Setting Focus

There is a range of reading distances available for different code sizes and focus positions. To set focus on your reader, use the following options depending on whether you use a liquid lens or a manual focus lens.

DataMan readers are compatible with multiple different lenses. Each lens has a range of reading distances available for different code sizes and focus positions. Having accurate focus settings is essential to maximize read rates.

To set the focus on your reader, use the following options depending on whether you use a liquid lens or a manual focus lens.

Liquid Lens

1. Click the Focus Feedback button in the image panel in SetupTool to enable focus feedback.
   This enables a color-coded focus feedback bar on the right side of the image panel.





2. Click the Optimize Focus button to optimize the focus of the liquid lens.
   You can find this button in the lower left section of the image panel, or you can also optimize focus during tuning by checking the box in the tune dropdown.

   

   

   

Manual Focus Lens

Click the Focus Feedback button in the image panel in SetupTool to enable focus feedback.
This enables a color-coded focus feedback bar on the right side of the image panel. Once focus feedback is enabled, enter live mode and manually adjust the lens until the focus feedback bar is green.

Focus Feedback

Focus is indicated by colors ranging from red (bad focus) to green (sharp focus). When focusing the reader, you need to adjust its position until the focus column becomes green.

Best Practices

Both Optimize Focus and the Focus Feedback use the same procedure for testing the current focus. They consider various sub-regions of the image.

Follow these guidelines to maximize the performance of Optimize Focus and Focus Feedback:

• Use a focus target (such as the one supplied with this Reference Manual) that includes high-contrast features and is big enough that if ills at least a 100x100 pixel region in the center of the field of view at the desired working distance.
• Avoid floppy pieces of paper and make sure the target is perfectly flat.
• Make sure that the target is perfectly perpendicular to the optical axis of the reader.
• Make sure that the rest of the field of view, such as the part not covered by the focus target, does not contain any high-contrast features. For example, if you would ideally fill the entire field of view with a white card or sheet of paper (no shadows), position the focus target in the middle.
• The supplied 120x120mm focus target is appropriate for typical working distances. If you use such a working distance that the target does not completely fill the image, make sure that there are no high-contrast features visible outside of the target (see previous bullet).