Solution
Camera compatibility is determined by a number of factors, but the first step to determining whether a particular camera is supported with NI hardware and software is to determine the bus type. If you are still considering what camera to purchase and would like to make sure that you choose the right bus,
Choosing the Right Camera Bus provides information about the important considerations, advantages, and disadvantages of each type of camera. The bus type can be any of the following:
- USB 3.0 Vision
- GigE Vision
- Camera Link
- IEEE-1394 FireWire
- USB 2.0
- Parallel Digital
- Ethernet IP
The following sections list information regarding the driver used and frame grabber needed for each of the above bus types:
USB 3.0 Vision
- Recommended for New Applications: Yes
- Driver Used: NI-IMAQdx 4.2 or later
- Frame Grabber: Images acquired over USB 3.0 bus built into computer/target or from NI Frame Grabber
NI hardware and software supports any camera that complies with the AIA USB3 Vision Specification version 1.0 or later. There are cameras that communicate over USB 3.0 but are not USB 3.0 Vision compliant, so care should be taken to ensure that the manufacturer’s documentation indicates compliance.
Here is a list of the companies that are currently certified for USB 3.0 Vision.
If you find that your camera is just a USB 3.0 camera and not USB 3.0 Vision compliant, you still may be able to use the camera's driver (if it is available) and call it using the Call Library Function Node . You may then be able to bring in the images and camera information into LabVIEW and then use the Vision Analysis libraries available in Vision Development Module. However, you would then need to talk with that company if issues with the driver came up.
GigE Vision
- Recommended for New Applications: Yes
- Driver Used: NI-IMAQdx
- Frame Grabber: Images acquired over Ethernet port built into computer/target or on NI Frame Grabber
NI hardware and software supports any camera that complies with the AIA GigE Vision Specification version 1.0 or later. There are cameras that communicate over Ethernet but are not GigE Vision compliant, so care should be taken to ensure that the manufacturer’s documentation indicates compliance.
Camera Link
- Recommended for New Applications: Yes
- Driver Used: NI-IMAQ or NI-IMAQdx
- Frame Grabber: NI Frame Grabber
NI hardware and software supports Camera Link cameras that conform to the Camera Link standard (base, medium, full, and extended). In contrast to other standards however, Camera Link cameras require a camera file to tell the driver how the camera’s attributes are exposed, so not all Camera Link cameras are supported.
To verify if a specific frame grabber is compatible with NI-IMAQ or NI-IMAQdx, check the Vision Acquisition Software Read Me files.
IEEE-1394 FireWire
- Recommended for New Applications: No
- Driver Used: NI-IMAQdx or NI-IMAQ IEEE-1394
- Framegrabber: NI Frame Grabber Images are acquired over the FireWire bus.
NI-IMAQdx previous than 20.0 supports FireWire cameras that are fully IIDC (DCAM) compliant. The NI-IMAQ IEEE-1394 driver is no longer recommended and is unsupported by NI as it has been functionally replaced by NI-IMAQdx.
USB 2.0
- Recommended for New Applications: No
- Driver Used: NI-IMAQdx 3.4 or later
- Frame Grabber: None. Images are acquired with DirectShow over the USB 2.0 bus.
USB 2.0 cameras are not recommended for new applications, but NI hardware and software supports most USB 2.0 devices that are DirectShow compatible. Camera manufacturers will often create a LabVIEW API for their specific camera that supports additional features that DirectShow does not. It is recommended that you use the manufacturer's API when available.
USB 2.0 devices are now supported through the manufacturer's API or IMAQdx.
Because USB 2.0 cameras use DirectShow for acquisition, the camera manufacturer’s driver must be installed and configured correctly for the camera to be supported when using IMAQdx.
Parallel Digital
- Recommended for New Applications: No
- Driver Used: NI-IMAQ
- Frame Grabber: NI no longer sells Parallel Digital frame grabbers.
Parallel Digital has been functionally replaced by the Camera Link standard. Parallel Digital cameras require a camera file to tell the driver how the camera’s attributes are exposed, so not all Parallel Digital cameras are supported.
NI supports a subset of Parallel Digital cameras that send data in the following formats:
- TTL
- RS-422
- LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signal)
If you are using a 3rd-party frame grabber you may want to look at the Knowledge Base article
Can I Use My Third-Party Frame Grabber with the IMAQ VIs?Note that Parallel Digital Camera support was dropped in Vision Acquisition Software 19.0. So if you want to use this camera type please consider using 18.5 and older version.
Ethernet IP
- Recommended for New Applications: No
- Driver Used: NI-IMAQdx 3.5 or later
- Frame Grabber: None. Images are acquired over Ethernet.
Ethernet IP has been functionally replaced by GigE Vision, and NI only supports Internet Protocol (IP) cameras manufactured by Basler and Axis. An IP camera typically sends a compressed image over an Ethernet connection, and the NI-IMAQdx driver only supports IP cameras that provide MJPEG images.
Axis IP cameras must have firmware version 2.0 (or later) to be supported.
Note that Ethernet IP Camera support was dropped in Vision Acquisition Software 19.0. So if you want to use this camera type please consider using 18.5 and older version.