Low-cost GigE camera

2255 Prosilica has released the GC780, a new low-cost camera with a GigE Vision-compliant interface. The ultra-compact GC780 (33x46x38mm) features the 0.5in Sony ICX415 progressive scan CCD sensor and runs 64 frames per second at full resolution (782x582). The ICX415 features low dark current, high sensitivity, continuous variable-speed shutter, low smear and excellent anti-blooming characteristics. The GC780 has a C-mount with adjustable back focus and is available in monochrome and colour models. Prosilica says the camera is well suited for applications such as optical character recognition, traffic imaging, high-speed inspection, machine vision, robotics and OEM applications.

The GC780 incorporates an advanced set of rich camera features including snapshot/global shutter, pixel binning, area of interest readout, video-type auto-iris support, external trigger and sync I/O, RS-232 peripheral port, exposure, gain and offset controls, non-volatile configuration memory, event recorder capability, pre-trigger recording, programmable strobe functions, multicasting, configurable IP addresses, auto-exposure and auto-white balance controls.

Thanks to its gigabit Ethernet interface, the GC780 is plug and play and does not require a frame-grabber to operate. The GigE interface also allows cable lengths of up to 100m using conventional Ethernet cabling (Cat5e) and even longer lengths using fibre-optics.