Choosing the Right USB3 Vision Camera for Your Needs

Want to extract more accuracy from your machine vision system?

Choosing the right USB3 Vision camera can be make-or-break for your inspection system. Technology is improving at a lightning pace, and you have more options than ever. But there is a problem…

There are hundreds of cameras on the market. And not all of them will work for you.

The good news? Anyone can understand the fundamental points and find the perfect camera for their application. This article breaks it all down for you.

In this guide, we will cover:

• What Are USB3 Vision Cameras?
• Why USB3 Vision Is Dominating The Market
• What Camera Specs Really Matter
• Selecting The Right Camera For Your Application

Let’s dive right in.

What Are USB3 Vision Cameras?

USB3 Vision cameras are cameras for machine vision built on the USB3 Vision standard.

As the name suggests, they use the USB 3.0 interface and a USB3 Vision protocol as well. The USB3 Vision protocol ensures that cameras from different manufacturers are interoperable, and it’s a standardised way of doing this. It makes the integration of cameras into systems much easier.

USB3 Vision cameras can be found all over the place. Quality assurance lines, robotic guidance, barcode reading and sorting systems, and many other machine vision applications use them. When plug-and-play connectivity and fast data transfer speeds are required, industrial USB3 Vision camera systems are the go-to solution.

That’s really not rocket science, is it?

USB3 Vision supports data transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps, which is more than enough for high-resolution applications without being as complex and expensive as some of its higher-speed siblings.

Why USB3 Vision Is Dominating The Market

Here is something you might not know about…

USB3 Vision cameras dominate a large segment of the machine vision market. According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the USB3 Vision had a market share of 41.72% in 2024. We are almost at 50% of the entire market.

What’s behind that dominance? A few factors stand out.

Affordable & Easy To Integrate

USB3 Vision cameras do not need frame grabbers and special cables. You can connect them using the standard USB 3.0 cables. This results in an overall lower system cost.

The plug-and-play feature of these cameras eliminates the need for time-consuming setup procedures. The standardised approach also results in a very easy integration into your systems.

Abundant Components

USB 3.0 has taken over the world, which means there are always compatible components available. Cables, connectors, and extension parts are in abundance and easy to source without breaking the bank.

By the way, do you know how big the machine vision industry is? According to Grand View Research, in 2024, the global market size of machine vision reached USD 20.38 billion and is expected to reach USD 41.74 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 13%.

Key Specs That Really Matter

Here comes the important thing. Not all of the camera specs matter.

Some are really important while some others are completely optional.

Let’s talk about these important specifications in detail.

Resolution

Resolution determines the details a camera can resolve in an image. The more detail is required, the higher the resolution has to be.

If you just need to see basic shapes, a 1-2 megapixel camera might be enough. Industrial parts inspection, especially if fine defect detection is needed, often requires 5+ megapixel cameras.

Consider what has to be seen. If that is detecting small scratches on a surface, resolution will become a top priority.

Frame Rate

Frame rate refers to how fast images are captured.

Massive production lines need a high frame rate to be able to capture images without dropping any of them. 30 fps will likely not be enough. Some of the applications require 100 fps or more.

Keep in mind…

Higher frame rates usually mean lower resolutions. It is almost always a trade-off. There is a reason for that, but this is a good place to start.

The right balance has to be determined for your application.

Sensor Type

There are two main types of sensors:

• CCD (Charge Coupled Device)
• CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor)

CMOS sensors are the de-facto standard in most industrial applications. They offer a great performance with a low price tag and consume less power. The global-shutter CMOS has more than 57% of the market share.

CCD cameras are usually only used in specialised, high-end scientific applications. This leaves CMOS as the preferred choice for most industrial uses.

Field of View

Field of view describes how much the camera sees.

The wider the field of view, the more area is covered in a single image, but with less detail per pixel. Narrower fields of view cover less area but have greater accuracy.

Matching the field of view to the inspection area is important. Mismatches result in a loss of resolution or gaps in the coverage.

Dynamic Range

Does the camera have the ability to see both dark and light areas of an image?

The dynamic range is the specification that answers this question. Scenes with extreme lighting variations require cameras with high dynamic range. Otherwise, some parts will be lost in shadows or overexposed.

Selecting The Right Camera For Your Application

Different applications require different camera attributes.

Quality assurance is the largest application segment. It alone accounts for nearly 30% of all machine vision deployments. Resolution and uniform lighting are usually more important than ultra-high frame rates for inspection.

Robotic guidance and path following need cameras that can keep up with fast movements while maintaining accurate position data. Frame rate tends to become more important here.

High-speed sorting applications and other ultra-fast production lines need the very highest frame rates. Resolution may have to take a backseat to speed. Every millisecond matters in these environments.

Barcode and data matrix code reading has its own particular requirements. Adequate resolution to capture the detail of the code along with good low-light performance are usually the primary considerations.

There are a few other things that you should consider as well.

• Cable Length: USB 3.0 has a limit on how far it can go without signal loss. Consider cable length limitations. Long cables may require active cables or hubs.
• Environmental Conditions: Dust, moisture, extreme temperatures. IP ratings become important.
• Software Compatibility: Is the camera compatible with your existing vision software?
• Triggering Options: External trigger support for synchronised image capture.
• Power Delivery: USB-powered cameras eliminate one cable from the cabling effort. However, some higher-performance cameras will require external power.

Conclusion

Choosing the right USB3 Vision camera doesn’t have to be hard.

The first step is always to know the requirements of your application.

How much resolution is needed? How fast must the images be captured? What are the environmental challenges?

Once these questions are answered, the specifications of the available cameras can be matched against the requirements.

The USB3 Vision standard has made industrial machine vision more accessible than ever before.

Lower cost, easy integration, and the availability of components mean even small and medium-sized operations can put professional machine vision systems to work.

Remember these points:

• USB3 Vision is capturing nearly half the machine vision market for good reasons
• Resolution and frame rate are often a trade-off
• CCD sensors are not the only option. CMOS works for most industrial applications
• Environmental factors are often not optional. Consider them in your selection
• Always consider the software you are using

The right camera can make a good vision system into a great one. Spend time evaluating your options. The investment will pay off in the form of years of reliable performance.