How to Capture a Single Image from Basler ace Camera using pylon SDK in C#

Basler industrial cameras can be controlled easily using the pylon Camera Software Suite.
In this article, I’ll show you how to connect to a camera, grab a single frame, convert it to a BitmapSource, and save it as a .bmp file—all using C# and .NET 8.

When I first started working with Basler cameras in a .NET environment, I found very few practical code examples.
This guide is based on tested code from my own applications.

This article covers:

Connecting to a camera
Capturing one frame (Snap)
Converting to BitmapSource (WPF-friendly)
Saving the image as .bmp

⚠️ Important Notice

This article demonstrates how to develop custom applications using the Basler pylon Camera Software Suite SDK.

The content here is based on my own testing and implementation
It is not endorsed by Basler AG
The SDK itself is not redistributed here (no DLLs, headers, etc.)

To use the SDK, download it directly from Basler’s official website:

🔗 pylon SDK download
https://www.baslerweb.com/en/products/software/basler-pylon-camera-software-suite/

Make sure to review the EULA, especially if using the SDK in commercial or high-risk environments:
https://www.baslerweb.com/en/service/eula/

The sample code in this article is provided strictly for learning and reference. Use it at your own responsibility.

✔ Environment

Item	Details
SDK	Basler pylon Camera Software Suite
Language	C# (.NET 8.0 — Windows)
Camera	Basler acA2500-14gm
OS	Windows 10 / 11

1. Connecting to the Camera

First, create a simple wrapper class for managing the connection.
You can connect to the first available camera or use a specified camera name (as shown in Basler pylon Viewer).

using System;
using Basler.Pylon;

namespace BaslerSamples
{
    public class BaslerCameraSample
    {
        public Camera? Camera { get; private set; }
        public bool IsConnected => Camera?.IsConnected ?? false;

        public bool Connect()
        {
            var camera = new Camera();
            return ConnectInternal(camera);
        }

        public bool Connect(string cameraName)
        {
            try
            {
                var camera = new Camera(cameraName);
                return ConnectInternal(camera);
            }
            catch (InvalidOperationException e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($”Failed to create camera. Message: {e.Message}”);
                return false;
            }
        }

        private bool ConnectInternal(Camera camera)
        {
            try
            {
                camera.Open();
                if (camera.IsOpen)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine(“Camera connected successfully.”);
                    Camera = camera;
                    return true;
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine(“Failed to open camera.”);
                    return false;
                }
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($”Error connecting to camera: {ex.Message}”);
                return false;
            }
        }
    }
}

using System;

using Basler.Pylon;

namespace BaslerSamples

{

public class BaslerCameraSample

{

public Camera? Camera { get; private set; }

public bool IsConnected => Camera?.IsConnected ?? false;

public bool Connect()

{

var camera = new Camera();

return ConnectInternal(camera);

}

public bool Connect(string cameraName)

{

try

{

var camera = new Camera(cameraName);

return ConnectInternal(camera);

}

catch (InvalidOperationException e)

{

Console.WriteLine($“Failed to create camera. Message: {e.Message}”);

return false;

}

private bool ConnectInternal(Camera camera)

{

try

{

camera.Open();

if (camera.IsOpen)

{

Console.WriteLine(“Camera connected successfully.”);

Camera = camera;

return true;

}

else

{

Console.WriteLine(“Failed to open camera.”);

return false;

}

catch (Exception ex)

{

Console.WriteLine($“Error connecting to camera: {ex.Message}”);

return false;

}

2. Capturing a Single Image

The simplest way to grab one frame is by calling GrabOne() through the Stream Grabber.

public IGrabResult Snap(int timeoutMs = 5000)
{
    if (Camera == null)
        throw new InvalidOperationException(“Camera is not connected.”);

    var streamGrabber = Camera.StreamGrabber 
        ?? throw new InvalidOperationException(“StreamGrabber is not available.”);
    var grabResult = streamGrabber.GrabOne(timeoutMs);

    if (grabResult != null && grabResult.GrabSucceeded)
        return grabResult;
    else
        throw new Exception(“Failed to grab image: ” + (grabResult?.ErrorDescription ?? “Unknown error”));
}

public IGrabResult Snap(int timeoutMs = 5000)

{

if (Camera == null)

throw new InvalidOperationException(“Camera is not connected.”);

var streamGrabber = Camera.StreamGrabber

?? throw new InvalidOperationException(“StreamGrabber is not available.”);

var grabResult = streamGrabber.GrabOne(timeoutMs);

if (grabResult != null && grabResult.GrabSucceeded)

return grabResult;

else

throw new Exception(“Failed to grab image: “ + (grabResult?.ErrorDescription ?? “Unknown error”));

}

3. Converting to `BitmapSource` (for WPF)

IGrabResult cannot be displayed directly in WPF.
We convert it to a BitmapSource using PixelDataConverter.

using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;

public BitmapSource SnapToBitmapSource(int timeoutMs = 5000)
{
    using IGrabResult grabResult = Snap(timeoutMs);
    PixelDataConverter converter = new();

    var (outputType, pixelFormat, bytesPerPixel) = grabResult.PixelTypeValue switch
    {
        PixelType.RGB8packed => (PixelType.RGB8packed, PixelFormats.Rgb24, 3),
        PixelType.BGR8packed => (PixelType.BGR8packed, PixelFormats.Bgr24, 3),
        _ => (PixelType.Mono8, PixelFormats.Gray8, 1),
    };

    converter.OutputPixelFormat = outputType;

    int width = grabResult.Width;
    int height = grabResult.Height;
    int stride = width * bytesPerPixel;

    byte[] buffer = new byte[stride * height];
    converter.Convert(buffer, grabResult);

    return BitmapSource.Create(width, height, 96, 96, pixelFormat, null, buffer, stride);
}

using System.Windows.Media;

using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;

public BitmapSource SnapToBitmapSource(int timeoutMs = 5000)

{

using IGrabResult grabResult = Snap(timeoutMs);

PixelDataConverter converter = new();

var (outputType, pixelFormat, bytesPerPixel) = grabResult.PixelTypeValue switch

{

PixelType.RGB8packed => (PixelType.RGB8packed, PixelFormats.Rgb24, 3),

PixelType.BGR8packed => (PixelType.BGR8packed, PixelFormats.Bgr24, 3),

_ => (PixelType.Mono8, PixelFormats.Gray8, 1),

};

converter.OutputPixelFormat = outputType;

int width = grabResult.Width;

int height = grabResult.Height;

int stride = width * bytesPerPixel;

byte[] buffer = new byte[stride * height];

converter.Convert(buffer, grabResult);

return BitmapSource.Create(width, height, 96, 96, pixelFormat, null, buffer, stride);

}

Supports:

RGB8packed
BGR8packed
Mono8 (default fallback)

4. Saving the Image as `.bmp`

A simple helper method using BmpBitmapEncoder:

public static void SaveBitmap(BitmapSource bitmap, string filePath)
{
    using FileStream fileStream = new(filePath, FileMode.Create);
    var encoder = new BmpBitmapEncoder();
    encoder.Frames.Add(BitmapFrame.Create(bitmap));
    encoder.Save(fileStream);
}

public static void SaveBitmap(BitmapSource bitmap, string filePath)

{

using FileStream fileStream = new(filePath, FileMode.Create);

var encoder = new BmpBitmapEncoder();

encoder.Frames.Add(BitmapFrame.Create(bitmap));

encoder.Save(fileStream);

}

5. Example Test Code

You can easily test the entire pipeline (grab → convert → save) using the following:

static BaslerCameraSample _baslerCameraSample = new BaslerCameraSample();

[TestMethod()]
public void SnapToBitmapSourceTest()
{
    if (!_baslerCameraSample.IsConnected)
        _baslerCameraSample.Connect();

    var result = _baslerCameraSample.SnapToBitmapSource(1234);
    Assert.IsNotNull(result);

    BaslerCameraSample.SaveBitmap(result, “SaveBitmapTest.bmp”);
    Assert.IsTrue(File.Exists(“SaveBitmapTest.bmp”));
}

static BaslerCameraSample _baslerCameraSample = new BaslerCameraSample();

[TestMethod()]

public void SnapToBitmapSourceTest()

{

if (!_baslerCameraSample.IsConnected)

_baslerCameraSample.Connect();

var result = _baslerCameraSample.SnapToBitmapSource(1234);

Assert.IsNotNull(result);

BaslerCameraSample.SaveBitmap(result, “SaveBitmapTest.bmp”);

Assert.IsTrue(File.Exists(“SaveBitmapTest.bmp”));

}

✔ Output Example

The captured image will be saved as:SaveBitmapTest.bmp

Example output:

(Image from the original article)

✨ Conclusion

Although official documentation covers the basics, hands-on .NET examples for pylon are still relatively rare.
Fortunately, pylon’s .NET API is clean and integrates smoothly with Windows desktop applications such as WPF.

タグ: Basler