Procedure for creating white balance settings

For most applications, white balance settings don't need to be changed dynamically while the project is running. So, the standard method for creating and saving a white balance file is through the Matrox Design Assistant configuration portal. This involves performing the following:

1. From the home page of the Matrox Design Assistant configuration portal, click on the TOOLS portal page.

2. From the TOOLS portal page, click on the DEFINE WHITE BALANCE tab.

   After selecting your settings, click on the Start button. Clicking on the presented open an operator view button will open the preinstalled white balance settings utility.

3. Grab an image that is a uniform shade of gray. To do so, hold a flat, smooth, non-reflective object that is a uniform shade of gray in front of the camera so that the object occupies the camera's entire field of view. The shade of gray should not be too close to white (too saturated); otherwise, one or more of the color bands might be clipped during the grab to maximum saturation, and the imbalance between the bands cannot be properly observed.

4. Enter a file name for the white balance settings and click on Set and save white balance.

   The white balance settings file is now saved on your runtime platform and you can select the file from the Cameras page of the Platform Configuration dialog, accessible from the Project Configure platform menu item of Matrox Design Assistant.

To change the white balance settings more dynamically, see the Procedure for using the WhiteBalance step section later in this chapter.