Frequently Asked Questions
- Q.) How much does shipping cost?
A.) Shipping cost is dependent on the weight, the destination, and the value of the items that you purchase. This is calculated at checkout so that we only charge you for our direct costs. We use a small 4"x2"x2" boxes within a soft package for 95% of our shipments. This minimizes cost, while making sure your items are not damaged in transit. Please read all of our Shipping Terms and Conditions. The prices increase for faster shipment via UPS, Fedex, or DHL. If you prefer to use your own shipping account, please contact us. - Q.) How fast will my products arrive?
A.) If the items are in stock, you can expect to receive a tracking number within 1-2 business days. The shipment time is dependent upon your selected shipping method - Q.) If the items are out of stock, when will you get more inventory?
A.) We try to restock all out-of-stock items within 1-2 weeks. For volume orders, lead-time ranges from 4-6 weeks to 14-18 weeks depending on quantity and component-level inventory. - Q.) How do I find an M12 Lens for my project?
A.) Our M12 lens calculator can help:
1. First look at resolution and FoV then open the closest product pages.
2. Double check each product page to make sure that CRA is within ~+/-5° of your sensor.
3. If the object distance is >=250mm, all of our lenses should be suitable.
At closer distances, we suggest testing several lenses as some lenses will be acceptable and others will have out of focus corners. - Q.) What is the minimum object distance of your lenses? Can these be used for Macro applications?
A.) This depends on your sensor! We recommend testing the performance. Anything below 50mm could be problematic. - Q.) My M12 Lens and Lens Mount/Adapter are loose and the lens wobbles. How do I fix this problem?
A.) M12 Lenses and Lens Mounts have varying thread tolerances. A quick way to solve this problem is to use one to two wraps of Teflon (plumber’s) tape that you can find at the local hardware store. For volume production projects, our team will find a suitable lens mount and can pre-thread the lens and lens to ensure that the appropriate torque is achieved. - Q.) I'm using a Teledyne/FLIR/PointGrey Blackfly C/CS mount camera. Why won't my lens focus?
First, please check out lens mount compatibility blog post. Second, we regre to inform you that the mechanical engineering team at Teledyne/FLIR/PG did not consider lenses when they designed their camera's housing. The IR cut off filter which is installed on your camera is ~8-10mm distance from the sensor. As a result, any lens with a MBFL<10mm may not be able to focus on the camera, including some CS mount lenses. To bring the lens into focus, you will have to remove this IR filter and use an IR filter installed in the lens. To remove the filter, please see this FLIR knowledge base article and contact them. Be aware removal will void your warranty. - Q.) How do I clean optics?
A.) We recommend viewing this guide. - Q.) The color balance for my Raspberry Pi Camera is off. How do I adjust the color based on the IR filter for these lenses?
A.) The easiest method is to remove the IR filter from the camera or use a NOIR version. Then, include the command "-awb greyworld" when issuing raspistill / raspiyuv / raspivid commands. Alternatively, please refer to AWB sensitivity control on page 60 of Raspberry Pi's detailed ISP color correction manual. - Q.) What's your story?
A.) We realized that engineers at small-to-mid sized companies are looking for hard-to-come-by camera design resources. First, credible western-based optical engineering and camera design talent can be hard to locate. Second, it can be hard to trust what to buy without accurate information online, as others do not provide sufficient detail. Third, it can hard to build a cost-effective camera without a fully resourced US engineering team combined with an overseas supply chain team. In 2018, we set out to solve these problems with our engineering expertise, industry partners, and international manufacturing experience.