DMK-41AU02-AS --> WDM Features

[pterodyne]

I am designing an All Sky camera and am considering the DMK-41AU02-AS to be the imager. So far I have tried webcams, and several super low lux (.0003) video cameras/capture cards and am out of luck for capturing all but the brightest stars. Im not looking to go super deep, but Id like to be able to pass the long exposure output to this program:

http://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html#ufocv2

I have had good success with programs that do video integration from a WDM source, but there is no way that I know of to pipe the output directly from those programs to UFO Capture (WDM Wrapper?).

So my thought here is that if the DMK-41AU02-AS supports WDM and variable exposures up to 60 minutes, then likely I could directly set the exposure to around 5 to 10 seconds to get a basic star field, and the software will be none the wiser.

Assuming my logic above is sound, can someone point me to a list of WDM addressable features? I can't seem to find a list, and I cannot install the driver without the camera (unless there is a simulator somewhere).

Thanks for any suggestions, and excuse the newbie questions, I did search the forums. The manuals posted on theimagingsource.com do not seem to contain the information that I am looking for.

Thanks!

[FAROUTMAN]

Yeh the info is slim...i got suckered into trying one...very disappointing..

[Stefan Geissler]

Hello pterodyne,

With WDM is here a DirectShow conform driver meant.

Yeh the info is slim...i got suckered into trying one...very disappointing..
At least, it is not very slim, but hard to understand: The MSDN DirectShow documentation is very extensive.

1.) Parameters (Gain, Exposure...)
The available parameters depend on the WDM driver provided with the camera. But the standard DirectShow interface does not handle all parameters such as Absolute Values for Exposure. For using these properties, a KsPropertySet must be queried.
Also it is possible to show the property pages of the WDM driver, so the long exposure times can be set using this dialog. Most programs, e.g. K3CCDTools do this.

2.) Imagedata to be passed
DirectShow programs use a filter graph. The filter graph starts with the camera, some color space conversions, e.g. YUV to RGB and some ends as the Video Renderer and a Sink for saving the images in Memory. (Its all documented in the MSDN.)

3.) UfoCapture 2
The program works fine with DMK 21AF03, but not with a 31 and 41 camera model. Thus I think, there is a limitation in this program. If the 21 model is in use, you can click the "set" button near the camera name and set the long exposure times in there.
For more questions about UFO Capture I suggest to ask the program author. He may can contact me for more information, if needed.

http://www.theimagingsourceforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1043&stc=1&d=1253693330

[pterodyne]

When you say it doesn't work with the 31 and 41 models, do you mean that the camera won't initialize? or you do not gain access to the higher resolution modes? Because I have found that you have to manually put in the higher resolutions. I have a quickcam 9000 that will do up to 1600x1200, and the only way I could get those resolutions to work is to manually put them in. Also, do you think the color versions of the imaging source cameras will work as well? Unfortunately I need at least a 1/3" chip to get the full FOV of my lens.

Thanks!

[Stefan Geissler]

I simply got an error message from the program saying something about resolution. I only did a few tests without looking deeper in this program.

You are right. If I set the resolution to 1280x960, I can use a 41 camera model. I did not saw this before.

I also tested a color camera, which runs fine and gives a colored image in UFO Capture 2.