by typing in the horizontal and vertical
resolution in pixels.

ROI window

Use the ... right of the size edit boxes and click on ROI window.

The ROI window opens and a new ’Region of Interest’ may be defined using a mouse or by typing
in specific numbers.

2 Binning

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Binning combines adjacent pixels (in either the horizontal or vertical direction) to form super pixels.
This increases the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and but decreases the spatial resolution of the image.

Examples for available binning modes:

H1xV1, H1xV2, H1xV4, H2xV1, H2xV2, H2xV4, H4xV1, H4xV2, H4xV4.

3 Format
In some of the cameras, it is possible to change the standard resolution (sensor format).

3.3.3 Sensor control

1 Pixel Clock
The pixel clock sets the clock frequency and therefore the image sensor readout speed. A higher
Pixel Clock leads to higher achievable frame rates but influences image quality.

2 B/W Noise Filter

In addition to the processing of the calibration of the camera, a dynamic noise filter can be activated
to remove so-called blinkers and high noise pixels. If you encounter unexpected aliasing effects,
turn this filter off.

3 Offset Control
Select Auto to automatically compensate dark current and signal drift of the offset. Select Off to
deactivate Offset Control.

The offset is recalculated if the exposure time is changed during a Record session. This applies
also if any setting in Camera Properties is changed. The offset is not recalculated if recording

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only stops and restarts and no other properties are changed.

4 Cooling Setpoint

Set the cooling temperature of your camera. The set temperature has an effect on the noise
performance of the camera. Depending on the cooling system, it takes a few minutes after starting
the camera to reach the set temperature.

5 Double Image
This feature is used to turn on alternative modes, such as particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements
or double shutter.

The first exposure time te1 may be any exposure time of the available range of the PCO camera.
The second exposure time te2 cannot be directly adjusted. The length of the second exposure is
the readout time of the first image. The interframing time titf denotes the transition time between
end of exposure #1 and start of exposure #2.
As can be seen the maximum frame rate of the double image mode (where frame rate is defined as
the frequency of the double images) will drop to just half the value compared to the standard mode.

The double image mode will work only in the trigger modes Auto Sequence and Ext. Exp. Start.

Note to achieve a blur free second image the environment should be kept dark and the exposure
duration of the second image determined by a flash light.

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Example timing diagram for Trigger Mode Auto Sequence:

Sensor treadout1 treadout2

Readout

Status
Expos
(out)

Exposure
Trigger
(in)

ttd texp1 tif texp2 treadout

texp1 : exposure 1 texp2 : exposure 2

ttd : delay time tid : intrinsic delay
tif : interframing time treadout : readout time

6 CDI mode
The correlated double image (CDI) mode records images with increased dynamic range and a
30% better performance on low signal side images (at the expense of half of the usual frame rate,
because double images are acquired).
1
The min. exposure time is calculated as follows: texp =
2 ∗ fCDI

texp : min. exposure time fCDI : max. frame rate

Example:

resolution = 1920 x 1080 pixel; fCDI = 1067 fps -> texp = 467 μs

In this case texp is both, minimum and maximum exposure time.

To increase texp decrease frame rate or resolution.

7 Conversion Factor

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The conversion factor defines how many charges (electrons), generated by light striking a pixel, are
necessary to generate one count (one intensity level) in the digital image. Therefore, the conversion
factor describes the gain when converting electrons into a digital value.

Example:

The pco.pixelfly usb has two conversion factors: 1.0 e- /count and 1.5 e- /count, both of which can
be used in 1x1 (full resolution) and higher binning modes. Binning is available for the pco.pixelfly
usb / pco.ultraviolet. The usable extended fullwell-capacity rises in binning mode from 16000
to 24000e- . For 1x1 binning (full resolution) it makes sense to keep 1.0 e- /count, as changing the
conversion factor to 1.5 e- the full dynamic range of 16384 grey steps is not accessible. In binning
mode you can use both conversion factors: for low light conditions, the 1.0 e- /count mode helps
to spread the low image information content over the full 14 bits. For brighter images it makes
sense to use 1.5 e- /count to access the full dynamic.

3.3.4 Memory
For cameras with internal memory (RAM).

The RAM has four different segments. In pco.camware only three can be used to save images.
The fourth is used by pco.camware itself for internal processes.

You may record into three different segments and to set the exact number of images in each
segment. The software always shows the maximum number of images (depending on RAM size
and chosen ROI).

Active RAM Segment: choose the active segment: e.g. 1, 2 or 3.

3.3.5 Recording control

1 Recorder Mode

For cameras without internal RAM:

Our software uses free RAM space on your computer. In Sequence mode the recording stops
when RAM space is full. In Ring Buffer mode the camera only stops by a stop command, hence
overwriting previous images continuously, starting at the first image. For longer recording periods
an appropriate RAID system is necessary, see also the Direct Record to File option, see 3.9.2.

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For cameras with internal memory:

The recorded images are temporarily saved as 16 bit multi TIFF if thumbnails are generated after
recording is done. In Sequence mode the camera stops after the memory (i.e. the active RAM
segment) is completely filled. In Ring Buffer mode the camera records until it is stopped –
overwriting the previous images continuously. Also see Memory Allocation Dialog 3.9.4.

2 Acquire Mode
The Acquire Mode is an additional instance to control image acquisition by an external signal. Like
a gate signal it opens or closes the time window during which images according to the selected
Trigger Mode (see 3.3.1) are recorded.

If set to Auto any signal at the Acquire Enable input connector is ignored.

If set to External, the camera only records images if the external signal enables it.

The Acquire Mode is level controlled. This means when the signal level is ”high” image acquisition
is possible, at the level ”low” not (or inverted). A practical example would be an illumination of the
experiment which generates a signal and is coupled to the Acquire Enable input: light on means
level ”high” and thus image acquisition, light off level ”low” and no image acquisition.

In Trigger Mode Auto Sequence the sensor timing scheme (image acquisition of the sensor) is
paused by the signal at the Acquire Enable input connector. The Acquire Enable input is sampled
at the beginning of the image generation, shown by at the rising edge of the Status Expos output
connector.

Image acquisition is in an idle state if the Acquire Enable input is on low level (high, when inverted);
it pauses image acquisition until the Acquire Enable input is on high level again (low, when
inverted).

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Status
Expos
(out)

Acquire
Enable
(in)

Trigger
(in)
not not not
accepted accepted accepted accepted accepted accepted
accepted accepted accepted

In Trigger Mode External Exposure Start, the Acquire Enable input connector works like a gate
for the trigger signal.

The rising edge of the trigger (falling when Exposure Trigger is inverted) is accepted only when
the Acquire Enable signal is high level (low, when inverted).

Example:

Status Expos signal for Signal Timing First Line (for Rolling Shutter pco.panda and pco.edge).

Exposure
Trigger
(in)

Status
Expos
(out)

Acquire
Enable
(in)

not not
accepted accepted
accepted accepted

In Trigger Mode External Exposure Control the Acquire Enable input works very similar to the
mode External Exposure Start. However, the Acquire Enable input is ignored for the rising/falling
edge which is closing the exposure time (an already started exposure will be finished).

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Using Acquire Enable in External Trigger Modes, following timing specification should be met:

Exposure
Trigger
(in)

Acquire
Enable
(in)

tsu th

If the Acquire Enable signal changes during the time window of tsu (set up) to th (hold), the behavior
is random. The trigger may be accepted or ignored. Specific values for your camera can be found
in the camera manual.

Sequence Trigger

Once a falling or rising edge at the Acquire Enable trigger input (see chapter 3.3.7) is recognized,
an internal image counter starts. It counts all acquired images and stops the recording when the
predefined number of images is reached.

Example Timing Diagram:

Trigger Mode is set to Ext. Exposure Start and Acquire Mode is set to Sequence Trigger mode;
Image counter: 3.

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Exposure
Trigger
(in)

Acquire
Enable
(in)

tsu th

Note Do not confuse the function with the Sequence Trigger Mode (see camera specific manual).

3 Time Stamp
A time stamp can be placed into the upper left corner of the image. It can be either No Stamp,
Binary, Binary + ASCII (text) or ASCII.

The time resolution is 1 μs. In binary mode the first 16 pixels will be filled with the time stamp
information (binary code). The numbers are coded in BCD with one byte per pixel, which means
that every pixel contains 2 digits. If the pixels have more resolution than 8 bits, then the BCD digits
are right bound placed and the upper bits are zero.

(1 BCD digit � 4 bits; 2 numbers � 2 BCD � 8 bits = 1 byte; every pixel contains 2 digits)

For further information refer to our SDK manual. In binary and ASCII mode text will be placed
into the image replacing the content of the image (271x 8 pixels). Time stamp shows the end of
exposure time.

Three values are stamped onto the image:

1 Image number

2 date

3 time

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3.3.6 Status
Shows the temperature of various camera elements.

1 Electronics Temperature
Shows the actual temperature of the FPGA.

2 Power Supply Temperature

Shows the actual temperature of the voltage supply inside the camera.

3 Sensor Temperature
Shows the actual sensor temperature.

For cooled cameras:

A Peltier cooling unit keeps the sensor’s dark current to an acceptable minimum to achieve a
continuous image acquisition free of any drift phenomena. Either an internal fan or an external
water cooling system assures proper heat transfer from the Peltier element to stabilize the temperature
of the camera.

Note If the temperature rises above a certain level, pco.camware will give you a warning. Please
always ensure adequate cooling of the cameras. Do not expose it to direct sunlight or other
sources of heat.

3.3.7 Hardware IO control

Hardware IO control options differ depending on the camera model. Refer to the camera specific
manual to see which options are available for your camera.

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Change settings using the drop-down menu.

Enabling and Polarity of IO Signals

Signals can be enable or disabled from this menu. The polarity of the input and output signals
indicating their active states is selectable (positive or negative logic).

The polarity of level-sensitive signals can be set to High (positive logic) or Low (negative logic).

The polarity of edge-sensitive signals can be set to Rising (positive logic) or Falling (negative logic).

3.3.8 Convert control

Start the Convert Dialog with the black/white button in Camera Properties.

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Convert Control BW

The conversion of the original 12/14/16 bit image intensity values (x-axis) to the corresponding 8
bit values of your computer can be arranged.

BW Setting (includes histogram of original data)

1 Swap Display shows either gamma setting graph or histogram of the converted image (8
bit).

2 Swap Size shows both in the same window.

3 Green sliders in historam

Left slider: minimum controller (corresponds to value 0 of the 8 bit display). Values below that
mark are set to 0, i.e. displayed as black.

Right slider: maximum controller (corresponds to value 255). Values above that mark are set to
255, i.e. displayed as white.

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The values in-between are converted to a value between 0 and 255 depending on Contrast and
Gamma settings.

4 See the small graph, which reflects the calculation.

Proc config tab: see Convert Control Color on next page.

Converted Hist

This tab shows you the histogram of converted data.

Other functions (Saturation, Vibrancy, Col.Temp, Tint) are inactive for monochrome cameras.

Convert Control Color (only color cameras)

The displayed color images are RGB images, calculated with the help of the three different color
channels (red, green, blue). As a result, there are three different histograms for an RGB image: one
for each color channel. The available user controls are the same as those for grayscale histogram.

Color Balance (Histogram of original data)

1 Intensity of a single color is controlled by Saturation and Vibrancy.

2 Press the Auto WB button to set the white balance.

3 The balancing of RGB is controlled by Col.Temp. and Tint.

4 Swap Display shows either gamma setting graph or histogram.

5 Swap Size shows both in the same window.

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6 White sliders in histogram

Left slider:

Minimum controller (corresponds to value 0 of the 8 bit display). Values below that mark are set
to 0, i.e. displayed as no color.

Right slider:

Maximum controller (corresponds to value 255). Values above that mark are set to 255, i.e.
displayed as full color. The values in-between are converted to a value between 0 and 255
depending on Contrast and Gamma settings.

7 The small graph reflects the lookup table calculation, includin gamma, contrast, brightness,
etc.
Proc. Config (Process configuration)

Due to proprietary high-end algorithms used for these image processing features, no detailed
description is given here.

8 GPU Processing
Choose between Opencl and Nvidia GPU in order to significantly reduce processing time (increases
refresh rate of the live image). If this option is not available use an Nvidia graphics device or update
to the most recent driver for Nvidia GPU.

Fast pco debayering: only for color cameras. An alternative method for removing the Bayer
pattern.

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9 Color define Filter: only for color cameras

10 Noise reduction

NLM: non-local means algorithm

Denoise Adaptive: only for color cameras

11 Sharpen

On: only for color cameras (first activate Fast pco debayering)

Converted RGB Hist

This tab shows you the histogram of converted data.

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3.3.9 Lens control dialog

Open Lens Control Dialog with this button. Button is only active if a camera with EF lens is
detected.

Lens Control is only available for pco.edge with Camera Link HS interface, pco.dimax cs and
pco.dicam C1.

Settings

Aperture (f/pos): select the aperture. All possible apertures of your lens are listed.

Focus: select focus from 0 to infinity.

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1 Lens Control Dialog shows detailed information about the mounted lens and the current
position of aperture and focus.

3.4 Image overlay

1 Open Image Overlay: toggle between Camera Properties and Image Overlay with these
tab controls.
If not available, see 3.9.5 to activate it.

This function enables a configurable image overlay allowing to display information within the images.

2 Many options are available by clicking Add item to List.

The Appearance is of the overlay is configurable:

Font, Text Color, Text Opacity, Background Color, Background Opacity and X Position or Y
Position.

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3 Camera Image Number The image numbers are incremented continuously. Recording in
Ring Buffer mode, once the camera’s RAM is full, results in overwriting the images, starting
with the first image in the loop. However the camera continues to increment the image
number.

4 Application Image Number The software displays the image numbers according to the
quantity of images being recorded (starting with image 1). After Ring Buffer is full the number
is always reset to 1.

5 A preview of the Image Overlay is shown.

6 Each item can be moved or deleted: Move Upwards, Move Downwards or Delete by
clicking on ... or move freely by clicking on ... and dragging an item.

Drag & drop the Image Overlay to the desired position within an image.

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7 Right click in the image to start Show Image Overlay.

Note This function does not overwrite raw recorded image data. Only the converted 8 bit image
will be covered depending on the opacity.

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3.5 Recorder tools

Recorder Tools provides Record and Play function, Play Settings and Record Settings.

Located on the right lower side of pco.camware or, if closed, activated by View Menu (see chapter
3.9.5).

Record

Start/Stop record: with Record Button or press enter in the View window to Start / Stop a
record session.

Record: in record state pco.camware software is highlighted in red.

Exposure time can be changed during recording. See 3.3 Camera Properties.

Software Trigger: after record is started an arrow pointing downward appears. Clicking on it
triggers a single image. (see 3.3.1).

1 Play Settings

Play Speed: selectable Play Speed from x1 to x256 or from 1 fps to 16 fps.

E.g. in mode x1 a recording with 1000 fps is played as fast as possible.

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1 fps means that only one frame per second is played. X2 displays only each second image.

Play Mode: selectable play mode of the recorder (Single or Continuous (re)play).

Play Direction: selects direction of record play (Forward or Backward).

2 Record Settings
Averaging: averaging images in the buffer reduces random image noise. Set a value higher than
x1 in the drop-down list and this number of images will be averaged.

IIR Lowpass: another option to reduce the noise is the activation of the Infinite impulse response
IIR Lowpass filter. This filter takes 50% of the previous image and 50% of the new image to create
images with reduced noise.

Image (actual) = {Image (act - 1) + Image (new) } / 2

Preview Settings

If Preview with ext. signals is set to Yes: Trigger Mode Ext. Exp. / Ext. Exp. Ctrl. Start or
Acquire Mode External are active during Live Preview, if the Trigger Mode or Acquire Mode is
enabled in the Preview set.

Use this during Live Preview e.g. for external synchronization of a camera and an external light
source.

Reminder Dialog

If you made a recording but did save it yet, pco.camware will remind you to do it before starting a
new one. If the dialog is deactivated, it can be reactivated via the file options menu 3.9.2.

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Extended Recorder

Extended Recorder can be activated (see 3.9.5).

1 Record / Stop record / Play.

2 First image (jump to first image) / Back fast (jump backward) / Back (jump one image
backward).

3 Forward (jump one image forward) / Forward fast (jump forward) / Last image (jump to last
image in record).

Recording with Multiple Cameras

With all cameras activated recording starts simultaneously on all of them.

Recorder will use Recorder Mode settings (Sequence or Ring Buffer) of the selected camera for
all cameras (see 3.3.5).

1 For single camera recording, deactivate cameras by removing the check mark from the box.

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Coolor Coded Image Overlay

Set up and acquire a sequence of images that are overlayed to form a color composite. To open
Color Coded Image Overlay, open:

1 File

2 Options

3 Recording Properties

4 If enabled, it can be activated in the Recorder Tools window.

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5 The Recorder window will now have 2 additional buttons. Click on the setup button.

This opens the Setup dialog.

Channels sets the number of images per sequence.

The + adds a fluorophore to the end of the list, the - deletes it.

Individual Exposure Time sets an individual exposure time for each image of the sequence (LUT
min/max are always individual).

Image Combine sets the calculation method for the combining images.

Auto Save enables the saving of images during the recording of the sequence.

Image Folder sets the file location, Image File Name sets the file name.

File Mode sets whether Save and/or Export should be used.

Save File Type and Export File Type set the respective file types.

You can select individual fluorophores for each channel from a predefined list by clicking on them
in the Channels section.

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You can change the order of channels: Click on the three dots at the end of the channel line and
select Move upwards or Move downwards. You can also rearrange the channels via drag and
drop.

Remove or add fluorophores in the sequence with Remove and Add.

You can also edit the Fluorophore List with Edit list. This will open the Fluorophore Editor.

Use the header bar in the Fluorophore Editor to arrange the fluorophores either by name (Fluorophore)
or wavelength (EM). You can edit the names of both the fluorophores and the wavelength EMs by
double-clicking on the entry.

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The arrow next to the column shows the sorting order.

Clicking on Color opens a color selection dialog.

Click on Add to add fluorophores to the list and click on Delete to remove them.

The checkmark column at the far-left of the Fluorophore Editor sets whether the individual fluorophores
can be selected in the drop-down list for the channel.

If a fluorophore has already been selected, it cannot be unchecked and will be grayed out.

Multiple fluorophores can be selected at once by holding Shift while checking in the column.

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3.6 View window

Quick Scrolling

If at least 50 images have been recorded, you can scroll through them quickly by holding down the
left mouse button on the image number. Alternatively, you can enter the desired image number
directly into the number field or use the mouse wheel to scroll up or down.

More View Windows

1 You may open more than one window for one camera: click View Window button

2 and pco.camware will create a new one.

Even when multiple View Windows (or from multiple cameras) are open, the same image number
is always shown in all of the View Windows.

3 A dropdown menu helps to select a View Window. If there are more View Windows than
can be displayed on the desktop, you may select individual View Windows.

Split View Window

4 The View Window can be split. Click Window -> Split and a split cross is shown.

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5 The size of split window elements is easily adjusted by grabbing and dragging the dividing
lines.
The main reason for this function is to view four sections of the image in one view. Choose the
Zoom± function to zoom in the image (first turn off Stretched View see 3.9.8).

6 To undo the split, double click on the dividing line (after symbol is visible).

New Horizontal / Vertical Tab Group

To view two tabs side by side or arranged one above the other just drag a tab and pco.camware
will prompt to create a New Horizontal / Vertical Tab Group. Undo this by dragging the tab back
to its former position. This also applies for View Windows of several cameras.

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Place View Window

This function provides free positioning of one or more View Windows. Just drag the View Window
by mouse and move it upwards to undock from the View Window tab bar. Now place it to a second
monitor or dock it to the desired toolbar. Some example screen shots show the variety of options.

View Mode Properties

Click on the triangle button on the right-hand side of the view window to open or close the view
mode properties.

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3.7 Recorder (Images)

When recording is done, small preview images (thumbnails) are built and displayed automatically
in the Recorder (Images) docking window.

This may take some time depending on the performance of your computer system and the interface
used.

1 A green bar indicates the thumbnail download is in progress, and pco.camware is frozen
during this download. The build process can be stopped by selecting Stop Build Thumbnail
in the Right-click Menu (next page).

2 Clicking (left mouse button) within the upper scale bar, you can adjust the number of images
shown by moving the mouse left or right. Minimum is 20 and maximum is half of the total
recorded images.

Quick Scrolling

Scroll through the thumbnails by dragging the orange bar with the mouse or by mouse wheel while
the cursor is over the image number bar.

While quick scrolling, the Preview Window displays the active image sequence. This allows you to
quickly scroll through the image sequence displaying the images in the Preview Window forwards
or backwards. The View Window will not actively show live images during quick scrolling (only in
normal scrolling speed by mouse-wheel).

Thumbnail Image

Clicking on a thumbnail image it will make it appear in the View Window. Scroll via mouse wheel
through the thumbnails.

3 The upper blue bar refers to the number of displayed thumbnails. The lower blue bar shows
the range of the upper scale in relation to the whole record.

4 The second scale shows the total number of recorded images. It allows fast scrolling through
the images.

Right-Click Menu

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Right-click on thumbnails to open the menu. From this menu, you can rebuild all thumbnails and
to search for events.

5 Use Set In / Out to set values for a sequence that can be played via play button.

6 Reset In / Out discards these settings.

Set In / Out is active: if you save / export your images, only the selected ones are saved/exported
(see 3.9.2).

The light gray area in the upper scale shows an In-Out example area. To define a new area, right-
click on the start and end frame in one of the scales. The In image must be left of the red bar, the
Out image to the right of the red bar. Adjust the In / Out area by holding down the left mouse
button and slide the borders to increase / decrease the range.

7 Search Events in Thumbnails: detected events are shown as green bars.

Too Dark or Bright Thumbnails

If thumbnails are too dark or too bright, right-click in View Window (see 3.9.8) and select Auto
Range Peak or Auto Range Crop. Then right-click on a thumbnail image and select Rebuild
Thumbnails. Now the thumbnail images should conform to the View Window.

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Keyboard Scrolling

Use your keyboard to scroll through the Images. Page up / down keys: 10 Images up or down.
Arrow keys: quick scrolling through the images.

Advantage: fluent video playback in the View Window (forwards or backwards).

Home/Pos1 key: first image. End key: last image.

Insert Home Page

Up

Delete End Page

Down

Additional Short-Cuts

While mouse is in the thumbnail area in Recorder (Images):

Press CTRL + left mouse button to jump to the first image. Press CTRL + right mouse button to
jump to the last image.

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3.8 Settings overview

Open Settings Overview in the lower toolbar right next to the recorder. If it is not visible see
chapter 3.6 Toolbars and Docking Windows to open it.

Settings Overview shows the most important parameters of your camera(s) at a glance. If more
than one camera is connected, each camera and its parameters are listed.

The parameters can only be changed under 3.3.

11 Switch easily between the Recorder (Images) section and the Settings Overview.

Number Function Description

1 Camera name Name

2 Auto Save Off, Unconfigured (red), OK (green)

3 Type Camera type and serial number

4 Status Ready or Recording; Green background: Images are in

memory.

5 Frame rate Currently selected frame rate

6 Resolution Resolution in pixels

7 Exposure time Selected exposure time

8 Number of images Number of images to be recorded

Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page

Number Function Description

9 T0 Position See camera specific manual

10 Ext. Sync. State See camera specific manual

3.8.1 Auto save

Auto Save helps to save recorded images or sequences in an easy way. There is no need to save
each image/sequence separately from each connected camera. This function is very useful if you
use more than one camera. Once configured Auto Save can acquireand save as many images
/ sequences as needed during your experiment. This function stores RAW (e.g. b16, TIFF) and
Export (compressed e.g. AVI, JPG) files.

For standard file save and export see File menu 3.9.2. Explanations are shown in the info text
window at the bottom of the menu.

Enable Auto Save by clicking on the check box. The text changes to Unconfigured! (red background).

Right-click on the Unconfigured! field and click on Configure ’Auto Save’.The Auto Save Options
dialog is displayed.

General Auto Save Settings

Global

Auto Save Mode: three different modes are available, Save manually and two variants of Save
unattendedly.

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The Save manually mode stores RAW images and export images after a recording session, when
ALT and D keys are pressed. This can be useful for selcting a subset of the image sequence in
the Recorder Toolbar before saving.

The Save unattendedly mode downloads all RAW images and exports the complete image sequences
of all cameras immediately after an active recording is stopped.

Save unattendely (automatic start after record): saves all image data after recording, without
any further user interaction.

Save unattendely (automatic start after record) and restart recording: after a recording has
been saved, Auto Save restarts the recording, and then saves again – endlessly (stopped by
stopping the recording).

Select Output:

Off: Auto Save is deactivated

Save RAW: only 16 bit RAW files are stored (b16, PCO Raw-File, MultiTif-File, tiff)

Export: only converted files (8 bit) are stored (bmp, jpg, tiff, avi, mpeg, wmv)

Save RAW and Export: RAW and converted files are stored simultaneously.

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Common Folder: select main folder for stored files

Raw and Export File Type: select the type of RAW and converted file

Export Color Image: select to export color images (only for color cameras)

Apply Automatic File Naming: if set to Yes, stored files are automatically named by pco.camware
according to your automatic file name settings.

File Name

Set file name individually by adding or deleting items. Position these elements as needed.

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Camera Specific Auto Save Settings

Configure camera specific settings for each connected camera.

Save RAW File Settings: set RAW File Folder and RAW File Name (if not set to automatic file
naming).

Export File Settings: set Export File Folder and Export File Name (if not set to automatic file
naming).

Multimedia File Resolution: set predefined video export resolution or enter a Custom x- and
y-resolution.

You may have to set the resolution to match the configured resolution of your camera here.

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Finish the configuration by clicking OK.

After configuration is finished, Auto Save status turns OK (green background).

3.9 Tabs and features

This chapter describes in detail the pco.camware Demo Mode and the pco.camware tabs: File,
Camera, Acquisition, View and Window. The right-click menu and some additional features are
also described.

3.9.1 Demo mode

Upon startup pco.camware automatically recognizes the camera type of all connected and running
cameras.

It starts in Demo Mode if your camera is off or no camera is connected.

If you want to force pco.camware into Demo Mode, hold down the D key and press Scan Cameras
button.

In this mode all image processing features are available, but all camera settings and options are
deactivated. An image type can be selected to simulate the output of a particular camera model
so images can be laoded and processed when the camera is not connected. The Demo Mode
Setup window opens, requesting the corresponding input.

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Need Help? Having troubles to run the camera this window will pop up. Follow instructions of
chapter B.

Resolution

The drop down list displays the existing image sensor spatial resolutions of all PCO camera systems.
Select the specific resolution and bit depth of the images to be opened. To open Double Image
(shutter) images tick Double Shutter if such images have been recorded.

Color

With the radio buttons, the user can specify whether the image type is monochrome (b/w) or color.

Alignment

These two radio buttons adjust whether MSB (most significant bit) aligned (upper) or LSB (least
significant bit) aligned (lower) images have been stored.

Infotext

The Infotext is automatically shown in pco.camware if you open a stored image sequence.

The Camera Properties settings, storing location and Record date are listed in this file.

Infotext can be activated in the View Menu 3.9.5 at any time.

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3.9.2 File menu

Open Raw File

Imports a single image into the active image window. Only files with the extension and format of
*.b16 (PCO proprietary binary image format) and *.tif (16 bit TIFF image format) can be imported.
If the recorder is enabled, each imported image is transferred to the buffer shown in the picture
number. The imported image is adjusted to the current image size.

Open Raw Recorder Sequence

Imports a sequence of images. If more than one camera is connected and an image window is
open, the sequence is loaded to the active window. If no image window is open, the images are
loaded to camera #1. This command opens the Open file dialog box. Only files with the extension
and the format of *.b16, *.pcoraw, *.tif and multi tif can be imported.

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Save Raw File

Saves the image displayed in the active window and opens the Save file dialog. The image file can
be saved in 16bit *.b16, dcm or *.tif format. If more than one camera is connected, it is possible
to save all current images by selecting Export all images in the Save file dialog box. This feature
saves one image of each active camera within one process step (it is not necessary to repeat the
procedure for each camera). The save command is not available if no image window is open. For
Auto File Save see 3.8.1.

Save Raw Recorder Sequence

Saves or exports image sequences. If more than one camera is connected and an image window is
currently open, the record of the active window is saved. The command opens the Save recorder
file dialog box. It is possible to select the number of saved images, to step images and to choose
the first image number. For Auto File Save see 3.8.1.

Export File (not reloadable!)

Exports the image of the active image window. This command opens the Export File dialog box.
Files with the extensions asc, bmp, fts, jp2, jpg, pgm, png, tif can be exported. This item will not
be available if no image window is open. For Auto File Save see 3.8.1.

Export Recorder Sequence (not reloadable!)

Exports a sequence of images. If more than one camera is connected the image record of the
currently open window will be saved. If no image window is open the Export Recorder Sequence
menu does not appear. This command opens the Export recorder box. Files with the extensions
asc, avi, bmp, fts, jp2, jpg, mpg, pgm, png, tif and wmv can be exported (see Appendix A). Auto
File Save see 3.8.1.

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Options

Single File Properties

Single TIFF File 16bit Alignment: upper/lower

ASCII File Seperator: select a separator for the values in the ASCII file. Select: TAB, SPACE,
SEMICOLON, COLON, COMMA, HYPHEN, SLASH, BACKSLASH.

Binary PGM File: set the format of the pgm (portable gray map) file. Select: Yes, No.

JPEG 2000 Image Quality: set compression from 20 to 100 %.

JPEG Image Quality: set compression from 20 to 100 %.

Binary PPM File: set format of the ppm (portable pixmap) file. Select: Yes, No.

RAW 16bit RGB TIFF File: save raw tif without color balance. Select: Yes, No.

Use Cache File: caches image data on disc for a camera with camera internal memory and
thumbnail readout. Select: Yes, No.

General File Properties

FIFO Buffer Size: set the FIFO buffer size in number of images for Direct Record To File. This
avoids gaps during file write delays. Usually it is set to 150.

Preserve Last Record: preserves current recorded images. The user is prompted whether to
really start a new record or to close.

Embedded File Comment: add a comment.

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View Properties:

Crosshair Color: set crosshair color (color for save ROI & line tool).

Crosshair Length: set crosshair length in pixels (see chapter 3.9.8).

Update All Cameras: update all non-streaming cameras during recording or preview. Set to No
to update only the active camera.

Display Properties:

Standard Play Wait Time: set wait time in ms to get reduce tearing and stuttering display during
Multi Window.

Bitmap Bit Resolution: 24 bit: sets the bit resolution of the bitmaps created for display and export.

General Properties:

Common Settings Mode: activate this mode to use the common settings during multi camera
operation. Select: Yes, No.

Sort cameras: activate this option in order to sort the cameras ascending related to their camera
serial number.

Once sorted the order will be visible in the registry under ’CameraSortOrder’. If it is necessary
to change the order by SN, this can be done by setting ’SortLikeThis’ and adapting the number

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associated with the serial number of the camera. ’SortCameras’ must be kept on.

In this sample camera SN 1 is at position 0. If you want to place this camera as last camera,
change SN1 ’Value Data’ from 0 to 3 and the other cameras to 0,1,2. SortLikeThis must be set to
1. Then the cameras will be sorted ’like this’ enumeration here in registry under Value Data.

Open AVI Codec Dialog

Set these options only if you use Auto File Save see 3.8.1.

Select the (compression) codec that you want to use for your stored sequences. All installed
codecs are listed here.

If you use Auto File Save, this setting takes an effect on your stored video sequences.

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Load Lookup Table (for monochrome cameras)

This feature assigns pseudo colors (Lookup-Table LUT) to a monochrome image. Either select
one of the four predefined or create your own. The result is shown in the color View Window.

Direct Record to File

Preset a certain number of images to be stored. If the camera captures images faster than the
computer can save to disk, you will lose images. Images display doesn’t interfere with the record
process.

Start Auto Save

Only available if Auto Save is activated (see 3.8.1).

Exit

Exits the program and closes all channel dialog windows. Window positions, settings and sizes
are stored in the windows registry and will be loaded again at next start-up.

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3.9.3 Camera menu

Camera Control

Opens the camera control window.

Close

Disconnects camera when more than one camera is connected.

Rescan

Disconnects and reconnects all cameras.

Setup

This function lists former options e.g. switch shutter mode depending on your camera model, see
camera specific manual.

Lens Control

See chapter 3.3.9.

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3.9.4 Acquisition menu

Live Preview

Live Preview is useful for fast and easy adjusting and focusing of the camera. The active window
will be updated. To see another window, simply click on the window. This option is not available
in Double Shutter mode.

Acquire Single Image

Active if Trigger Mode is set to Soft Trigger, see 3.3.1.

Record Sequence

Starts recording images into the computer system memory according to Trigger Mode selection
(see 3.3.1). During recording, all camera controls except for Exposure and Delay time are locked.

Memory Allocation Dialog

Only available for cameras without internal memory. This sets the number of images recorded in
one sequence. The maximum is defined by available computer RAM size.

Auto Camera RAM Segment Switching

Only for cameras with internal memory (Cam RAM).

Records automatically in two or three different camera RAM segments one after another resulting
in two or three separate image sequences.

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If Recorder Mode is set to Sequence and the set number of images is achieved the RAM segment
switches automatically to the next segment and stops after the last segment is full.

If Recorder Mode is set to Ring Buffer a stop trigger must stop the active record into the dedicated
segment. A new record starts automatically into the next segment.

3.9.5 View menu

New View Window

Use this command to open a New View Window.

Multi Window

View the images of all active cameras in consecutive order in one window. It provides an easy
comparison of the views of different cameras.

Use the same ROI and timing settings for all cameras.

Only available when using more than one camera and only after a complete sequence is recorded
(sequence mode) or after buffer is full for the first time (Ring Buffer).

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Convert Control

See chapter 3.3.8.

Toolbars and Docking Windows

Standard toolbars of pco.camware are Recorder/ Recorder Tools / Camera Overview / Camera
Properties and Image Overlay.

Additional Toolbars are available, but not essential: Main Toolbar / Extended Recorder / Math.
Tool / Cursor. See below. For function Infotext see 3.9.1.

Application Look

Style and look of pco.camware can be customized; many different style sheets are selectable. The
Tabbed MDI function docks or undocks the view windows.

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Math. Tool

Calculate the difference between a reference image and the actual image. Activating Math. Tool
every new acquired image is subtracted from the reference image or vice versa:

1 Reference (image) – Actual (image) + Offset or Actual (image) – Reference (image) + Offset

2 A reference picture is acquired and copied to reference buffer

3 Last acquired image is copied to reference buffer

4 Add offset to avoid negative values, which would not be visible

5 Enable math function

6 Disable math function

Cursor

Shows position of mouse cursor and the corresponding pixel value.

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Example: B/W (black/white camera) x-axis: 639; y-axis: 508; Value: 16383 counts.

Reset Layout to Default

Resets all customized changes and restores the default layout.

Selectable Layouts

If a camware_setup.ini file is available either via a local path or C:\ProgramData\pco, new

configurable layouts will be available in the view menu.

The ini file can be set with a main chapter and several setup chapter.

Main chapter (example):

[Camware Setup]
Setup=DefaultSetup
SetupLoaded=DefaultSetup
Setup1=AllSetup
Setup2=MinimalSetup
Setup3=DefaultSetup
Setup4=HighSpeedSetup
Setup5=BiologySetup

The setup chapter stores which setup is selected for loading and which one is active currently.
Available setups are listed according to their own name, which appears in the view menu if the
setup is valid.

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53 A setup may contain a selection from the following entries:

[DefaultSetup]
MainToolbar=0
ExtendedRecorder=0
MathTool=0
Cursor=0
Recorder=1
SettingsOverview=0
TemperatureChart=0
Histogram=0
RecorderTools=1
CameraOverview=1
CameraProperties=1
ImageOverlay=0
CommonTimeProperties=0
CameraSetMode=2

A ”1” beside the entry name marks the entry as active and ”0” as inactive. CameraSetMode
controls how Camera Properties are displayed: 0=Basic, 1=Custom, 2=Expert

The ini-file can be configured and extended. There is no limit in number of setups. Currently 5
Setups are pre-configured.

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3.9.6 Window menu

Close Active Window

Active window closes.

Split

The view window splits in four quarters.

Arrange horz. views

Arranges the windows in horizontal direction.

Arrange vert. views

Arranges the windows in vertical direction.

Open Windows

Shows all connected cameras, e.g. 1 camera (pco.ultraviolet).

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3.9.7 Help menu

Contents

Not available.

Search for Help on

Not available.

Logging

Enable Logging: Activates pco.camware log files (this cuts down performance).

Clear Logfiles: (only visible if logging is enabled) this command erases all actual log files.

Explore Logfiles: opens windows explorer.

Disablle Logging: (only visible if logging is enabled) disables logging.

Create Support File

Press YES to activate log files. Reboot pco.camware and your PCO camera.

After log files are activated it is possible to create a support file. Send this file to PCO support (see
B).

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Support Mail

This command opens your email-program and the created support file is added automatically as
attachment.

About Camware

This window shows program information.

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3.9.8 View window menu

Right-click in the View Window to open this menu.

View Color

Switch to color window. Required for LUT if monochrome camera is attached.

View Window B

Available when Double Image is active see 3.3.3.

1 Split Window

Splits the View Window in four quadrants. Double-click on separator to undo.

Stretched View

Image is resized to fit the View Window.

Stretched View Ratio

Aspect ratio is maintained in ”stretched” view.

2 Zoom +/-: Image zoom (only available if Stretched View is deactivated).

Zoom

Sets the factor of the zoom (from 0.0625 to 32).

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Scroll Synchronously

If more than one View Window is open, you may scroll through all images synchronously (available
if Stretched View is deactivated).

Show Image Overlay

Activates the Image Overlay see 3.4.

Open LUT

Opens look-up table file for false-color representation.

Auto Range Peak

Searches for the minimum and maximum 12/14/16 bit intensity values of the image. Based on
these limits, the converter scales the 8 bit display (256) within these two values.

Auto Range Crop

Sets the converter to ignore the extreme intensity values of the image and scales the display in a
smaller range. Thus dark or bright light spots, reflections, etc. are cut off.

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Continuous Auto Range

(Crop) Enables the automatic min / max function (Auto Range Crop) during record and replay.

Flip / Mirror

Image will be flipped or mirrored.

Rotate Left / Right

Rotates the image in steps of 90°.

Set ’File Save ROI’

To save just a part of the recorded image (region of interest), draw a rectangle with the mouse.
This rectangle is valid for all recorded images and can be dragged at its edges.

Line Profile

Left-click on Line Profile and the line starts automatically at the point where the View Window
menu is opened. Move the mouse to the desired line end and left-click again. The line may be
stretched, shrunk or moved by grasping its end point. A Line Diagram opens. The graph in the
length of the line (units: pixel) is displayed showing the intensity values of the pixels along the red
line.

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Crosshairs

Activates centered crosshairs. Size and color are selectable see chapter 3.9.2 -> Options.

To move the crosshairs drag it with the mouse. Reset it to center position by double-clicking into
center of the crosshairs.

Copy to Clipboard

Copies the actual image to clipboard.

Properties

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Displays the current settings for View Mode / Common View Mode and Image Conversion. They
can be opened and closed via the triangle button in the View window (see chapter 3.6).

3.9.9 Additional features

White Balance by Mouse

Change white balance with a mouse by pressing the CTRL and Shift keys at the same time, then
selecting a white or gray area within the image by dragging a rectangle while holding the left mouse
button. The pixel values within the coordinates of the selection rectangle are used for calculating a
new white balance. For best results we recommend to use the white balance button in the Convert
Control Color (see 3.3.8).

Fold Up Window

1 The Convert Control window can be minimized / folded.

2 Move the pointer over the bar and the window will unfold again.

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Setting Contrast Area by Mouse

Control the minimum and maximum values used for the conversion from 16 bit to 8 bit with the
mouse. Move the mouse cursor into a region which should be shown with maximum contrast.
Press the SHIFT and the left mouse button. Hold down the mouse button while changing the
selected rectangle’s size by moving the mouse. After releasing the mouse button the coordinates
of the selected rectangle act as a border for calculating the minimum and maximum values.

Setting a new ROI by Mouse

In the same manner you can setup a new region of interest (see 3.3.2 ROI) for the camera. Press the
CTRL key and drag an area with the left mouse button. The coordinates of the selection rectangle
are used for calculating a new region of interest, which will be adapted to the camera capabilities
automatically. You can reset the ROI to maximum by pressing the CTRL key and the right mouse
button.

Short Cut List

• Start / Stop record: ENTER

• Acquire Picture: SPACE (Soft Trigger mode)
• Acquire Sequence: CTRL + A
• Auto Save: ALT + D
• Export File: CTRL + T
• Export Recorder Sequence: CTRL + O
• INSERT: saves an image during recording, an easy way to save an image e.g. when working
on a microscope.
• Open Raw Image File: CTRL + I
• Open Raw Recorder Sequence: CTRL + R
• Save Raw Image File: CTRL + E
• Save Raw Recorder Sequence: CTRL + S

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3.10 Camware X-Cite integration

You are able to also control Excelitas X-Cite® light sources within pco.camware. This makes it
very intuitive to use X-Cite light sources together with PCO cameras without the need of using and
maintaining multiple applications.

This chapter is a quick start guide on how to enable and use the X-Cite control feature inside
pco.camware. Therefore you do not need to install any additional driver or software for X-Cite,
just installing pco.camware as usual is enough.
If you encounter any problems with your X-Cite light source, please visit the X-Cite homepage
(https://www.excelitas.com/de/product-category/x-cite-illuminators) for further information.

3.10.1 Usage
In order to use the X-Cite light control in pco.camware, you have to make sure that your light
source is switched on and is connected to your PC before you start pco.camware
On startup, pco.camware automatically searches for all connected cameras and also for all connected
X-Cite light sources. If at least one light source is found, the associated light control dialog will
appear. This dialog is shown below. See left for one connected light source, or right for multiple
connected light sources.

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Tip Make sure to activate the histogram in the GUI and deactivate auto range to easily track the
brightness changes in the images when changing the light intensity.
Per default, the light is only switched on when recording is active! This behavior can be
changed in the settings, see chapter 3.10.3.

3.10.2 Light control dialog

The usage of the light control dialog is very intuitive.

• Light source controls which light source is currently active (This is only visible if multiple
light sources are connected)
• Type displays the windows driver name of the X-Cite light source
• Serial-No displays the serial number of the X-Cite light source
• Channel X controls the channel with number X of the light source. Depending on the light
source you can either have multiple channels or only one (e.g. for a white light source)
• The gray box below the list will always display additional information for the currently selected
element
Note In the screenshots you will see a (W1) on some of the channels. This indicates that for activating
this channel, a movement of the filter wheel might be necessary, which will take approximately 2
seconds. Additionally, only one of the channels on the filter wheel can be activated at a time (this is
automatically handled by pco.camware), while all other channels can be controlled independently.

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Channel The control of each channel consists of 3 elements

Settings

which are (from left to right):

• a display of the wavelength of the channel, colored in approximately the color that corresponds
to the wavelength
• a checkable box for activating and deactivating the channel. In default each channel is off (=
black, like Channel 2 in the screenshot above), when clicking on this box the channel will be
activated (= white, like Channel 3 in the screenshot above)
• a numerical input to control the intensity of the channel. You can change the intensity value
with either the mouse wheel or the keyboard. The intensity can be set in a range from 5.0 to
100.0 with a stepping of 1.0

3.10.3 Sync Light with Acquisition

The software is able to control the sync of the light source with the recording state of the camera.
This means that the light is only ON when the camera is actually recording (i.e when pco.camware
GUI is red). In this mode, activating the channels (setting associated boxes to white) will not
directly activate the light. Only during active recording the light is activated according to the current
selections in the light control dialog.
This feature prevents your sample from over-exposition. Thus, permanent damage of the imaged
cells and/or bleaching of your fluorophore can be minimized.
Per default, this feature is enabled as it is the typical use case. For permanent illumination please
open the pco.camware options menu, which can be found under File -> Options

There you will find the corresponding setting under General Properties -> Auto switch light.

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Switching this from Yes to No will deactivate the described behavior.

Note The synchronization that is described here refers to the recording state of the camera, i.e will
be switched on when recording starts and switched off when the recording ends. For some
applications you may want to have the light source only active during the actual exposure time of
an image and it should be switched off during delay and readout. For this you need to synchronize
the exposure output signal with the TTL of your light source. Please reade the manuals of your
PCO camera and your X-Cite light source for further information on this.

3.10.4 Auto-Link Light Source

When you are working with at least 2 cameras and at least 2 light sources, pco.camware has an
additional feature to automatically link a light source to a camera. This is done automatically on
startup of pco.camware. For successful auto-link, please ensure an open beam path, so that
light from the source can be detected by the camera. When an assigned camera is selected in
the Camera List, the linked light source automatically becomes also selected in the light control
dialog. Thus, you always configure the correct light source for the camera.
To enable this feature:
• at least 2 cameras must be connected
• at least 2 light sources must be connected
• the Auto switch light option must be set to No (see chapter 3.10.3)
• the Check camera light option must be set to Yes (default is Yes, see figure below) 1

1 This option is only visible when at least 2 cameras are detected

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If these settings are selected, the auto-link will be done on the next startup of pco.camware.

Always be sure to follow the X-Cite safety instructions. Never look into the beam or hold the light
guide in your hands when the light source is on.
Be especially careful when this feature is activated.

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Appendix
A Image File Formats 94

B Trouble Shooting 97

C Index 99

D About Excelitas PCO 101

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A Image File Formats

There are several file formats available for saving camera images with pco.camware.

b16

The b16 16 bit format is similar to the bmp format. However, 16 bit pixel values are used instead
of 8 bit pixel values.

The file format consists either of a Basic Header (6 Long-parameter) or an Extended Header (32
Long-parameter), the latter is optional for additional information. It might follow a variable comment
field (ASCII code). Finally, there is the actual data set that is saved linearly (as in the case of BMP
files).

With the exception of the first value, all parameters are Long Integers (4 Byte). The first 6 parameters
must always exist. The rest of the parameters, as well as the comment field, are optional.

Address Parameter Denotation

0x00 pco- B16 file identificator ”PCO-”
0x04 file size file size in byte
0x08 header length headersize in byte (older versions: 128, 256,
512; act.: 1024)
0x0C image width image width in pixel (e.g. 4 …1280)
0x10 image height image height in pixel (e.g. 1 …2048)
0x14 extended header -1 (true), extended header
0x18 color mode 0 = b/w camera, 1 = color camera
0x1C b/w min black / white LUT-setup, minimum value (0
…b/w max)
0x20 b/w max black / white LUT-setup, max. value (b/w min
…bit-resolution^2-1; 12 bit -> 4095)
0x24 b/w linlog black / white LUT-linear or log; 0 = linear, 1 =
logarithmic
0x28 red min red LUT-setup, minimum value (0 …red max)
0x2C red max red LUT-setup, maximum value (red min.
…bit-resolution^2-1; 12 bit -> 4095)
0x30 green min green LUT-setup
0x34 green max green LUT-setup
0x38 blue min blue LUT-setup
0x3C blue max blue LUT-setup
0x40 color linlog color LUT-linear or log., 0 = lin, 1 = log
0x44 doubleshutter 0 = single image, ’DS’ = doubleshutter (0x5344)
0x48 …0x7F gap filled with 0
0x80 …Headersize -1 Embedded structure see structure Bild definition below. Gap will
be filled with 0.
16 Bit Pixel Values
Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page

Address Parameter Denotation
Headersize Line 1, pixel 1 value of first pixel
Headersize + 2 Line 1, pixel 2 value of second pixel
… …

A pixel value is a hexadecimal value, e.g. 0x1234 (4660), which is listed in the file as 0x34 0x12.
Typical scan line: 0x34 0x12 0x29 0x12 …(4660 4649 …). The order of pixels starts with top left
and scans down to bottom right of the image.

Most of the table values are still valid, but it is recommended to use the structure data for reading
parameters. This is by design and due to the historical evolution of the b16 parameters.

PCO recommends that all images should be saved first in one of the following formats. The
advantage is to have the b16 or tiff images available all the time, having the maximum 16 bit
information. Note that not all image analysis programs can accommodate 16 bit data. The 8 bit
format saves only the information displayed on the monitor screen. The 16 bit information will be
lost and cannot be recovered.

pcoraw

This 16 bit pco file format is based on the new BigTIFF format, thus allowing for file size > 4GB. A
new pco proprietary compression scheme is added if it is necessary.

Standard File Formats

TIFF

Tag Image File Format, version 6.0 and lower. Both 16bit monochrome and color image formats
are available. For the 48bit RGB export format, the resulting image has only demosaicking and
optional white-balancing. The dynamic of the camera will not be changed.

BMP

Windows Bitmap Format, b/w or color 8 bit format-images, which have been saved in BMP format
can be loaded later only as 8 bit images, i.e. part of the original information (16 bit) is lost.

FTS

Flexible Image Transport System, Version 3.1, is a 16 bit image format defined by the NASA/Science
Office of Standards and Technology (NOST) has defined this format. Some programs use the FIT
extension for this format.

ASCII

16 bit format for mathematical programs that process ASCII data.

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pco.camware Appendix A

JPG

JPEG (named after the Joint Photographic Experts Group who created the standard) is a commonly
used method of lossy compression for photographic images. The degree of compression can be
adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality.

JP2

JPEG 2000 is a wavelet-based image compression standard and coding system. It was created by
the Joint Photographic Experts Group committee in the year 2000 with the intention of superseding
their original discrete cosine transform-based JPEG standard (created 1992).

AVI

Audio Video Interleave is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992
as part of its Video for Windows technology.

MPG

MPEG-1, similar to JPEG, is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio developed by
the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).

WMV

Windows Media Video (WMV) is a compressed video format for several proprietary codecs developed
by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet
streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo.

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pco.camware Appendix B

B Trouble Shooting
If you have a question that is not adequately addressed in this manual, contact PCO or your local
dealer.

How to create Logfiles

1 Enable Logging

Open ? Help menu, select Logging and then Enable Logging.

2 The pco.camware will ask you to press YES to activate Logfiles after a restart of the software.

Repeat Workflow

The workflow that produces the errors must be repeated while logging is enabled.

The pco.camware opens a new email addressed to [email protected], attach the Support File
manually to this email and send the mail to PCO support.

Alternatively use the support form on our website and upload the support file.

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pco.camware Appendix B

To speed up your Request

Give us the following information:

• Describe the problem!

• Your application?
• Your camera: Type and Version, Serial number
• Your setup: Software version, operating system, processor and memory, graphics card
Firmware, Software and Driver Updates

All necessary software and drivers can be downloaded from our website:
https://www.excelitas.com/product-category/pco-camera-software

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pco.camware Appendix C

C Index
Note The mentioned page is always the starting page of a chapter!

Key word Chapter page

Acquire mode 3.3.5 31
Auto File Save 3.8.1 60
Averaging 3.5 46
Binning 3.3.5 31
BW Noise Filter 3.3.3 28
Camera Overview 3.2 13
Camera Sets 3.2 13
CDI Mode 3.3.3 28
Codec Dialog 3.9.2 66
Common Properties 3.3 16
Common Settings Mode 3.3 16
Contrast Settings 3.3.8 37
Conversion Factor 3.3.3 28
Cuda Nvidia Driver 1.3 4
Demo Mode 3.9.1 64
Delay Time 3.3.1 19
Direct Record to File 3.9.2 66
Double Image / Shutter Mode 3.3.3 28
Exposure Time 3.3.1 19
Fan Control 3.9.3 72
FPS Control Mode / FPS 3.3.1 19
Presets
IIR Lowpass Filter 3.5 46
IR Sensitivity 3.3.3 28
Image Overlay 3.4 43
Info Text of Recorded Images 3.9.1 64
Input / Output possibilities 3.3.7 36
Lens control 3.3.9 42
Log files B 97
Live Preview 2.3, 3.2 10, 13
Master Sets 3.2 13
Memory Settings 3.2,3.3.4 13, 31
Offset Control 3.3.3 28
Pixel Clock 3.3.3 28
RAM Segment 3.3.4 31
Recorder Mode 3.3.5 31
Recorder 3.5 46
Continued on next page

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pco.camware Appendix C

Continued from previous page

Key word Chapter page
Recorder Memory Settings 3.2 13
Region of Interest ROI 3.3.2 27
(Sensor)
Ring Buffer 3.3.5 31
Save / Open / Print files 3.9.2 66
Settings Overview 3.8 59
Sequence Mode 3.3.5 31
Short Cuts 3.9.9 86
Support File 3.9.7 80
Temperature 3.3.6 36
Time Stamp 3.3.5 31
Timing 3.3.1 19
Trigger Modes 3.3.1 19
White Balance 3.9.9 86

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pco.camware Appendix D

D About Excelitas PCO

PCO, an Excelitas Technologies brand, is a leading specialist and Pioneer in Cameras and Optoelectronics.
With more than 35 years of expert knowledge and experience of developing and manufacturing
high-end camera systems, PCO has grown into a leading specialist and innovator in digital imaging
for scientific and industrial applications.

In-house competence of all significant technical disciplines and partnering with leading image
sensor manufacturers ensures cutting edge sCMOS and high-speed imaging technology. The
company’s customers’ input has a direct path back to its product development and support teams,
enabling the constant advancement of hardware and software.

PCO is supporting the constant advancement of science and industry by relentlessly pursuing
technological perfection. The company’s cameras are used in scientific and industrial research,
automotive testing, quality control, metrology and a large variety of other applications all over the
world.

PCO represents a world renowned brand of high-performance scientific CMOS, sCMOS, CCD
and high-speed cameras that complement Excelitas’ expansive range of illumination, optical and
sensor technologies and extends the bounds of our end-to-end photonic solutions capabilities.

pco.camware user manual 4.16.1 101

postal address: Excelitas PCO GmbH
Donaupark 11
93309 Kelheim, Germany

telephone: +49 (0) 9441 2005 0

e-mail: [email protected]

web: www.excelitas.com/pco