Set up a video camera with Video Capture

For best results, capture video in monochrome.

Setting up a video camera

  1. Click the camera toolbar icon . WormLab displays the Video Capture window
  2. Click the Display clipping button to correct illumination.
    • White pixels are displayed in red.
    • Adjust the aperture on your camera and/or lower the exposure in the settings (see below) to correct imbalances.
  3. Click the Settings tabs.
  4. Adjust your camera exposure to get illuminated objects without saturating the background (pure white). You should also adjust for your desired frame rate.

Video Settings

You can adjust the following settings. Some cameras may save the settings; check your hardware manual.

Select to inform WormLab that the camera uses a color filter. Common with color cameras that use a color mask over a monochrome sensor to create a color image.

  • The values in the Color Filter drop-down list box specify the Bayer four-cell grid mask. There are always two greens in the four-cell grid color pattern. The quad grid is used to interpolate the values from the monochrome sensor to an RGB color value.
  • Contact us for assistance with color filters.

Duration of the exposure in seconds.

Number of images captured per second. Frame rate is sometimes abbreviated as fps, or frames per second.

  • A lower frame rate lets you set a longer exposure.
  • For crawling worms, we recommend setting your frame rate between 5 and 15 fps.

Use to create a brighter image without increasing the light source intensity.

An increase in gain results in an increase in noise.

  • We recommend that you first adjust exposure to increase the brightness. WormLab expresses gain as dB of intensity.
  • Increasing the gain intensity increases the electrical amplification of the signal.

Gamma is a non-linear adjustment to the pixel intensity of an image. It is normally used to brighten the mid-tones.

  • A higher setting may bring out some shadow detail, which can be useful in low-light situations.
  • A value of 1 means that there is no adjustment.

Select an output type. We recommend Monochrome.

Use if the dish is upside-down.

Select the camera's built-in video sizes and input modes from the drop-down list. Use FORMAT-7 to customize up to the maximum frame size supported by your camera.