News
Grasshopper2 1.4 Megapixel FireWire Camera
POSTED 03/09/2011
Point Grey, a world leader of advanced digital imaging products, today announced the launch of its new 1.4 megapixel IEEE 1394b high-performance Grasshopper®2 camera.
The next-generation Grasshopper2 camera uses the exceptionally sensitive Sony® ICX285 2/3" EXview HAD CCD and a 14-bit analog-to-digital converter to generate high quality 1.4 megapixel images at 30 FPS – double the rate of the previous Grasshopper. The compact Grasshopper2 measures just 44 x 29 x 58 mm in size, and offers new features such as opto-isolated GPIO for industrial triggering and strobe output, and optimized performance imaging modes.
"The Sony ICX285 continues to be one of the industry's most popular sensors for high-sensitivity imaging," says Vladimir Tucakov, Director of Sales and Marketing at Point Grey. "With Grasshopper2 we have added special enhanced imaging modes that minimize noise, maximize dynamic range, and provide very long exposures, making it ideal for medical and bioscience applications. We have also doubled the maximum frame rate to 30 FPS – made possible by the 800 Mbit/s FireWire interface – to address the needs of more demanding machine vision applications, and made it all available at an industry-leading price."
Every Grasshopper2 GS2-FW camera is equipped with a 32 MByte frame buffer, 512 KByte non-volatile flash memory, and on-board temperature and power sensors to monitor camera status. Like all Point Grey cameras, every model provides automatic control of most camera properties, such as gain, exposure, and white balance; user configuration sets for defining custom power-up settings; and customizable region of interest and binning modes. Mechanical features of the Grasshopper2 GS2-FW include an industry-standard C-mount lens holder, removable optical window (monochrome models) or IR cut filter (color models), and IEEE 1394b connector with screw locks.
Point Grey introduced GigE Vision® models of the Grasshopper2 in September 2010. All Grasshopper2 models benefit from the seamless software integration that is available using the FlyCapture® Software Development Kit (SDK). The FlyCapture SDK is compatible with Point Grey FireWire, USB 2.0, and GigE cameras using the same API, and includes support for 32- and 64-bit Windows and Linux. The Grasshopper2 complies with v1.32 of the IIDC specification, which also allows it to be used with many third-party software packages.
The GS2-FW-14S5 (2/3-inch 1384x1036 at 30 FPS), list priced at USD $1,945, is available to order now from Point Grey and its network of distributors.
About Point Grey Research, Inc.
Point Grey Research, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the development of advanced digital camera technology products for machine vision, industrial imaging, and computer vision applications. Based in Richmond, BC, Canada, Point Grey designs, manufactures and distributes IEEE-1394 (FireWire), USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and Camera Link cameras that are known for their excellent quality, performance, and ease of use. A broad range of hardware, software and mechanical engineering skills has allowed Point Grey to successfully bring many innovative and ground-breaking products to market. This drive for innovation has led to many industry firsts, including the first and smallest 1394b digital camera.
Since being founded in January of 1997, the company's approach to product pricing, quality control, and customer service has attracted thousands of customers worldwide, and its organic growth through product sales has enabled the company to expand significantly without any outside investment. Point Grey currently employs more than 100 people worldwide, and has a wholly-owned subsidiary in Germany that provides sales and support services to customers in Europe, Africa, and Israel. Point Grey's office in Japan works closely with the company's network of distributors in Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan.
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