Unibrain Firewire-800 cameras, Juniper series
Models: 580/780/785/980
User Operation Manual
Version 1.3
January 2011
Legal Notice
For Customers in U.S.A.
This equipment has been te sted and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interferen ce when the equipment is
operated in a co mmercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Operation of this equipment in a resident ial area is likely t o cause harmful i nterference in whi ch case the user will be req uired
to correct the interference at their own expe nse. You are cautioned that any chang es or modi ficatio ns not expre ssly app roved
in this manual could void your authority to operate this equip ment. The shielded interface cable recommended in this manua l
must be used with this equipmen t in order to comply with the l imits for a computing device pursuant to Subpa rt J of Part 15
of FCC Rules.
For customers in Europe
This apparatus has been certified to meet or exceed the standards for CE compliance p er the Council Directives. Pertinent
testing documentation is available for verification.
For customers in Canada
This apparatus complies with the Class B limits for radio noise emissions set out in the Radio Inter ference Regulations.
Pour utilisateurs au Canada
Cet appareil est conforme aux normes Classe B pour bruits radioélectriques, spécifié es dans le Règlement sur le brouillage
radioélectrique.
Life support applications
These products are not designed for use in li fe support appliances, d evices, or systems where ma lfunction of these products
can reasonably be expected to result in personal injury. Allied customers using or selling these products for use in such
applications do so at their own risk and agree to fully indemnify allied for any damages result ing from such improper use or
sale.
Before You Start
This manual should help you in installation and setting of the camera and we recommend you to carefully follow the
instruction described.
To ensure that your warranty remains valid, read the manual carefully before using the camera.
DO NOT disassemble, modify or repair the camera since there is no user serviceable part inside an d may void warranty. For
prevention of fire or electric sh o ck DO NOT remove screws or cover from the camera.
Operation in wet are is NOT recommended and camera SHOULD NOT be exposed to rain or moisture. For prolong life and use
of camera’s CCD, do not point the camera directly to the sun or strong spotlight which may result CCD blooming and
permanent damage. DO NOT operate camera beyond operation temperature range stated and AVOID usage in conditions
exceeding 90% humidity.
DO NOT use unregulated power supply source to prevent camera’s circuit damage.
Use soft materials such as lens tissue or cotton tipped applicator with ethanol for CCD faceplate cleaning ONLY when
necessary and AVOID contact with finger s or any hard object. Do not use solvent, abrasives or deterge nt in case of cleaning
camera body.
Warranty shall be voided for improper usage or fault caused by user or damage caused by other equipments due to
negligence
Warranty
Unibrain warrants the original components free of defects for one year from purchase date. This warranty covers failures and
damage due to defect which may occur during n ormal use. It does not cover damag es or failure resulting from mishandling ,
abuse, misuse or modificat ion. For every repair or replacement, RMA numbers must be obtained in advance.
Disclaimer
The information in this document has been carefully checked and is believed to be reliable. However, no responsibility is
assumed for inaccuracies, nor is a ny responsibility assumed by Unibrain. There is n o legal obligation to documenting inter nal
relationships in any functional module of its products, which is realized in either hardware or softwa r e .
1.3. Camera Interface ................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.3.1. FireWire-800 Port .......................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3.2. Trigger Connector Port .................................................................................................................................. 4
1.3.3. Status LED ................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.4. Electrical Operating C o ndition .............................................................................................................................. 5
1.5. Pixel Data ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
2. Camera specifications ................................................................................................... 9
2.1. Black and White Cameras .................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2. Color Cameras .................................................................................................................................................. 13
2.3.2. Color Cameras ............................................................................................................................................ 19
3. Basic Operation and Features ..................................................................................... 21
3.2. Auto Exposure Control ...................................................................................................................................... 22
3.4. White Balance .................................................................................................................................................. 23
3.11. Gain ................................................................................................................................................................. 28
3.12.1. Trigger and Strobe Signal Relation ............................................................................................................... 30
3.12.2. Timing Diagram for External Trigger and Shutter and Strobe ......................................................................... 31
4.1.3. Full Binning ................................................................................................................................................ 42
4.6. Memory Channel Save / Load ............................................................................................................................ 45
4.7. Time Stamp Register ............................................................................................................................................ 46
4.8. Serial Interface ................................................................................................................................................. 46
4.8.1. SIO Pass Through Scheme .......................................................................................................................... 46
SIO (RS232) special Commands ................................................................................................................... 49
4.8.3.
4.9. Frame Save Function......................................................................................................................................... 51
4.10.2. User defined lookup table ............................................................................................................................ 52
4.11. One Pixel Snow Noise Remove ........................................................................................................................... 54
4.12. PIO Control Register ......................................................................................................................................... 55
5. User Defined FireWire Registers ................................................................................. 56
5.1. User Defined FireWire Address .......................................................................................................................... 56
6. Video Formats and Modes ........................................................................................... 60
Unibrain’s new Fire-i IIDC 1394b camera series opens up a new horizon on digital image processing by providing
more features in a small form factor while maintaining the cost effectiveness and high quality. All models are
comprised of a wide range of sensor resolutions and are equipped with dual Firewire-800 interfaces and a trigger to
suit the needs of every application.
The Firewire-800 Juniper series offers the highest frame rate in each of its resolutions, compared with other
products currently available. The small form factor design has expanded implementation and broadens application
areas by eliminating the limits that currently exist due to size and weight.
A Large select ion of c ameras is available an d add iti onal came ras are scheduled to be added in the future or per special
OEM request. These will consist of various sens or sizes (1/3”, 2/3”) and resolution (VGA, SXGA, QSXGA) both in color
and black and white. The Juniper series consists of the following models.
TypeModel Name CCD Resolution FPS at Max Resolution
Fire-i 980b 2/3” 2448 x 2048 15
Black &
White
Color
Unique features include a lookup table and external trigger mode 0 ~ 5 plus 15, multi camera auto-sync, ones-hot and
multi-shot, a wide range of shutter speeds (Fire-i 580/780/785 : 1us ~ 3600s, Fire-i 980 : 5us ~ 3600s ), RS232C pass
through via FireWire, Fast format 7 partial scan, and horizontal and vertica l binning modes (1x2, 2x2 for B&W). All of
these features provide maximum f le xibility for a wide variety of applications.
All cameras are fully supported from Unib rain’s Fire-i™ d r ivers and software and embed a Fire-i API™ SDK license.
Latest versions of Fire-i™ software and SDK can be downloaded from our web site:
The industry standard Firewire-800 (IEEE-1394b) port has the following pin assignment. Data and control of the
camera are provided via 1394B and camera power can also be supplied by FireWire bus.
Pin Signal
1
2 TPB+
3 TPA-
7 Not connected 8 VP (+8 to +36 VDC) 9 TPB R (B GND)
CAUTION: DO NOT reverse the polarity as it will result in damaging the camera.
4 TPA+
5 TPA R (A GND)
6 TPA-
1.3.2. Trigger Connector Port
The External Trigger Connector provides access to multiple I/O a nd also provides power as a secondary source.
Juniper series cameras comply with the IIDC 1394-Based Digital Camera Specification V1.32 where data packets are
transmitted by Firewire inte rface as isochronous packets. Every video format, mode and frame rate has different vid eo
data format. (Pixel data source: IIDC V1.32 Specification)
Isochronous Data Block Packet Format
0 - 7 8 - 15 16 - 23 24 – 31
Data Length tg channel tCode Sy
Header CRC
Video data payload
Data CRC
Where the following fields are defined in the IEEE 1394 standard:
data_length : number of bytes in the data field tg : (tag field) shall be set to zero
channel : isochronous channel number, as programmed in the iso_channel f ie ld of the cam_sta_ctrl register
tCode : (transaction code) shall be set to the is ochronous data block packet tCode
sy : (synchronization value) shall be set to 0001h on the fir st isochronous data block of a frame, and shall be set to
zero on all other isochronous data blocks
Video data payload : shall contain th e digital video information, as defined in the following sections
Video data Payload Structure
Pn : Pixel number / packet .
K : Pn x n (n = 0… ..N-1)
(Pn x N = Total pixel number /frame)
7.5 (2448x2048, Format 7 mode 0, mono 16)
27 (1220x1020, Format 7 mode 1 2x2 binning, mono 8)
27 (2448x1020, Format 7 mode 1 1x2 binning, mono 8)
Active Low or High,
Support Normal Mode or Trigger Mode
Control Functions Brightne s s, Sharpness, Gamma, Auto-Exposure, Shutter, Gain
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface / Transfer Rate IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin) / 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed Manual or Auto / Range : 5 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit B/W
S/N Ratio 56dB or better
Supply Voltage & Power 8 VDC ~ 30 VDC
External Dimension / Weight 50(W) x 50(H) x 49(D) mm/ Approx. 230g
Operation Temp. -5°C to 45°C
Storage Temp -20°C to 65°C
Camera Specification IIDC 1394-based Digital Camera Specification v1.32
Note: Camera Specifications subject to change without notice.
Control Functions Brightness, Sharpness, Gamma, Auto-Exposure, Auto-Shutter, Pan/Tilt
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface / Transfer Rate IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin) / 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed 1 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit B/W
S/N Ratio 56dB or better
Supply Voltage & Power 8 VDC ~ 30 VDC
Mode 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15
Source External Trigger or Software Trigger
External Dimension / Weight 50(W) x 50(H) x 40(D) mm/ Approx. 150g
Operation Temp. -5°C to 45°C
Storage Temp -20°C to 65°C
Camera Specification IIDC 1394-based Digital Camera Specification v1.32
Lens Mount C-Mount
Scanning System Progressive System
Binning 2x2, 1x2
Edge Rising Edge or Falling Edge
26.5 (1288x964, Format 7 mode 0, mono 16)
54 (640x476, Format 7 mode 1 2x2 binning, mono 8)
49 (640x476, Format 7 mode 1 2x2 binning, mono 16)
Trigger
Strobe Active High, Support Normal Mode or T r ig ger Mode
Multi-camera auto sync -144 us ~ +144 us at 30,15,7.5 frame rate
Memory Save/Load 16 Channels (0:factory, 1~4:feature, 5~15:mode/feature)
One-shot/Multi-shot 65535 Shots
Control Functions Brightness, Sharpness, Gamma, Auto-Exposure, Auto -Shutter, Pan/Tilt
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface / Transfer Rate IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin) / 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed 1 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit B/W
S/N Ratio 56dB or b etter
Supply Voltage & Power 8 VDC ~ 30 VDC
External Dimension / Weight 50(W) x 50(H) x 40(D) mm / Approx. 150g
Operation Temp. -5°C to 45°C
Storage Temp -20°C to 65°C
60, 30, 15, 7.5, 3.75, 1.875
87 (656 x 488, Format 7 mode 0, mono 8)
Real Frame Rate
Lens Mount C-mount
Scanning System Progressive System
Binning 2x2, 1x2
80 (656 x 488, Format 7 mode 0, mono 16)
161 (324 x 240, Format 7 mode 1 2x2 binning, mono 8)
150 (324 x 240, Format 7 mode 1 2x2 binning, mono 16)
Format 7 Partial Scan (Unit: 4x4)
Edge Rising Edge or Falling Edge
Trigger
Strobe Active High, Support Normal Mode or Trigger Mode
Multi-camera auto sync -144 us ~ +144 us at 60,30,15,7.5 frame rate
Memory Save/Load 16 Channels (0:factory, 1~4:feature, 5~15:mode/feature)
One-shot/Multi-shot 65535 Shots
Control Functions Brightness, Sharpness, Gamma, Auto-Exposure, Auto-Shutter, Pan/Tilt
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface / Transfer Rate IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin) / 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed 1 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit B/W
S/N Ratio 56dB or better
Supply Voltage & Power 8 VDC ~ 30 VDC
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface / Transfer Rate IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin) / 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed Manual or Auto / Range : 5 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit
S/N Ratio 56dB or better
Supply Voltage & Power 8 VDC ~ 30 VDC
External Dimension / Weight 50(W) x 50(H) x 49(D) mm/ approx. 230g
Operation Temp. -5°C to 45°C
Storage Temp -20°C to 65°C
Camera Specification IIDC 1394-based Digital Camera Specification v1.32
Brightness, Sharpness, Gamma, Auto-Exposure, Shutter, Gain
U/B V/R, Hue/G, AWB
Lens Mount C Mount
Scanning System Progressive System
Binning Not supported
Format7 Partial Scan (Unit: 4x4)
26.5 (1388x1036, Format 7 mode 0, mono 16, RAW 16)
30 (1388x1036, Format 7 mode 0, YUV411)
26.5 (1388x1036, Format 7 mode 0, YUV422)
Edge Rising Edge or Falling Edge
Trigger
Strobe Active High, Support Normal Mode or Trigger Mode
Multi-camera auto sync -144 us ~ +144 us at 30,15,7.5 frame rate
Memory Save/Load 16 Channels (0:factory, 1~4:feat ure, 5~15:mode/feature)
One-shot/Multi-shot 65535 Shots
Control Functions
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin)
Transfer Rate 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed 1 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit
S/N Ratio 56dB or better
Supply Voltage & Power 8 VDC ~ 30 VDC
External Dimension / Weight 50(W) x 50(H) x 40(D) mm / approx. 150g
Operation Temp. -5°C to 45°C
Storage Temp -20°C to 65°C
Camera Specification IIDC 1394-based Digital Camera Specification v1.32
Image Sensor Type 1/3-inch Interline CCD (ICX445AQ)
Effective pixels 1,250,000 pixels 1296(H) x 966(V)
Picture Size 1288x960, 1280x960, 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480, 320x240
Cell Size(um) 3.75 x 3.75
30, 15, 7.5, 3.75, 1.875
30 (1288x960, Format 7 mode 0, mono 8, RAW 8)
Real Frame Rate
Lens Mount C Mount
Scanning System Progressive System
Binning Not supported
Format7 Partial Scan (Unit: 4x4)
27.5 (1288x960, Format 7 mode 0, mono 16, RAW 16)
30 (1288x960, Format 7 mode 0, YUV411)
27.5 (1288x960, Format 7 mode 0, YUV422)
Edge Rising Edge or Falling Edge
Trigger
Strobe Active High, Support Normal Mode or Trigger Mode
Multi-camera auto sync -144 us ~ +144 us at 15,7.5 frame rate
Memory Save/Load 16 Channels (0:factory, 1~4:feature, 5~15:mode/feature)
One-shot/Multi-shot 65535 Shots
Control Functions
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin)
Transfer Rate 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed 1 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit
S/N Ratio 56d B or better
Image Sensor Type 1/3-inch Interline CCD (ICX424AQ)
Effective pixels 330,000 pixels 659(H) x 494(V)
Picture Size 652 x 484 , 640 x 480, 320x240
Cell Size(um) 7.40x7.40
60, 30, 15, 7.5, 3.75, 1.875
88 (652x484, Format 7 mode 0, mono 8, RAW 8)
Real Frame Rate
Lens Mount C Mount
Scanning System Progressive System
Binning Not supported
Format7 Partial Scan (Unit: 4x4)
80 (652x484, Format 7 mode 0, mono 16, RAW 16)
87 (652x484, Format 7 mode 0, YUV411)
80 (652x484, Format 7 mode 0, YUV422)
Edge Rising Edge or Falling Edge
Trigger
Strobe Active High, Support Normal Mode or Trigger Mode
Multi-camera auto sync -144 us ~ +144 us at 60,30,15,7.5 frame rate
Memory Save/Load 16 Channels (0:factory, 1~4:feature, 5~15:mode/feature)
One-shot/Multi-shot 65535 Shots
Control Functions
SIO(RS-232) IIDC v1.32 version : Pass through or custom command
Digital Interface IEEE1394B 2 port(9pin)
Transfer Rate 800Mbps
Gain 0 ~ 18 dB Manual or Auto
Shutter Speed 1 usec ~ 3600 sec
Data Depth 12 bit
S/N Ratio 56d B or better