# High Sensitivity Mode

Image quality can have a significant affect on PatMax's success in finding features in images. Clear, sharp, high contrast images generally yield the best results while low contrast and noisy images can be problematic. To better enable PatMax to handle this range of image quality, two execution modes are provided. For good images with low noise and high contrast, you should run the tool in standard mode, the normal mode of operation. If your images are noisy or have low contrast you may improve your results by running the tool in high sensitivity mode which will generally require more training time and more execution time. The following figure shows examples of good and problematic images. Note that high sensitivity mode performance may be worse than standard mode for patterns with small features. Cognex recommends standard mode for most applications.