RE: Are USB3 Vision cameras any better than GigE Vision cameras?

[Mark Rivers via Tech-talk <tech-talk@aps.anl.gov>]

Hi Henrique,

 

I have been using both USB3 Vision and GigE Vision cameras for many years.  In general, I have found both to be very stable, though GigE Vision cameras sometimes have occasional dropped frames.

 

I have used USB3 Vision for cameras that require greater bandwidth than GigE can support, for example this Grasshopper3 camera

https://www.teledynevisionsolutions.com/products/grasshopper3-usb3/?model=GS3-U3-23S6M-C&vertical=machine%20vision&segment=iis

 

• To me, they have the drawback of requiring a computer right next to it,

 

That is not really true.  I use this active USB3 extender cable, and the distance between the camera and the computer can be more than 25 meters (20m for the extender cable plus 3m for the normal USB-3 cable).  The above camera runs at the full USB3 rate with no problems.

https://www.amazon.com/SIIG-Active-Repeater-20-Meters-JU-CB0811-S1/dp/B0053YLYLC?th=1

 

GigE cameras can have issues if they are sharing network bandwidth with many devices, but in general I have found them to be quite reliable.  You can eliminate virtually all issues by using a dedicated NIC and direct connection to the camera.  That is less convenient than using switches, but it allows greater distances than USB3.  I am running my tomography data collection with a 10G Ethernet camera on a dedicated NIC and have no problems with dropped packets or dropped frames.

https://www.teledynevisionsolutions.com/products/oryx-10gige/?model=ORX-10GS-51S5M-C&vertical=machine%20vision&segment=iis

 

Mark

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tech-talk <tech-talk-bounces@aps.anl.gov> On Behalf Of Henrique F. Simoes via Tech-talk
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2025 9:40 AM
To: tech-talk@aps.anl.gov
Cc: Ana Clara de Souza Oliveira <ana.clara@lnls.br>
Subject: Are USB3 Vision cameras any better than GigE Vision cameras?

 

Hi folks,

 

I've been recently asked whether we should be choosing USB3 Vision cameras as a replacement for GigE Vision cameras. This inquiry comes in the context of disbelief on GigE cameras by users due to their instability. (This is somewhat related to that topic in the other thread

[1].)

 

Does anyone have had better experience with USB cameras over Ethernet ones? Any comment regarding their comparison will be helpful to discuss this topic internally, as we don't have any of those cameras in operation nowadays.

 

To me, they have the drawback of requiring a computer right next to it, which goes against our current effort of removing them for Ethernet ones.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[1] epics.anl.gov/tech-talk/2025/msg00632.php

 

--

Henrique F. Simões

Control Software Group (SwC)

Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)

 

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