The GREYPIC program is a simplistic but effective demonstrator of the MicronEye's grey scale capabilities. By taking the same picture at several exposure settings, the program assigns a grey level to each pixel depending on the number of times it was white throughout the several exposure settings. Utilizing several of the features of the MICRONEYE program, the GREYPIC program allows for real-time adjustment of exposure time, saving and retrieving prey scale pictures on disk, and pasting together several pictures to make a larger composite picture. The GREYPIC program should be easily changed to work on other graphics printers or even on standard dot matrix or line printers.
The program is designed to operate with an EPSON printer (with Graftrax) in slot 1. When the program is run you are asked to specify the slot the MicronEye is in. You are also reminded to make sure that the printer is online to prevent the program from hanging. The program then begins displaying the picture being received from the MicronEye on the upper third of the screen. The exposure time is initially set to 1/3 of a second.
The GREYPIC program requires some setup to get a clear image. A high and low setting for the exposure range must be set. This can be accomplished with the use of the L, H. and B commands. The high exposure setting must be decided upon such that the image is not too light to display all of the details of the object being viewed on the screen. The dark exposure setting should be set so that no streaking occurs on the screen. Any slight discrepancy in exposure time can be corrected using the increase and decrease exposure time commands. Be sure that the object is in focus and the F-stop is at the correct setting.
To make a composite picture, place the object being viewed to show the upper most details which are desired to be displayed on the screen. On the screen, some distance should be allowed between the edge of the picture and the image of the object. After the picture is sharp and clear, a printout can be made. Press the P command and the upper third of the screen will be printed.
Press the "2" key to display the picture on the middle third of the screen. Raise the level of the object until the image on the upper third of the screen is directly on top of the image being displayed on the middle third of the screen. A flowing, continuous picture should be evident on the screen with no recognizable division between the two pictures on the screen. Press the P command and the middle third of the screen will be printed.
Press the "3" key to display the picture on the bottom third of the screen. Again, raise the level of the object until the bottom image is directly alligned with the middle third of the screen. A continuous picture should be displayed on the screen with no obvious breaks between the three sections of the screen. Press the P command and the bottom third of the screen will be printed.
By using the N command to scroll the image, a picture of any desired length can be printed. Using the same method already described, scroll the screen up one third, raise the level of the object and print the section.
If the object being displayed on the screen by the camera is in a fixed position, the height of the camera can be raised or lowered. Keep in mind at all times that the MicronEye should be kept parallel and perpendicular with the object being viewed. Setting an object on a movable platform (like a music stand) is one possible way to raise the level of an object.
If it is desired to save the picture to disk, each section of the screen must be saved separately. Press the S command and the image will be saved to be used at a later date.
The gray-scaled picture can be recalled from disk using the R command. If you desire to print the picture that has been recalled then press "P" rather than <RETURN> once the picture has been displayed.