Aligning Camera and Illumination Cycles

Obviously, the ON time of the light source must coincide with the exposure phase of the imaging sensor.

Therefore, the time relationship between the strobe signal(s) and the Camera Trigger signal must be adequately controlled.

4 typical use cases of Camera Trigger vs. Strobe alignment

Intermittent Light Sources (Use cases 1 & 2)

The duration of the strobe pulse must be adequately controlled in order to provide the right amount of light and get a correctly exposed image.

The sensor exposure should be adequately timed in order to terminate the sensor exposure after the light has turned off.

Strobed Light Sources (Use cases 3 & 4)

The sensor exposure should be adequately timed in order to terminate the sensor exposure after the light has turned off.

Late Strobe (Use cases 1 & 3)

The leading edge (beginning) of the Strobe signal is delayed a little to ensure that the light is not turned on too early while the imaging device is resetting its pixels.

Early Strobe (Use cases 2 & 4)

The leading edge of the Camera Trigger signal is delayed a little to ensure that the sensor exposure time is kept as short as possible and closely matches the on time.