I have spoken through email to a new user of the DBK 21AF04 that is taking full advantage of The Imaging Source cameras and I thought I’d showcase one of his first images, as well as, a few of his thoughts!
I’ve used the DBK 21AF04 on Saturn and Mars with great results. This is a fine camera and I recommend it highly to one-shot color imagers. [...] This is a fine camera.[...]
Thanks for your attention,
Jim Fisher
Yesterday, I blogged about using The Imaging Source FireWire astronomy cameras on Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn). Today, I would like run through the same procedure, but with USB 2.0 astronomy cameras.
Step #1: Set up the hardware
Connect a USB 2.0 astronomy cameras to the USB 2.0 port on your computer with a simple USB cable. Please make sure that your PC does indeed have a USB 2.0 port and not the older USB 1.0. If you purchased your PC within the last four years, you will certainly have a USB 2.0 port. The Imaging Source USB 2.0 astronomy cameras do not support USB 1.0, simply because the cameras produce so much data that it is impossible to transfer it all over the slow USB 1.0 interface.
Step #2: Set up the USB 2.0 driver
This is the most complicated step of the whole procedure. We need to download and compile the USB 2.0 driver. First, however, you need to install a compiler and linux headers:
sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic
Now we have an environment in which the USB 2.0 driver can be compiled.
Delete the shipped USB 2.0 driver:
sudo rm /lib/modules/2.6.20-15-generic/kernel/ubuntu/media/usbvideo/uvcvideo.ko
Change to your source code directory:
cd /usr/src/
And download the USB 2.0 driver source code:
sudo wget http://www.astronomycamerasblog.com/wp-content/
uploads-extra/linux-uvc_trunk_arne.tar.gz
Extract the files:
sudo tar xfzv linux-uvc_trunk_arne.tar.gz
And change directory into the source code tree:
cd linux-uvc_trunk_arne
Compile the code:
sudo make
Install the new USB 2.0 driver:
sudo make install
You now have the latest USB 2.0 driver installed on your PC.
Step #3: Set up the software
The software that is required to use The Imaging Source USB 2.0 astronomy cameras on Ubuntu 7.04 is available from a 3rd party project and released under a General Public License (GPL) and a commercial license.
The project is called unicap and has its own homepage at unicap-imaging.org. Maintained by Arne Caspari, the project is sponsored by The Imaging Source.
To access and install the software, you first need to update your sources.list. This can be done with:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
At the end of the file, add the following two lines:
# The Imaging Source Cameras
deb http://unicap-imaging.org/packages feisty main
Save and close the file.
Update the repository listing:
sudo apt-get update
And install the video capture application (ucview) with all its dependencies:
sudo apt-get install ucview
A detailed description of these steps can be found on the project’s web site.
Reboot.
Now, you can start ucview (the capture application) with:
ucview
You should see the following application window:
Please post requests for support in the comments section below.
References
Image in screenshot is copyright Dierick Vercouter.
Following my post yesterday about how to use The Imaging Source FireWire astronomy cameras on Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), below are few screenshots of unicap running.
Main application window with about dialog
Adjustments dialog -> Exposure tab
Adjustments dialog -> Device tab
Adjustments dialog -> Color tab
Adjustments dialog -> Video tab
Preferences dialog -> Video tab
Preferences dialog -> Audio tab
Preferences dialog -> Image tab
Preferences dialog -> Plugins tab
Image in “main application window” screenshot is copyright Dierick Vercouter.
An ever increasing number of customers are writing to us, asking how to use The Imaging Source FireWire astronomy cameras on Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn). This is quite possible! How is described in this blog entry.
Step #1: Set up the hardware
The first step is to connect a FireWire astronomy camera to your PC and to ensure that the camera is being powered.
Please refer to the white paper “FireWire Cameras - Cables, Power Supplies, Interface Boards” for detailed information on which cable and interface card are required for this process.
Once you are sure that you have set up the hardware correctly, it is time to look at the software.
Step #2: Set up the software
The software that is required to use The Imaging Source FireWire astronomy cameras on Ubuntu 7.04 is available from a 3rd party project and released under a General Public License (GPL) and a commercial license.
The project is called unicap and has its own homepage at unicap-imaging.org. Maintained by Arne Caspari, the project is sponsored by The Imaging Source.
According to the project’s web site:
unicap provides a uniform interface to video capture devices. It allows applications to use any supported video capture device via a single API.
unicap offers a high level of hardware abstraction while maintaining maximum performance. Zero copy capture of video buffers is possible for devices supporting it allowing fast video capture with low CPU usage even on low-speed architectures.
To access and install the software, you first need to update your sources.list. This can be done with:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
At the end of the file, add the following two lines:
# The Imaging Source Cameras
deb http://unicap-imaging.org/packages feisty main
Save and close the file.
Update the repository listing:
sudo apt-get update
And install the video capture application (ucview) with all its dependencies:
sudo apt-get install ucview
A detailed description of these steps can be found on the project’s web site.
Next you need to add the group “firewire” for your FireWire astronomy camera:
sudo addgroup firewire
And assign this group to the currently logged on user (in this case “jon”).
sudo addgroup jon firewire
Finally, edit the following file:
sudo gedit /etc/udev/rules.d/40-permissions.rules
Look for the following line (ca. line 26):
KERNEL=="raw1394", GROUP="video"
And change to:
KERNEL=="raw1394", GROUP="firewire"
Save and close the file.
Reboot.
Now, you can start ucview (the capture application) with:
ucview
You should see the following application window:
Please post requests for support in the comments section below.
References
Image in screenshot is copyright Dierick Vercouter.
On page 98 of the December issue of the French magazine Ciel & Espace, the following competition has been published. English translation follows:
Concours spécial
PHOTOGRAPHIEZ LA SURFACE DE MARS
Cet hiver, Mars passe près de la Terre. C’est l’occasion d’en réaliser de belles images avec une lunette ou un télescope. Ciel & Espace et [The] Imaging Source organisent un grand concours photo. Pour y participer, c’est simple: envoyez-nous votre plus belle photo de la surface de Mars (la plus détaillée, la mieux traitée, etc.) prise en 2007. Un jury compose des membres de la rédaction désignera les sept meilleures.
1er prix:
une caméra DMK 41AF022e prix:
une caméra DMK 31AF033e prix:
une caméra DMK 21AF04Du 4e au 7e prix:
un numéro hors-série de Ciel & Espace Photographier le cielLe résultat sera annonce dans le numéro de Ciel & Espace de février 2007, avec publication des sept meilleures images.
Envoyez vos images exclusivement par mail à l’adresse mars2007@cieletespace.fr, en précisant vos nom et adresse, ainsi que les conditions de la prise de vue.
Date limité des envois: le 31 décembre 2007, minuit
English translation:
PHOTOGRAPH MARS’ SURFACE
Mars will be passing nearby the Earth this Winter. This offers a great opportunity to take wonderful photos with binoculars or a telescope. “Ciel et Espace” (name of magazine) has teamed up with The Imaging Source to organize a competition: To participate, simply send us your best photo of Mars’ surface (the most detailed, the best post-processing etc.) The photo must have been taken in 2007. A jury, consisting of members of our editorial team will decide on the best photos.
1st prize:
DMK 41AF02 astronomy camera2nd prize:
DMK 31AF03 astronomy camera3rd prize:
DMK 21AF04 astronomy camera4th to 7th prize:
The special edition Photographier le ciel (photograph the night sky)The winner of the competition will be announced in the February 2007 issue. We will also publish the winning images,
Send your images by e-mail to mars2007@cieletespace.fr, detailing your name, address and parameters of your photo.
Closing date: Midnight on December 31, 2007.
