The Basler ace 2 a2A2048-37gm is a GigE industrial area scan camera built around the 1/3.1" Sony IMX900 Pregius S global shutter CMOS sensor with 2048 x 1536 px (3.2 MP) resolution and 2.25 µm pixels. It delivers up to 37 fps in monochrome over a Gigabit Ethernet (GigE Vision 2.0 / GenICam) interface with an RJ45 data connector and an M8 6-pin I/O connector. The sensor is sensitive across the visible and NIR spectrum with ~86.8% peak quantum efficiency and 64.5 dB typical dynamic range. The compact C-mount box housing (55.5 x 29 x 29 mm, 100 g) is powered via PoE or 12-24 VDC and rated IP30.
The Basler ace 2 a2A2048-37gm is a GigE Vision area scan camera built around the 1/3.1" Sony IMX900 Pregius S global shutter CMOS sensor, delivering 2048 x 1536 px (3.2 MP) of monochrome resolution at up to 37 fps. The defining trait for an installer is the global shutter: every pixel is exposed simultaneously, so fast-moving parts on a conveyor, indexing turntable, or robot end-effector are frozen without the skew or smear a rolling shutter would introduce. With 2.25 um pixels on a small 4.61 x 3.46 mm sensor, this is a high-pixel-density device tuned for resolving fine features in a compact field of view rather than for low-light, large-format work, so pairing it with adequate, controlled illumination is part of the design.
The monochrome IMX900 is sensitive across both the visible and NIR range, with a quoted ~86.8% peak quantum efficiency and 64.5 dB typical dynamic range. That NIR sensitivity is useful: with the right wavelength lighting and optical filters you can suppress ambient color variation or enhance contrast that a color sensor would miss. As a mono camera it dedicates every pixel to luminance (no Bayer interpolation), which makes it the stronger choice for grayscale tasks like edge-based gauging, surface defect detection, and reading printed or marked codes and characters. The Gigabit Ethernet interface speaks GigE Vision 2.0 / GenICam over an RJ45 data connector, giving you standardized, driver-agnostic integration with the ~100 m copper cable reach typical of GigE, while an M8 6-pin I/O connector carries hardware trigger and strobe lines for tight synchronization with lighting and a part-present sensor.
Mechanically this is a small C-mount box camera: 55.5 x 29 x 29 mm and only 100 g, which makes it easy to mount on robot arms, in tight inspection cells, or in multi-camera arrays. It is powered either by PoE (single-cable power and data over the RJ45) or 12-24 VDC, simplifying cabling in cells where a power supply is inconvenient. The IP30 rating means it is protected against small solid objects but not against dust ingress or liquids, so it expects a clean, enclosed environment or a protective housing on the line. The -10 to 60 C operating range covers typical factory-floor conditions. The C-mount opens up a wide catalog of lenses, but the 2.25 um pixel pitch demands a lens with resolving power matched to that density to actually deliver the 3.2 MP detail the sensor can capture.
Best for
Surface and defect inspection on moving lines where global shutter freezes motion at up to 37 fps without smear
Industrial OCR/OCV and reading of printed or marked codes, where dedicated monochrome pixels maximize character and code contrast
Dimensional measurement and edge-based gauging that benefit from the 2048 x 1536 resolution and fine 2.25 um pixel pitch
Robot guidance and pick-and-place, where the 100 g compact box and PoE single-cable feed mount easily on an end-effector
NIR-assisted inspection using the sensor's visible+NIR sensitivity with matched wavelength lighting and filters to boost contrast
Selection notes
Confirm your field of view and required feature size: with a 1/3.1" (4.61 x 3.46 mm) sensor and 2.25 um pixels, the 3.2 MP only translates to real resolving power if you pick a high-resolution C-mount lens that matches the small pixel pitch.
Budget your GigE bandwidth: 3.2 MP mono at 37 fps loads the Gigabit Ethernet link, so plan a dedicated NIC/port and jumbo frames, and reduce fps or use an ROI if you share the link.
Plan illumination and triggering together: use the M8 6-pin I/O for hardware trigger in and strobe out so exposure is synchronized to part arrival and to a strobed light, which the global shutter is designed to exploit.
Verify the environment against IP30: this housing is not sealed against dust or liquids, so a washdown, dusty, or splash-prone line needs an external enclosure or air purge.
Decide on power delivery up front: PoE keeps it to a single RJ45 cable, but if you are already routing 12-24 VDC in the cell you can use that instead and keep the data link clean.
Specifications: General
Brand
Basler
Camera type
Area scan
Specifications: Sensor
Resolution
3.2 MP (2048 x 1536)
Horizontal resolution
2048 px
Mono / color
Mono (Visible + NIR)
Sensor manufacturer
Sony Pregius S
Sensor model
Sony IMX900
Shutter
Global shutter
Sensor size
1/3.1" (4.61 mm x 3.46 mm)
Pixel size
2.25 µm x 2.25 µm
Specifications: Performance
FPS
37 fps
Specifications: Interface
Interface
GigE (Gigabit Ethernet)
Protocols
GigE Vision 2.0, GenICam
Specifications: Optics
Mount
C-mount
Specifications: Electrical
Power
PoE or 12-24 VDC
Specifications: Environment
IP rating
IP30
Operating temperature
-10 to 60 °C
Specifications: Mechanical
Dimensions
55.5 x 29 x 29 mm
Weight
100 g
Housing material
Box
Applications this camera is commonly selected for. Open one to see the full recommended hardware and approach.
Matched automatically by: lens mount fits the camera mount · lens image circle covers the camera sensor — this camera: C-mount · 1/3.1" (4.61 mm x 3.46 mm) sensor.
By category
All 244C-mount lenses 179Telecentric lenses 62F-mount / large-format lenses 3
By brand
All 244Omron / Sentech 81iRAYPLE 66Basler 65Datalogic / Datasensing 32
Get a first image quickly with the pylon Viewer, then move into the pylon SDK for your application. These cameras are GenICam/GenTL-compliant, so any compliant vision software can drive them as well.
Download and install the pylon Camera Software Suite for your OS from Basler. This provides the pylon Viewer, the GenTL transport-layer producers and the pylon SDK (C/C++/.NET/Python). On Windows the installer adds the needed drivers; on Linux follow the included setup notes for USB and network permissions.
2. Connect the camera and check the link
Cable the camera to its matching interface: GigE Vision to a GigE port (use a quality cable and, ideally, a dedicated NIC with jumbo frames enabled), USB3 Vision to a USB 3.x port with the supplied cable, or CoaXPress to the frame grabber. Provide power where required (PoE, USB bus power, or PoCXP). Open the pylon Viewer and confirm the camera appears in the device list; for GigE, make sure the camera and NIC are on the same subnet.
3. Grab a first image and set exposure, gain and pixel format
Select the camera in the pylon Viewer and start a continuous grab. Adjust exposure time and gain until the image is well exposed (avoid clipped highlights), set the pixel format (e.g. Mono8 or a Bayer/RGB format), and focus the lens. Use a test pattern if the lens or scene is not ready yet.
4. Configure triggering and acquisition
Decide between free-run and triggered acquisition. For synchronized capture, set the trigger source (software or a hardware line on the I/O connector), trigger mode and any debounce or exposure mode, then verify timing. Note the parameter names you change in the Viewer feature tree, as you will reuse them in code.
5. Move to the SDK or a GenICam-compliant library
Recreate your settings in code with the pylon SDK (C, C++, .NET or Python) to open the device, apply the same features and pull frames into your pipeline; pylon vTools and pylon AI can add processing blocks. Because the cameras are GenICam/GenTL standard, third-party vision libraries work too. Once the image stream is stable, you can route frames to a deep-learning inspection such as Rosepetal for automated defect detection.
Frequently asked questions
It is monochrome. The Sony IMX900 sensor is mono and sensitive across the visible and NIR spectrum, so every pixel captures luminance with no color filter, which favors grayscale tasks like defect detection, gauging, and code/character reading.
It provides 3.2 MP at 2048 x 1536 px and runs at up to 37 fps in monochrome. Frame rate may be limited by available Gigabit Ethernet bandwidth at full resolution.
Global shutter. The IMX900 Pregius S exposes all pixels simultaneously, so moving parts are captured without the distortion or smear typical of rolling-shutter sensors, which makes it suited to conveyor and motion applications.
It uses a GigE (Gigabit Ethernet) interface following GigE Vision 2.0 / GenICam, with an RJ45 data connector and an M8 6-pin I/O connector for trigger and strobe. Power is via PoE over the RJ45 or via 12-24 VDC.
It has a C-mount in a compact box housing measuring 55.5 x 29 x 29 mm and weighing 100 g. It is rated IP30 and operates from -10 to 60 C, so it suits clean, enclosed cells rather than wet or dusty environments without extra protection.
