External IO

Use the IO setting tab in the lower right of the screen to configure the camera’s clock and external input/output (IO).

Caution

You cannot change the items in IO setting while Streaming is On. Make these settings with Streaming turned Off.

Setting the time (Date/Time)

Sets the camera’s internal clock. The configured time is used for the time information recorded in the image header.

1. Enter the desired date and time in the lower row of Date/Time.

2. Click Set.

Assigning input/output signals (General In / General Out)

Assign a signal type to each of the camera’s two general-purpose input terminals (General In) and two general-purpose output terminals (General Out).

Note

See the camera’s hardware manual for which connector pin corresponds to each terminal.

Signal types

Signal	Contents
Sync	A synchronization signal.
Expose	A signal output while the image sensor is exposing.
Trig	A trigger signal.
PTP PP	A pulse output at each PTP time second boundary (x.000000 seconds) (General Out only).

About the Expose signal

The image sensor is not continuously exposing during capture; it repeats exposure and non-exposure periods for every frame. The Expose signal is output during the exposure period.

For example, at a frame rate of 1,000 fps and a shutter speed of 1/2000 second, half of each frame (1/1000 second) is exposure and the other half is non-exposure. In this case, the Expose signal alternates On and Off at a constant interval.

Pos / Neg represent the signal polarity.

• Pos: operates on the rising edge (positive logic).
• Neg: operates on the falling edge (negative logic).

About trigger input

When a trigger signal is input, a trigger frame flag is recorded in the image header of the frame at that moment. The image header also records other information such as the timestamp and frame number (serial number). See the SDK manual for details on the header.

About PTP PP

PTP PP is a feature still under evaluation. Specifications such as output timing accuracy will be published in the future.

External synchronization (Sync In)

Choose what the camera synchronizes its operation to.

Setting	Behavior
Internal	Operates on the camera’s internal clock (free-running).
External Pos / Neg	Operates in accordance with the external synchronization signal input to General In.

Notes on using external synchronization

If Sync In is set to External and no external synchronization signal is being input, the camera will not operate and cannot acquire images. Set it to Internal if you are not using external synchronization.

Setting the delay and signal width

Set the delay amount (Delay) and signal width (Width) for each signal, in microseconds (usec).

Item	Contents
Sync In Delay	Delay amount for the synchronization input
Trig In Delay	Delay amount for the trigger input
Trig Out Width	Signal width for the trigger output
Sync Out Delay	Delay amount for the synchronization output
Sync Out Width	Signal width for the synchronization output
Expose Delay	Delay amount for the exposure signal
PP Out Width	Signal width for the PTP PP output
PP Out Delay	Delay amount for the PTP PP output

Synchronization output multiplier (Sync Out Times)

Choose how many times more frequently, relative to the frame rate, the synchronization output (Sync Out) is produced (x0.5, x1, x2 … x30).

• x1: outputs once per frame.
• x2: outputs twice per frame.
• x0.5: outputs once every 2 frames.

Note

For details on the timing of each signal, see the SDK manual and the hardware manual.