October 24, 2016

Using a flash with a CMOS image sensor: ERS and GRR modes

by Oleg Dzhimiev

Operation modes in conventional CMOS image sensors with the electronic rolling shutter

Flash test setup

Most of the CMOS image sensors have Electronic Rolling Shutter – the images are acquired by scanning line by line. Their strengths and weaknesses are well known and extremely wide usage made the technology somewhat perfect – Andrey might have already said this somewhere before.

There are CMOS sensors with a Global Shutter BUT (if we take the same optical formats):

  • because of more elements per pixel – they have lower full well capacity and quantum efficiency
  • because analog memory is used – they have higher dark current and higher shutter ratio

Some links:

So, the typical sensor with ERS may support 3 modes of operation:

  • Electronic Rolling Shutter (ERS) Continuous
  • Electronic Rolling Shutter (ERS) Snapshot
  • Global Reset Release (GRR) Snapshot

GRR Snapshot was available in the 10353 cameras but ourselves we never tried it – one should have write directly to the sensor’s register to turn it on. But now it is tested and working in 10393s available through the TRIG (0x14) parameter.

(more…)


October 2, 2016

Elphel presenting at ORCONF 2016, An open source digital design conference

by Olga Filippova

On October 8th, 2016 Andrey will be presenting his work on VDT – Free Software Environment for FPGA Development at an open source digital design conference, ORCONF 2016. ORCONF 2016

 

The conference will take place in Bologna, Italy, and we are glad for the possibility to meet some of European users of Elphel cameras, and to connect with the community of developers excited about open source design, free software and open hardware.

Elphel will be present at the conference by Andrey Filippov from USA headquarters and Alexadre Poltorak, founder of Swiss 3D4Pi mobile mapping company, working closely with Elphel to integrate Eyesis4Pi, stereophotogrammetric camera, for the purpose of image based 3D reconstruction applications. Andrey will bring and demonstrate the new multisensor NC393 H-camera and Alexandre plans to take some panoramic footage with Eyesis4Pi camera, while in Bologna.