User Guide
AMCap Image and
Video Capture Software for Elite-Cam
INTRODUCTION
AMCap is an image and video capture software application that can be used on a PC or laptop in conjunction with Elite-Cam.
Elite-Cam is an optical microscope with a digital USB 2 data output for digital imaging.
Health & Safety
Vision Engineering and its products conform to the requirements of the EC Directives on Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS).
General
Starting the application
Initial set-up
DROPDOWN MENUS
General
File
Open Folder
Exit
Devices
USB Video Device
Options
Preview
Pause (spacebar)
MPEG2
Video Renderer…
Video Capture Filter…
Video Capture Pin…
Still Capture Pin…
Capture (Ctrl C)
Start Capture
Stop Capture
Still Capture
Window
Hide Menu Bar (F11)
Always on Top (F12)
Maintain Aspect Ratio
Restore Default Size
Full Screen (Alt + Enter)
Zoom
Crosshair
Overlay
Help
AMCap Help (F1)
TROUBLESHOOTING
Image problems
Image display colour rendition appears incorrect
Image appears to flicker when viewing a subject live
WARRANTY
CONTENTS
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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
u Insert the Elite-Cam Software CD. The CD should start automatically. If not, navigate to your CD drive from My Computer, right click and select Autoplay. The installation menu will then be displayed.
u Select Install Elite-Cam Software from the menu and follow the on-screen instructions.
When complete, exit the installation and eject the CD. The software installation is complete.
u Plug the Elite-Cam into your PC or laptop using the cables provided. The PC will now follow a Found New Hardware routine and install device drivers automatically.
Starting the application
u To start the application, from the Start menu, select all programmes and choose AMCap from the list.
u Once AMCap has opened, select USB Video Device from the device dropdown list.
www.visioneng.com/support Elite-Cam AMCap Image and Video Capture
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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
u An image should then be viewable in the AMCap window.
Initial set-up
To set Still Capture, proceed as follows: u Select Capture > Setup u The AMcap Setup menu will be displayed. Select the Still Capture tab, then select your path (file location) and image format.
If you use time-stamped filenames, your files will be saved with a unique filename each time, rather than the previous one being overwritten each time you take a picture.
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Elite-Cam AMCap Image and Video Capture www.visioneng.com/support
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
If applicable, ensure all options in DirectDraw are unchecked as follows: u Select Options > Video Renderer. The Properties menu will be displayed.
u Under the DirectDraw tab, ensure that all DirectDraw check boxes are unchecked.
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DROPDOWN MENUS
This section will help you locate the functions you need.
Note: No audio features are included with this software. Greyed out options in the menu that cannot be accessed, or options that do not require changing, will not be described in this section.
File
Open Folder
Still Capture… l
Opens the folder that you have chosen to save still captures to (see Capture > Setup).
Video Capture… l
Opens the folder that you have chosen to save video captures to (see Capture > Setup).
Application l
Opens the folder that the software was installed to.
Exit
l
Closes the AMCap software.
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Elite-Cam AMCap Image and Video Capture www.visioneng.com/support
DROPDOWN MENUS
Devices
USB Video Device
l
You must select this option to see an image in the window.
Options
Preview
l
Turns the preview window on and off.
Pause (spacebar)
l
Freezes the image in the AMCap capture window until pressed again.
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DROPDOWN MENUS
MPEG2
This option has no functionality when used in conjunction with Elite-Cam.
Video Renderer…
l
Displays various statistics regarding the performance of your Elite-Cam.
Video Capture Filter…
Video Proc Amp l
Set image properties here: Brightness, Contrast, Hue etc.
Camera Control l
Use this tab to set the exposure level of the camera.
Video Capture Pin…
l
This is where the video frame rate can be altered.
You may wish to change the output size.
Still Capture Pin…
l
Set the still capture output size here.
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Capture (Ctrl C)
DROPDOWN MENUS
Start Capture
l
Starts video capture.
Stop Capture
l
Stops video capture.
Still Capture
Copy to clipboard l
Copies captured image to clipboard in order to paste into another programme such as
Microsoft Word.
Snap l
Captures one still picture. This can also be achieved by pressing the Enter ( 8 ) key.
Delayed Snap l
Settings for controlled/timed capture.
Compression l
Choose from None, AVI or WMV9 to reduce the filesize of your video captures.
Setup l
Use this tabbed menu to make changes to Video Capture, Compression, Still Capture,
Options and Overlay.
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DROPDOWN MENUS
Window
Hide Menu Bar (F11)
l
Hides/Shows the menu bar.
Always on Top (F12)
l
Keeps the viewer above all other open documents/applications so as to be in view at all times.
Maintain Aspect Ratio
l
Keeps the dimensions of the image relative to each other when resizing the window. This should always be turned on to avoid image distortion.
Restore Default Size
l
Returns the window to the size it was when the software was opened.
Full Screen (Alt + Enter)
l
Gives a full screen image of the window. Double click with the mouse to return to a normal view.
Zoom
Enable l
Toggles zoom on or off.
Adjust l
Allows the zooms horizontal and vertical pan & zoom to be adjusted.
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DROPDOWN MENUS
Crosshair
l
Places a crosshair over the viewable image, ideal for aligning items more accurately and measurements using stage movements.
Overlay
l
Allows the user to overlay an image file such as bmp or jpg. Ideal for comparing objects.
Help
AMCap Help (F1)
l
Opens the AMCap help file.
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TROUBLESHOOTING
Image display colour rendition appears incorrect
u Check that the white balance has been set to Auto under the Video Capture Filter and allow the computer to update the display.
Image appears to flicker when viewing a subject live
u Adjust the live image output under Video Capture Pin and reduce to a smaller size. Most computers will display a smooth live image at 640 x 480.
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WARRANTY
WARRANTY
This product is warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of invoice to the original purchaser.
If during the warranty period the product is found to be defective, it will be repaired or replaced at facilities of Vision Engineering or elsewhere, all at the option of Vision Engineering. However, Vision
Engineering reserves the right to refund the purchase price if it is unable to provide replacement, and repair is not commercially practicable or cannot be timely made. Parts not of Vision Engineering manufacture carry only the warranty of their manufacturer. Expendable components such as fuses carry no warranty.
This warranty does not cover damage in transit, damage caused by misuse, neglect, or carelessness, or damage resulting from either improper servicing or modification by other than Vision
Engineering approved service personnel. Further, this warranty does not cover any routine maintenance work on the product described in the user guide or any minor maintenance work which is reasonably expected to be performed by the purchaser.
No responsibility is assumed for unsatisfactory operating performance due to environmental conditions such as humidity, dust, corrosive chemicals, deposition of oil or other foreign matter, spillage, or other conditions beyond the control of Vision Engineering.
Except as stated herein, Vision Engineering makes no other warranties, express or implied by law, whether for resale, fitness for a particular purpose or otherwise. Further, Vision Engineering shall not under any circumstances be liable for incidental, consequential or other damages.
For more information...
Vision Engineering has a network of offices and technical distributors around the world. For more information, please contact your Vision Engineering branch, local authorised distributor, or visit our website.
Distributor
Vision Engineering Ltd.
(Manufacturing)
Send Road, Send,
Woking, Surrey, GU23 7ER, England
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 248300
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering Ltd.
(Commercial)
Monument House, Monument Way West,
Woking, Surrey, GU21 5EN, England
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 248300
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering Inc.
(Manufacturing & Commercial)
570 Danbury Road,
New Milford, CT 06776 USA
Tel: +1 (860) 355 3776
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering Inc.
(West Coast Commercial)
745 West Taft Avenue,
Orange, CA 92865 USA
Tel: +1 (714) 974 6966
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering Ltd.
(Central Europe)
Anton-Pendele-Str. 3,
82275 Emmering, Deutschland
Tel: +49 (0) 8141 40167-0
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering Ltd.
(France)
ZAC de la Tremblaie, Av. de la Tremblaie
91220 Le Plessis Paté, France
Tel: +33 (0) 160 76 60 00
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering Ltd.
(Italia)
Via Cesare Cantù, 9
20092 Cinisello Balsamo MI, Italia
Tel: +39 02 6129 3518
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering
(Brasil)
Tel: +55 11 4063 2206
Email: [email protected]
Nippon Vision Engineering
(Japan)
272-2 Saedo-cho, Tsuduki-ku,
Yokohama-shi, 224-0054, Japan
Tel: +81 (0) 45 935 1117
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering
(China)
11J, International Ocean Building,
720 Pudong Avenue, Shanghai,
200120, P.R. China
Tel: +86 (0) 21 5036 7556
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering
(S.E. Asia)
Tel: +603 80700908
Email: [email protected]
Vision Engineering
(India)
Email: [email protected]
Visit our website:
www.visioneng.com
Disclaimer – Vision Engineering Ltd. has a policy of continuous development and reserves the right to change or update, without notice, the design, materials or specification of any products, the information contained within this brochure/datasheet and to discontinue production or distribution of any of the products described.
