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python-microscope / microscope

Python library for control of microscope devices, supporting hardware triggers and distribution of devices over the network for performance and flexibility.
https://www.python-microscope.org
GNU General Public License v3.0
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Andor: Close the shutter when the camera is disabled #225

Open gjover opened 2 years ago

gjover commented 2 years ago

When the camera was disabled the external shutter is left open. It would be safer to leave the shutter closed when the camera is disabled.

carandraug commented 1 year ago

Is closing/opening the external shutter a slow operation? Maybe the reason why it was not done is that the camera may have been disable only to change the exposure time or ROI (done via the keep_acquiring decorator).

iandobbie commented 1 year ago

The older Andor cameras had shutter that were notoriously unreliable. I heard of many cameras where these shutters failed rendering the camera useless. Once the EM gain is off the shutter doesn't really do much, especially for a camera permanently mounted on a system so we decided to just leave it open.

Maybe the shutters are now higher quality so it is more sensible to shut them on disable.