Trigger Modes

The Sona and Marana-6 sCMOS camera has the following triggering modes:

Internal Trigger - the camera determines the exact time when an exposure happens based on the acquisition settings entered by the user. This is the most basic trigger mode and requires no external intervention.
External Trigger - the camera and software are in a high state of readiness to accept a trigger from an external source. Refer to Minimum EXT Trigger Width for the minimum pulse width required to guarantee a trigger. The external trigger is fed via the External Trigger input on the I/O Connector on the camera head.
Software Trigger works in the a similar manner to External Trigger mode whereby the camera and software are in a high state of readiness and can react extremely quickly to a trigger event issued via software. This mode is particularly useful when the user needs to control other equipment between each exposure and does not know in advance how long such control will take or if the time taken changes randomly.
External Start is a mode where the camera will wait for one external trigger event to occur after the acquisition sequence has been started. Once this external trigger event is detected, the camera will start the Internal Trigger read out process and will progress as if the camera was in internal trigger mode.
External Exposure Trigger is a mode of operation where the exposure time and cycle time are controlled by the external trigger input.

The TTL inputs and outputs may be used to synchronize the camera operation with external events or equipment.

The individual outputs are described in the following sections.

The AUX_OUT_1 output can be configured via software (Solis or SDK) to provide one of the following outputs: FIRE, FIRE n, FIRE ALL, or FIRE ANY.

The default state provides ‘FIRE ALL on this output.

The polarity of the TTL inputs and outputs can also be inverted (individually) via either Solis or SDK.

Note
‘Row 1’ is the first row read out in the image frame. ‘Row n’ is the last row read out in the image frame. The trigger diagrams in the following sections are for outlining the events and timing of outputs in the various trigger modes and not to scale.

Note

‘Row 1’ is the first row read out in the image frame. ‘Row n’ is the last row read out in the image frame.

The trigger diagrams in the following sections are for outlining the events and timing of outputs in the various trigger modes and not to scale.