© 2016 Thorlabs Scientific Imaging38
DCx Camera Functional Description and SDK Manual
2.4 Reading Out Partial Images
The camera sensors have defined resolutions which are given as the number of pixels (width x
height). However, for some applications it may be necessary to read out only a selected part of the
sensor area or to reduce the local resolution. For this purpose, the DCx Cameras provide various
functions:
Area of interest (AOI)
Subsampling (skipping) pixels
Binning (combining) pixels
These functions reduce the amount of data to be transferred and thus allow you to increase the
frame rate considerably, depending on the camera model.
2.4.1 Area of Interest (AOI)
Using this function, you can set the size and position of an area of interest (AOI) within an image. In
this case, only data included in this AOI will be read out and transferred to the computer. The
smaller partial image enables the camera to use a higher frame rate.
For information on the AOI position grid and the frame rates that your camera model can achieve
with AOI, see the model specifications in the Camera and sensor data chapter.
AOI readout on monochrome sensors
AOI readout on color sensors
Note
Step widths for AOI definition (position grid): The available step widths for the position and
size of image AOIs depend on the sensor. The values defining the position and size of an AOI have
to be integer multiples of the allowed step widths.
For details on the AOI grids of the individual camera models, please see Camera and sensor data