In the world of machine vision, as in any tech field, there is a distinct divide between hardware and software. The hardware includes components of machine imaging systems such as the physical camera, lensing, cable interfaces, the PC or processor, etc. and are defined by rigid specifications (i.e. resolution of a camera, processing power, bandwidth of interface). The software side is more creative and flexible. I remember when I started my first job in this field I couldn’t believe what imaging systems were capable of and even now, some of it still feels like a magic trick. This article will briefly touch on some of the most common software analysis tools that are employed in machine vision and which serve as the foundation for more complex inspections and without which, machine vision would not be capable of everything it does.