Camera Link

Developed by a consortium of camera and image acquisition device manufacturers, Camera Link is a standard for interfacing digital cameras with image acquisition devices. Camera Link simplifies connectivity between the image acquisition device and the camera by defining a single standard connector for both. This standard ensures compatibility of devices bearing the Camera Link logo.

The basis for the Camera Link standard is a serial data transmission method consisting of a general-purpose transmitter/receiver pair. Each driver takes 28 bits of parallel digital data and a clock and serializes the stream to four LVDS (EIA-644) data streams and an LVDS clock. The Camera Link standard provides high-speed data transmission across 10 wires over distances of up to 10 m.

Camera Link Base configuration uses one transmitter/receiver pair and requires one cable for data transmission. Camera Link Medium configuration uses two transmitter/receiver pairs. Camera Link Full configuration uses three transmitter/receiver pairs. Both Medium and Full configuration require two data cables.

Refer to the Specifications of the Camera Link Interface Standard for Digital Cameras and Frame Grabbers manual for more detailed information about Camera Link specifications. This manual is available on several Web sites, including the Automated Imaging Association Web site at www.machinevisiononline.org.