This article covers basic camera information as well as how to setup and configure the "Lynx" GigE camera from Swing Catalyst.
This article is split into different sections
Getting started: Hardware setup
Installing the dual port network card
Driver installation and enabling the camera(s)
Troubleshooting tips
Camera information:
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- Both the "Lynx" and "Fox" cameras are only supported in Swing Catalyst 9.8.2 or higher.
- This is a GigE based camera that is capable of Power over Ethernet (PoE). Please make sure you're using the recommended PoE network card or have a auxiliary power supply (Available from our web-shop or by contacting your Swing Catalyst sales agent)
- The maximum frame rate for this camera is 320 FPS.
- This camera has a resolution of 720x540
Getting started: Camera Assembly
Attach the tripod adapter to the camera body using the 4 black Phillips head screws included with the camera.
Unpack the lens and make sure to remove the plastic lens covers
Remove the sensor cover from the camera
Attaching the lens to the camera
Adjusting the camera lens
This lens has three adjustments, from top to bottom:
- Focus (adjusting towards the ∞ symbol will make objects further away in the background in focus)
- Aperture (iris adjustment, will adjust how much light is able to pass through the lens, a more closed aperture will result in a sharper image).
- Zoom (adjusts the zoom of the lens wide or telephoto).
Installing the dual port network card:
Important: It's important the network card is configured per recommendations.
Please see this video if you have the 4-port variant:
How to configure your network card
How to enable Jumbo frames
- Click your start button and type in "network connections"
- Right click the Ethernet ports your cameras are connected to and go to properties.
- Click the "Configure" button and go to the advanced tab.
- Find jumbo frames/packets and set it to 9014.
- Scroll down to "resource buffers" and set it to 2048.
Driver installation and enabling the camera(s):
Step 1: Connect your camera(s) to the PoE network ports on your PC using a Cat5 or Cat6 Ethernet cable and make sure you have a solid blue light on the back of your camera.
Step 2: Click to Download and install the drivers for your camera(s)
Step 3: Open Swing Catalyst and click on the gear icon in the bottom left corner of the main menu and go to your Cameras settings.
Step 4: Click the Play button to get a preview. Then click "Disabled" and assign the appropriate angle to each camera. Lastly switch the camera from "Off" to "On".
Configuring the camera settings:
Step 1: Click the "Advanced" button and go to the "Camera" tab.
Step 2: Assign the same values as the pictures below.
IMPORTANT: To have a clear view of the shaft and club at impact, you need to set the exposure to 600 or below. Add light to the image by increasing "gain". If the image is still dark, you can increase the exposure, but that will add shaft blur. To make sure you have the optimal light source, we highly recommend installing three of these lights: Thomann 100w, one light down the line, one face on right and one face on left, either ceiling mounted or wall mounted. The lights should have a minimum of 1.5 meters from the ball.
Step 3: Set all values that show "continuous" to "off".
Step 4: Repeat this for any other Lynx cameras you have connected.
Step 5: You should now be able to close the settings and go into capture mode to start recording.
Step 3: Repeat this for any other Lynx cameras you have connected.
Step 4: You should now be able to close the settings and go into capture mode to start recording.
Note: If you have 3 or 4 cameras we recommend setting the GEV SCPD to 150.
Troubleshooting tips:
Dropped frames:
Reducing the frame rate on each camera may help avoid or reduce dropped frames.
Do you have one of the recommended network cards? If not it may be the network card itself that is causing problems. Please contact our sales team to ensure you have the proper network equipment.
- Improper network card configuration. Check that 9kB jumbo frames is enabled on each network adapter. See our support article on recommended configuration
- Set GEV SCPD to 150 if using more than 2 cameras (see the camera settings under the Device / Link section).
- Confirm that the link speed is 1000 Mbps not 100 Mbps (see "Device Link Speed" under the Device / Link section in camera settings).
Link speed is 100 Mbps:
- If the link speed is 100Mbps instead of 1000Mbps the cable you're using may be bad or damaged, or the network adapter might not support Gigabit speeds. Try replacing the cable.
- Try to reset camera the camera settings to defaults, check link speed again under the "Device/ Link" section in camera settings.
- Check the status of the network adapter from the Windows Control Panel
Note: Speed should be 1.0 Gbps (1000Mbps), not 100Mbps.
Reducing dropped frames additionally by using Region Of Interest (ROI):
Using a region of interest (or area of interest) will reduce the overall image size and boost the FPS, but also it can help lower the bandwidth usage which in turns could reduce dropped frames (see above on how to utilize ROI).
Connectivity problems (camera disconnects):
- Inspect network cabling.
- If using external power supplies to cameras, check power supply connection.
Other problems:
Depending on your hardware it might not be the best to have the sharpening and denoise filters on, turning these off will reduce some CPU & GPU usage. You can find the camera filters in the Advanced Camera Settings Filters tab. More info on filters here: https://support.swingcatalyst.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009187999
How to set static IP
This article covers how to set a static IP address on the Lynx cameras and network cards respectively: https://support.swingcatalyst.com/hc/en-us/articles/9017496012060