Point Grey launches HD 6.0 MP FireWire camera with industry leading CCD sensitivity

RICHMOND, CANADA: Point Grey, a world-leading designer and manufacturer of digital cameras for industrial, scientific, and traffic applications, announced the addition of new 6.0 megapixel models to its Grasshopper Express IEEE 1394b (FireWire-b) digital cameras series. Building on Point Grey's experience with Sony EXview HAD CCD II technology, the new Grasshopper Express GX-FW-60S6 uses the Sony ICX694 to deliver high resolution and extreme sensitivity in a compact and low-cost package.

Following the successful release of the ICX674 used in the GX-FW-28S5, the ICX694 applies EXview HAD technology to higher resolution, multi-tap image sensors. Compared to other CCD devices, EXview is known for higher quantum efficiency, reduced smear, and increased near infrared sensitivity. The ICX694 is a full 1" CCD that features 4.54 micron square pixels and is capable of sending 2736 x 2192 images at 11 FPS.

Every Grasshopper Express camera is equipped with a tripod mounting bracket, on-board temperature and power sensors to monitor camera status, and Point Grey's rich feature set. Also included with every camera is the FlyCapture SDK software library, which provides a common control interface for all Point Grey cameras under both Windows and Linux. The Grasshopper Express camera utilizes the FireWire-b interface. The 800 Mbit/s of bandwidth delivers low latency, deterministic image transfer without CPU loading. Industry-leading pricing and best-in-class image quality make the new GX ideal for applications in machine vision, bioscience, traffic and GIS applications.

"Applications imaging fast moving objects will benefit from improved sensitivity, shorter exposure values to eliminate motion blur, and post capture gain," says Michael Gibbons, director of Sales and Marketing. "With its high infrared response, this new Grasshopper Express allows customers to detect features and defects at higher wavelengths."

The Grasshopper Express GX-FW-60S6M-C (monochrome) and GX-FW-60S6C-C (color) models are list priced at $3,995 and are available to order now from Point Grey and its network of distributors.