Chapter 1 Introduction
© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 IMAQ PCI-1428 User Manual
These variable parameters are defined on a per-camera basis in a camera
file (camera_model.icd) supplied by National Instruments. The
NI-IMAQ driver software uses the information in this camera file to
program the PCI-1428 to acquire images from a specific camera. Without
this camera file, the driver does not have the information necessary to
configure the PCI-1428 for acquisition.
Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), the National Instruments
configuration utility, provides a simple interface for associating a camera
file with the PCI-1428. Use the following guidelines to access the camera
file in MAX:
1. Launch MAX, and expand the Devices and Interfaces branch of the
configuration tree.
2. Expand the IMAQ PCI-1428 branch.
3. Right-click Channel 0, and select Camera.
4. Select your camera from the pop-up menu. If your camera is not in
thep op-up menu, verify that the camera file is installed in the
NI-IMAQ/Data directory.
Many camera files are installed on your computer when you install
NI-IMAQ, and many more are available for download from the National
Instruments Camera Advisor at ni.com\camera. When installing new
camera files, save them to the Data folder located at Program Files\
National Instruments\NI-IMAQ\Data.
Contact National Instruments technical support to request camera files not
available in the Camera Advisor. See AppendixC, Technical Support
Resources, for information on National Instruments technical support.
Software Programming Choices
Use NI-IMAQ, the National Instruments image acquisition driver software,
to program your IMAQ device to acquire, display, and save images. You
can use NI-IMAQ with other National Instruments software for a complete
image acquisition and analysis solution, as shown in Figure1-1.
NI-IMAQ works with LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Visual C++, and
Visual Basic. National Instruments IMAQVision adds powerful image
processing and analysis to these programming environments. You can also
use IMAQVision Builder to quickly and easily prototype your IMAQ
image analysis applications.