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Connecting the camera


Powering on the camera


First, be sure to connect the micro USB cable and battery dummy to the camera as shown in the picture:

Important

For convenience, do not mount the camera on the mast until it has been completely configured.

important

Ensure the camera is not tilted to the left or the right when attaching the camera to the mast, in order to avoid perspective distortion which will impact negatively on the inspection performance.

Camera mounted on the mast

Camera connections

Parameters


The SONY camera has a 50 mm 1.8f fixed lens already pre-configured, but in case its settings are modified or reset, you will need to set them again as below:

  1. Turn on the camera by moving the selector in the top of the camera to "ON".

    Camera Top

  2. Set the mode dial to A (Aperture Priority) pressing the round button and selecting the A mode.

    Camra Top

  3. Select the value F7.1 by turning the control dial. Setting the aperture to 7.1 will get the most detailed photos of your PBCAs.

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  4. Pressing the MENU button, go to setting and set the AEL w/shutter to ON

  5. inside the same MENU, the last tab has an option called USB connection. Set it to PC REMOTE.

camera settings camera settings

To capture the whole dimension of the panel / circuit you are inspecting, move the camera UP in the mast. For smaller circuits/ panel, move it down but never use digital zoom.

important

Do not use the DIGITAL ZOOM with the 50mm optics system. It will only artificially increase the size of the digital image not adding real info to the photograph.

If you change any parameter or adjust the camera while the system is ON, the camera will get unresponsive. You will need to disconnect it from the computer and reconnect it again.

Zoomed picture of a PCB

If everything is fine, you will get highly detailed photographs of your PCBa. Examples of two photos taken with the inspection platform are shown above. Neither shadows nor direct light reflections are present.

If you want to know how to connect the specific version you are using you can see it in the following sections:

Connecting ONLINE units

Connecting OFFLINE units

Optical/Digital Zoom


When using a DIGITAL ZOOM, the camera’s optics are not adjusted. It is accomplished electronically, so no optical resolution is gained. That means that you are not providing useful info to the software.

If you are using our inspection platform and are inspecting a small circuit/panel: Move the camera DOWN until it is about 45 cm over from the circuit you are inspecting. The structure of the platform will not allow going down further in any case. From that distance, take the photos.

Do not use the camera controls to increase the size of the circuit/ panel. That will only degrade the quality of the image taken. The laptop will take control of the camera and set the best configuration under every circumstance.

Selected PCB area