Exposure and Light Intensity

Exposure determines the duration of camera and light-source on-time (or pulse width), given in microseconds (µs). Longer exposures can be helpful to detect light on dark or distant surfaces, but increasing exposure time decreases the maximum speed. Different target surfaces may require different exposures for optimal results. In general, shiny and mirror-like surfaces require a short pulse width and low-gloss surfaces a high pulse width.

Additionally, G4 and G5 sensors let you set the LED light power (Light intensity setting.

Sensors provide two or three exposure modes, depending on the model, for the flexibility needed to scan different types of target surfaces.

To properly set exposure, you can acquire scan data in Image mode and adjust the exposure as needed. Set the scan mode to Image, capture some scan data, and hover the pointer on top of the profile to see the intensity value. Check the whole profile length of interest. It is very important that in the active measurement area the image is not saturated. Intensity value range is from 0 to 255, it is recommended to keep the maximum intensity below 240.

You configure exposure in the Exposure panel on the Inspect > Scan page, in the Sensor Properties section.

When exposure is set to Dynamic or Multiple, additional parameters are displayed.

Exposure Mode	Description
Single	Uses a single exposure duration for each frame. Use this when the surface is roughly uniform and is the same for all targets. For more information, see Single Exposure.
Dynamic	Automatically adjusts the exposure after each profile based on an analysis of the preceding frame. Used when the target surface varies between scans. For more information, see Dynamic Exposure.
Multiple	Uses multiple exposures to create a single profile. Used when the target surface has a varying reflectance within a single profile. For more information, see Multiple Exposure.