Olympus Q-Color 3 User Manual

3.2 Megapixel OLYMPUS Q-Color3™ IMAGING SYSTEM

High Resolution FireWire™ Digital CCD Color Camera
For Publication and Documentation

The Q-Color3™ digital imaging system delivers high resolution color images for
microscopy documentation and publication. The 3.2 Megapixel CCD sensor and
30-bit color digitization produce
high quality color images of brightfield,
darkfield and fluorescence work. For low
light applications, the Q-Color3
model minimizes thermal noise during long
exposure times yielding high quality, low
light images. The FireWire
digital interface facilitates use and
installation. A single wire connects the
camera to the computer (including laptops)
for full computer control of the camera. The
Q-Color3
Windows
systems and Adobe
for image enhancements. A Software
Development Kit (SDK) is available for interfacing with custom software.

No framegrabber or external power supply

Mac® desktop or laptop computer color balance control

™ includes QCapture software for

® and Mac® based software

® Photoshop® Elements

Features Benefits

3.3 Megapixel CCD Sensor (3.2 active Mpixel) High resolution images for publication

FireWire™ IEEE 1394 Digital Interface Ease of use and installation
Laptop computer use for portability

Full Color Binning up to 4x4 Rapid preview and focus

Region of Interest (ROI) Function Selection of a specific region within an image

Exposure/Integration Control Flexible control from 1.6 milliseconds to 18

Peltier Cooling on Cooled Model Minimizes thermal noise during low light
to 10ºC below ambient imaging

30-bit Color Digitization 1024 intensity levels per color

Complete Camera Control through Windows® or Programmable exposure times, auto exposure,

™ cooled

™ IEEE 1394

through an easy click and draw function on the
computer screen

minutes in 1 microsecond increments

High quality fluorescent images

Olympus Q-Color3™

High Resolution Color CCD Digital FireWire™ Camera

Technical Specifications

Sensor Sony ICX252AQ – 8.933mm diagonal – 1” x 1.8” (1/2”) optical format

Resolution 2080 x 1542 active pixel resolution, 3.2 Megapixels
CCD Type Interlaced*, interline, Bayer color (R,G,B primary color mosaic

filters on chip)
Pixel Size 3.45 µ x 3.45 µ
Well capacity 8600 e¯
Readout noise 9.8 e¯
S/N ratio 58 dB
Dark current 2.3 e¯/pixel/second
(cooled)
Dark current 9 e¯/pixel/second
(uncooled)
Readout Speed** 20 MHz in 8-bit, 10 MHz in 10-bit
8-Bit

(default setting) Full resolution – 5.4 fps

Full frame readout time 210 ms (8bit) 420 ms (10-bit)
2x2 binning 9.2 fps (8-bit) 4.1 fps (10-bit) in full color
3x3 binning 12 fps (8-bit) 6 fps (10-bit) in full color
4x4 binning 14 fps (8-bit) 7 fps (10-bit) in full color
ROI Region of Interest (up to 100 fps)

Exposure Times 1.6 ms to 17.9 minutes with 1 µ resolution
Cooling (optional) Approx. 10º C below ambient

Reduces dark current during long exposure times
Power Cooled – 560mA@12V=6.72W

Uncooled – 310mA@12V=3.72W

The Q-Color3

An auxiliary power supply cannot be hooked up directly to the

Q-Color3

supply is required to run the Q-Color3
Mounts Standard C-mount for microscopes or lens

Standard camera tripod mount 1 / 4” – 20

Interlaced, interline Bayer color sensor reads 2 fields per frame, reading out odd then even pixels. The 2 fields have
equivalent exposure times but not simultaneously. The time difference between the 2 field readouts are 105 ms in 8-bit
and 210 ms in 10-bit. The sensor has been designed for capturing still images.

** For fast previewing or focusing, binning modes can be used and then capture in full resolution.

Olympus America, Inc. 1-800-446-5967 or 1-631-844-5000
Scientific Equipment Group email: [e-mail]
2 Corporate Center Drive, PO Box 9058 www.olympusamerica.com
Melville, NY 11747-9058

™ can only draw power through a FireWire™ port.

™. A PCMCIA FireWire™ card with an auxiliary power

™ on a laptop.