QImaging, with headquarters in Surrey, Canada, has released the Rolera Bolt Scientific CMOS camera, a high-speed imaging alternative that is less than half the cost of most scientific CMOS and CCD cameras. The Rolera Bolt is the latest addition to QImaging's high-speed, high-sensitivity family of cameras that also includes the recently released Rolera Thunder.
Designed for low-light imaging, the Rolera Bolt is suited for biomedical imaging. This includes motility studies where dynamic events need to be captured with high spatial and temporal resolution.
The camera is also ideal for life science applications using fluorescent labelling, such as immunofluorescence, live-cell fluorescent imaging, ratiometric imaging, high speed calcium imaging, time-lapse fluoresence and fluoresence in situ hybridisation (FISH). Additionally, the camera's price point makes scientific CMOS performance accessible to price-sensitive markets, including machine vision and industrial imaging.
The Rolera Bolt's technical features include a high quantum efficiency 1.3 Megapixel sensor (3.63 x 3.63µm pixel size) combined with low read noise (~ 3e-) and high-speed (30fps full resolution) simultaneous readout. Using new Pixel-Freeze Technology, dark current is reduced to nearly undetectable levels, eliminating the need for an expensive Peltier cooling system. This allows for a lightweight, compact design with minimal power requirements, enabling the camera to utilise a single USB 2.0 connection for both power and 12-bit data transfer.
Because of its smaller pixel size, the camera can be used with lower magnifications to achieve increased signal and field of view. A dynamic range of approximately 4,500:1 allows the camera to quantitatively display dim and bright signals in a single image, a range comparable to standard CCD devices.
Using the standard QCam API and QImaging Software Development Kit (SDK), the camera integrates with high-end OEM systems and customised software applications. Standard with all QImaging cameras, the Rolera Bolt is backed by an industry-leading two-year limited warranty.
