EXCELITAS X-Cite Pco Camware Integration User Manual
- June 28, 2024
- Excelitas
Table of Contents
EXCELITAS X-Cite Pco Camware Integration
Product Information
Specifications:
- postal address: Excelitas PCO GmbH Donaupark 11 93309 Kelheim, Germany
- Model: pco.camware X-Cite integration
- License: Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
- Website: www.excelitas.com/pco
- email: [email protected]
- telephone: +49 (0) 9441 2005 50
- fax: +49 (0) 9441 2005 20
FAQ
Q: Where can I find further information if I encounter issues with the X-Cite light source?
A: Visit the X-Cite homepage at https://www.excelitas.com/de/product- category/x-cite-illuminators for additional support.
Excelitas PCO GmbH asks you to carefully read and follow the instructions in this document. For any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at any time.
pco.camware X-Cite integration application note Released June 2024
©Copyright Excelitas PCO GmbH
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.
Overview
With our latest version of pco.camware (4.16.0) you are now able to also control Excelitas X-Cite® light sources within pco.camware. This makes it very intuitive to use X-Cite light sources together with PCO cameras without the need of using and maintaining multiple applications.
This application note is a quick start guide on how to enable and use this new
X-Cite control feature inside pco.camware. Therefore you do not need to
install any additional driver or software for X-Cite, just installing
pco.camware as usual is enough.
If you encounter any problems with your X-Cite light source, please visit the
X-Cite homepage (https://www.excelitas.com/de/product-category/x-cite-
illuminators) for further information.
Usage
In order to use the X-Cite light control in pco.camware, you have to make sure that your light source is switched on and is connected to your PC before you start pco.camware On startup, pco.camware automatically searches for all connected cameras and now also for all connected X-Cite light sources. If at least one light source is found, the associated light control dialog will appear. This dialog is shown below. See left for one connected light source, or right for multiple connected light sources.
Tip
Make sure to activate the histogram in the GUI and deactivate auto range to
easily track the brightness changes in the images when changing the light
intensity.
Per default, the light is only switched on when recording is active! This
behavior can be changed in the settings, see chapter 3.
Light Control Dialog
The usage of the light control dialog is very intuitive.
- Light source controls which light source is currently active (This is only visible if multiple light sources are connected)
- Type displays the windows driver name of the X-Cite light source
- Serial-No displays the serial number of the X-Cite light source
- Channel X controls the channel with number X of the light source. Depending on the light source you can either have multiple channels or only one (e.g. for a white light source)
- The gray box below the list will always display additional information for the currently selected element
Note
In the screenshots you will see a (W1) on some of the channels. This indicates
that for activating this channel, a movement of the filter wheel might be
necessary, which will take approximately 2 seconds. Additionally, only one of
the channels on the filter wheel can be activated at a time (this is
automatically handled by pco.camware), while all other channels can be
controlled independently.
Channel Settings
The control of each channel consists of 3 elements
which are (from left to right):
- a display of the wavelength of the channel, colored in approximately the color that corresponds to the wavelength
- a checkable box for activating and deactivating the channel. In default each channel is off (= black, like Channel 2 in the screenshot above), when clicking on this box the channel will be activated (= white, like Channel 3 in the screenshot above)
- a numerical input to control the intensity of the channel. You can change the intensity value with either the mouse wheel or the keyboard. The intensity can be set in a range from 5.0 to 100.0 with a stepping of 1.0
Sync Light with Acquisition
The software is able to control the sync of the light source with the
recording state of the camera. This means that the light is only ON when the
camera is actually recording (i.e when pco.camware GUI is red). In this mode,
activating the channels (setting associated boxes to white) will not directly
activate the light. Only during active recording the light is activated
according to the current selections in the light control dialog.
This feature prevents your sample from over-exposition. Thus, permanent damage
of the imaged cells and/or bleaching of your fluorophore can be minimized.
Per default, this feature is enabled as it is the typical use case. For
permanent illumination please open the pco.camware options menu, which can be
found under File -> Options
There you will find the corresponding setting under General Properties -> Auto switch light.
Switching this from Yes to No will deactivate the described behavior.
Note
The synchronization that is described here refers to the recording state of
the camera, i.e will be switched on when recording starts and switched off
when the recording ends. For some applications you may want to have the light
source only active during the actual exposure time of an image and it should
be switched off during delay and readout. For this you need to synchronize the
exposure output signal with the TTL of your light source. Please reade the
manuals of your PCO camera and your X-Cite light source for further
information on this.
Auto-Link Light Source
When you are working with at least 2 cameras and at least 2 light sources, pco.camware has an additional feature to automatically link a light source to a camera. This is done automatically on startup of pco.camware. For successful auto-link, please ensure an open beam path, so that light from the source can be detected by the camera. When an assigned camera is selected in the Camera List, the linked light source automatically becomes also selected in the light control dialog. Thus, you always configure the correct light source for the camera.
To enable this feature:
- at least 2 cameras must be connected
- at least 2 light sources must be connected
- the Auto switch light option must be set to No (see chapter 3)
- the Check camera light option must be set to Yes (default is Yes, see figure below) 1
If these settings are selected, the auto-link will be done on the next startup of pco.camware.
Always be sure to follow the X-Cite safety instructions. Never look into the
beam or hold the light guide in your hands when the light source is on.
Be especially careful when this feature is activated.
This option is only visible when at least 2 cameras are detected
Postal address: Excelitas PCO GmbH Donaupark 11 93309 Kelheim, Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 9441 2005 0
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.excelitas.com/pco