---
title: "Recommended Teledyne FLIR Blackfly S hardware for Nexus"
canonical: "https://help.vicon.com/space/Nexus219/673091299/Recommended%20Teledyne%20FLIR%20Blackfly%20S%20hardware%20for%20Nexus"
format: markdown
---
From the range of FLIR cameras, the Teledyne FLIR Blackfly S camera has been tested and is recommended.
For more information, see the following topics:
> Macro (toc)
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## Choice of Blackfly S camera
The following camera has been tested with Vicon Nexus. The frame rate given is the maximum possible at full resolution using the camera's native Bayer format. Higher rates may be possible if region-of-interest windowing is enabled on the camera, whereas the camera is limited to lower rates if certain onboard processing features are enabled.
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| Range | Model | Sensor resolution | Max frame rate at full resolution |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FLIR spec | Nexus |
| Teledyne FLIR Blackfly S
> Macro (inline-media-image) | [BFS-U3-23S3C-C](https://www.teledynevisionsolutions.com/products/blackfly-s-usb3/?model=BFS-U3-23S3C-C) | 1920 × 1200
(2.3 MP) | 163 | 150 |
## > Macro (anchor)
Suitable Vicon host PC
With Nexus 2.19 and later, you can use up to 12 supported FLIR cameras in your Nexus system. To do this, you must use an **Advanced + Video PC** or better (see [Vicon PC specifications](https://help.vicon.com/space/PCSPEC/8585218/Vicon+PC+specifications)). This also enables you to use post-processing with Theia. For details, contact [Vicon Support](mailto:support@vicon.com).
> ⚠️ **Graphics card**
> ⚠️ To use latest video data compression that is available with Nexus 2.19 and later, the graphics card must be RTX 3050 or better (see [CUDA GPU Compute Capability](https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-gpus)). A suitable graphics card is included with the Advanced + Video PC supplied by Vicon.
## How many Blackfly S cameras?
Nexus 2.14 to Nexus 2.18 enabled you to use up to eight supported FLIR cameras in your Nexus system, subject to sufficient GPO ports being free on the Vicon Lock unit(s) and not required for any other devices. With Nexus 2.19 and later, you can use **up to 12 supported FLIR cameras** in your Nexus system. Note that, to do this, you must use an Advanced + Video PC or better (see [Suitable Vicon host PC](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/Nexus219/pages/673091299/Recommended+Teledyne+FLIR+Blackfly+S+hardware+for+Nexus#Vicon-host-PC)). For your system to work well with the maximum number of FLIR Blackfly cameras, we also recommend that for the **Video Payload** option, you select **JPEG (GPU)** for compressing video data (see [Set up the software for a Teledyne FLIR camera system](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/Nexus219/pages/673091365)).
To maximize the number of cameras you can connect to a single Vicon Lock, you may also need one or more passive RCA sync splitters.
The number of cameras that can be used is constrained by the USB3 bandwidth of the PC or its ability to keep up with video encoding and/or disk bandwidth.
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## Vicon Lock unit, cables, and accessories
The minimum requirements are a Vicon Lock unit, sync cable, and USB3 cable. (The Vicon Lock unit is required to provide a sync signal to the camera.)
> ⚠️ **Important**
> ⚠️ If you are sourcing your own PC, ensure that, in addition to a USB3 controller card, it also includes a high-speed (M.2) hard drive, as supplied with current Vicon PCs (see [Vicon PC specifications](https://help.vicon.com/space/PCSPEC/8585218/Vicon+PC+specifications)).
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| Item | Required/
Optional | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vicon Lock Studio or Lock Lab |  | Required | Provides synchronization signal for FLIR camera. |
| Vicon 10 m Sync Cable |  | Required | Carries synchronization signal from Vicon Lock to FLIR camera. |
| Passive RCA sync splitter |  | Optional | Enables connection of up to 8 FLIR cameras to a single Sync Output on the Vicon Lock. |
| [Teledyne FLIR 5 m USB 3.1 Locking Cable](https://www.teledynevisionsolutions.com/products/usb-3.1-locking-cable?model=ACC-01-2301&segment=iis&vertical=machine+vision) |  | Required | Connects camera to PC for power, data and control. |
| 2/3" Varifocal lens 6.5–15.5mm C-mount (Vicon part no. 5100007) |  | Required | Lens is required for camera. |
| [Teledyne FLIR Tripod Adapter for Blackfly S](https://www.teledynevisionsolutions.com/products/tripod-adapter-for-bfs-30mm-bfly-cmln-cm3-ffmv-fl2-fl3-fmvu/?model=ACC-01-0003&vertical=machine%20vision&segment=iis) |  | Required | Enables camera to be mounted on tripod head. |
| [Teledyne FLIR 4-Port Quad Channel USB 3.1 Host Controller Card](https://www.teledynevisionsolutions.com/products/usb-3.1-host-controller-card?model=ACC-01-1205&vertical=machine%20vision&segment=iis) |  | Required | Required for all Vicon systems that include FLIR cameras, to ensure stability of connection and data, especially at higher frames rates. |
| 10 m Single RCA Phono Extension Cable |  | Optional | 10 m extension for sync cable. |
| [Lindy 15 m USB3 Boosted Extension Cable](https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/usb-c449/15m-usb-3-0-active-extension-slim-p14404) | > Macro (inline-media-image)
© 2021 LINDY Group | Optional | 15 m extension for USB3 cable. Requires an additional power source (not included). As illustrated, if required, you can connect two of these cables to give an overall 30 m extension. |