The Basler a2A3840-45uc is an industrial area scan camera from the ace 2 R Basic series, built around a 1/1.8" Sony IMX334 progressive-scan CMOS rolling-shutter sensor with 8.3 MP resolution (3840 x 2160) and 2.0 x 2.0 um pixels. It is a color model that outputs at roughly 43-45 fps over a USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed, 5 Gbit/s) interface conforming to the USB3 Vision and GenICam standards. The camera uses a C-mount lens mount, draws about 2.9 W bus-powered over USB, and supports 8/10/12-bit pixel depth. It is housed in a compact ~29 x 29 mm box with an M8 6-pin I/O connector, IP30 protection, and an operating temperature range of -10 to 60 C.
The Basler ace 2 a2A3840-45uc is an 8.3 MP color area scan camera from the ace 2 R Basic series, built on the 1/1.8" Sony IMX334 progressive-scan CMOS sensor, delivering 3840 x 2160 frames at up to roughly 45 fps (45.7 fps maximum) over a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed (5 Gbit/s) link. With 2.0 x 2.0 um pixels on a 7.7 x 4.3 mm imager, this is a high-density sensor: the small pixel pitch gives you fine spatial sampling for resolving small features, which suits dimensional measurement, surface and defect inspection, and code/character reading where you need many pixels across the part. Because the camera is color, it carries a Bayer filter on the sensor, making it the right pick when defect classification, print verification, or product sorting depends on hue rather than purely on grayscale contrast. The trade-off of small pixels is that they collect less light per pixel, so plan on adequate, well-controlled illumination and lens aperture to keep exposure times short and noise low.
The defining handling characteristic of this model is its rolling shutter. Rolling shutter reads the sensor line by line rather than exposing every pixel simultaneously, so it is ideally suited to static or slow-moving scenes: parts that are indexed and stationary at the moment of capture, web or surface inspection at moderate speed, or any setup where the camera and target are settled during exposure. For fast linear motion or freely moving objects, rolling shutter can introduce geometric skew, so for high-speed indexing you would either gate motion to a stop, use a short strobed exposure to freeze it, or choose a global-shutter model. The USB3 Vision and GenICam compliance means the camera is a standards-based citizen on the vision software side, discoverable and configurable through Basler's pylon SDK or any USB3 Vision-conformant library, with selectable 8/10/12-bit pixel depth to trade bandwidth against tonal precision.
Mechanically and electrically, this is a compact, low-overhead camera designed to drop into space-constrained cells. It uses a C-mount, so lens selection is broad, but the 1/1.8" format and 2.0 um pixels demand a lens with enough resolving power and the correct image circle to avoid softening the corners and wasting the sensor's resolution. The 48.1 x 29 x 29 mm housing weighs only 85 g and is bus-powered over USB 3.0 at about 2.9 W from 5 VDC, which removes the need for a separate power supply and simplifies single-cable cabling runs. An M8 6-pin I/O connector provides the trigger and GPIO lines you need to synchronize acquisition with a PLC, an encoder, or a strobed light. Environmental ratings are modest: IP30 protection means it expects a relatively clean, enclosed environment rather than washdown or heavy dust, and the -10 to 60 C operating range covers typical factory-floor conditions.
Best for
High-resolution surface and defect inspection of stationary or indexed parts in electronics and automotive production, where the 8.3 MP color sensor resolves fine flaws
Color-dependent print and packaging inspection, where the Bayer-filter color output verifies labels, print quality, and product appearance
Dimensional measurement and gauging that needs many pixels across the field of view, exploiting the 2.0 um pixel pitch for fine spatial sampling
Industrial OCR/OCV reading of printed text and characters on settled parts, leveraging the 3840 x 2160 resolution for legibility
Space- and power-constrained cells where the compact 48.1 x 29 x 29 mm, 85 g, USB-bus-powered single-cable form factor simplifies integration
Selection notes
Confirm the application has static or slow-moving targets at capture time: the rolling shutter can skew fast linear motion, so gate the part to a stop or freeze it with a short strobed exposure before relying on this model.
Budget for illumination and lens aperture: 2.0 x 2.0 um pixels capture less light each, so good controlled lighting keeps exposures short and noise down, especially in color mode.
Match the lens to the sensor: choose a C-mount lens with an image circle for the 1/1.8" format and resolving power high enough to do justice to 8.3 MP at 2.0 um pixels, or corner resolution will limit real-world detail.
Verify USB 3.0 cabling and host bandwidth: the 5 Gbit/s SuperSpeed link sustains roughly 45 fps at full resolution only with a quality cable, a capable USB3 controller, and pixel depth (8/10/12-bit) chosen to fit your throughput.
Account for the IP30 rating: this housing suits clean, enclosed environments and is not specified for washdown or heavy dust, so add protective enclosures where the floor is harsh.
Plan trigger and sync wiring through the M8 6-pin I/O connector to coordinate acquisition with a PLC, encoder, or strobe; the camera is bus-powered (~2.9 W) so no separate supply is needed.
Specifications: General
Brand
Basler
Camera type
Area scan
Specifications: Sensor
Resolution
8.3 MP
Horizontal resolution
3840 x 2160 px
Mono / color
Color
Sensor manufacturer
Sony
Sensor model
Sony IMX334 (IMX334LQR-C)
Shutter
Rolling shutter
Sensor size
1/1.8" (7.7 x 4.3 mm)
Pixel size
2.0 x 2.0 um
Specifications: Performance
FPS
Up to ~45 fps (45.7 fps max)
Specifications: Interface
Interface
USB 3.0 (5 Gbit/s SuperSpeed)
Protocols
USB3 Vision, GenICam
Specifications: Optics
Mount
C-mount
Specifications: Electrical
Power
Bus-powered via USB 3.0 (5 VDC, ~2.9 W)
Power consumption
2.9 W
Specifications: Environment
IP rating
IP30
Operating temperature
-10 to 60 °C
Specifications: Mechanical
Dimensions
48.1 x 29 x 29 mm
Weight
85 g
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 · 1/1.8" (7.7 x 4.3 mm) sensor.
By category
All 220C-mount lenses 155Telecentric lenses 62F-mount / large-format lenses 3
By brand
All 220iRAYPLE 66Omron / Sentech 66Basler 59Datalogic / Datasensing 29
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 uses a rolling shutter, which exposes the sensor line by line. This is well suited to static or slow-moving, settled parts. For fast linear motion you should stop the part during capture or use a short strobed exposure to avoid geometric skew; if you need to image freely moving objects, a global-shutter model is a better fit.
The camera provides 8.3 MP at 3840 x 2160 pixels and runs at up to roughly 45 fps (45.7 fps maximum) over its USB 3.0 interface.
It is a color model, built on the 1/1.8" Sony IMX334 progressive-scan CMOS sensor with a Bayer color filter, making it suitable for inspection tasks that depend on hue, such as print verification and product sorting.
It has a C-mount and a 1/1.8" (7.7 x 4.3 mm) sensor with 2.0 x 2.0 um pixels. Choose a C-mount lens with an image circle covering the 1/1.8" format and enough resolving power to match the 8.3 MP, 2.0 um pixel density.
It is bus-powered over USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed, 5 Gbit/s) at 5 VDC drawing about 2.9 W, so no separate power supply is needed. It also has an M8 6-pin I/O connector for trigger and GPIO, and conforms to the USB3 Vision and GenICam standards.
It carries an IP30 rating, suiting clean, enclosed environments rather than washdown or heavy dust, and operates over a -10 to 60 C temperature range. The housing measures 48.1 x 29 x 29 mm and weighs 85 g.
