Using Parallel Digital Cameras with NI Products

Updated May 14, 2024

Environment

Hardware

  • PCI-1422
  • PXI-1422

Driver

  • NI-IMAQ
  • Vision Acquisition Software

  • Is there a NI frame grabber that I can use to acquire images from a camera that has a parallel digital interface?
  • What drivers do I need to be able to work with a parallel digital camera?

The parallel digital interface is an older interface and NI no longer sells parallel digital frame grabbers. The NI PCI-1422 and PXI-1422 used to be sold by NI for this purpose, but they are no longer being created or sold by NI.
 

Current Users

If you already own an NI PCI-1422 or PXI-1422, you can connect to it using NI-IMAQ 18.5 or earlier which is included in the Vision Acquisition Software (VAS) bundle. You will be able to use the NI-IMAQ functions in LabVIEW to communicate with the camera, as well as interact with the camera in NI Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX) under the Devices and Interface section.
Note: NI-IMAQ does not require a license. If you install VAS, you will be prompted to input a serial number, but you can bypass this step and will still be able to interact with the camera.
 

New Users

If you are setting up a new system, however, there are a few options:
  1. Get a camera that uses a newer interface (such as GigE, CameraLink, and USB3 Vision) that NI still sells frame grabbers for (PXI frame grabbers and PCI frame grabbers ).
  2. Consider using a third-party adapter that converts the digital parallel form factor to a newer interface (such as GigE, CameraLink, and USB3 Vision) that NI still sells frame grabbers for. 
     
  3. Get a NI parallel digital frame grabber from a third-party resell source. 
 

Additional Information

NI-IMAQ 19.0 and later removed support for parallel digital cameras.