Using Parallel Digital Cameras with NI Products

• Is there a National Instruments 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 National Instruments no longer sells parallel digital frame grabbers. The NI PCI-1422 and PXI-1422 used to be sold by National Instruments for this purpose, but they are not longer being created or sold by National Instruments.  
 

Current Users

If you already own an NI PCI/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 National Instruments 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 National Instruments still sells frame grabbers for. 
    
3. Get a National Instruments parallel digital frame grabber from a third-party resell source. 

Additional Information

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