I upgraded Pylon, the C/C++ API for the GigE cameras, to the latest release, 5.2.0. It is installed in the same location as before, /opt/rtcds/caltech/c1/scripts/GigE/pylon5, so environment variables do not change. The old version, 5.0.12, still exists at opt/rtcds/caltech/c1/scripts/GigE/backup_pylon5.

The package contains a GUI application (/bin/PylonViewerApp) for streaming video. The old version supports saving still images, but Milind discovered that the new version supports saving video as well. This required installing a supplementary package supporting MPEG-4 output.

Basler's GUI application is launched from the terminal using the alias pylon. I've tested it and confirm it can save both videos and still-image formats. I recommend to also try grabbing images using this program and check the bit resolution. It would be a useful diagnostic to know whether it's a bug in Joe B.'s code or something deeper in the camera settings.