Is there any way to adjust the exposure setting without dropping the frame rate significantly?

[CLeVa1]

I've noticed that adjusting the exposure setting on my Intel RealSense D435 causes the frame rate to drop significantly (down to 5 or less fps). This happens for both the color and infrared cameras. The weird thing is that using the auto-exposure setting on either camera shows a higher exposure level, but when I adjust the exposure to that same level with auto-exposure off, the frame rate drops. Is there any way I can control the exposure on either of the cameras? I'd rather not set them to auto-exposure because I can get a much better looking picture (especially with the color camera) when I can control each setting individually. I've never seen this as an issue with webcams or other hardware devices with exposure settings.

The D435 is running FW Version 5.11.1.100.

[Eliza_D_Intel]

Hello CLeVa1, Thank you for your interest in the Intel RealSense D435 camera. I believe this conversation on GitHub might help you with your issue: https://github.com/IntelRealSense/librealsense/issues/1957 You will need to: 1.Disable "Auto-Exposure" and set it manually, verifying it does not exceed the upper bound. 2.Leave "Auto-Exposure switched on, but disable "Auto-Exposure Priority" control to enforce constant FPS. Thank you, Eliza

[CLeVa1]

Hi Eliza,

I saw that issue, but it doesn't really answer my question. I'd like to set the exposure manually because auto-exposure leaves the image too dark and doesn't give a clear enough picture. The problem is that using the exposure manually, even if it is at the same level as whatever auto-exposure set it to, slows the frame rate to a crawl. For example, when set to auto-exposure, it appears as if the manual exposure setting is 600, but when manually set to 600 the frame rate is around 5 fps. I'm using the Intel RealSense Viewer v2.19.0 to test this. I can't see any effect of the "Auto-Exposure Priority" on either manual or auto exposures. All of this information qualifies for both cameras as well.

Is there any way to have the exposure set manually without it being set to something incredibly low?

[Eliza_D_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hello CLeVa1, Could you please provide us sample exposure values and framerates you are seeing for them? It is expected behavior that as exposure times rise, the FPS will drop accordingly to the nearest supported rate of 30, 25, 15, or 6. The FPS of the depth cam are not linear. The datasheet shows the supported FPS, at page number 54 - https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/emerging-technologies/intel-realsense-technology/Intel-RealSense-D400-Series-Datasheet.pdf Thank you, Eliza

[Eliza_D_Intel]

Hello CLeVa1, Could you please let us know if you still require assistance on this topic? Thank you and best regards, Eliza

[CLeVa1]

I don't think I need further assistance. The way I understand it is that there is nothing I can do to increase the framerate of the camera except to leave both cameras at low exposure settings. That's all I was trying to figure out.