Image Acquisition Control130 Basler pioneer10.5 Overlapping Exposure and SensorReadoutThe image acquisition process on the camera includes two distinct parts. The first part is theexposure of the pixels in the imaging sensor. Once exposure is complete, the second part of theprocess – readout of the pixel values from the sensor – takes place.In regard to this image acquisition process, there are two common ways for the camera to operate:with “non-overlapped” exposure and with “overlapped” exposure. In the non-overlapped mode ofoperation, each time an image is acquired, the camera completes the entire exposure/readoutprocess before acquisition of the next image is started. This situation is illustrated in Figure 36.Fig. 36: Non-overlapped ExposureWhile operating in a non-overlapped fashion is perfectly normal and is appropriate for manysituations, it is not the most efficient way to operate the camera in terms of acquisition frame rate.On this camera, however, it is allowable to begin exposing a new image while a previously acquiredimage is being read out. This situation is illustrated in Figure 37 and is known as operating thecamera with “overlapped” exposure.As you can see, running the camera with readout and exposure overlapped can allow higheracquisition frame rates because the camera is performing two processes at once.Fig. 37: Overlapped ExposureImage Acquisition NExposure ReadoutImage Acquisition N+1Exposure ReadoutImage Acquisition N+2Exposure ReadoutTimeImage Acquisition NExposure ReadoutImage Acquisition N+1Exposure ReadoutImage Acquisition N+2Exposure ReadoutTimeImage Acquisition N+3Exposure Readout
