Testing the Hamamatsu C15550-22UP (Non-GenICam Firmware) with the PCIe1004 Frame Grabber

The Hamamatsu ORCA-Quest 2 (C15550-22UP) is a scientific-grade camera built around a back-illuminated qCMOS sensor. It delivers 9.4 MP (4096 × 2304) full-frame imaging with ultra-low read noise, and is widely used in quantum measurement and control, fluorescence microscopy, and related fields. On the host side, camera parameters are accessed through the GenICam XML description file embedded in the camera. In some firmware revisions, however, that XML is incomplete — key nodes such as ROI width/height, scan mode and exposure time are missing or defined with invalid ranges, so the parameters cannot be changed or the changes do not take effect.

To work around this, Chongqing Xingce Electronics’ ImgGrab acquisition software can reload the camera with a cleaned-up, camera-specific XML file, restoring full access to all feature nodes. This test uses the PCIe1004, a 4-channel CoaXPress V2.0 frame grabber (GenTL / Aravis SDK, 50 Gbps aggregated bandwidth, built-in PoCXP power delivery) together with the ImgGrab platform, and verifies image acquisition as well as Width/Height, Offset, scan mode, exposure, external trigger, and air/water cooling switching.

Figure 1: Hamamatsu ORCA-Quest 2 (C15550-22UP) and the PCIe-1004 4-Channel CoaXPress Frame Grabber

The C15550-22UP must be connected with four HDBNC-to-DIN cables. A single cable cannot provide enough bandwidth, and acquisition will not start. The wiring order is shown below.

Figure 2: Camera-side wiring order for the four HDBNC-to-DIN cables

The cable numbering on the PCIe-1004 frame grabber side must match the camera side one for one.

Figure: PCIe-1004 frame grabber side cabling (match the cable numbers to the camera)

1. Hamamatsu ORCA-Quest 2 (C15550-22UP) Overview

1.1. Key Specifications

Parameter	Specification
Sensor type	qCMOS image sensor (back-illuminated)
Effective pixels	4096 × 2304 (9.4 MP)
Pixel size	4.6 μm × 4.6 μm
Effective area	18.841 mm × 10.598 mm
Peak quantum efficiency (QE)	85% (@460 nm); 50% (@300 nm); 30% (@900 nm)
Full-well capacity	7,000 e−
Read noise	Standard Scan: 0.43 e− rms; Ultra Quiet Scan: 0.30 e− rms
Dynamic range	23,000:1 (rms)
Full-resolution frame rate	Standard Scan 120 fps / Ultra Quiet Scan 25.4 fps (CoaXPress)
Bit depth	16-bit / 12-bit / 8-bit
Data interface	CoaXPress (Quad CXP-6) / USB 3.1 Gen 1
Cooling	Forced air cooling (−20 °C) / water cooling (−35 °C)
Dark current	Air: 0.016 e−/px/s; water: 0.006 e−/px/s
Lens mount	C-mount (F-mount optional)

1.2. Readout Modes

Standard Scan: conventional high-speed readout, 0.43 e− rms read noise.

Ultra Quiet Scan: ultra-low-noise mode, 0.30 e− rms read noise; required as the basis for PNR mode.

1.3. Assessing GenICam Support

Whether a camera’s GenICam support is complete can be checked in four steps with any standard GenICam host: (1) can the embedded XML description file be downloaded and parsed in full; (2) does the feature tree cover every functional block — Image Format Control, Acquisition Control and the rest; (3) can key nodes be written and read back consistently; and (4) does the acquired image geometry and timing actually change after the parameters are modified.

If any step fails, the camera’s embedded XML no longer matches its firmware and a standard GenICam workflow cannot configure it fully. This camera falls into that category: over a standard GenTL/GenICam enumeration, only a subset of nodes is exposed. Critical nodes — Width/Height, OffsetX/OffsetY, DeviceScanSpeed — are missing or carry invalid range definitions, so the values cannot be changed or the changes are ignored (see figure below).

Figure 3: Built-in XML — missing nodes and invalid range definitions

1.4. The ImgGrab XML-Switching Workaround

ImgGrab from Chongqing Xingce Electronics can switch the XML file used for a camera. In the device connection view, select the camera-specific corrected XML to reload it; every feature node then appears and can be configured normally (steps below).

Select the camera, right-click it and choose Switch Camera XML.

Figure 4: Right-click the camera → Switch Camera XML

XML path: C:\HelloFPGA\GenTL\CameraXMLCustom

Figure 5: XML path — C:\HelloFPGA\GenTL\CameraXMLCustom

After loading the custom XML, every feature node is displayed and configurable (see Chapter 4).

Figure 6: Feature nodes visible and configurable after loading the custom XML

2. Downloading ImgGrab

Install ImgGrab from the Download Center on the Chongqing Xingce Electronics website: https://img-grab.com/jszc

Figure: ImgGrab download center on the Xingce Electronics website

Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts.

Figure 7: Downloading and installing ImgGrab

3. Acquiring Images with ImgGrab

Launch ImgGrab; the window below appears.

Figure 8: ImgGrab startup window

Click the refresh button next to the PCIe1004 frame grabber to detect the camera. With the camera detected and selected, click the connect/disconnect button shown below (or just double-click the camera) to open the connection.

Figure 9: Detecting the camera and connecting / disconnecting

The acquisition view appears. Click the grab button shown below to start acquisition.

Figure 10: Click the grab button to start acquisition

Acquisition is successful.

Figure 11: Acquisition successful

4. Camera Feature Tests

4.1. Width and Height

The default resolution is 4096 × 2304. A full-frame acquisition is shown below.

Figure 12: Default 4096 × 2304 acquisition

Width and Height are edited under the Image Format Control node in the ImgGrab feature tree. Width increments in steps of 256 (range 256–4096) and Height in steps of 4 lines (range 4–2304). After editing, execute ApplyImageFormat to commit; the new geometry takes effect once the camera replies Done.

Width and Height set to 2048 × 2048 — configured and acquired successfully, as shown below.

Figure 13: Width = 2048, Height = 2048 — configured and acquired successfully

Any legal Width/Height combination acquires normally.

Figure 14: Normal acquisition at arbitrary legal Width/Height values

4.2. Offset

Offset defines the ROI origin relative to the top-left corner of the full sensor, and shares the ApplyImageFormat commit flow with Width/Height.

Parameter	Minimum	Maximum	Step
OffsetX	0	4096 − Width	4 pixels
OffsetY	0	2304 − Height	4 lines

Width = 2048, Height = 2048, OffsetX = 512, OffsetY = 256 — configured and acquired successfully.

Figure 15: Offset configured and acquired successfully

Comparing this ROI image with the full-frame image below shows that the ROI corresponds to the region with the leftmost 512 pixels and the topmost 256 lines removed — the offset function works correctly.

Figure 16: Full-frame reference image for the Offset comparison

4.3. Scan Speed (DeviceScanSpeed)

The camera exposes two readout modes via the DeviceScanSpeed node: Ultra Quiet (ultra-low noise, slower readout) and Standard (high-speed readout).

DeviceScanSpeed = Ultra Quiet Scan, Width = 4096, Height = 2304: acquisition is normal at roughly 25 FPS full frame.

Figure 17: DeviceScanSpeed = Ultra Quiet Scan, approx. 25 FPS full frame

DeviceScanSpeed = Standard Scan, same ROI: acquisition is normal at roughly 120 FPS full frame.

Figure 18: DeviceScanSpeed = Standard Scan, approx. 120 FPS full frame

4.4. Exposure Time

Exposure time is edited under the Acquisition Control node. The actual exposure is computed as Exposure = Exp2 × Mult / Div and quantized to an integer multiple of 1H (1H = 7.2 μs in Standard mode, 1H ≈ 33.9 μs in Ultra Quiet mode, scaling with the number of lines). Range: 7.2 μs to 1800 s.

Exposure = 20,000 μs (Ultra Quiet mode): acquisition normal, actual exposure ≈ 19,996 μs.

Figure 19: 20,000 μs exposure (Ultra Quiet), actual ≈ 19,996 μs

Exposure = 1,000 μs (Standard mode): acquisition normal, actual exposure 993.6 μs.

Figure 20: 1,000 μs exposure (Standard), actual 993.6 μs

Exposure = 8 μs (Standard mode): acquisition normal, actual exposure 7.2 μs.

Figure 21: 8 μs exposure (Standard), actual 7.2 μs

4.5. External Trigger

External trigger test: the trigger source is a 3.3 V amplitude, 1.65 V offset, 70 Hz square wave. ImgGrab is configured as shown below, and the trigger signal is fed into the camera’s EXT.TRIG input.

Figure 22: External trigger settings (3.3 V / 1.65 V offset / 70 Hz square wave into EXT.TRIG)

The acquisition result is shown below; the frame rate matches the trigger frequency.

Figure 23: External trigger acquisition — frame rate follows the trigger frequency

4.6. Switching Between Air and Water Cooling

Switching between air and water cooling is done in DCAM.

Open DCAM Configurator.

Figure 24: Opening DCAM Configurator

Open the Hardware page.

Figure 25: DCAM — opening Hardware

Set Cooler Type to Water.

Figure 26: Setting Cooler Type to Water

As shown below, the camera must be restarted for the change to take effect. Repeat the steps above to switch back to air cooling.

Figure 27: Camera restart required after switching

The chiller connected to the Hamamatsu C15550-22UP is shown below.

Figure 28: Chiller connected to the Hamamatsu C15550-22UP