Going the distance

Picking a camera is hard work. There’s resolution and lens format, sensor type and frame rate, and then there’s the interface standard, in terms of both speed and range. Now if you’re able to put the PC close to the camera pretty much any interface – GigE, FireWire, USB, or CameraLink - will span the distance, but there are many applications where the two are, of necessity, separated.

As a rough guide, if you have more than 3m between them you should give some thought to the most appropriate standard. Sometimes though this limits your choice of camera, but never fear, Andy Wilson is here.

No, Andy’s not going to stretch your cables, but he does have some advice on how to make them reach further. “Clearing Up Choices for Cabling and Connectors,” (Vision Systems Design, September 1^st, 2012, points out that most of the standard interfaces now have some kind of extender technology. If this is something you might need to deal with, I suggest you click the link above and save Andy’s article in your Favorites.